Family Safety
One of the blessings of walking every single day, seeing every single neighborhood and knocking on every single door in our hometowns, is that not only do I share what's important to me, I get a chance to really listen and hear what the people of Johnston, Grimes, Jefferson Township, Urbandale and Granger tell me is important to them. One of those issues they routinely share is family safety.
Moms and dads tell me that they don't want our towns turning into intimidation driven violent cities like others across the country. I will work every day for every day citizens to engage in peaceful assembly, whether I agree or disagree with the purpose, as guaranteed by the First Amendment. I will further work with law enforcement to make sure peaceful means peaceful.
I am the candidate who further supports donor privacy and citizen privacy, so private citizens can donate to good causes without fear of harassment by others.
Education
Every child learns differently, but one thing is generally true: parents know what's best for each of their children. Whether public, private, religious, vocational, charter, XQ or home schooling, we need to support all of these options. Even with school choice, the public schools work for most families. I support equipping parents with options to give their child the best opportunity to learn and grow.
When I started #mentoromics, I first began teaching coding skills, at the Johnston library. A funny thing happened along the way. I saw the "at risk" kids become more engaged, and often went from D and F students to B level students. Why? We don't teach programming by itself. We mix in concepts like responsibility, perspective, decision making and entrepreneurship, and it changed the course of many lives. The Des Moines Public Schools inquired about our successful program and once we're past COVID, may implement some of our findings, because they work.
For me, I've always known education is powerful. My grandfather, born just one generation away from slavery, didn't know a lot of "book knowledge", but always stressed that "education is the path to success". He was right. They made us dress up for school - yes, business casual middle schoolers. Why? He was signaling to everyone involved that we were there to learn. Every child needs that opportunity. And in the 21st century, competing globally, we have no choice but to make certain that every Iowa child receives the best education for their best chance in life.
Responsible Criminal Justice Reform
As a Black man in Iowa who has experienced racism, I have a unique perspective, and have been a cheerleader for real justice reform that currently disproportionately affects poor and minority families. This must change. The opportunities we have here in our district are phenomenal, and we need to make sure that everyone is included. We need to stop jailing people for non-violent, non-threatening drugs, or non-threatening unpaid tickets. Ensuring fair sentencing is a must.
Further, the concept of fair justice is biblical. Not only are we to treat our "neighbor as ourselves," but we are to see that the balances of the law are applied justly.
