Deb on the Issues

Prioritize Affordable Housing with High Speed Internet Access: House District 60, and Boone County overall, have a severe lack of low and middle-income housing, as recognized by Boone County Judge Executive, Gary Moore. We need to seek out high quality developers who will help make this investment in our community a priority. All areas of House District 60 and across Boone County need to include access to high speed internet. There are many "drop zones" across our area that need to be rectified. With so many jobs that are either remote or hybrid positions, it is imperative that this service is available and affordable to everyone.

​

Invest in Accessible Public Transportation and Improved Infrastructure: Many families do not have reliable transportation or limited transportation in order to get to work, the grocery store, kids' activities, etc. Access to this service is also good for our environment as it decreases the number of cars on the road. We need to work with the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky to increase services to our communities. Additionally, we need to add and/or replace many of our sidewalks, address the issue of increased traffic on Frogtown Rd, and more. I will seek out funding from Frankfort, all grant opportunities, as well as partnerships with local businesses who would be served by increased public transportation and improved infrastructure in order to make these things happen.

Fully fund our Public Schools: Taking inflation into account, our current SEEK funding is 26% below 2008 levels despite just under a 3% increase in spending this year. This demonstrates just how far below recommended levels we are. This is also why I am strongly against any charter school or voucher programs which would take the property taxes you and I pay to fund our public schools and send them to out-of-district private schools. We need to keep our property tax dollars in House District 60. Further, both Ryle and Cooper High Schools need to be expanded again. I will fight for the money from Frankfort to see that these expansions can move forward in order to decrease overcrowding and to recruit quality teachers to add to our already amazing school staff in Boone County. Ask any NKY realtor, and they will tell you that much of the growth in Union is due to new families wanting their children to attend our award-winning public schools. Providing our teachers and staff with an across the board 11% salary increase will improve teacher retention and new teacher recruiting. Currently, teacher salaries in Kentucky are ranked 41st nationally. If we want the best, we must invest! Providing high quality teachers, staff, and facilities will ensure continued growth and economic investment in our community.

Expand Affordable and Accessible Healthcare and Deliver Good-Paying Jobs: No one should ever have to choose between seeking medical care, whether it be a dental, visual, mental health or other issue and buying groceries or paying monthly bills. No one should ever go broke paying for that care. For most individuals, their health insurance is directly tied to their employer. For far too many others, that isn't even a benefit of their job. Part of a good-paying job is ensuring that employees are cared for with affordable health care coverage. This is why it's so important to support our unions! They help to fight for workers' rights and the benefits and wages that help our working families thrive. Such companies should be rewarded. Further, whether the issue is women's reproductive health or mandated vaccines, every human being is entitled to bodily autonomy and to make decisions about their own health care. Who an individual chooses to make their choices with is also their decision to make. The government has no place in these choices. As long as every person of sound mind is making fully informed decisions and recognizes that they will bear the consequences of those choices. Who are we to interfere? I will fight for medical freedom for all people and for the expansion of Medicaid and the services it covers across the Commonwealth.
 

​End the cycles of Abuse - Animal Abuse, Child Abuse, and Domestic Violence: Kentucky is currently ranked #2 in domestic violence, #5 in animal abuse (an improvement from #1 just 4 years ago, a spot held for a decade), and #14 in child abuse (a dramatic improvement from #6 just a year ago). These statistics are are daunting despite some improvements. When it comes to child abuse, most victims are under 4 years old. It is a moral imperative that we address these issues and do everything we can to provide proper training to our police officers and first responders for dealing with each type of abuse. It is also paramount that we ensure that we have resources in place in our community that are readily accessible and easy to navigate for those in need. We need facilities that offer a safe, protective environment for adult and child victims of abuse and domestic violence. We also need the same type of facilities for animal abuse victims. While HB 258 and HB 278 were passed during the 2024 general assembly, they simply don't go far enough. Additionally, we need to ensure funding for more social workers specializing in child abuse and domestic violence cases.

#SendFlowersToTheHouse