Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
A big part of the reason I chose to run for office this year was because I was so upset with how the current Congressman was handling the situation in Gaza. He not only refused to meet with or listen to his constituents, but he was particularly callous to their concerns about the war. The 6th Congressional District is home to the largest Palestinian community in the country and they deserve a representative with the moral conviction to speak out against the genocide and to do everything in his power to stop it. There are some brave members of Congress who have been doing their best to stop weapons shipments and military aid going to countries committing war crimes but we need more of them. There is technically a ceasefire right now but Palestinian civilians are still being indiscriminately killed and Trump is looking to profit from real estate instead of working towards a Palestinian state. It is imperative that we have a member of Congress who will continue to fight for the right of Palestinian self-determination. My opponent has also not done much to help constituents affected by the ICE raids despite constituents begging him to help. In short, he is not responsive to the diverse communities within his district. As an elected official, I believe it is your responsibility to use your power to stand up for what is right and advocate for all of the people in your district.
What do you think is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?
Cost of living is the most pressing concern affecting people in my district. Housing, utilities, healthcare and groceries have skyrocketed due to a multitude of issues - one being consolidation of corporate power. We must break up monopolies in order to restore competition and keep down prices. Housing has quickly become one of the most unaffordable necessities in America. The anchor of the American Dream is completely out of reach for millions of people. Congress must take swift action to build new housing across our nation, prevent corporations and private equity firms from buying entire neighborhoods, and provide financial assistance to first time home buyers. The federal minimum wage has been at $7.25 since 2009. This is a poverty wage in every state in the country. We must provide a living wage for workers. The extended child tax credit of 2020 lifted 50% of children out of poverty and should never have been allowed to expire. Paid maternity leave should be written into law with tax credits provided to companies to offset the maintained salaries. Congress must act now so millions of Americans are not priced out of having a family.
What is one unique challenge your district faces and how do you plan to address it?
Gun violence is a problem plaguing our community but also in many communities across the country. We have an epidemic of mass shootings in this country. We need to implement common sense gun laws and guns must also be removed from the homes of people who are violent. I support banning ghost guns, bump stops, assault weapons, and high capacity magazines, and requiring universal background checks with waiting periods. Most importantly, those background checks must actually be completed before guns are sold to people. There were cases of mass shooters in the past where there was a waiting period but the shooter was allowed to purchase guns simply because the background check hadn’t been completed in time. Ghost guns are a major issue and require technical understanding that I have as a software engineer to regulate. There can be a check on the models 3D printers use to manufacture these weapons. We have had several incidents in our state alone where an abuser killed their victim who had gone through the proper procedures to get an order of protection but the guns were not removed from the abuser’s home. Karina’s Law was an important victim’s rights bill on the state level that will mandate that guns are removed promptly in these situations. Finally, mental health services need to be available for people free of charge. In many cases, these shootings are related to untreated mental illnesses where families tried and failed to get help.
What do you think federal immigration reform should look like?
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” This is the spirit of America I grew up believing in. We need complete & comprehensive immigration reform. For too long, Congress has been kicking the can down the road, leading us to the situation we have today where many do not have a viable pathway to become a citizen. They have created the problem at the border in part by making the legal immigration & refugee process so difficult. Additionally, Dreamers (DACA) were brought here as children and for many of them, this is the only country they have really known. We should expedite the citizenship process for them so that they can become full citizens. There is a huge backlog of visa applications from several countries due to immigration quotas, leading to extensive waiting periods of a decade or more. We should continue to accept asylum seekers and refugees, but we need to address the shortage of qualified immigration judges so that we can evaluate asylum claims promptly. The current actions of ICE are making our communities less safe, not more safe. It’s unacceptable the way ICE is rounding people up, holding them in inhumane conditions, and even killing people. ICE has been operating with complete impunity and I will demand accountability through prosecution. It is unacceptable the targeting of law abiding immigrants at school, workplaces, and even when reporting dutifully as part of their immigration process.
How should Congress address the rising costs of health care?
I support Medicare for All. 500,000 American families file for bankruptcy each year due to medical bills, while 45,000 Americans die because they can’t afford healthcare. This is unacceptable for the wealthiest country in the history of the world. Our medical system has many issues but the biggest is certainly the amount of money being wasted by paying the middle man a.k.a. the insurance companies. Most other developed countries have universal healthcare. They do this because they realize that cutting out the middle man leads to better health outcomes and they spend less per person on healthcare than we do. Medicare for All is also a pro-business policy. People are often prevented from changing jobs or starting their own companies because their healthcare is tied to their job. Medicare for All would increase entrepreneurship and the ability of small businesses to compete to hire top talent. Under the current system, doctors have to waste hours every week arguing with insurance companies to get them to cover necessary care for their patients. We need a stable system that covers everyone, but during the transition there are several things we can do to improve healthcare. We need to expand Medicare so that it is full coverage. We need to negotiate all drug prices with manufacturers, not just a select few. We can also provide a public option until a more stable cost effective system like Medicare for All is fully in place.
What approach would you take on tax policy and what is your top priority?
