Aaron on the Issues

A real leader listens with respect, responds with honesty and works with integrity. Across the district, the American Dream is slipping away from working families. I have a plan to reclaim it.

My Top Issues:

Solve Housing.

In Western New York and the Southern Tier, housing is scarce and expensive. In a tight market, absentee landlords and private equity firms are buying up homes, degrading living conditions and raising rents with price-fixing software. Housing is not just an investment; it’s a fundamental human need. Cracking down on these immoral practices is not enough; we need lots of new safe, basic housing. I will work with county and local governments to make it easier to build and rebuild in our cities and towns. Right-sized housing built in our historic urban cores can reduce cost of living without big government grants because these homes require less driving and maintenance.

Defend our Healthcare.

Medical debt has become the most common cause of bankruptcy in America. Republicans are making the problem worse, cutting VA Health Benefits, Medicare and Medicaid. Their irresponsible actions could cause our hospitals and nursing homes to close. Still, we have to ask ourselves: how did our system become so brittle that one round of cuts could threaten it with collapse? We need real reform to create a system that is low-cost, stable and accessible. In America, no one should die of a preventable disease because they are poor or live in a rural area.

Revolutionize Education.

Across the district, working families are paying more in property taxes and getting less from their schools. Republicans are trying to eliminate a federal role in education, cutting funding for Head Start, IEPs, special education, aid for rural schools, Job Corps and Pell grants. Instead of gutting our education system, we need to retool and reinvest. The most common cause of learning loss is hunger. We need to feed our kids good food every day at school without asking them for money. AI is changing the nature of work. I will fight to make AI serve the common good, not create the first trillionaire. With smart regulation that puts people first, we can make AI work for our teachers and students to prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.

Create Dignified Work for Everyone.

It’s getting harder to make a living these days. Republicans are making the problem worse with business-killing tariffs, vendettas against future technologies and busting unions. Encouraging tipped work and overtime in our tax code is immoral: Americans already work too hard. We should raise the federal minimum wage to $15 immediately. Small businesses create most of the good jobs in America. It’s time for a new ban on price discrimination, to give Mom and Pop a chance to compete with Walmart and Amazon. We can also open up opportunities for everyday people to invest more of their savings in their own communities, not Wall Street. Across the board, honest work should pay a living wage.

Taking a Stand:

My platform is based on the principle that all human beings have innate dignity and deserve to be treated with respect.

Rule of Law

In America, the people are sovereign under the Constitution. America has no kings—not now, not ever. None of us is above the law, and all of us deserve equal treatment under that law.

Choice

I support a woman’s right to choose. I trust women to make decisions about their own reproductive healthcare, and their decisions should not be criminalized. I support codifying the protections of Roe into law and would vote no on any attempted national abortion ban. We can best support a culture of life not by criminalizing choice, but by actively supporting women, children and families.

Speech

I support the constitutional freedoms guaranteed by our Bill of Rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. The Trump Administration’s attempts to censor and/or punish the speech of protestors, whistleblowers, journalists, researchers, doctors and lawyers are unconstitutional.

Guns

Supporting the rule of law means supporting the Second Amendment. When handled responsibly, guns are useful tools, tools rural people often rely on to help feed their families. Like any other powerful, dangerous tool, care should be taken to make sure they are used responsibly. I support universal background checks and red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of those who are likely to use them to commit crimes.

Immigration

America’s immigration policy has been broken for forty years. I support strong, secure borders and fair treatment for law-abiding immigrants, many of whom are innocent victims of our incoherent immigration laws. Real reform should include a fair process for new entries, due process for undocumented people, a guest worker program that serves our country’s economic needs, and consistent enforcement.

Privacy

The right to privacy has become meaningless in the digital age. I support updating our privacy laws to include the “right to be forgotten,” the right to control one’s digital likeness, and stronger protections against identity theft. The Trump administration’s initiative to create a single governmental identity database in partnership with Palantir, a private AI company, is an unacceptable breach of the right to privacy which could be used to target, threaten and coerce for political reasons. The creation of such a government-wide unified database should be prohibited by law.

Gaza

I support the Jewish people and Israel’s right to exist. The terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7th, 2023 were a despicable, cowardly act, and a great tragedy for Israeli families. The Netanyahu government was right to pursue Hamas to bring the terrorists to justice and bring about the return of the hostages. However, in the judgment of Israeli human rights organizations and international groups, the Netanyahu government has committed war crimes, including genocide, by detonating blockbuster bombs near schools, hospitals and apartment buildings, and by restricting food aid, starving the citizens of Gaza, including tens of thousands of children. I call for an immediate cease-fire and the opening of checkpoints for unrestricted humanitarian aid, an embargo on the sale of offensive weapons to Israel, legal accountability for the Netanyahu government, an end to illegal settlements both in Gaza and the West Bank, and a plan for a peaceful Palestinian state.

Ukraine

In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a blatant attempt to expand its territory. Russia’s leader, Vladmimir Putin, is a murderous dictator who ignores the will of his people and regards NATO countries and other democratic countries as an threat to his power. Helping Ukraine defend itself and sheltering its refugees is in the national security interest of the United States.

Public Health

Public safety is the primary responsibility of any government. Promoting impartial academic research, careful monitoring and testing, and timely guidance from scientific experts are proven methods for safeguarding public health. To dismantle regimes for research, communication, testing and treatment without effective, vetted alternatives in place is courting disaster, and is among the most serious failures of government that can be conceived.