One of the benefits of running for office is that I get to speak to Alabamians from all across the state every day. People from both parties tell me they are tired of Alabama ranking near the bottom in so many categories—health, education, economic well-being and public safety, just to name a few. They’re working hard but still struggling to pay their bills. They’re tired of selfish politicians who are bought off and bossed around by lobbyists and special interests. They’re ready for change.
These Alabamians are the reason I’m running for lieutenant governor.
My first job after college was as a teacher in Montgomery Public Schools. As a 22-year-old member of Teach for America, I learned that Alabama’s children are just as talented as students anywhere in the U.S. The problem is that we’re not providing them with the opportunities they need to capitalize on their God-given talents.
To try to close this gap, I founded a mentorship program to help low-income students in Alabama achieve their college and career goals. I’ve led this program ever since, taking hundreds of students on trips to Washington, D.C., to give them a chance to see government up close, visit museums, tour colleges and more. We then work closely with the students afterward to help them secure internships, apply to college and continue on a path toward success.
My teaching career strengthened my passion for fairness and justice. It led me to go to law school so I could shape policies that would help create a better Alabama for all. One of the proudest moments of my career was when I got to work alongside civil rights leader attorney Fred Gray to expunge the arrest record of Claudette Colvin. In the early 1950s, Colvin was a teenager who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, nearly a year before Rosa Parks did the same. Living in the birthplace of the civil rights movement—standing where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once stood—taught me that ordinary Alabamians have always been the ones with the courage to move our state forward.
As an attorney focused on public policy, I realized that our laws were failing Alabamians far too often. So, in 2022, I put together a bipartisan coalition and got elected to the Alabama House of Representatives. I became the only Jewish member of the Legislature. Throughout my service in the Legislature, I’ve built a reputation as an effective public servant who works across the aisle to deliver solutions. When I saw families lose their children to gun violence, I partnered with law enforcement and colleagues to ban Glock switches. When I saw dogs being chained up with no food, water or shelter, I worked with community members and Republican leadership to require that dogs be kept in basic humane conditions. When students all over the state were struggling with mental health challenges, I worked across the aisle to launch a telemental health program. When hardworking Alabamians were struggling to pay their bills, I joined my Democratic colleagues to try and reduce grocery and income taxes.
Progress has been made, but there’s still so much more for us to do.
Unfortunately, our legislative process is dominated by a handful of powerful special interest groups who throw money at politicians so they can boss them around. I’ve never been one to be bought or bossed around.
I’m running for lieutenant governor so that the people of Alabama will have a champion in the state’s second-highest office.
Soon I will have visited all 67 counties in Alabama. I’ve learned so much by listening to people in every corner of this state. There is one clear message: Alabamians aren’t asking for much. They simply want to be able to afford gas, groceries and their power bill. They want to fill their prescriptions without going broke, to send their kids to quality schools and to feel safe. Those aren’t Democratic or Republican issues. They’re Alabama issues.
That’s the vision I’m running on—creating an Alabama for all.
With bold leadership, there is so much we can do. Eliminate the grocery tax. Cut the tax on overtime wages. Stop taxing the purchase of farm equipment. Expand Medicaid to help keep hospitals open and boost rural economies. Protect access to IVF for families. Create a state lottery to bring in needed revenue. Enact requirements for data centers that protect communities from harm. Give education employees a pay raise and give all state retirees a cost-of-living adjustment. Create a livable wage for hardworking Alabamians.
I’ve spent nearly a decade and a half—my entire adult life—serving Alabamians. I’m a teacher who became a lawyer who then became a legislator. At every stage of my career, the goal has been the same: fight for people who deserve a fair shot. I’ve seen the struggles of our state up close. I’ve also seen what we’re capable of.
Alabamians deserve a place where quality education, affordable health care, safe communities and more money in people’s pockets aren’t promises for few, but a reality for all.
That’s the Alabama I believe in. I hope you’ll join me in creating an Alabama for all.
