Advocating for Disability Rights
Kathy is a tireless advocate for Americans with disabilities and their families. Her firsthand experience advocating for her daughter who has a disability gives her a unique, “in-the-trenches” perspective on what Florida families go through to get the health care and services their loved ones need. Kathy will be your trusted advocate in Tallahassee who will fight for citizens with disabilities to end dysfunctional bureaucracy in our government agencies and ensure that all persons with disabilities have fair and equal access to health care, education, housing, and employment.
Improving Health Care
Kathy believes that every human being deserves equal and easy access to quality, affordable health care. Kathy will work to expand Medicare and Medicaid in Florida by accepting the federal funding already paid for by our taxes. Kathy will introduce legislation to streamline administrative operations that lead to unacceptable wait times and undue financial burdens for families. She will fight to reduce the fraud, waste, and excess bureaucracy in Florida’s health and human services agencies including Medicaid, Medicare and Medwaiver. Kathy will work to establish lower prescription drug costs and health care premiums and better access to mental health services to help families.
Standing up for Workers and Families
For Kathy, ending poverty is a personal mission. Raised by a firefighter and a homemaker in one of the worst neighborhoods in the nation, Kathy fought her way out of a seemingly unwinnable situation of poverty. She has dedicated her life to empowering people to improve their lives through hard work and education, yet she understands the clear and urgent need for systematic reform to protect and assist the most at-risk workers and families. In Tallahassee, Kathy will fight to establish a Universal Basic Income for persons living at or below the poverty level and work toward implementing a minimum living wage of $18 per hour.
Fighting for LGBTQ+ Rights
Kathy believes in equal rights for all citizens, especially the marginalized persons of the LGBTQ+ community. Kathy will fight to expand protections for LGBTQ+ citizens from discrimination and ensure their safety. She will work diligently in the Florida Senate to guarantee all LGBTQ+ people have fair and equal access to employment, housing, health care, and education, and to repeal Florida’s discriminatory definition of marriage.
Ending Gun Violence
Ending gun violence is a personal mission for Kathy whose mother survived being shot with a stray bullet. Kathy will do everything in her power to legislate policy that provides evidence-based solutions to the needless scourge of gun violence. She believes that banning assault weapons and closing gun show loopholes save lives. Kathy will introduce legislation to tax ammunition sales to fund the expansion of mental health and education programs, policies, and facilities and ensure that our communities are safe for families.
Protecting our Environment
Florida’s economy depends on a healthy ecosystem to support our tourism industries, public health, and the many small businesses that are reliant on a clean environment. Kathy’s vote will always protect our state’s valuable resources and the beautiful state parks and public land that our children will inherit. Kathy will ensure a safe and sustainable environment that families expect, businesses depend on, and travelers from all over the world come to enjoy. From eliminating single-use plastic bags and expanding renewable, economically sound energy sources for business and public institutions, to helping small business owners to maintain environmental standards without cutting profits, Kathy will fight to keep Florida clean and green.
Improving and Funding Education
Kathy is a living example of the power of education. She knows that quality, accessible education offers a brighter future and better opportunities for Florida families and their children. Kathy sees public education as an essential obligation of government and will work to improve education by discontinuing high-stakes end-of-grade testing and redirect that funding to increase teacher salaries. Kathy will fight for sensible laws to make our schools safe and secure for students and teachers.
Reforming Our Criminal Justice System
Kathy will fight to end inequitable practices in our state law enforcement by hiring only qualified applicants and expanding training in non-violent conflict resolution to help prevent escalations to violence. Kathy will propose legislation to create a database of law enforcement officers who were terminated for professional misconduct, because she believes that moving a problem does not fix the problem.
Reforming Florida’s Emergency Response and Preparedness
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida has seen unprecedented numbers of citizens lose their livelihoods and having to navigate an unemployment system that was seemingly designed to deter users from accessing much needed unemployment assistance. Florida’s response to COVID-19 has been disorganized and lacking in measures focused on saving lives. Kathy believes we need a robust and thorough plan developed with the expert advice of scientists and public health professionals to deal with the current pandemic and to prepare Florida for future pandemics with our citizens’ health and safety as our priority.