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PLATFORM

I proudly support

Bernie Sanders

and his vision for America.

Personal Statement
"The impetus for me to begin this in 2016 may have been to help my candidate, Bernie Sanders, get elected President; however, the motivation to continue is my own. Mine is the motivation of a 20+ year resident of Monmouth County who has issues. I, and many others, know that in order for Bernie's vision to be realized across our great nation, it begins with the realization on the local level. We, who share Bernie's vision for a better America, are striving to realize that vision within our respective communities. For me, that is striving for a better Monmouth County for *all* who live, work and visit here. I believe that, in order for that vision to become reality, America needs elected officials on all levels of government who are willing to support Bernie, his vision and to do the work necessary to make it happen. I am ready, able and willing to do the work and to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. I may not have much money to spend on advertising or a fancy web site but I have two feet and am more than willing to make the rounds to meet, talk with and listen to as many of my Monmouth County neighbors as I can. I am dedicating myself to my county and I possess the will to see this through."
Diversity and Over-Development

The extraordinary diversity of our county and state is, by far, my favorite aspect of living and working in New Jersey and Monmouth County. From central NJ, where I live, within an hour in any direction, there are beautiful mountains in the northwest and pine barrens in the south; from cedar lakes and rivers in the southwest to the bay and barrier spit of Sandy Hook in the northeast, from the historic Delaware River in the west to the roughly 130 miles of diverse Atlantic shoreline in the east, and everything in between!

 

New Jersey's diversity of people and cultures is as extraordinary as her landscape and just as fascinating and fun. New Jersey is home to people and cultures from all over the world and every year the organizations from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds hold  their annual fairs and festivals. The Garden State is host to over 120 fairs and festivals including (but not limited to) African, Isreali, Greek, Romanian, Latvian, Italian, Irish, Celtic, Indian, Cuban, Portuguese, Native American and so many more. NJ is a seriously fun state!

 

Monmouth County is as fun and wondrous in its diversity as is the state, itself; she is a smaller version of the state and every bit as diverse. Her historical significance is great, her diversity extraordinary, her cultural archaeology is fascinating!

 

All this diversity is threatened by rapid, rampant and "fast tracked" over-development; development that is done with little or no regard for the impact it has on our people and environment. Every year, more and more of her forests are clear-cut and her productive farmland and open space "fast tracked" into housing developments, shopping plazas and commuter parking lots.

 

At the rate Monmouth County and NJ is developing, the slogan "The Garden Sate" will soon need to be changed to "The Bedroom State." I have spoken with many of my Monmouth County neighbors and all want to slow down "fast tracked" development in Monmouth County. So do I.

 

Monmouth County is in desperate need of a more responsible, more people and environmentally friendly approach to development. As Freeholder, addressing this need will be a top priority.

Sustainable & Renewable Energy
As a born and raised Vermonter, I'm a strong environmental activist. I understand that we, as a species, would not exist if the planet were not here to support us. I understand that when we destroy our planet, we destroy ourselves. Neglecting to accept that climate change is real and to continue to greedily exploit and abuse our planet and her natural resources is suicide. That is why I am a strong proponent for a Green New Deal.
 
In late 2014, Bernie Sanders' home city of Burlington, VT made history by becoming the first city in the country to run on 100% renewable energy. Bernie's work as mayor of Burlington for 4 terms laid the groundwork, and set in motion, the programs that culminated in this historic accomplishment.
 
In March 2016, I returned to Vermont, and to Burlington, for a week to volunteer on Bernies' campaign from his national headquarters. I arrived at night so I missed seeing them the first time I drove by. However, on subsequent drives down Rts 7 and 30, through Vermont's beautiful countryside, I almost missed seeing them again so well were they blended into the landscape: the many solar farms dotting Vermont's fields. The fact that they blended so well into the surrounding landscape bodes well for the potential of establishing a similar county-wide solar energy program in Monmouth County.
 
I would like to see Monmouth County become the first county in America to go 100% renewable energy. It's better for the environment; it's better for our family's health; and shaking our county, state and national dependence on oil and gas, is better for our wallets, too.
 
If Bernie can do it in Burlington, then there is no reason why we cannot do it here. We *can* do it, so let's go for it, Monmouth County! Let's go for 100% renewable energy!
 
