Why are you running now, and what makes you the right candidate for this moment?
Well, I never thought I'd be running for Congress because my passion is teaching, but I'm running now because democracy is hanging on by a thread. I have spent my entire life teaching students separation of powers, checks and balances, rule of law. That is not what we see going on and I feel like it's time for a teacher's voice to be in the halls of Congress.
Why am I the best candidate for this job? We have never had a rural candidate before, and I think in order for us to win CD2, we need to have somebody who has been a public servant their whole life, who understands the rules, and I know the rules inside and out. And if we are ever going to flip this seat from red to blue and bring people together, you're going to need to have somebody that knows the rurals and understands the issues that they deal with, and also understanding the big cities as well.
What do you think is the top issue, and what is your plan to address it if elected?
Well, the top issue is affordability. It's the economy. I don't care if you live in Reno or you live in West Wendover, one of the towns in between North and South or along I-80, people are having a hard time affording gas in their tank, putting food on the table, finding affordable housing and having any kind of money left over at the end of the paycheck. I just see that it’s getting worse and worse and worse. We need to get rid of the tax cuts for the super wealthy that were made permanent.
As a history teacher, I look at our economy today, and I see it as the Gilded Age economy, where the corporations at the top are consolidating the industries. You take the healthcare industry, for instance, [where] you have two or three people that own the insurance companies or corporations that own the insurance and they own the hospital, doctors and equipment that go in it. I am a people over profits and communities over corporations. But I'd like to kind of backtrack a little bit; my number one issue is saving democracy.
How will you represent the entire district, from the urban areas to the rural and tribal parts of northern Nevada?
I know the district. I've lived there for 26 years. I have traveled the district over and over and over since I got into this race almost a year ago. I'm still teaching full time, but in the evenings and on the weekends, I'm in my car driving from community to community, listening to the people. I just want people to know that, like I’ve said, I may not be wealthy and I may not be well connected, but I have the passion. I’m hard working, I have the knowledge, I have the skill set, and I’m ready to work hard.
