ISSUES
IMMIGRATION
Having spent most of my adult life outside of the United States, I have dealt with the difficulties and problems associated with immigration paperwork and working in foreign countries. Where most politicians are fine with throwing out a few words in Spanish to show you their empathy for migrants, I have been where most never will go. I have lived in countries where I did not know the dominant language, Spanish. I lived in countries where my native tongue wasn’t the dominant language. I had to work around the difficulties presented, and I know firsthand how being a “foreigner” can be anxious and filled with unknown challenges.
SECURE THE BORDER
An unsecured border represents a risk to our people and a challenge to the sovereignty of the United States. Today, Congress sends a mixed message to the tens of thousands looking for a better life. A divided House is allowing the free flow of drugs, human trafficking, and the potential for violence to enter unchecked into our country. Hurting U.S. citizens and the potential immigrants themselves. I can be a unifying voice in Congress, having no political Party agenda; I can use my independence as leverage to help both parties reach a compromise.
PATH TO CITIZENSHIP​
This is not a call for amnesty. Illegal immigrants are illegal because they do not have clear legal channels for citizenship. Congress has sat and bickered for decades over solutions - refusing to allow those solutions to go forward in fear that one Party or another will get credit or blame. As an Independent with no Party, I can focus on solutions rather than Party power plays.
FOREIGN IMMIGRATION SUPPORT CENTERS
Working to reduce drug smuggling and human trafficking means working within select foreign countries to have specialized immigration processing facilities to facilitate the immigration process from the cradle to the grave. Cut off income sources for the criminals in foreign countries by depriving them of the money from desperate people trying to reach our great country.
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NATIONALIZATION/GOVERNMENT SUPPORT CENTERS
Having lived and worked in countries where my native tongue was not the dominant language of the land, I understand the need for support for newly immigrated individuals and families. We need immigrants to acclimatize to the culture of America rather than section themselves off into their own communities. We are one country and one people. We need to provide government support centers that will allow newly immigrated people to integrate into American society.
REFORM IMMIGRATION LAW
We need to reform immigration law. The Gordian knot that the law has become prevents competent immigration, encouraging people to bypass the legal process for a more expedited illegal one. I will work to reduce the complicated qualification requirements and streamline the process.
THE ECONOMY
Our economy is a beautiful mix of people and business. The small, local business has been the backbone of the U.S. economy and needs to be encouraged and supported. The 2020 pandemic saw small businesses shortchanged while the largest of America’s corporations were sheltered from the economic effects and even saw their profits skyrocket. The working class suffered while the elites moved their business and financials into protected positions. In a fight for the economy, we must do
everything to protect the small business and the working class that makes up our nation’s financial backbone.
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The National Debt
The cost of paying for America's debt will cross the $1 trillion dollar mark by next year, driven by higher interest rates and increased government spending. In 2020, that cost was $500 billion. Anyone with credit card debt understands the cost of interest affecting their lives. That effect is magnified on a national scale. I am not advocating for paying off all debt. What I am advocating for is less spending by our national government. Imagine where $500 billion could be spent to benefit our country and its people rather than interest on debt.
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Income Tax
Simply put, less government spending will free up money to be obligated toward higher priorities. Tax cuts and hikes are plot devices for the Parties to campaign on. The wealthy and connected have their means of shielding themselves from any tax-based legislation; only the poor and middle-class Americans are burdened by the games they play. Let's start with simplifying the tax code.
Also - legislation to report, but not tax, the gig economy or cryptocurrency solutions. ​
WORK IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN TAMPA BAY
The 14th Congressional District can potentially replace California’s infamous Silicon Valley. We are leaders in technology, health, environmental, defense, and other vital sectors. The benefits of our district across all industries need to be championed, not just select special interests that benefit the current incumbent. ​
EDUCATION
Education is an ever-evolving industry that fundamentally reaches beyond the traditional K-12 parameters. The reaction to the pandemic in 2020 showed the need for a flexible educational system that allows various means and methods to teach the basic life skills needed for our society. Rather than attempting to place millions of students into an inflexible system, the U.S. Government needs to adopt a more flexible and malleable stance.