The ultrawealthy do not pay their fair share of taxes under our current system. I support progressive taxation and closing tax loopholes that only benefit the wealthy. The rich should be paying a higher percent of their income in taxes than the middle class and poor. Instead, the wealthy generally pay a lower effective rate than the middle class once you factor in all their loopholes, write-offs, and tax shelters. Some large profitable corporations even pay zero effective taxes. The carried interest loophole is yet another tax break that benefits wealthy private equity managers. I support closing the stepped-up basis loophole, disrupting the “buy, borrow, die” strategy used by the ultrawealthy to evade taxes. The poor and middle class also pay a higher percent of their income into Social Security because of the Social Security tax cap. Social Security is a vital lifeline for many seniors in our country, but Congress has been kicking the can down the road for years even though funding is running out for younger generations who have paid into Social Security all their lives. At this rate, Social Security benefits will have to be cut in less than a decade, so when Democrats retake power we must finally pass legislation to save Social Security. The Social Security Expansion Act would fully fund Social Security and raise average monthly benefits for seniors by simply requiring the wealthy to pay the same percent of their income into Social Security as the rest of us.
Is the House currently using its oversight powers in the way it should be? What areas of government need more or less oversight?
No. The Trump administration has acted with total disregard to the Constitution and the checks and balances of government. They are attacking the right to free speech and the right to protest. The President has basically declared war on cities throughout the country. ICE is grabbing random people and killing U.S citizens, with full backing from Trump shielding them from any consequences. Trump is using the office of the presidency to enrich himself via real estate deals and cryptocurrency. He is also extorting the media, law firms, universities, and foreign countries into doing his bidding or giving him bribes. Wealthy donors are having their personal agendas carried out to an extreme extent. That’s before we even get to the Epstein Files. Now Trump is going after our elections and trying to make it harder for people to vote. Holding performative hearings is not enough. Congress has abdicated its responsibility to pass legislation to keep Trump in check. When Democrats win back control of Congress, it is imperative that we use that power to legislate to block Trump’s harmful initiatives and executive orders and protect people’s rights. That includes proactive legislation like codifying women’s reproductive rights into law that should have been done years ago. We also need to strengthen campaign finance laws and implement a stock trading ban for members of Congress. Regardless of who is in power, members of Congress must use every tool at their disposal to fight back against abuses of power.
What is the most pressing foreign policy issue facing the country and what role should the House play in dealing with it?
Trump has begun an imperialistic campaign with goals of regime change and stealing natural resources. He is trying to dominate by force rather than diplomacy. Congress must rein in the power of the President by reasserting their authority under the War Powers Act. The repeated extrajudicial killings of Venezuelan boat crews violated international law. Trump then orchestrated a coup in Venezuela, forcibly removed their leader, and arraigned Maduro and his wife. The Trump administration did not even hide that their motivations were not only about regime change, but also because they wanted to seize the oil. Trump immediately pivoted to trying to take Greenland, partly because he wanted to claim their raw materials and partly because he was mad he didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize. Then there is Iran, where he is also eyeing a regime change war to get his hands on their oil. This is unacceptable and dangerous. Trump is now selling seats on his “Gaza Board of Peace” to the highest bidder, but the Palestinian people themselves have been sidelined. The Israeli government is still blocking supplies, demolishing buildings, civilians (including children) are still being killed, and prominent aid groups like Doctors without Borders are being banned. Too many in Congress are not treating this situation with the urgency it requires. I will be a voice for peace and diplomacy in Congress. No wars should be instigated without the consent of Congress, and international law and human rights must be upheld.
How do you view AI and the role the government should play in its regulation?
Being a software engineer who worked in Silicon Valley and did Machine Learning research for the Department of Defense makes me uniquely qualified to handle this issue in Congress. Algorithmic price fixing is squeezing the middle class for every dollar we have. Job loss due to AI has already begun and will only get worse if nothing is done. Electricity rates are through the roof at a time when the basic costs of living are 3-4 times what they were just 5 years ago. This is in no small part due to the proliferation of data centers across the country for the purpose of powering AI technology. The advances we made with renewable energy are now being erased by the sheer volume of electricity being consumed by these data centers. We need someone who understands that this is all connected, how to regulate this technology, break up monopolies and oligarchies, and ensure technology is advanced for the betterment of society, not just profit maximalization for a handful of huge corporations. AI should be doing repetitive, time consuming work, not replacing human artists and displacing people from their jobs. AI is a moral issue. ChatGPT has been sued multiple times over teenagers taking their own lives due to the chatbot's encouragement. AI is interfering with and minimizing human to human contact, even with adults. That is not something that is good for society and therefore should be heavily regulated.
How would you describe the current state of your party and what changes or new approaches would you like to see your party adopt?
The Democratic Party is at a crossroads. Incremental neoliberal policies have hollowed out the middle class and led us to the situation where Trump was elected, not once but twice. Many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have become out of touch with their constituents. They are more focused on what wealthy donors and large corporations want than their own voters. That’s why policies that are overwhelmingly popular with the general public have had such difficulty getting passed in Congress. I have pledged not to take any money from corporate PACs or special interest groups so my voters know I will answer only to them. This year, I have seen more candidates across the country than ever before taking that pledge along with me. A growing number of candidates are taking bold stands on issues and calling out the weak Congressional leadership. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens are out on the streets protesting and assisting their neighbors to protect them from ICE. They give me hope for this country. However we need strong members of Congress who are not afraid to take a stand to protect the rights of their constituents. We need to get back to being the party of the working class and proposing policies that actually fix the problems we face, not just temporary band-aids. This is an all hands on deck moment, and those who don’t want to lead need to get out of the way and make room for those prepared to lead.