Education
Providing a quality education for all students regardless of what background they come from is the cornerstone of a strong democracy. As a student who graduated during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Blaizen knows that our students need even more resources to help them catch up and succeed in life.
Blaizen will always put the interests of our students first, which includes an understanding that not everyone wants to go to college. More funding for K-12 schools, higher education, and trade & vocational education are at the top of Blaizen’s list!
Community Safety
As a firm believer that political power is derived from strong communities, Blaizen will advocate for programs that will tackle the root causes of crime and lessen the workload of our law enforcement officers.
Blaizen is committed to investigating avenues that keep our police officers safe on the job by providing additional staff and resources when responding to the wide array of calls our officers respond to.
Mental Health
Growing more important since 2020, providing effective, affordable, accessible mental health resources and community programs for community members of all ages is essential.
During the 2020 Pandemic, Blaizen advocated for the implementation of mental wellness programs, mental health screenings, and hiring of additional mental health support staff. In Richmond, Blaizen will fight to bring those programs into all of our schools and into our communities.
Electoral Reforms
America’s democracy is strong and resilient, but with a changing world and evolving technology, now more than ever is it important to increase transparency and voter participation.
As a longtime advocate for electoral reforms, Blaizen has and will continue to advocate for policies that make voting easier and more accessible, allow voters more visibility into the ballot counting process, adopt reforms that allow voter to vote their conscious without the worry of ‘spoiler votes,’ and reform campaign finance law to keep corporations from buying votes.
Reproductive Freedom
Whether it’s access to a safe and healthy pregnancy, access to contraception, or enshrining Roe v. Wade into VA law, Blaizen is a firm believer in protecting the reproductive freedoms of all Virginians.
Blaizen will fight to keep abortion legal in Virginia, fight to protect critical access to contraception, and continue to ensure the commonwealth is doing everything to ensure the right to a safe, health pregnancy for those who want.
Jobs & Taxes
Blaizen wants to return to an economic America where corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share not just to the government, but to their workforce. In Richmond, Blaizen will advocate for policies that tax Virginia’s wealthiest citizens and corporations, not the working class.
Blaizen will also advocate for policies that require major corporations to improve pay and working conditions while cutting product costs instead of funding exorbitant CEO bonuses and shareholder buybacks.
Supporting Our Local Farmers
As Warehouses and overpriced Cookie-Cutter Suburbs replace our existing farmlands, and where Virginia is loosing more family farms to consolidation, now more than ever is it important for our commonwealth to invest in our farmers.
As one of the co-founders of the Chesapeake Rural Preservation Committee, Blaizen will hit the ground running to stop these short-sighted developments and instead fund agro- & eco-tourism grants in addition to expanding our existing supports to help farmers fund additional areas of revenue or to keep their farms rural after they retire!
Affordable Housing
Access to safe, stable housing is one of the most influential factors to determine if someone is able to keep a steady job and live a meaningful, happy life. With housing and rent prices rising and stagnate governmental support for working renters and first-time homebuyers, it is essential to create new avenues for new affordable, accessibly housing.
As Delegate, Blaizen will advocate for policies that make building affordable homes easier without impeding on our natural resources while also investing in programs to reward hardworking Virginian’s who are struggling with rent or buying their first home.
Supporting Our Veterans
As the child of a disabled Navy Veteran, Blaizen knows that our current support systems for veterans are lacking. Blaizen believes in investing into the healthcare and career transition for veterans wishing to continue to live their lives and give back to the community.
In Richmond, Blaizen will advocate for more than symbolic support for our veterans. Blaizen will fight for historic, economic investments to ensure our veterans are supported and accounted for throughout the rest of their life.
Civil Justice
From historic red lining, segregation, and slavery throughout Virginian’s history that have intentionally kept wealth out communities of color, it is important to ensure that intentional investment is given to those communities for revitalization to make up for the past hundreds of years of marginalization.
Blaizen will work with those communities to find the best avenues of progress to reinvest while fighting to prevent gentrification from occurring as we’ve seen in other communities across the country.
Accessible Healthcare
From growing up with chronic illnesses to finding a partner who suffers from a late onset disability, Blaizen knows that accessible, affordable healthcare is important for when unexpected illnesses or disabilities develop.
Blaizen is committed to expanding Medicare & Medicaid, capping the costs of prescriptions, such as insulin, for all Virginians, and fighting for-profit health insurance companies and medical facilities who would rather squeeze working class Virginians for every last penny then provide life-saving and changing medical treatments.
Jobs & The Environment
From getting a start in advocacy fighting the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to earning a Bachelor’s of Science in Oceanography and participating in environmental policy research, Blaizen understands better than most how important our environment is for our health, economy, and culture.
In Richmond, Blaizen will advocate for policies that clean up our economy, local ecosystems, and take advantage of existing green business opportunities to make Hampton Roads a global industrial powerhouse that rivals even China for green industry.