I’m a mother, a physician, and a democratic socialist.
I believe that all people deserve great education, health care, housing, and everything we need to live safe, fulfilling lives. These are basic human needs that shouldn’t be limited by business interests.
We can have these things in Oregon and everywhere. But we’re up against a tiny number of rich and powerful people who live off of the profits they make from destroying the environment, waging war and genocide, and overworking and underpaying the working-class majority. They get richer precisely because we get poorer.
For the Many, Not the Few
We don’t have to accept crumbs from the billionaires. The working class has won enormous changes to society by building massive movements of regular people who forced change from the bottom up through collective action. It’s time for us to demand that the Oregon legislature tax the rich and support families with fully funded schools, a Universal Health Plan, a Renters’ Bill of Rights, and a Green New Deal.
Fully-Funded Public Schools
For decades, establishment politicians in both the Republican and Democratic Parties in Oregon have failed our students. As a mom of two and a Beaverton School Board Director, I’ve seen firsthand how educators are worked to the bone to try to make up for austerity budgets and out-of-touch administrators. Especially after the educational hardships families endured during the pandemic, we shouldn’t be closing schools, laying off teachers and support staff, and cramming kids into crowded, decaying facilities.
Instead, we need massive public investment into pre-school, K-12, community colleges, public universities, and trade schools. Nike and Intel should pay their fair share so that students of all backgrounds can have reasonable class sizes, on-site nurses and counselors, and enriching extracurriculars. All adults should be able to continue their education without taking on debt, and parents shouldn’t have to spend more than half their salary on childcare. Education unions are leading the way in advocating for quality public schools, and they have my full support.
Universal Health Plan
After 20 years as a physician, I’ve seen firsthand how insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and hospital executives exploit people when they are at their most vulnerable. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy, and many patients don’t get the care they need because the corporate system is so impossible to navigate. At the same time, healthcare workers are brutally overworked as hospitals are turned into assembly lines.
We deserve universal healthcare — including dental, vision, abortion, and gender-affirming care — free at the point of service without bureaucratic red tape.
In 2026, the Oregon legislature will begin considering a bill to implement a statewide Universal Health Plan. The insurance lobby will do everything they can to water down the bill until it’s rendered useless — but I won’t let that happen without a fight. I will champion the principles of a single-payer system like Medicare, made available to all Oregonians regardless of age or immigration status.
Renters’ Bill of Rights
The rent is too damn high! That drives up the price of houses, shutting first-time homebuyers out of the market completely. Housing is at the center of the both the affordability crisis and the rising rates of homelessness.
It’s time we challenge the interests of the real estate lobby and implement essential protections from abusive corporate landlords. The Renters’ Bill of Rights would protect kids from evictions during the school year, require six months notice for rent increases, establish the right to have a lawyer in eviction court, link the cost of rent to minimum wage, and more. A grassroots movement to get the Renters’ Bill of Rights enacted in Portland is making serious progress, and we need these policies statewide.
Abolish ICE
I am not running for office to publish strongly worded statements or to post pictures or to pass toothless resolutions. Fighting fascism and authoritarianism starts with doubling down on our democracy, our rights, and the rule of law.
First and foremost, I will never allow anyone to undermine Oregon’s landmark Sanctuary Promise Act. Oregon was the first state in the country to tell the Federal government that our immigrant community members are welcome here and they deserve dignity and respect. I will support any legislation that makes it harder for Federal immigration officers to operate in Oregon, including anti-mask legislation, prohibiting secret taskforces, and allowing Oregonians to sue Federal agents for violating their constitutionally protected rights. Finally, I will champion any legislation that funds critical services and emergency response for immigrant families who are traumatized by ICE assaults and detainments. Abolish ICE!
Green New Deal
Forty percent of Oregon’s carbon emissions come from transportation. We’ve waited far too long to take back our economy and infrastructure from the stranglehold of the fossil fuel industry. As a parent, I will do everything in my power to keep this planet livable for the next generation. As a physician, I want kids to grow up without asthma from pollution and injuries from automobile crashes.
The recent proposed TriMet cuts are a step backwards — we need massive state investment in buses and trains that run on renewable energy. For instance, I support the Beaverton Loop project and Frequent Express line on TV Highway, which will shorten commutes and make it safer and easier to walk or bike around town. We need expanded public transit services across the state.
In addition to the above priorities, I will work to:
- Defend Oregonians’ civil rights in the face of Trump’s authoritarian policies
- End Oregon’s investments in war, including the genocide of Palestinians
- Expand union protections and aggressively hold companies to account for violating workers’ rights
- Protect transgender people of all ages from discrimination and violence