Solutions
Ensuring every family recovers financially from the pandemic.
The economic crisis caused by COVID has hurt workers, families, and the small businesses that are the backbone of Florida’s economy. Here in Pinellas County, we took a $2 billion hit because of the lack of tourism alone. Ensuring everyone can recover means putting the needs of everyday workers and small businesses here in Florida ahead of powerful corporations and special interests. As a state legislator, Michele has stood up to those powerful special interests time and again fighting against corporate welfare and working to invest in people and small businesses.
REAL MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUTS
Michele grew up in a working class family in Clearwater. She knows that even a small tax break for families can go a long way to eliminating multi-generation poverty. She’ll work for a 10% tax cut for families making less than $400,000 per year. That is going to make a real difference for 98 percent of the families right here in Pinellas County.
PREPARING FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC
Sadly, it is likely that we could face another pandemic in our lifetimes. That’s why Michele strongly believes in taking critical steps and making strategic investments now to prevent pandemics in the future. That means listening to and working with scientists and experts to ensure we are prepared and ready to protect Florida and the nation from the human and economic toll of another pandemic.
Ensuring Access to Affordable Health Care
The last two years have really magnified how critical access to health care is for everyone in our country. Despite that nearly 87 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured. As a member of the State Legislature Michele helped lead the charge to expand Medicaid coverage for about 900,000 Florida residents. She’ll work to improve the Affordable Care Act and health outcomes for every American by:
ENSURING NO ONE CAN BE DENIED COVERAGE BECAUSE OF A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION.
Period. Everyone deserves access to affordable health care.
INCREASE FUNDING FOR HBCU AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS THAT SERVE MINORITY POPULATIONS
This will help increase the number of doctors, nurses, dentists, and other health care professionals among people of color to help provide better health outcomes among everyone in our community.
Caring for Florida’s Environment
Florida’s natural resources are its greatest resources and what attracts people from around the world to visit our state and move here. Protecting our beaches, water, and land resources are vital to preserve the very elements of what makes life special in Florida. As a member of the legislature, Michele stood up to corporate polluters to keep Florida’s drinking water clean. Michele will support policies that:
MAKE FLORIDA’S CITIES CLIMATE CHANGE RESISTANT
As sea levels rise the Federal Government must play a leading role in helping to make our coastline climate change resistant. This means helping to build barriers in our cities and restoring our coastline – especially after major storms.
ENSURE OIL DRILLING NEVER HAPPENS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO OR IN THE WATERS AROUND FLORIDA
Michele will stand up to anyone to protect our way of life by fighting against any proposal for offshore drilling near Florida’s coast.
FUND RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
Florida has a key role to play in developing renewable energy technologies. Michele will work to bring resources back to Florida to help our clean technology industry grow.
CLEAN DRINKING WATER
As thousands of new families move to Florida every year Michele will work to ensure everyone has access to clean drinking water and that we make investments in the Everglades to preserve Florida’s fresh water supply.
Justice
As an attorney Michele has worked on civil and criminal cases to protect the rights of victims. She ran for the legislature to rally against Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law that has been used to excuse the murders of too many innocent people. She knows our country has work to do to realize equality and equal justice under the law for all of us.
STAND UP FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM
As states across the country seek to overturn Roe v. Wade and criminalize abortion, Michele will work to aggressively codify its tenants into statute so women are able to make their own health care decisions without interference from the government.
FIGHT FOR LGBTQ+ RIGHTS BY PASSING COMPREHENSIVE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICIES
As a state legislator, Michele has stood up against conversion therapy policies when they were introduced in the Florida legislature. Michele will work to pass comprehensive anti-discrimination policies anti-LGBTQ+ policies, protect the privacy of transgendered Americans, and completely ban conversion therapy.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
America’s criminal justice system is not working. The current system does not provide equal justice under the law for everyone. Michele will work towards a system that preserves public safety and protects people while at the same time working towards restoring victims’ rights and removes the barriers to opportunity for people with criminal records – especially non-violent offenders. She’ll work to fund nonprofits and local leaders to develop solutions to the root causes of crime. She’ll work with police departments to ensure they have the training, funding, and tools to hire officers that look like the community they are policing to foster better relationships.
IMMIGRATION REFORM
America’s immigration system is broken and it is past time to fix it. Michele will work towards creating a path to citizenship for DREAMers, allowing TPS holders to become permanent residents, and protecting our asylum process for those who need it – especially for those who have recently arrived from Venezuela and Nicaragua. Our country is founded on and stronger because of the immigrants who have moved here and our state’s diversity is part of what makes it special.
VOTING RIGHTS
Protecting the right to vote and ensuring that everyone who is legally able to vote is how we ensure the priorities of our state and being met. In the Florida legislature, Michele has stood up to attempts to suppress votes, limit vote methods, and remove voters for primarily partisan reasons. Michele will work to make voting more accessible for everyone by helping to expand the registration process, making casting a ballot more accessible, and restoring key provisions of the Voting Rights Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Education
Michele knows that a quality education is the fastest way to break the back of multi generational poverty and to move families and communities forward. Throughout her life, her parents made education a priority for her and for themselves.
K-12 EDUCATION
Michele will invest in K-12 Education so that all students regardless of what ZIP code they live in receive a quality education. This means investing in educators’ salaries and providing funding to shrink the teacher to student ratio so students get the attention they need and to help end the School to Prison pipeline.
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRADE SCHOOLS
Michele will work to expand opportunities for vocational education and trade schools, making sure our young people have options to build their future careers.
COLLEGE
Michele will work to expand Pell Grants and other need based financial aid for students to attend college.
Show Your Support
Michele is running a grassroots, people-powered campaign. Make a contribution to her campaign today! If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.
If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.