4-year term, limited to two consecutive terms, $12,000Members of the country’s only unicameral legislative body create laws and make the rules for Nebraskans under certain constitutional limitations. This body also oversees many health care services and decides how much money public schools (from kindergartens to colleges) receive each year. If you are concerned about who pays how much in taxes and how those funds get spent, this is a very important election.
Education
Undergraduate: University of Kansas, double major in Political Science and Women's Studies. Graduate: American University Washington College of Law, Juris Doctor
Current Public Office, dates
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Past Public Office, dates held
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Military experience
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Volunteer experience
I have served on the Lincoln Pedestrian/Bicycle Advisory Committee as well as a Member of the Board for The Bridge Behavioral Health. I have also previously served as a youth mentor for TeamMates for a number of years.
The Nebraska Constitution states that it is the responsibility of the state to fund our public schools. We have made significant investments in our education system, but we must continue to provide stable funding to our local school districts so that our teachers have the tools and support they need to give our kids a great education. This is also critical to the property tax issue: if we do not provide stable funding, school districts will be forced to increase property taxes, which we want to avoid. In order to meet our responsibilities, we must be good stewards of state tax dollars, which includes listening to voters and keeping public dollars in public schools.
Businesses come where the people are. We need to bring more people into our state if we want to grow our economy. While business incentives have a place, we have seen reckless decisions to shell out corporate incentives to out of state companies who have failed to live up to their end of the bargain to bring jobs into our state. Meanwhile, we have seen repeated attempts to raise sales taxes on working people, cut childcare subsidies, and to remove workforce safety protections. In order to grow our economy, we need more people, which means we need to make Nebraska the best place to live, work, and raise a family. That means investing in our communities, making everyday life more affordable, and putting people over corporate profits.
As District 26’s voice in the legislature, I will always stand up and defend my district, but many of the problems we face in Northeast Lincoln are shared by our neighbors. Of course, each district has its own dynamics and specific considerations, but statewide we have seen the prices of everyday goods jump over the last few years, property taxes are unsustainable for many families, healthcare and childcare is unaffordable if available at all, etc. I don’t believe in “one size fits all solutions”, but I am committed to working in a way where we find solutions that work for all of our communities.
Constituent feedback is essential to my work as District 26’s senator. Many of the bills that I have brought and passed were ideas brought to me by constituents who were facing an issue in their life. I am also very appreciative of all the folks who take their time to tell me their story whether it's an email to my office, a phone call, or when I am out canvassing the district. It is my job as a state senator to listen to the people of my district and serve as the link between them and their government.
Many students are not reaching the same level of education as previous years. We have students graduating who's reading comprehension isn't at even a high school level.
Less bureaucratic red tape and more economic freedom
Focusing on utilities and infrastructure utilized by both as a priority.
All elected positions are Public Servants, so it is one's duty to serve the public faithfully while balancing the constraints of reality.