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PROVIDE MORE OPTIONS
​The modern school system, as we know it today, has existed for about 200 years. It is safe to say that things have changed in 200 years, both in ways to educate society and in technology for learning. Our educational systems should not be limited to what was but focused on what could be.
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Parents need options to allow them to educate their children to guarantee a fair, equitable, and measurable education that provides all children the ability to achieve and succeed regardless of circumstances.
​​As the modern school system and traditional learning methods change, I will support schools' and teachers' abilities to adapt to these changes. Administrators, teachers, and parents can experiment with learning and educational requirements, tailoring education to the student rather than forcing the student into a one-size-fits-all process.
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HIGHER EDUCATION
Tampa Bay has some of the finest universities and colleges in the United States. Having earned a Bachelor of Science and two Master’s degrees, higher education is a valuable tool, but not necessarily the only one.
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Coming from a working-class background, I recognize that the supermajority of jobs that require a college degree don’t need the skill set of a college degree to do the job. I would work with companies and policymakers to ensure that lack of a degree doesn’t hinder entry into the workforce.
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Wealthier Americans are more likely to pursue degrees, leaving the education costs a barrier to entry for poorer Americans who can’t afford the degree. Rather than subsidize an expensive but unnecessary degree program, I would encourage businesses and organizations to evaluate their positions (primarily executive positions) to determine if a degree truly is necessary for the position or a means of class discrimination.
TEACHING NOT TESTING FOR QUALITY EDUCATION
Testing should not be used to " score” or “judge” teacher performance. Teaching to a test does not result in a quality education.
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Encouraging testing for individual aptitude and teaching toward that aptitude.
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“Rarely has something been so important and so talked about with less clarity and less apparent
understanding than this phenomenon.”
- Former National Security Agency and the former
CIA Director Gen. (Ret.) Michael Hayden.
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(1) Oldsmar Water Treatment Facility was hacked, potentially leading to water poisoning for thousands
of residents.
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(2) St Pete teen hacked and crashed the Internet for all 145 Pinellas schools.
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(3) Colonial Pipeline was hacked, and operations were taken offline, resulting in panic buying at the
pumps.
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(4) It is estimated that cybercrime will cost the world over $10 Trillion a year by 2025, representing
the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history.
​There are more critical issues in the cyber domain than Instagram for Kids. Congress seems more interested in banning TikTok while simultaneously joining and posting videos than in taking our nation's cybersecurity seriously. I have 20 years of experience working to defend our nation's military technology. I understand the problem and will work toward solutions.
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SOURCES:
(1) https://www.industrialdefender.com/florida-water-treatment-plant-cyber-attack/
(2) https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2021/05/28/st-petersburg-high-school-student-crashed-
pinellas-schools-systems-internet-with-hack/
(3) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/politics/pipeline-hack.html
(4) https://cybersecurityventures.com/cybercrime-damages-6-trillion-by-2021/
(5) 2020 Democrat Party Platform
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Health insurance is no longer health assurance. Private insurance companies now fight patients over coverage. They deny, delay, and put roadblocks in the way of our health. The same problems of twenty years ago, unknown treatment costs, denied coverage, and prescription costs, are the same problems we have today. Our hospitals may be number 1 in the world for health care treatment, but we are dead last in every aspect of our health administration system. We can do better.
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CYBER SECURITY
HEALTHCARE
FOREIGN POLICY
Very few politicians have any real experience outside the United States. Our world is a global world, and few career politicians know anything but their little corner of the United States. Rarely have they had to live and work in a foreign country. I have. They have not had to deal with immigration and residential issues. I have. They have not had to participate and experience the diversity of different cultures. I have. By choosing me, you will have a representative with real-world global experience.
RUSSIAN/UKRAINE
30 years ago, Iraq invaded the small country of Kuwait. The American people and our Congress were swayed to go to war through lies and manipulation. Then-Senator Biden stated, “Even if you win today, you still lose,” and voted against going to war.
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Today, we have Russia invading the country of Ukraine. Another country in which we, the American people, have no obligation to defend except to counter another aggressive dictator. The problem is that the stakes are higher. Russian military capability is not like third-world Iraq. Russia is a nuclear power with nuclear capabilities, not like Iraq’s nuclear smoke and mirrors. As any trapped rat will turn to fight, Putin will go nuclear, not to lose if he can’t win.
