Supporting, Protecting, and Strengthening Virginia

Increasing Housing Access and Reducing Homelessness 

Between Summer 2021-Summer 2023, Roanoke experienced a 54% increase in homelessness. This past year saw another 12% increase, according to a new Blue Ridge Continuum of Care report.  I will work to increase available housing, including housing affordable to people of low and moderate incomes.  I also will help those social service organizations that are instrumental to helping transition people off of the streets and into permanent, secure housing. 

Reducing Gun violence

Gun deaths have steadily increased in Virginia over the last decade. From 2013 to 2022, the gun death rate increased 47%. There are reasonable, effective, and implementable options to make our communities safer from gun violence.  Kids don’t need bulletproof backpacks – they need decisive action from their elected representatives. 

Improving Education

Education is the pathway to opportunity in America, but our community is being held back by the State Government.  School leaders in the Roanoke district have stated that we need a new high school to address overcrowding. Having a low student/teacher ratio has been shown time and time again to be one of the best indicators of academic success.  Student overcrowding in our area has and will continue to lead to lower academic outcomes for our children.  Our kids deserve better. I will demand that school funding at the State level meet the needs of our community. 

Ensuring Reproductive Freedom

Safe access to abortion and maternal healthcare isn’t just a women’s issue it’s a human issue. Everyone deserves the right to make decisions about their own body, health, and future.

Restricting access to legal, medically supervised abortion doesn’t just stop people from getting abortions, it stops doctors from doing their jobs. It puts lives at risk, leaving healthcare providers afraid to act, even in emergencies. It puts pregnant people in danger, especially those facing life-threatening complications. And it causes devastating stress for families, partners, parents, children, watching their loved ones suffer because a broken system puts politics over care.

Reproductive healthcare is about dignity, safety, and justice. That includes affordable access to contraception, addressing the maternal mortality crisis, especially in Black and marginalized communities, and ensuring that no one is denied care because of who they are, where they live, or how much money they have.

As your representative, I will fight to protect access to abortion and comprehensive reproductive healthcare for everyone who needs it because no one should be denied the care they deserve.

Strengthening Worker Protections

Year after year, protections for workers have been stripped back.  Unions have been weakened, leading to employees being exploited by their employers.  While shareholders get rich, the working class gets poorer. I will work to strengthen worker protections, closing loopholes for wrongful termination and discrimination. I will advocate for employees who want to start a union and will support existing labor organizations to get the wages and benefits they deserve so they can prosper from their hard work.