Education

The Idaho Constitution requires that the Idaho Legislature establish and maintain “a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.” And the reason it requires that is because the stability of our government depends “mainly on the intelligence of the people.”

I will work to improve Idaho public schools at all levels, P-16. In addition to fighting to restore our K-12 school funding back to FY 2008-09 levels, I support efforts to improve early childhood learning and to ensure that all Idaho students can read at grade level by 3rd grade.  I will also fight for a full implementation of the Governor’s Education Task Force recommendations.

Equality

My history of supporting workplace diversity efforts is rooted in experiencing perceived and actualized discrimination. In working for companies that value diversity, I also learned first-hand how all employees work more productively in an environment where everyone knows that they are valued.

I believe that workers should be evaluated on the quality of their work and not external factors like gender, race, or sexual orientation. I will work to protect and improve the rights of women, of people with disabilities, of people from different racial backgrounds, and the LGBT community.

Economy

Businesses are attracted to locations with strong schools. They know that their employees will have a great place to raise families, and that high school and college graduates will be ready to work for their companies. We also need to reinvest in our local economy so that Idaho money stays in Idaho. We also need jobs that pay a living wage so that Idaho college graduates will be able to stay in Idaho while raising their families as well as paying off their ever increasing student loan debt.

I believe that in order to attract new businesses to Idaho, we must reinvest in our schools and in our youth. Further, I support increasing the pay for minimum wage workers to stimulate the economy and to improve the quality of life for some of our hardest working citizens.