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Can you trust our current Congress not to be manipulated again? Can you trust the many representatives with little experience outside their little corner of America to know what it is like to live and work in foreign countries? To know intimately what it is like to be in a war?
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I have that experience. I have experienced war like few in Congress have. I know what it means to be shot at. To be under attack by those that want to kill you. To have Iranian ballistic missiles incoming to your location. We must tread carefully, or the long-forgotten Cold War could heat up quickly.
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REVERSE THE MILITARIZATION OF FOREIGN POLICY
Stop using the U.S. Military as America’s easy button on the global stage.
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The U.S. Constitution clearly states that only Congress has the power to declare war. Yet, the entrenched, long-term career politicians have increasingly ceded these powers to the Executive Branch. They are granting the President extensive war powers without effective oversight.
These policies do not constitute good policy. Congress has failed to use its constitutional powers to reign in executive power because it is easier for career politicians to maintain the status quo. Through their Congressional Representatives, the American people must have a say in any decision to send and use military force abroad.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
Not Soft, Not Hard – But Smart on Crime
The criminal justice system is the best reflection of the American culture. We love a good redemption
story—the struggle to overcome hardships to triumph over adversity. Yet, we also love to kick you when you
are down. Florida – and the U.S. – subjects its citizens to incarceration and correctional control
more than nearly any other state – and country. I am dedicated to ending over-incarceration and
economic disparities in our criminal justice system.
No Private Camps, Jails, or Prisons!
Whether local, state, or federal, we, the People, have given the Government the authority to incarcerate
people whose actions have been determined to cause harm or who would themselves be harmful to
society. How, then, can we, as a society, in good conscience, allow the Government to shrug off the
responsibility we, the People, gave it and give it over to private organizations? Organizations are not
accountable to the People but to their shareholders.
We need to close private camps, jails, and prisons and ensure that the Government remains responsible
and accountable for the power we, the People, have given it.
Reduce the Prison-Industrial Complex
The rapid expansion of the U.S. inmate population, especially during the ‘War on Drugs’ campaigns of
the Regan years resulted in political influence and economic profits for the various businesses supplying
goods and services to the U.S. justice system. Along with the Rutherford Institute and the ACLU, I
believe that the financial incentive has transformed the criminal justice system into a profit-motivated
sector rather than one of reform and punishment.
Prison Labor: ‘Prison insourcing’ has grown popular as a cheap alternative to offshore outsourcing.
Sadly, a call for a $15 minimum wage for workers on the outside when inmates rarely get more than a
few dollars an hour for their work in facility maintenance or government-run prison factories. Suppose
you listen to the stories of former inmates. In that case, many will focus on the hustle - what they
needed to do to get the money they needed to buy overly expensive food and essential everyday items
like hygiene products. Labor and job-related training are keys to reducing recidivism, but not at slave
wages. Suppressed wages result in a need for more inmates, not less, and incentivizes those motivated
by profit to increase the pool of cheaply paid inmates. This must end.
Immigration: We are now seeing the rise of the immigration-industrial complex. Because our
immigration system is such a mess, the budget for ICE and CBP is growing by leaps and bounds. We
have had the ‘kids-in-cages’ problem through at least three presidents with no end in sight. It is
reported that nearly 50% of all detainees are housed in private facilities. Companies are created to
handle the problem and are motivated by profit to ensure the problem continues. Communities are
harmed by the mass immigration problem and employed by the same companies that service and
encourage the immigration-industrial problem. A never-ending cycle that needs leadership not
beholden to profit but to the People to correct.
Mental-Health: In the 50s, the pharmaceutical companies started coming out with wonder drugs that
help hundreds of thousands of mentally ill patients live normal lives. We as a society used that as an
excuse to wash our hands of the problem. Let them pop pills, we said. The Federal Community Mental
Health Act of 1963 was passed and hundreds of thousands of women and men with long term mental
health problems were released from psychiatric hospitals, promised by President Kennedy that “the cold
mercy of custodial care would be replaced by the open warmth of community.” The promise was not
kept by his successors. States, including Florida, closed long term psychiatric hospitals without
prevention or residential services in place or without building full outpaitent care. Many Floridians in
need of support became homeless or langished in jail or prision. That trend continues to this day.
