Heidi on the Issues

Heidi will fight to protect our democracy and put power back in the hands of the people. Unfortunately, Our democracy – which is Greek for ‘rule by the people’ – faces threats from multiple fronts.

• Fight back against election deniers and those who would seek to overthrow election results.

• Reform our ethics and campaign finance laws to remove the undue influence of corporations on our lawmaking process .

• Refuse campaign contributions from any corporate entity.

• Expand voting access and stand up to any attempt to make it harder to vote.

• Promote innovative ideas like publicly-funded elections, ranked-choice voting, and robust early voting to help level the playing field and invite more people into the governmental process.

Heidi will fight to fully fund our public schools so that every child has access to a world-class education in a safe classroom.

• Fully fund our public schools from pre-k to higher education.

• Invest in our children and address the childcare crisis by guaranteeing universal pre-K for all 3 and 4-year-olds, as well as universal school meals so that no child is left hungry or left behind.

• Address the teacher shortage and COVID learning loss by raising teacher pay both to retain teachers and to attract more educators to Virginia.

• Ensure our children are safe in their classrooms by banning military-style assault weapons used in mass shootings.

• Improve student mental health by hiring more school counselors.

• Prioritize school modernization and construction so that our children can be taught in state-of-the-art classrooms.

• Stand up against Republican attempts to rewrite history.

Heidi will fight to expand access to quality affordable health care, while defending a woman’s right to choose.

• Fight back against Gov. Youngkin and extremist Republicans who are trying to implement abortion bans.

• Pursue reproductive justice through ensuring affordable access to abortion.

• Hold Big Pharma accountable, by reining in the cost of prescription drugs by passing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which would cap what consumers would pay for certain high-cost medicines.

• Invest in outreach to ensure the 400,000 Virginians at risk of losing access to affordable health care through Medicaid unwinding, complete the paperwork to stay in the program or transition to other affordable health insurance options.

• Work to ensure the success of Virginia’s new state health exchange so that more Virginians can access affordable health care.

• Treat suicides and overdoses as a public health crisis and direct resources to people who are struggling with mental health or substance use disorders.

• Reduce maternal health disparities for women of color and other marginalized communities.

• Make preventive care, proper nutrition, and healthy lifestyles the foundation of our health care system by prioritizing access to and knowledge of these resources.

Heidi will fight to get guns off our streets and out of schools through bold legislation to end gun violence.

• Pass ban on military-style assault weapons and high capacity magazines.

• Support mandatory waiting periods for firearm sales.

• Ban ghost guns and 3D printed guns.

• Keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, like domestic abusers.

• Require safe storage and mandatory waiting periods.

Hard-working families are the engine of our economy. Heidi will fight for good jobs with good benefits so that workers can support their families while also being able to spend time with them.

• Attract good-paying jobs to our community that create real economic opportunity and benefit the people who live here.

• Put community members (as constituents, consumers, and workers) first, over corporations looking to unfairly profit off of them.

• Ensure every worker has 12 weeks of Paid Family and Medical Leave to care for a new child or sick family member.

• Raise the minimum wage to $15/hour immediately and tie future increases to inflation.

• Strengthen the power of working people to join together in a union by repealing Virginia’s outdated Right-to-Work law and expanding collective bargaining rights for all public sector employees.

• Guarantee paid sick days to the 1 million workers who do not have a single paid day off so that they do not have to choose between their health and a paycheck.

• Close the gender pay gap and ensure Equal Work for Equal Pay.

• Protect prevailing wage laws and update them on a regular basis.

Heidi will fight to find solutions to the pressing environmental challenges of our time, including climate change and sea level rise.

• Protect the progress Virginia has made in recent years, including our admittance into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, as well as the Clean Car Standards.

• Make it as easy and affordable for people to switch to solar roofs, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies.

• Secure (and at times, rethink) our roads, bridges, electric lines and other infrastructure.

• Ensure Virginia leads the nation as we transition to a 21st century clean energy economy that will create new, high-paying jobs, including for Fairfax County.

• Prioritize conservation efforts to protect existing habitats and natural resources, so that future generations may also enjoy the wonders our state has to offer.

• Refuse campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies and state-regulated polluters.

Heidi will fight for inclusivity and equality for all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

• Committed to ensuring that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has no place in our society.

• Actively support LGBTQ rights and will tirelessly advocate for equal treatment under the law.

• Work diligently to support LGBTQ-friendly legislation and policies that protect and advance the rights of LGBTQ individuals.

• Encourage others to become allies and advocate for the LGBTQ community.