Improving Healthcare
In our broken healthcare system, people are forced to choose between high costs and partial coverage. At the same time, our rural hospitals are struggling to stay afloat. This system is unsustainable. I’ll work to make sure everyone on the Peninsula has access to affordable healthcare, no matter where they live, so our grandparents can age without fear and our children can access the health services they need on their way to adulthood whether that is affordable insulin or access to mental health services.
Creating Well-paid Jobs
Our region’s biggest export shouldn’t be our youth. We must ensure there are well-paying jobs on the Peninsula that can support young families. Projects that repair roads, build bridges, and improve our power supply can provide immediate employment opportunities and stimulate economic growth in our communities. I will use my office as a force for sustainable careers in the building trades. Strengthening the middle class is a critical priority, and I want to make it easier for people to get there.
Supporting Seniors
Our district is home to more seniors than anywhere else in the State. They should never have to worry about having a roof over their heads, keeping food on the table, or affording healthcare. Everyone should know that they can afford to live in the community they call home. I will improve protections for seniors in affordable housing and increase supportive services so seniors can lead healthy, full, and safe lives.
Investing In Rural Broadband
Broadband is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Whether you’re studying for an exam or running a small business, we all need access to a fast, reliable internet connection. I will work with our federal partners, tribal partners, and Public Utility Districts to lay more fiber, ensuring that everyone on the Olympic Peninsula can access high-speed internet in their homes.
Affordable Housing For All
Everyone deserves an affordable place to live. In our community, more than 50% of renters are cost-burdened, and for most young families, soaring interest rates and housing prices keep home-ownership out of reach. We have not built enough affordable housing in our communities. As home prices rise, new construction happens farther and farther from city centers, which in turn increases what we pay to maintain our roads, sewers, and water infrastructure. This pressures our county and city budgets, threatens our environment, and increases the cost of previously affordable housing. At the same time, the absence of affordable housing hurts our labor market, making it challenging for business owners to find employees, and for our public sector workers in schools, hospitals, and police stations to live in the communities they serve.
Addressing the challenge of housing will require a collaborative approach between the public and private sectors. We need to create a regulatory environment that encourages new construction but that does so in a sustainable way. We also need to increase public support of new construction so everyone on the Peninsula can afford a place to live.