Steve is a different kind of leader… different from other public officials. Through his work and life experience, he is uniquely qualified to address the issues confronting ordinary Vermonters everyday. He has literally put pen to paper and told you exactly what he believes through his commentary writings. We have gathered a few of them here for you to review- You’ll always know exactly where Steve comes down on the issues important to you.
Addiction and Chronic Pain
STEVE IS FOR COMPREHENSIVE CHRONIC PAIN RELIEF!
Steve is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with a practice specializing in addiction medicine. He previously has worked in a variety of substance abuse clinical settings across Vermont. The opiate crisis places a renewed emphasis on pain management as an emerging clinical issue.
- Great Pains (vtdigger.org, 08/10/17)
- Marijuana, Painkillers and Addiction (vtdigger.org, 04/12/17)
Cannabis Reform
STEVE SUPPORTS CREATING A ROBUST COMMERCIAL MARKET FOR CANNABIS!
Steve understands that the role-out and implementation of cannabis reform is a pivotal moment for Vermont. Cannabis and Industrial Hemp represent a once in a generation commercial opportunity. It is critical that the State create the infrastructure necessary to support cannabis related businesses.
- Vermont Means Quality Across the Board, Cannabis Included (Heady Vermont, 06/20/18)
- Marijuana tax revenues could fund universal basic income (vtdigger.org, 08/24/17)
- Deterrence should outweigh drugged driving standards (vtdigger.org, 07/11/17)
- Informed consent — cannabis and ‘Tax & Regulate’ (vtdigger.org, 05/02/16
Healthcare
STEVE WILL CHAMPION UNIVERSAL PRIMARY CARE…
Steve has a unique understanding of the issues surrounding healthcare as a mental health provider. Steve has also formerly served as the national director of state affairs at the Hemophilia Federation of America and as director of advocacy for its New England Chapter, the New England Hemophilia Association. In that capacity he traveled around the country fighting for chronically ill patients, working to ensure that they would be able to access the medication and procedures necessary to guarantee their ongoing healthcare needs. Steve knows that every Vermonter is entitled to basic and adequate healthcare coverage (period–) Healthcare is a basic human right and should be treated that way as a matter of policy, and a matter of law.
- Courts should address prescription drug re-importation (vtdigger.org, 09/10/17)
- Inequitable and unequal, by any measure (vtdigger.org,
- Basic and adequate health care is constitutionally fundamental (vtdigger.org, 01/10/17)
- