Public Safety Matters.
It’s no secret that public safety in New York has all but collapsed. The policies of the Democrat monopoly in Albany have taken us from the safest big city in America to a lawless war zone with shocking alacrity. How did this happen? Unchecked single-party monopoly power, driven by a radical ideology which seeks to upend our social order.
And their crowning achievement? A bail reform law which serves no other purpose but to release criminals without any consequence. And the results have been catastrophic. Double and triple-digit spikes in armed robberies, assaults, and even murder. District Attorneys who refuse to even prosecute criminals when they’re arrested. And every single day another unthinkable atrocity splashes across the news. When will it end?
It will end when we vote for it to end. None of these issues happened by accident. It is all a direct result of bad decisions by our elected officials. And the only way to restore order to our communities is to vote for the change we need. We cannot continue to vote for the same politicians from the same party and expect different results.
As your State Senator I will work from DAY ONE to repeal the disastrous bail reform laws, hold radical District Attorneys accountable, and ensure criminals face appropriate consequences. Period.
COVID Policy Matters.
The Coronavirus hit New York hard, and our leaders failed to protect our most vulnerable. Our elderly population suffered tremendous loss due to woefully mishandled quarantine policies which put them directly in harm’s way, despite being the most vulnerable to the effects of the virus. And then the same politicians and bureaucrats responsible for this tragedy went on to create another tragedy — this time impacting everyone. Lockdowns, mandates, and often incomprehensibly contradictory rules have hobbled our economy, left a generation of children educationally stunted, and put tens of thousands of our neighbors out of work.
Everyone in our state should have the absolute right to work without being hindered by government mandates, especially now more than ever. Bureaucratic edicts that leave no room for medical, religious, or other objections have only exacerbated the serious economic and social crisis we’re facing. Our first responders and medical personnel, who we applauded every night at as they worked through the height of the pandemic, should not be losing their livelihoods because of a personal medical decision. Nor should anyone else. Schools should not have stricter mask requirements than bars. Custodial staff at Madison Square Garden should not face stricter restrictions than the wealthy athletes and celebrities who perform there. The rest of the country and world has largely moved on from the darkest days of COVID. It’s time for our policy to reflect that reality.
In the State Senate I will fight to ensure our vaccines and treatments are widely available to all who want and need them, and will fight just as hard to end all COVID-era mandates and restrictions. We must move on.
Small Business Matters.
According to the New York Times, one-third of all of New York’s small businesses that shut down during the pandemic will likely be gone forever. This is a catastrophe which will be felt for generations to come — small business is the backbone of our economy, the cornerstone of our middle class, and a key driver of generational wealth, especially for immigrant communities. Loss of small business at this scale will have ripple effects on our socioeconomic landscape and may not even be fully understood for years. It is especially tragic when we realize that most of these losses were not necessary, and that open hostility towards small business exists quite comfortably in the modern Democratic party.
The truly sad fact is that Albany’s longstanding anti-small business agenda was already crushing our small business community, and the pandemic only pushed many over the cliff they were already heading for anyway. Albany’s political monopoly is hollowing out our most vibrant economic sector with ridiculous taxes, byzantine regulations, and skyrocketing energy costs — all designed to crush small business and empower the major corporations who bankroll their campaigns.
This must end now. We have to reduce taxes for SMALL businesses, not big corporations, and eliminate the bureaucracy and regulations which cripple our small businesses. We must reduce operating costs, especially energy costs, and incentivize entrepreneurship so the next generation can actually afford to set up shop here in NY and not take their innovation and investment to another state.
During the height of the pandemic, big businesses were allowed to stay open while small businesses were forcibly shut down — two weeks to flatten the curve quickly became two years of heartache for small business owners who simply wanted to support themselves and their families. That is precisely why we are proposing a retroactive 2-year tax moratorium for small businesses, as well as additional subsidies to make up for the lockdown-era gains that only went to large corporations. The culture of New York State is deeply rooted in our diverse menagerie of small businesses — if our state is to thrive, we must create an environment that allows them to thrive as well.
Home Ownership Matters.
The American Dream is dying in New York. Homeownership, which is the most effective avenue to building generational wealth, has plummeted among younger generations as the New York State government pushes for a “renters’ economy”.
Massive multinational corporations and hedge funds are buying up homes across the country above the asking price and outbidding young couples, only to rent it back to them above the price of an average mortgage.
To prevent this from happening in New York, we must preemptively cap the amount of land that any given corporation can own on the state level.
Young couples are starting families later and later due to the intense financial burdens that hold them back, and many are leaving our state for better conditions elsewhere. In order for New York to survive for generations to come, we MUST incentivise home ownership and family creation; therefore, as your State Senator, I would propose that newlywed couples automatically qualify for a forgivable $10,000 family loan.
If the couple stays together for 5 years and remains in New York for at least that long, the loan would be completely forgiven. New York State should also provide a child tax credit in order to encourage young people to get married and start families. We will have no future to speak of unless our younger generations can achieve success and independence. Home ownership and a cohesive family are a huge part of that equation.
Elder Care Matters.
Our elderly population has been ignored and disregarded for far too long.
At the height of the pandemic (under the Cuomo administration), our elderly were left to die in nursing homes — and there has so far been little to no accountability for the gross negligence that led to upwards of 12,000 deaths.
We must make the investigation into this egregious mismanagement a top priority and bring those responsible for it to justice.
To help the elderly that live in our state, we are proposing a $500 state-sponsored supplement to Social Security. The price of living in New York is only rising and our elderly should have the means to stay in the neighborhoods they spent their whole lives building.
Education Matters.
New York State’s education system is failing our students and the future of our nation.
Students are emerging from our schools ill-prepared for higher education and even the very basics of the real world. Critical skills are being ignored, and thus far we have been simply lowering the bar rather than raising it and encouraging high achievement.
I’m staunch advocate for school choice policies to be implemented on the state level; no child should be trapped in a failing school environment because of their zip code.
We must also ban academic poisons like CRT and perverse Drag Queen Story Hour events from the classroom, and ensure that our teachers are opening our children’s minds to new ideas and encouraging critical thinking, not teaching children what to think or confusing them with hypersexual topics they are not yet ready for. Parents should be privy to and able to provide their input on what their children are being taught in schools.
Any form of education that teaches American history in a disingenuous manner and divides children by race must be kept out of the classroom; in the most diverse borough in the world especially, children must never be taught that they will go through life being hindered by the color of their skin.
Homelessness Matters.
Homelessness in New York State is a crisis that our government has yet to provide effective and long-lasting solutions for. The vast majority of our homeless population have crippling mental health issues, drug addiction, or a combination of the two.
This issue has become more and more prominent as New Yorkers have suffered through the economic catastrophe of the last two years.
It has become clear that we must do more than simply shuffling people around in an overcrowded, poorly maintained, and dangerous shelter system, or warehousing them in converted hotels where they do not receive the treatment they need and become a danger to themselves, each other, and the surrounding community.
Those facing mental illness or addiction should be provided the resources to receive care in facilities staffed by trained professionals, not in haphazardly built shelters in our communities that are steps away from schools.
In order to treat the most downtrodden among us with dignity, we must provide them with human-centered, compassionate help. New York State needs to provide the infrastructure to connect homeless people - especially homeless families - with job opportunities and affordable housing that will help them get back on their feet. Such facilities exist — and many are sitting nearly empty throughout our state right this very minute, as those in desperate need of care continue to suffer on the streets.
Animal Welfare Matters.
We are not a truly progressive society unless we work to protect our animals. The Bible calls for us to be stewards of the Earth and to do so we must do away with the current practice of euthanizing dogs and cats in our shelters. Our shelter workers are not to blame; they are put in impossible positions because of a lack of space, staff, and funding. Here is just one report of massive overcrowding that led to dogs and cats being left in hallways and under tables. It is imperative that we properly fund our shelters on the state level and invest in organizing Trap, Neuter, and Release (TNR) teams throughout the city.
There are already so many New Yorkers who do TNR at their own expense and risk, with limited or close to no help or incentive from the government. Providing resources and funding to neuter stray animals will help maintain stable shelter populations and will help us move towards the goal of making New York a no-kill state. The animal foster care system is also a key component of relieving our shelters of intense overcrowding. I would vote YES for Assembly Bill A652, a bill that would give $125 to people who adopt a pet from a shelter or humane society, but I would also extend that credit to those who foster animals, for they are often the only barrier that prevents an animal from being euthanized.