Priorities

I am totally in favor of expanding access to absentee ballots and allowing early voting in CT. Can you believe we're one of only 4 states that don't have any form of early voting!?

That means a commitment to homes; food; education; health care; transportation; and clean, open spaces. In New Haven, especially, we need to focus on data driven policies for improving education outcomes and increasing affordable housing.

Pursuing any and all research-backed remedies for climate change and methods of reducing carbon emissions state-wide.

I was 15 when the Columbine school shooting occurred, and it seems like mass shootings, particularly at schools, have been commonplace ever since. I remember it was terrifying at the time, but it felt like an aberration - something that wasn't going to happen near me. By the time the massacre at Sandy Hook happened, I was 29 and knew that gun violence was all around us.

In an extraordinarily cruel twist of fate, the politicization of gun control laws has had a disproportionate impact on children. Those who are not victims of gun violence face regular retraumatization from active shooter drills during class time.

Gun control laws make perfect sense and are, in no way, antithetical to an individual's freedom. Making licensing and safety into a political issue is wrong and puts children (and everyone else) at risk. Let's remove the burden of our collective inaction from kids and put it squarely back on the shoulders of adults, particularly law makers.

Updating CT government and municipal systems using technology to increase transparency, access to crucial data, and security.

I especially want to make sure we are investing resources for small businesses in underserved communities to succeed. New Haven has some great small business incubators whose alumni contribute to the richness of life in the city. I am also excited about the economic opportunities (and revenue) that legal cannabis can bring to New Haven and Connecticut.

To build trust and make civic life more accessible to CT residents.

We need to fund diversion programs for youth and non-violent crime; and explore restorative justice programs that build up, rather than destroy our communities. And we absolutely must end cash bail in CT.