Candidate, United States House of Representatives, New Jersey, District 8, 2016

No caucus information on file.

Teacher, Public School, present

Former Employee, New Jersey Department of the Treasury

President, Board of Trustees, The Elizabeth Public Library, present

Reason for Seeking Public Office:

I am passionate about social justice and reform. As a young progressive Democrat, I have been fortunate to benefit from policies that allowed me to enter the middle class. I don't owe anyone any favors and I don't take money from special interest groups. I believe the middle class needs to be represented by someone who is middle class. I cannot afford to quit my job nor do I have hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest in this campaign. What I do have is a passion to represent and advocate for the needs our residents. I am fierce advocate of honest and transparent government.

Government works best when it is accountable to the people and government cannot be accountable if our elections are noncompetitive. Ultimately, I am running for office in order to do my part in helping all children achieve their full potential. Our problems may seem immense but I am fully optimistic in our ability in renewing the promise of the American dream but we can only do that with representation that believes that everyone is worthy of dignity. Some of you may not always agree with me, but what I can pledge to you is that I will always be ethical.

The majority of our excitement in our political system exists only in the Presidential Election. However, The Congress is a co-equal branch of government and without strong progressives in Congress, we will not make legislative progress in our country. We need effective representatives who will be relentless in our advocating for progressive causes.

I am not a candidate who is politically connected or one with millions of dollars. I am a middle class teacher who believes that the middle and working class should be represented by someone who has lived their everyday experience. I believe that government should be honest, transparent and available to the public. This only occurs when people are able to feel invested in their government. I know the value of a dollar and will work my hardest to bring back every dollar from DC to the 8th district.