Issues

Healthcare: Tennessee has made it impossible for women to control their own health by cutting off access to reproductive services. In addition, Tennessee has sent billions of dollars to other states to provide affordable healthcare for their residents by refusing federally funded Medicaid expansion. That money could have helped more than 330,000 working Tennesseans, including tens of thousands of veterans, and ensured affordable healthcare for our residents.
Schools: Tennessee has experimented on our children and teachers in harmful ways, leaving us with excessive testing at the expense of instructional time; turmoil from on-again, off-again state mandates; the removal of educational materials; and schools badly in need of adequate funding. We must listen to our teachers, enhance local control, and adequately fund our schools.
Roads and Infrastructure: Tennessee has hundreds of millions of dollars in backlogged projects on our roads and bridges. With the passage of the IMPROVE Act, we are beginning to eat at that backlog, including important road projects forthcoming inside District 50 and outside of it, among them an overhaul of I-440.
Seniors: Extremists in the legislature have voted in favor of eliminating Medicare, cutting in-home care, and raising property taxes on seniors. Our older residents have been there for us, and we need to be there for them.
Gun Safety: Time and time again, lawmakers beholden to the gun lobby eliminate our gun safety laws and encourage more assault weapons in our schools and on our streets. Enough is enough – let’s implement sensible gun safety laws that nearly all of us agree is simply common sense, beginning with red flag laws and a ban on assault weapons.

Accomplishments as a State Representative (Highlights)

Passage of increased penalties for domestic violence and child neglect
Protection of victims of workplace sexual harassment
Passage of legislation eliminating statute of limitations for rape
Creation of nation’s first statewide animal abuse registry
Blocked efforts to cut hundreds of millions of dollars of funding from public schools
Passage of increased physical education, greater testing transparency, relevant teacher evaluations
Passage of Tennessee Promise college scholarship program
Passage of tuition assistance for military children
Passage of legislation allowing Goodlettsville to increase tourism through tax incentives
Increase tax exemptions for senior citizens
Reduced sales tax on food
6,200 new jobs and $290 million in investment in Davidson County in two years
Lowest per-person debt in the country
Passage of behind-the-counter birth control sales without a prescription
Passage of bill allowing Nashville to make Ascend Amphitheatre smoke-free
Passage of legislation creating online voter registration
Passage of wine in grocery stores

Accomplishments as a Metro Councilman (Highlights)

Brought a new state-of-the-art library to Bellevue
Developed a financing plan that would allow redevelopment of the old Bellevue Mall property
Expanded green space, parks, and greenways in our community
Assisted neighbors devastated by the 2010 flood and obtained additional assistance for those still in need
Successfully fought efforts to place landfills within our communities
Worked to protect our neighborhoods and our community’s character