State Representative District 135

What action(s) will you take to reduce out-of-pocket drug costs and reduce the impact of the cost of prescription drugs on taxpayers and insurance premiums?

CT must lead the way of the country with implementing in 2023 the negotiating drug prices that was passed in the federal American Inflaction Reduction Act. We must pass legislation that addresses the Big Pharma's in-house PBM's, that provide no value to the patient. We must work with our congressional delegation to invest in low-cost health access options like a public healthcare option (currently provided under CoveredCT and on the exchange), but an affordable small business, individual option to purchase into the state employees health plan as negotiated by the Comptroller, eliminating private overhead administration costs.

In these inflationary times, what will you do to help ensure that Connecticut’s middle-income retirees on fixed incomes are able to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets?

Expand EITC and make permanent, expand and make permanent the child tax credit, have CT Supplement/increase the municipal tax relief to seniors and retirees with savings from the paying down Ct's debt liability. Fully find PILOT, eliminate the car tax; resource DRS to ensure the hyper-wealthy and wealthiest corporations pay what they owe to CT like the rest of us, to invest in CT public good/services: water, sewer, transportation and fully fund equitable public education across all our zip codes. And raise the top corporate marginal tax rate on corporations over 10 billion annual profit; tax digital downloads/online marketplace like brick and mortar main street shops; close carried interest loopholes, level regional and off-shore tax floor to ensure minimum tax rate/investment in Ct's services and infrastructure.

How do you plan to address the growing long-term care workforce crisis in the state?

pay them what they deserve, including sick time, vacation, healthcare and retirement.

Gas prices are higher than ever, which is difficult for older adults on fixed incomes. Yet, alternatives to cars in Connecticut are limited. What will you do to help older adults access other forms of transportation?

expand public mobility as a service; expand Medicaid coverage to include transportation to Adult Day Centers, non-medical appointments, find a better contract provider than VEYO.

What are the two most urgent problems facing Connecticut within the context of climate change and the environment, and what will you propose to solve them?

Invest/pivot HARD to renewable energy: build offshore wind hub/land-based careers, expand/lift cap on tax credits for solar, geothermal both residential and commercial, modernize environmental standards and enforcement of polluters; demand Environmental and Climate Impact Statement on proposed legislation; separate DEEP, Environmental Protection Agency should have its own qualified staff, resources, enforcement, and not tied to the fossil fuel/energy sector; propose policy through a climate resiliency lens, with a circular economy, incentivize economic entities to include true, life-cycle cost in their analysis, include cost of responsible disposal, recycling in the cost of doing business; demand Amazon take back all their cardboard/packaging and re-use

How can Connecticut's education systems create better outcomes for students in low-income communities?

embed trades and apprentice programs, theater arts, music, advanced manufacturing, IT in high school campuses, site and invest in 'on-ramps 'to good paying careers with benefits within low-income communities; fund debt-free community colleges, make UConn tuition-free for in-state low-income students demonstrating college-ready aptitude

Pedestrian deaths spiked a few years ago and remain high, and it's fairly clear that driver behavior, such as distracted driving, is only getting worse despite significant efforts by law enforcement to stop it. How can Connecticut's streets be made safe for pedestrians and bicyclists?

We need to mobilize community will to make more pedestrian/bike friendly towns, invest in bike paths, traffic calming measures, slow down commuting, invest/support more multi-modal transportation, extend fare-free buses, etc.

How should the state and its school districts deal with COVID-19 going forward?

Invest in PPE, testing, extend paid sick time for teachers, workers, on-site vaccination, invest in clean air ventilation in public spaces like schools, nursing homes, encourage masks indoors as a cultural norm default, especially when feeling unwell, incentivize more open-air spaces for gathering

What should be done on the state level to further address Connecticut's lack of affordable housing? Do you support, for example, mandating or incentivizing towns and cities to alter their zoning codes to be friendlier to affordable housing?

Prioritize and incentivize and fund Public (state) investment in small, creative affordable housing clusters/continuum of housing within existing neighborhoods, especially suburbs, for multi-age, accessible housing. Not leaving up to developers, invest in public infrastructure for affordable housing pockets stock: water, sewer, broadband in micro-neighborhoods of single, 2 bedroom options for singles, graduates, seniors, divorced families, within every municipality.

What can be done to prevent excessive consolidation of the healthcare industry and the loss of services – or, in some cases, the loss of small hospitals themselves – in the state's rural areas?

Strengthen licensing standards of hospitals, mandate tax-exempt hospitals provide essential community services like Labor and Delivery, pull federal dollars for funding/investment for more and expand FQHC's to provide annex services like L/D, and funding provide specialty care clinics like dental surgery/ treatment, diabetes treatment; deny CON's for consolidation, deny vertical equity investment in healthcare monopolies.

Do you think the state's two major electric utilities (Eversource and United Illuminating) are sufficiently regulated? If not, what measures would you take to ensure that consumers are protected to the greatest extent possible against prolonged loss of services and unfair rate increases?

Nope. Re-claim public utilities as public good, and regulate accordingly.

What is your position on whether Connecticut should open its election primaries to unaffiliated voters?

Yes.