VOTE411 Voter Guide

As a pediatrician and an early childhood policy lead, I do think we need more investment in the preschool years, to improve Kindergarten readiness, We need more social-emotional support in the schools (including in pre-schools), as we know kids are struggling with behavioral health issues. And we need more funding for teachers and ancillary staff, so that we can give children more attention.

I would like to review the school funding formula and strive for the quality education model "per student" funding goals. This must come with data collection so that we understand what is and what is not working for kids. And we do need to hold schools and districts accountable for implementing evidence-based curricula and interventions.

We have historically underinvested in both of these sectors, and are desperately playing catch up. But we are investing more than ever in these sectors.

We need to fund more affordable housing and we need to subsidize rent to get and to keep people housed. We need to provide wrap around services when needed for behavioral health challenges.

Over the past several years, the state has allocated record funding for addiction treatment, including for youth. Still, it is crucial that we work to prevent addiction, with upstream investments starting in childhood. We must treat parent behavioral health issues, reduce poverty (and the toxic stress that comes with it), and improve access to safe and stable housing and healthy nutrition.

School districts are the conveners of these programs, and the state should fund them, in addition to the baseline K-12 funding.

More support for students and their teachers, diminish the overwhelming political influence - but not their collective bargaining rights - of the people in between ("Big Ed."), and expunge wokeness. (I realize not everyone in HD 34 wants to build his or her life on Christian ethics, but be aware wokeness has no moral basis except for the attack itself, with feelings and intellect.) I see a parallel challenge in our health care system with Big Health standing tall in between a patient and his or her medical practitioner. A lot of money goes to these middlemen and please notice their endorsements of my opponent. I rather have legislative hearings about the curricula they push.

These are two different issues. First, in HD 34, public safety is a bigger concern and therefore maintaining proper funding of the Sheriff's Office. My opponent does not do enough - if anything - for public safety. Second: Many Christians work and volunteer in this field and their freedom of speech should not be infringed upon in respect to the underlying basis to encourage hope. Treatment with pharmaceuticals can be used in that realm, but our current delivery system seems limited to coping with problems, not an instrument to resurrect lives. Money is an answer, but we are seeing to overcome addiction it is only part of the solution. What if a person does not want to be healed? I do appreciate in our state we do not mandate treatment!

We should take a hard look how our state spends our money, for re-allocation of some of it. Moreover, our state budget has far outpaced inflation during the past two decades. This is not sustainable. Perhaps the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) could be a better stimulant, especially helping parents, whom their children see are working hard, by taking responsibility to work with employers to improve work-place safety in mental health care for example. Work with - but not vilifying - employers to perfect working conditions in which workers thrive, are reliable and productive because they don't have to worry as much about the well-being of dependents they love. I rather have legislative hearings about that than more bills.