A comfortable, Safe and Healthy life is for all Pennsylvanians
Let’s talk about how we get there
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The Problem: Data centers may be the most important issue we face in the immediate future. I don’t hear anyone in the community asking for more AI hubs, yet the federal government and the corporate class are pushing the industry, despite the fact it does not even sustain itself financially, nor do they create enough long term employment to warrant the disruption to the state infrastructure and natural environment.
The dangers of data centers beyond the question of what that AI is used for (like surveillance), include:
1) stressing our already outdated electrical grid system, causing your utility rates to increase
2) usurping our water supply putting PA in danger of water bankruptcy,
3) raising the local temperature around the data centers by up to 9 degrees Celsius (that’s 16 degrees F!), Effects are noticed for up to a 6 mile radius away. That’s a 12 mile heat island!
4) The noise!The Solution: We can’t wait until our state is overrun before we take action. More information is needed so that we can install safeguards to protect against the social and environmental impacts of these data centers. I support a moratorium on any new data center construction of at least three years. This will provide enough time to legislate responsibly to
1) preserve and protect our water supplies, as is guaranteed in our State Constitution,
2) to require self-provided power,
3) and levy appropriate taxes on these businesses to support infrastructure improvements and mitigate the negative impact they have on our communities. -
There’s a lot going on and its mostly bad! Costs are rising for everyone, and that translates to costs incurred by the State as well. When the state doesn’t cover costs for things like education, transportation and support local infrastructure, the burden falls on the local municipalities to collect revenue from increasing things like property taxes.
Our tax system is outdated and leaves a lot on the table that we could use to fund programs that already exist and new ones desperately needed. Not to mention the infrastructure renewals and development Pennsylvanians want to see expanded across the state.
Don’t worry. We can definitely fix it!
The Solution:
We have a couple great solutions for increasing our revenue, without burdening the working class even more.
1) Fair Share Tax - This fixes the uniformity clause in the PA constitution that keeps us for taxing wealth, leaving the wealthiest PAs off the hook. This would create two distinct taxes, one that targets income from labor, and a separate tax that targets wealth created from other wealth. This helps shift the burden of off the already strapped working and middle classes. Most of whom would receive a tax cut.
2) Severance Tax - This isn’t a new idea, but it’s one whose time ahs come. The Severance Tax ensures that PA is compensated properly for it's resources that energy companies are extracting, like natural gas, coal and lumber. Pennsylvanians are entitled to benefit from the industries that upset their communities, natural wildlife, water sources and roadways. It’s time corporations fairly compensated Pennsylvanians for the resources under our feet.
3) Waters-Edge/ Combined Reporting Corporate Taxation closes tax loopholes like the Delaware and Cayman Islands loopholes where Corporations hide money out of state or overseas. Water’s Edge forces corporations to report on profits made within the coutry, while Combined reporting includes world-wide income reporting. This prevents the businesses from claiming their profits were all made in another State or Country, and forces them to pay taxes based on the percentage of business done in our State compared to their entire corporate footprint. (But don’t worry, it leaves small businesses alone!)
Combined reporting could increase our tax revenue from anywhere between $500,000,000 to $1.5 Billion.You need someone who wants businesses to pay their fair share. That person is me.
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The Problem: In the words of Jimmy Macmillan, “The Rent is too damn high!” I don’t need to tell you about the difficulties in housing affordability these days. As a renter myself, I’m all too aware of how out of reach home buying has become for working families. In the last ten years the cost of homes has increased 91%! And up 50% in just the last 5 years, since Covid. The median cost of a home in Adams county (2025) is $323,000.
It’s not more affordable to rent either. The fair market rent costs have increased 75% since 2015. Rising from $710/month for a 2 bedroom apt, to $1,289/month in 2025. This is unreal, unreasonable and unsustainable. Many of these homes being rented were purchased decades ago, at rates far below the current norms.
The housing crisis is crushing middle-class and poor Pennsylvanians, driving them deeper into debt, and making homeownership unattainable for younger generations. We need future forward solutions that respect the dignity of younger generations, without assuming they deserve to live in closet sized homes for the price of a small mansion.
The Solution: This is a problem that will require solutions at every level of government to solve completely. However, one major step we can take at the State level to help slow the disproportionate increase in home costs is to pass legislation that prohibits hedge funds from purchasing single family homes.
When corporate interests buy houses, they leave them empty to artificially lower the “supply” of homes, and drive up the prices. There has also been recorded instances of hedge funds selling homes to themself for double the value of the original selling price. These destructive practices need to stop. We need guardrails to protect access to our basic needs, like housing.
We can create legislation that 1) disallows corporate entities from purchasing single family homes, 2) forces any homes currently owned by these entities to be sold within 5 years.
3) push and support legislation that directs funds to restorative practices for homes already in existence, to bring them up to code and restore their livability.These changes will help add homes to the market supply, which will drive down costs. Additionally, it will also provide an additional limit to the way that working families can be exploited by the billionaire class.
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Cost of living is Important!
The United States is the richest country in the world and yet most Americans can’t even afford a $1,000 emergency expense. The number of billionaires in PA has gone up again in the past year, (and is up nearly 3X since 2010!!!) while approximately 1 million Pennsylvanians carry medical debt, with over $1.8 billion owed altogether.
And while prices have increased by about 50% in the last 15 years, the minimum wage has stayed stagnant at $7.25. Your current state rep votes against an increase time and time again.
I’m tired of waiting for the right person to step up to the plate and demand changes for the working classes. Anyone working 40hrs/wk should be able to afford housing, utilities, healthcare and food with plenty left over.
We need more people in Harrisburg who see basic existence as a black-or-white issue. Taxing billionaires and corporations is not some woke crusade against merit. It’s simply making them pay their fair share like the rest of us do.
The time for enabling greed has passed. It’s time we demand what the working class deserves: a life lived in pursuit of happiness, rather than constant fear of poverty.
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Clean air, water and forested lands are Important (and guaranteed by our State Constitution)! But you wouldn’t know that by following the news.
The Problem: This list is long and may need another dedicated page to tackle it responsibly. There are so many issues that need our attention to ensure our natural resources and beautiful lands are preserved for future generations. It’s important to know that I hold environmental protection at the highest level of priority , and will do everything I can to ensure PA remains a beautiful place to visit and live for years to come.
1) PA is the fourth highest carbon emitting State, yet we exited the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative during the most recent budget, leaving us with no significant climate policy.
2) PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment or the body, are linked to cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, and birth defects and a recent study indicates that the health effects are a concern at lower levels than previously thought. PA is lacking legislation safeguarding against these dangerous chemicals.
3) PA’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards requirements maxed out at 8% of it’s energy being sourced by renewable resources. This is far below our neighboring states, and continues to promote a dirty and expensive fossil fuel driven industry that keeps us living in the past.
4) Community scale solar is taking up our farmland. We need to support renewables in a way that preserves our land while supporting our growing energy needs. There’s a way to do it!
5) The administration in DC is dismantling the US Forest service in order to make it easier for drilling and mining companies to get their hands our public protected land.
The Solutions:Don’t worry, we can fix it! But it’s going to take elected officials who are invested in the people’s future, and not in the publicly traded companies that are exploiting our resources.
I will be pushing for our re-entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiatives. PA should not be breathing dirtier air than 46 other States! It’s time to enforce our constitution and raise our expectations of the businesses who operate here.
We need to create more opportunities for powering our grid using renewable resources. Neighboring states are deliberating on policy that allows “balcony solar” to help power the grid from your own homes. We should open up more options in PA for consumers to power their own homes, and force utility companies to pay for any excess that individuals contribute to the power supply.
At the same time, we can push for legislation that requires community scale solar grid installations to utilize already developed land options (like solar canopies over existing parking lots, and sprawling warehouse acreage) before co-opting farmland. This has been successfully achieved with incredible results in countries in Europe, cutting costs for consumers drastically.Protecting our air and water is not a matter of partisan rhetoric, it’s already the law! I know law and order is important to Pennsylvanians, and we need to enforce the laws we have to ensure we stay healthy and happy. Whether that means safeguards from forever chemicals, water bankruptcy, carbon emissions or exploited park land, it’s time the future of Pennsylvania is put first.
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Our schools, students and teachers are Important! They are our future. Coming from a family of teachers, I know education is a massive priority to ensure our children have the best chances for success.
The Problem: The PA government has spent years underfunding education, cutting more and more resources that support crucial and mandated programs. This means your local income and property taxes get raised in order to make up the differences. Who wants that?
When our school districts suffer loss of funding from the state or federal levels it can cause major disruptions in the routine operations. Hiring delays, program instability, academic interruptions result from funding losses and delays. Student supports and interventions risk being suspended or cut from programming. This means that students who are already more disadvantaged feel the impacts of budget cuts more severely.
Pre-K programs like Head Start, that give our kids a leg up, are seeing less and less of their budgets fulfilled by the federal government.
Our state colleges and universities are being merged together forcing some students to travel to other campuses for coursework they need to graduate, while simultaneously cutting extra-curriculars.
The solution:
PA is not a poor state. We are leaving taxes on the table from corporations and the millionaire class, and that needs to stop. Here are some ways that money can help:
1) Support proposals to fully fund all state/federal education mandates.
2) Pushing for stop gap legislation that keeps legislators from being paid if they can’t pass a budget on time, while ensuring that State workers continue to be compensated based on the previous budget, instead of shutting down the State.
3) Help fund Head Start expansion and transportation needs.
4) Keep public funds in public schools, away from “Cyber Charter Schools” that lack oversight and accountability, and support institutions that cater to at-risk youth.
5) Support continuing education for graduates preparing to enter the workforce, whether it is through the State university system, or expanding to include trade school optins.PA’s students deserve the same leg up that the previous generations had with their schooling. I’ll be throwing my support into education initiatives from day one.
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Limiting Federal organizations power to infiltrate our communities and abduct our neighbors is Important! PA is not the place for detention centers or concentration camps. It’s a place for liberty and justice for all.
We may not have the same kind of power that DC has in terms of strong-arming federal agencies, but we aren’t powerless.
I support legislative efforts to demand that any law enforcement officer operating in the state must remain maskless, and carry a body camera.
We can also push for the Governor to utilize bureaucratic roadblocks to slow or halt the construction of theses proposed detention centers.
I am also in strong favor of automatic criminal charges at the state level to combat any kind of death and mistreatment happening in the ICE facilities in our borders.
We need to stand strong and make it clear that exploitation and harassment of our undocumented neighbors, looking for a better life and serving our communities, will not be tolerated.