THE CHANGE WE NEED.
Equitable healthcare.
My parents came here for the American Dream. Unfortunately, too many Americans are living in a nightmare where, even in the age of Obamacare, medical debt is STILL the number one cause of personal bankruptcy. Access to medical care is a human right. Period. Every other developed nation treats it as such. Every other developed nation has better health outcomes than we do. Politicians who don’t acknowledge this have been bought and paid for by those who benefit most from our inhumane system. My generation must finally put an end to this cycle. Medicare For All reduces healthcare costs, improves health outcomes, and ensures that no one goes without the medical care that they need.
not contributing to harm abroad.
When my parents escaped the Liberian Civil War and came to the U.S. as refugees, my mom had to leave her oldest child behind in order to have the opportunity to bring him to the U.S. later. War, and the strategizing that my family had to do in order to escape it, literally separated my mother from her child. I KNOW -firsthand- the pain that families who are caught in the crosshairs of conflict are forced to deal with, even if they are fortunate enough to be able to start over in a safer place. This is one of many reasons why I was the first -and so far the only- elected official in Snohomish County to call for a ceasefire in Gaza (I did so early on, in November 2023), why I refuse to accept any money from groups like AIPAC, and why I have been endorsed by groups like Track AIPAC.
I come from a family that was forced to flee for their lives because of war and unthinkable violence. I won’t ever support U.S. weapons or tax dollars being used to put other families through the same thing.
The Seattle Times published a photo that shows Josh as part of a group holding the Palestinian flag at a pro-Palestinian rights rally in Olympia, WA during lobby week.
Mental health resources.
We are currently experiencing a mental health crisis in America, especially among our young people. On Lynwood City Council I spearheaded an effort aimed at fighting this by putting specially trained, mental health clinicians in Elementary, Middle and High Schools across the city. I led the call for hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for this initiative that now sets an example for other cities to follow. I will do the same thing in Congress.
housing for all.
I grew up in Section 8 housing in Rhode Island and have personally experienced housing instability at different times in my life. The difference between me and someone sleeping on the street is that I had the couches of friends that I could sleep on until I was able to fix my situation. On the opposite side of that spectrum, I have also worked in real estate and I have an insider’s understanding of how our system works and who it was designed to benefit.
Even with that, I am still not a homeowner myself. Almost no one in my generation is. The affordable housing crisis in America has priced an entire generation out of being able to become homeowners. This is unprecedented and the long-term consequences of this on our economy are bleak.
Finding affordable housing should not be as difficult as it is in America today. The federal government needs to do a better job of incentivizing and subsidizing affordable housing. We also need to implement more renter-friendly protections that aim to keep people housed, even if they are going through a tough time. Solving the affordable housing crisis, finding homes for the unhoused, and ensuring that today’s young people will be able to afford homes of their own one day is one of the reasons why I got into politics and I look forward to more leaders from my generation stepping up to find a solution to one of the defining issues of our time.
supporting workers and unions.
In 2022, the pay disparity between S&P 500 CEOs and the average U.S. worker was 272-1. I have been a union worker, working as a mechanic at Boeing. I have also been a security guard working the night shift at one of the nation’s largest tech companies. My dad is STILL a union worker at Boeing. My quality of life is so strongly linked to the strength of the unions that either I or my parents have worked for. I stand with our union workers, I stand with our hourly workers. I am one of you and I will fight for your rights, always.
more accessible education.
Because of the engineering certificate that I was able to earn while I was in high school, I was fortunate enough to be able to have a full-time, salaried job while I attended full-time college. This enabled me to pay for my classes myself and avoid having student debt. Student debt is a full-blown crisis in America that impacts nearly every young person I know. Not only am I a proponent of tuition-free, four-year public universities, but I will also champion skill-specific certificate programs like the engineering program that I was able to benefit from at such a young age. There should be many paths that lead to the American dream, instead of our current system where young people are told that the only way to get there is to saddle themselves with 5- or 6-figures-worth of debt before their careers even begin.
addressing climate change.
All of the tools that we need to prevent catastrophic levels of climate change already exist. The problem isn’t a lack of technology, but a lack of willpower from our current elected leaders. This is abundantly clear among members of my generation, and doing everything within our power to prevent climate-related disasters is non-negotiable with us. Young people feel the urgency of climate change everyday. The failure of current elected leaders to properly address this issue is one of the biggest reasons why candidates such as myself need to step up and take charge. Stopping the funding and subsidizing of fossil fuels is a no brainer. Funding the expansion of renewable energy sources prevents climate change while creating jobs at the same time. It is one of many solutions that is a win-win for both people and planet. The beautiful future that all of us dream of is possible and within our grasp, if only our leaders were bold enough to take the action that is needed.
IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS.
As a frequent transit rider, I know firsthand how under invested America is when it comes to public transportation compared to the rest of the world. We need to invest in a system where taking public transit is the most convenient option, along with the cheapest. We need to expand public transit networks, fully invest in our infrastructure, make walking and cycling more accessible both within our communities and as a means of commute, and create a system that allows for Americans to be less dependent on expensive, polluting cars.
Solving america’s gun problem.
Growing up in the projects on the East Coast, gun violence was a consistent part of daily life, something that I had hoped I would be able to leave behind when I moved to Western Washington. Unfortunately, even in the safer confines of District 2, I still had classmates and friends who wound up being killed by guns. Today’s students are sick and tired of having to worry about not being safe while at school. Parents are sick and tired of living with the uniquely American fear that their children could be gunned down while shopping at a mall. And all of us are collectively tired of our representatives in Congress not doing even the bare minimum required to put an end to this madness. From gang violence to school shooters, domestic abuse to suicides, guns are one of the leading causes of death in the United States and we need to elect bold leaders who aren’t afraid to take a tough stand on this issue. We need stricter gun control laws, enhanced background checks, more accessible gun safety programs, comprehensive mental health support, and funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives NOW.
proactive public safety.
Community investment has never been more important than it is right now. I am someone who has experienced living in a chronically under-invested area on the East Coast, who then moved to an area where when I walked into my first day of school, my high school was so nice that I thought it was a castle. I have personally experienced the benefits of what can happen to your life when you live in a community that invests in its people, and especially in its future generations. I want every child in District 2 to benefit from the same level of community-based investment that I benefited from when I first moved here. For many cities and towns, this will mean choosing to invest more in programs and resources that support the community in a more holistic way, than in programs that over-police and arrest people.
Police are an active and important part of community resources, meant to work in sync with social services, not instead of them. Our policing systems are overburdened with police being asked to field mental health-related calls and other issues that fall outside of the very specific training that police officers receive. It’s time to give both our police and our communities a break by working to share the burden of public safety between real-time crime clean-up and crime prevention that can only happen if all members of a community feel more secure and stable.