What actions would you take as a state legislator to protect and strengthen Washington’s food security safety net, including both public nutrition programs and the food banks and food pantries serving communities across the state?

My initial goals are to pass legislation that would remove out Managed Care organizations from our Medicaid program.  This should save our state an estimated 800 million to 1.3 billion dollars the very first year. This initial savings can be used to assist with the unaffordability crisis we are experiencing here in Washington state. think of it as priming the pump. We have to realize that we currently live in a state whose budget is based on economic activity.  Everything that we can do to our dollars back into the hands of the middle class will help to stimulate the economy and hopefully remove our state’s budget deficit. What happens when people can afford to buy groceries at the grocery store, buy their children new school clothes and shoes, buy a new car, afford a nice home, take their wife out to dinner once a week, take their family on a summer vacation? I think we would see no budget deficit. And we would have much less need for your services.

What have you done to understand food insecurity in the communities you seek to represent—including engaging with people experiencing hunger or local hunger-relief organizations—and what policies would you prioritize to address the root causes of hunger and ensure Washington residents can afford and access the food they need?

I have to admit that most of my time and efforts center around healthcare financing reform, so except for donating to my local food banks. I do believe though that there is so much opportunity to save money in healthcare financing that we can more adequately address unaffordability and food insecurity in our state.

What policies or investments would you support to strengthen Washington’s food system, increase access to locally produced food, support Washington farmers and producers, and reduce food waste?

No one should be denied the basic necessities of life because they lack the ability to purchase them in the marketplace. We should look at how we are directing our current exemptions to our states property taxes. We cannot continue to subsidize large corporations and expecting the middle class to shoulder more than their fair share of the cost of our state’s societal needs. Having adequate food is a human need along with healthcare and housing. These human needs must be funded equitably. To be sustainable though it should be funded by lifting our citizen’s wages over subsidizing already profitable corporations.