We deserve better from our government. I am running for office to fight for and alongside my neighbors, so that together, we can build stronger community.
I would love to hear from you. Please reach out through the contact form with any thoughts or additional topics you would like to discuss. If you would like to read my proposed legislation, click here.
I believe in radical transparency and community involvement. In the past 12 months, I’ve engaged with 7,300+ neighbors. The policy positions below have been synthesized from those conversations.
The information and document below are living texts and I welcome your feedback. To view the content in full, you can download the PDF below.
Restructure Taxes to Increase Education Funding
Utah enjoys a relatively-low state income tax rate of a flat 4.45%. If we adopted a graduated or progressive income tax structure, like most states, we could give a tax break to most of the working-class and also add approximately $1 billion to education funding through small-percentage increases in the highest tax brackets. This would improve our near-last place rating in per-pupil spending in the country.
Say No to Private School Vouchers
I strongly oppose school vouchers to private schools because private schools choose their students. They are not required to educate children with special needs and/or disabilities, and they aren’t held to the same education standards. As someone who was in special education throughout my K-12 experience, I understand how important it is to fully-fund the education all children need. Voucher programs take funds out of our already underfunded system without providing the same services.
Implement School Meals for All Students
Rather than putting time and resources into collection efforts that only add pressure on families and could result in shaming children into not eating, the state should cover the cost of school meals for children through a more-fair tax structure. Ultimately, my goal is to do away with cash registers in school cafeterias.
Encourage Hiring of Full-Time Paraprofessionals
Paraprofessionals change the lives of Utah students every day. They can provide individualized educational, language, physical, and mental support for our children. Retaining quality paraprofessionals within the state is an essential investment. Currently, schools rarely offer full-time positions to these very important roles, which makes recruitment and retention much more difficult.
1 : 22.4 teacher-student ratio in Utah (source)
1 : 67 paraprofessional-student ratio in Utah (source)
49th place among states in per-pupil spending (source)
Repeal Book Bans
Book bans are actively harmful because they stigmatize representation of marginalized groups and sensitive subjects. Schools are places where students should be challenged with other views and perspectives. The legislature should not restrict free speech.
Save the Great Salt Lake
Utah faces cataclysmic consequences if we don’t significantly reduce net depletions to the Great Salt Lake’s tributaries. As the lake dries up, the health of everyone living along the Wasatch Front will worsen and could eventually make the valley unlivable. We must mandate strict water use guidelines and infrastructure, that at a bare minimum, return 800,000 additional acre-feet per year. This will return the lake to healthy levels in 25–30 years.
Improve Air Quality
Poor air quality is leading to poor health, and this is seen especially on the Westside of Salt Lake City. While we can’t change geographic conditions that lead to inversion, we can and must take action to limit pollution created on the Wasatch Front, including investing in a robust mass transit system and implementing scaling fines for major polluters.
Defer Property Tax for Seniors
Increasing property taxes are pushing retired seniors out of their homes; last year in Utah, we saw a 42% increase in homeless seniors. The state has implemented a program to defer property taxes for seniors, and while it is a good start, the program has many restrictions that limit its ability to help more people. I would seek to amend this program to increase eligibility.
Address the Roots and Fruits of Homelessness
Unhoused people are first and foremost, people. In the short-term, the state must ensure enough shelter beds during deadly weather events for the most vulnerable (including youth, victims of abuse, and those with disabilities). It must incentivize converting existing structures to provide housing. In the long-term, the state needs to address the roots of the problem in order to stem the increase in homelessness, including providing mental healthcare access, adequate housing availability, and addiction treatment resources.
Support Cooperative Housing
We are seeing a wide chasm between the ability to rent and own, and this makes it difficult for young families to stay in Utah. Cooperative housing bridges this gap by giving renters the ability to collectively purchase their building, allowing them to gain equity by the signing of a lease. The state should budget for grants to help with cooperative financing and offer tax incentives to property owners who sell to cooperatives.
48% of housing units in HD21 are rented (source)
150 years since the first co-op was established (source)
16,224 affordable units saved through TOP laws in D.C. (source)
Advocate for a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Law
Tenant opportunity to purchase legislation (TOP) gives renters the first right of refusal when landlords sell the properties they live in. This gives tenants the chance to collectively own where they live. Since this program was implemented in Washington D.C. over four decades ago, more than 16,000 affordable housing units have been preserved.
Increase Protections for Labor and Unionization
I support repealing right-to-work laws, expanding collective bargaining rights for public employees, and using Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) to encourage union apprenticeship participation. I also support banning “captive audience” meetings during unionization drives. Employers must not be allowed to discipline employees who refuse to attend these meetings.
Fight to Increase the State Minimum Wage
Utah’s minimum wage has not seen an increase since 2009, all while the state’s GDP has more than doubled. We should tie annual increases to the minimum wage to inflation.
Establish Minimum Wage for Prison Labor
The Utah Constitution bans forced labor of prisoners, and Utah law currently requires private businesses to “pay inmates the prevailing wage for similar work.” This leaves a loophole for jobs performed within the prisons, with some inmates being paid less than $1 per hour. We must amend the law to provide minimum wage for inmates, regardless of the employer.
Restore Reproductive Rights
Framing medical abortions as pro-choice or pro-life leads to division, bad policy, and inadequate healthcare. The legislative question is not whether medical abortions will be eliminated, but who will decide when an abortion will occur. I do not support allowing the government to make these decisions. All pregnancies involve significant risks, and each patient has a complex, varied, and nuanced medical history. Delays to consult with legal teams or calculate criminal liability risk results in an unacceptable reduction in healthcare. Only the pregnant person should decide if an abortion is needed.
20.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in Utah (source)
14.9% of women report postpartum depression (source)
613 complications per 100,000 live births in Utah (source)
Protect Gender-Affirming Care for All of Us
Gender-affirming care brings a person’s physical body into alignment with their internal sense of self. Many people, regardless of gender expression, benefit from gender-affirming healthcare. Denying, or placing unnecessary barriers to healthcare for transgender people, including youth, simply because they are transgender, is a denial of equal protection under the law. This also limits cisgender people’s ability to access the healthcare they need to feel comfortable in their body. Even worse, many of these bills further stigmatize an already marginalized group.
Reject Expanded ICE Enforcement
Our state is stronger through immigrant and diaspora communities. We are all threatened when ICE, enabled by the Supreme Court to racially profile residents, patrols our neighborhoods. I will oppose any preemption or partnership that promotes further ICE enforcement within the state.
75% increase in ICE holdings since Jan. 2025, endangering our neighborhoods (source)
2,450% increase in the number of people with no criminal record being held by ICE (source)
Allow Civilian Review Boards to Conduct Oversight
I will advocate for repealing 2019’s HB 415, which preempts local jurisdictions from giving Civilian Review Boards meaningful oversight of local police. CRBs provide the community the independent oversight and accountability needed to build trust between police and the people they serve.
Require Cameras in Policing
All law enforcement officers should be required to wear a body camera while on the job. In addition, vehicles should be outfitted with cameras to provide a more-complete picture of officer interactions with the public. Willfully not activating or deactivating a camera, except in circumstances where the camera is deactivated for the benefit of a crime victim, must have consequences.
Prohibit Private Prisons
While Utah doesn’t currently utilize private prisons to house detainees, we must codify this prohibition into law. If the state is going to deprive a citizen of their freedom, the state must take full responsibility during incarceration. Profit-motivated facilities have no business as part of our criminal justice system.
Advance the Rio Grande Plan
The citizen-led Rio Grande Plan (RGP) would bury the rails in downtown Salt Lake City and create safer, more-accessible communities by eliminating several dangerous train crossings that cut off the Westside from the rest of town. Because of this and its ability to generate billions of dollars in economic output and create tens of thousands of jobs, I will work with federal, state, and local officials to make this plan a reality.
53,000+ new jobs created from the RGP (source)
$7.8 billion in economic growth (source)
2,600+ housing units added to SLC (source)
75 acres of land opened up (source)
Collaborate with UTA to Increase Westside Routes
With over 110,000 daily boardings last year, the Utah Transit Authority connects communities while reducing traffic and emissions. I will work with UTA to advocate for increasing the number and frequency of routes across the system.
Defend Local Control of Infrastructure Planning
Municipalities know their communities best and should have control of their urban planning decisions. Salt Lake City is often targeted by bills like this year’s SB 242, which includes provisions to control road planning. Local elected officials, in collaboration with experts in city planning, should make these decisions, not overzealous state officials.
Preserve Vote-By-Mail
Utah has successfully utilized vote-by-mail in elections for years, and most Utahns voted this way last year. This system is secure, makes our elections more accessible, and allows voters time to research candidates and initiatives. I oppose this year’s HB 479, which tried to prevent ballots from being returned by mail.
Support Independent Redistricting
The Utah Independent Redistricting Commission is under attack by politicians afraid of their constituents. The commission must be allowed to do their job of drawing fair congressional and state legislative maps. I will defend their work, regardless of whether or not it favors my personal electoral prospects.
Repeal Anti-First Amendment Bills
I oppose bills that aim to stifle diversity of thought. I will work toward repealing 2021’s SB 186, which prevents companies that enter into public contracts from boycotting the state of Israel, 2024’s HB 261, which prohibits DEI in schools, and 2025’s HB 77, the unconstitutional flag ban.
Oppose State Preemption
I believe the state should not preempt cities from creating ordinances that protect their residents. Utah currently prohibits cities from enacting reasonable rent controls, setting a higher minimum wage, designing walkable streets, and adopting gun measures better suited for cities. Issues like these are best handled locally, where leaders are closest to the people affected.