ISSUE

Education is the heart of our nation, and as a product of our public education system, I believe that every child should have access to high quality education no matter their skin color, heritage, or economic means. Good education is essential for building a strong future for our community and our country. I commend the State Legislature for passing the Student Opportunity Act and Governor Baker for signing it into law, but the fight is not over. Now more than ever, our public schools require increased funding for the future of our students and fair compensation for our teachers. I promise to support and push for educational equity for our students and better pay for our teachers to ensure a bright future for the youth in our Commonwealth.

As your State Representative, I will keep residents in the 18th Middlesex District up to date on our work at the State House. I will create office hours so I can hear from you on a regular basis and represent your priorities. I will be accessible, and my goal is to help our community any way I can to make life better for us and better for our future and children’s future.

Supporting our local businesses during this economic recovery is a top priority on my agenda as we continue to recover from the ongoing pandemic. Lowell is one of 26 Gateway Cities in Massachusetts. That means much of the social and economic focus that fuels our jobs is beyond the City of Boston. From the colorful and diverse small businesses in Cambodia Town to the vibrant converted mill buildings in Western Ave Studios, I will support our local entrepreneurs and seek innovative ideas to ensure a robust economic recovery as we emerge from this pandemic. If I am elected to be your State Representative, I will welcome the opportunity to meet regularly with small business owners in my district to understand their needs and figure out how we can partner together to fill those needs. I promise to work with all legislators at the State House who want to help small and local businesses thrive.

Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Massachusetts residents deserve access to quality, affordable health care. Although the pandemic continues to affect our communities, we are in a much better position than we were at the start. We have vaccines, boosters, and masking, but most importantly, we trust the science, public health experts, local hospitals, and the medical communities. This is essential to protect our seniors, people with special needs, children, health care workers, and first responders. You can count on me to work by your side and be a champion on public health issues.

One of the most pressing issues of our time is climate change. Clean energy and investing in green jobs are the future of our Commonwealth. I support the transition to 100% renewable energy and reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 and will continue to support these initiatives for the future of our children for generations to come. We have the know-how to get this done—we just need the will. I will support legislation that brings us to our stated goals and beyond.

With the rise of Asian Hate and the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement nationally, it is clear that we need to address racism as what it is - A Public Health Crisis. But the harm done by racism goes deeper than the horrible incidents of violence against Asians wrongly vilified for bringing a virus to America, and the wrongful police killings of Black people because they were Black. Racism is a barrier to health equity. Communities of color have a higher percentage of COVID cases because they have less access to testing, treatment, and care. As your State Representative, I promise to stand in solidarity with my BIPOC brothers and sisters to fight for and to achieve equity for our diverse communities.