Why I’m Running For Congress
I’m running for Congress because I knows it’s time for a change. The people of New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District need a representative that is going to focus on creating good paying jobs, improving public schools, protecting health care, and making sure everyone in New Jersey has a chance to get ahead.
Like so many of you, I woke up after the election and I was absolutely terrified. What was going to happen to my friends, family, and neighbors? I started to think about what we could do to stop Trump’s dangerous agenda. I realized that stopping him meant electing members of Congress that would stand up to him. I knew Leonard Lance was not going to be that representative from the moment he endorsed Trump in May of last year.
I went to local meetings, wrote letters, made phone calls, and I marched. On January 21, I proudly joined millions at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. When I came home I started to think about President Obama’s farewell speech where he said, “If you don’t like what you see, grab a clipboard and run for something.” So I’m grabbing that clipboard!
The Republicans’ vote for the AHCA 2017 shows they do not care about hard working families. They jumped on party buses celebrating Trumpcare, which raises costs and even adds a new tax, all while eliminating guaranteed protection for people with pre-existing conditions. They’ve also defunded Planned Parenthood, making it harder for women to access quality health care. We need better than that and that’s why I’m running.
While at Cornell, I worked for the trailblazing Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder. She fought every day for women, children and families. She fought to pass legislation requiring companies to provide family and medical leave, equal pay for equal work, access to quality and safe reproductive care, and to protect military families. Unfortunately, these battles still wage. But if you send me to Congress, I will never run from the fight.
I’m not a politician, but I am a lawyer, mom, community activist, educator, and volunteer. Like so many Americans, I’m tired of Washington politicians who don’t listen. We can no longer afford to have a representative in Washington who prioritizes preserving his seat and defending a chaotic presidency over the concerns of his own constituents. It has become clear, that Washington is not listening to the concerns of women, working families, and taxpayers. Instead they are working to preserve their own power and, in the process, they are enacting a dangerous agenda that hurts already overburdened families in New Jersey.
I grew up in the 7th District, I raised my family here, I taught here, I volunteered here, and now, I run here! I would be honored to serve my neighbors, the people of the New Jersey 7th Congressional District.
