CAMPAIGN AND ELECTION PROPOSALS
- Prohibit corporations and public utility companies from making donations to candidates, campaigns, PACs, political party committees, and political parties.
This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, local small and medium-sized businesses and new business prospects such as data center, solar, landfill, and gambling companies.
- Prohibit foreign corporations, utility companies, and individuals from making donations to candidates, campaigns, PACs, political party committees, and political parties.
This prohibition includes foreign-owned companies doing business in the United States.
- Cap donations to candidates, campaigns, PACs, political party committees, and political parties at $2,500 per election cycle.
State Delegate election cycle is 2 years. State Senator election cycle is 4 years. U.S. Congressman election cycle is 2 years. U.S. Senator election cycle is 6 years.
- Set term limits for Virginia federal and state legislators.
Set two 6-year terms for U.S. Senator. Set four 2-year terms for U.S. Congressman. Set two 4-year terms for State Senator. Set four 2-year terms for State Delegate.
- Establish ranked choice voting.
Use ranked choice voting in local, state, and federal elections, including primaries and special elections.
- Amend ballot requirements.
Keep the No Excuse for absentee and mail-in ballots. Remove the requirement for witness signature on absentee and mail-in ballots. Include prepaid postage on ballot return envelopes. Change the due dates to request and mail in a ballot to allow for delayed handling caused by postal regulations.
TAX PROPOSALS
- Eliminate all sales taxes on groceries: food, beverages, personal hygiene products.
These are life-sustaining items. Life’s necessities should not be taxed.
- Eliminate all sales taxes on pre-owned vehicles.
The government should not collect tax multiple times on the same item. Tax should be collected once, only when a person purchases a new vehicle from a dealer. When the original owner sells that vehicle, used, the buyer should not have to pay tax.
- Eliminate all personal property taxes.
We are not free to own vehicles or all the sundry items on the taxed list; we only rent the items from the government, and rent is in the form of tax.
- Eliminate all real estate taxes on primary residences and land.
We aren’t free to own our homes and land after we pay off the mortgage; we are required to rent them from the government, and that rent is in the form of tax.
- Eliminate all taxes on meals and hotels.
We aren’t free to eat out and stay at a hotel during vacation; we pay taxes to the government for the privilege.
- Eliminate all taxes on intangible services.
This is truly government overreach: we aren’t free to use any service because the government charges us a tax to do so. Services include home repairs, auto repairs, home delivery, dog grooming. The Democrats in the General Assembly have a great number of services on their list that they want to tax.
- Eliminate corporate tax exemptions.
Individual taxpayers should not be required to pay higher taxes to offset the tax exemptions given to corporations. Tax exemptions should not be given as a condition for a business to set up shop in Virginia.
- Establish a flat rate state income tax.
Set the tax rate at 2.5%. No deductions. Start taxing income at $52,100.
- Establish a flat rate local income tax.
Set the tax rate at 2.5%. No deductions. Start taxing income at $52,100.
- Establish a fair corporate tax rate.
No corporation should pay a lower tax than the highest tax paid by any individual.
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
- Prohibit corporations and investment firms from owning single family homes.
Housing is one of life’s necessities and treating it as nothing but a money-maker for corporations and stockholders has caused rent and purchase prices to skyrocket beyond what most people can afford.
- Multi-family housing.
Amend zoning laws to allow the construction of duplexes and two-story multiplexes. These housing units provide more homes on the same land area.
- Coalition of churches.
Churches across America are forming coalitions to raise money and are using their own land, money, and vacant buildings to improve housing opportunities. Zoning laws should be amended to accommodate their mission to provide more homes.
- Community Land Trusts.
Assist in the development of Community Land Trusts to build and maintain affordable housing prices.
AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE
- Prohibit insurance companies from declining claims.
Patients pay premiums, co-pays, and deductibles to receive the healthcare they need. Insurance companies should be prohibited from increasing their profit by denying claims for medical treatment and prescriptions that are ordered by medical providers.
- Ban for-profit insurance companies, hospitals, and medical clinics.
No one should make a profit from illness. Cap patient costs and keep CEO salaries and benefits at a reasonable level.
- Cap the cost of prescriptions.
U.S. citizens should not pay pharmaceutical companies more than what citizens of other countries pay.
- Medical School.
Establish a program to assist medical students with their tuition and fees to increase the number of medical providers. Lower medical school debt can lead to lower doctors’ charges.
- Medicare for All.
This will lower patient costs and eliminate or reduce the for-profit element.
EDUCATION
- Public funds are for public schools.
Keep public funds in public schools, not in vouchers or charter, private, or parochial schools.
- Employee wages.
Bring teacher pay up to the national average. Provide fair wages and benefits for all public school employees from bus drivers to cafeteria workers to custodial staff.
- Healthcare Professionals
Provide funding to employ medical and mental health professionals in each public school.
- Bus chaperones.
Establish a paid employment category for bus chaperones. It is well known that children can be unruly and disrupt the driver. Cameras can record bad behavior, but they can’t stop it in progress. Chaperones can keep the driver focused on the road while they focus on the students.
- School supplies.
State and federal funds must be budgeted to be used to provide students with the required supplies. The cost of items on these long lists of required supplies overburdens parents, especially low-income earners and those with more than one or two children in school. Teachers should not be obligated to purchase student supplies.
DATA CENTERS
- Prohibit new data centers.
Virginia is losing its natural beauty with every data center complex that is built.
- Remove tax incentives.
Taxpayers should not be subsidizing these multi-billion-dollar corporations.
- Transparency in transactions.
Require that the sale of large tracts of land and abandoned buildings include the buyer’s purpose and be made available to the public. Prohibit the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Require that local governing boards disclose to the public every request for a data center as soon as they receive the request. Require public hearings before Host Agreements and Conditional Use Permits are approved and make these documents available to the public during the writing process and after approval. Require that governing boards take a written survey to weigh the opinions of all citizens and make the survey results available to the public before they make a decision.
- Prohibit pre-payments to County Supervisors, Town Councils, and local treasuries.
Donating money and public equipment prior to approval is not altruistic, it’s a bribe.
- Local autonomy.
Except for transparency requirements, the final decision whether to allow data centers should be left up to the people, and local governing boards must abide by the wishes of the people.