Issue Position: Jobs & the Economy

Issue Position

As a past small business owner, I know that it's time to make critical investments in our workforce, local infrastructure and transportation system. I believe that government can be a partner in building our economy.

We need to make sure we are expanding access for worker retraining by utilizing our institutions of higher learning and providing a wide range of career options for our future workforce. I will prioritize making tuition more affordable and work to increase the number of enrollment slots in community colleges, tech schools, and four year colleges so our local kids can get the degrees they need as they move into the workforce. We must also recognize that our workforce is diverse, so we must provide more opportunity for apprenticeships in various fields.

As a member of the House Transportation Committee, I worked tirelessly to bring thousands of dollars and hundreds of jobs into Snohomish County's through one of the largest Transportation Budget Packages Washington has ever seen.

Although we have made great strides in transportation investment, we must not stop, continuing to fund our local transportation system has to remain a top priority. Local businesses, big and small have demanded we take action and we must listen. We need to continue to reduce gridlock and invest in transit to help ease congestion along our major commuter corridors, while also protecting our environment. Businesses are losing thousands of dollars a day when our highways are clogged and we can no longer kick the can down the road.

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