 
 
http://ecowatch.com/2015/02/10/brlington-runs-on-100-percent-renewable-energy/
 
www.pbs.org/video/how-did-burlington-achieve-100-percent-renewable-energy-1429917046/
 
More results:
www.google.com/search?q=burlington+Vt+first+city+to+go+100%25+renewable+energy&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Environment - Green Up Monmouth

I'm a strong environmental activist. I would like to see more done to promote community involvement in keeping our roads, by-ways and landscape free of trash and litter. Growing up in Vermont, I would always participate in our local "Green Up Days" and I would like to establish a "Green Up Monmouth County" program to supplement the Adopt-a-Highway program, which does not seem to be working as well as it should. Under the current Adopt-a-Highway program, I rarely, if ever, see people actively collecting roadside trash.

 

"Green-Up Days" are a fun and productive way to encourage residents of all ages to participate in caring for the environment we all share. I remember fun picnics at the end of the day with prizes for those who collected the most trash. As Freeholder, I will propose the establishment of a "Green Up Monmouth" program.

 

Only with a healthy and thriving natural environment can we create and sustain a healthy environment for our families, our children & grandchildren and ourselves.

Medicare for All - Single-payer Healthcare

I am a strong proponent for Medicare for All and have been since it was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 676, the U.S. National Health Care Act in 2003 (even then popularly called "Medicare for All"). I believe that quality healthcare is a human right that needs to be not only available to every person in Monmouth County but accessible to every person in Monmouth County, as well.

Honestly, single-payer healthcare is not a program that can be initiated at the county level; it is a State and National program that must be initiated at those levels. That being said, there is a lot that county level officials can do to support and expedite the implementation of Medicare for All at the local level when the federal program is passed.

NJ's current healthcare system is a hybrid private/public system which, as it stands, is much better than many other state's systems. However, there are still a great number of Monmouth County residents who are un- or under-insured and go without the healthcare they need to survive, thrive and have quality of life. There is still a great deal of improvement that is needed and much that local level officers can do to improve the way healthcare is administered on a county level.

NJ's current system does not:

1. Guarantee quality healthcare to *all* Monmouth County residents.

2. Provide access to all types of medical care under all the plans available to those who qualify. Private insurers still restrict access to some types of medical care depending on their private corporate interests.

For example, to date (04/03/2020), I am unable to locate *any* pain management doctor anywhere in the state of NJ who accepts *any* of NJ's four privately administered Medicaid plans. None! Anywhere in the state! That is unacceptable! Besides placing an unnecessary burden on primary physicians and other types of specialists, this policy leaves a great many people unable to obtain the necessary medical care that would improve their quality of life.

3. Does not require all state Medicaid insurers to provide coverage for all necessary (i.e. non-elective or non-cosmetic) medical care. Currently, if a Medicaid recipient requires a specialist not covered under their current Medicaid insurers, she/he/they are required to switch plans (which may mean losing their current primary or other doctors with whom they already have a relationship if their current doctors don't accept the same plan that the needed new specialist does) or go without.

As Freeholder, I will advocate and work toward greater and easier access to quality healthcare for all Monmouth County residents and work to change the way that healthcare is administered in our county so that *all* Monmouth County residents have quality of life.

 

This *can* be done. We just have to want it badly enough.

Primary Election Procedure Oversight

This election cycle, there can be no doubt about the existence of major problems with voting procedures and machines in counties nationwide that has directly infringed upon and undermined not only the sanctity of our Constitutional right to vote but the sanctity of having our vote mean something in the grand scheme of the running of our nation. I have yet to see anyone in New Jersey direct any pre-emptive attention to this issue; rather, it seems that this primary is being conducted in a "business as usual" manner irregardless of all the voting problems occurring in other counties nationwide. Few, it seems, take the threat to Monmouth County voters seriously enough to conduct public pre-election oversight in a pre-emptive effort to assure that the problems we have seen across the nation, in Arizona, New York, Delaware and other states, are not repeated in New Jersey's Monmouth County. 

 

Considering the pervasiveness of the problem across the nation in the 2016 primary election/caucus cycle, I do not consider New Jersey and Monmouth County to be immune from the blatant voter infringement going on elsewhere. As our voting machines are owned, operated and administered by Monmouth County, coming into the New Jersey primary election on June 2, I will be looking into voting procedures, processes and the polling technology used in Monmouth County. I did this in 2016 and I'll do in again in 2020. I am doing this in an effort to uncover any election procedure irregularities that may infringe upon the sanctity of Monmouth County voter rights. I am hoping that by conducting this type of non-partisan oversight prior to the primary, that I may help to ensure that *all* citizens of Monmouth County will be able to vote for the candidates of their choice without problem.

 

Rest assured, Monmouth County, that there is someone who cares about your right to vote for whomever you choose to vote, and will view such a task from a non-partisan and ethical perspective.

 

This issue is not about Democrat or Republican; it is about the sanctity of our Constitutional right to vote for whomever we want and our faith in the system by which we elect our leadership.

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