We can never change past mistakes, but we can go forward to correct them. We as a country need to
invest more resources into growing our behavioral health workforce, increaseing research and
innovation into mental health treatments, and most of all build community capacity to care for the
mentally ill. By doing so, we keep jails and prisions free of those that don’t belong there, and help those
suffering thorugh no fault of their own.
Climate change and environmental conservation are vitally important to our community. A healthy environment represents a healthy people and a flourishing economy. Too often, our incumbents in safe seats give lip service to our most pressing issues.
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Local and State
In the 1970s, unprecedented political cooperation and hundreds of science-guided projects save Tampa Bay from environmental disaster. It was a symbol of the success of the Clean Water Act of 1972. Over 50 years later, that progress is being eroded by fecal and industrial pollution and other dangers. Seagrass levels are dropping. Once removed from the endangered list, manatees are now starving and dying in record numbers. 2021 saw the worst Red Tide in the Tampa Bay since the Clean Water Act was passed.
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After decades of successful activism, our Bay is again in danger because of incumbent politicians’ lip service paid to environmental issues. Stress to the environment through climate change along with just plain old-fashioned man-made pollution of lawn and agricultural run-off, combined with industrial pollutants like the Piney Point, harm our local environment once again. We know what we need to do, but without the local, state, and federal political will, our Bay and waterways will flounder, hurting our health and economy. I can bring that political will to Congress and build those coalitions across party lines to ensure Tampa and Florida water remains a source of pride for our community.
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National
Did you know that we are experiencing a 20-year drought in our Southwest? Did you know that Lake Mead is quickly going dry and that it may be as soon as next year that the iconic Hoover Damn may no longer be producing electricity or allowing the Colorado River to flow downstream? If we hadn’t spent nearly a billion dollars in 2015 to put a third “straw” in Lake Mead to suck out the water, we’d be in that situation today. Life for 40 million people in the region will soon change drastically. Understand that 80% of that water goes toward agriculture. Without that water, we are facing a food shortage and crisis that will make today’s inflated food prices look dirt cheap.
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“They knew this was a problem, and they elected to kick the can down the road. They knew better, and they did it anyway.”
— Brad Udall, water and climate scientist
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Colorado is expected to lose half its snowpack by 2080 – alongside Utah and Wyoming – with a shift toward an ecosystem resembling Arizona. We don’t have much time before this crisis reaches a tipping point – and our “environmental advocate” Representative is doing nothing. To prevent a legal nightmare, we need our Representatives engaged.
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Renewable Energy
Florida’s power sector’s source of consumption comprises 70% natural gas, 15% nuclear, 9% coal, and 5% renewable (primarily solar).
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I support investment in thorium reactors as part of the ‘green energy’ push. Thorium reactors are safer, more efficient, and environmentally friendly than contemporary nuclear power plants. Additionally, thorium reactors can produce cheaper energy than nuclear energy, providing another cost-effective green alternative to contribute to a diverse energy portfolio. Federal subsidies for renewable energies have dramatically reduced the costs of wind and solar. Subsidizing a new generation of nuclear reactors (thorium) can bring commercial success and decrease costs for everyone. The future of nuclear energy is an essential investment as currently, 55 nuclear reactors provide 19.7% of all U.S energy compared with 67,000 wind turbines that provide 8.4% of all U.S. energy. For skeptics, nuclear energy has been proven safe, with over 445 reactors operating safely worldwide (not including nuclear submarines) with 3 significant accidents in 60 years. The generated waste materials are estimated to fill no more than a single football field.
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I support investing in solar. Roof-top solar panels, which our “environmental advocate” representative tots for, are beneficial. But mainly to those homeowners who can afford it. Roof-top solar advocacy does nothing for those renting or living in high-density housing. In other words, roof-top solar panels benefit the richest in our community rather than the poorest.
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If roof-top solar is beneficial to you – then do it! But I want to represent the community while saving our environment. To do that, we need to invest in power plants rather than focusing on individuals. Mass power production will benefit all residents, not just the select homeowners.
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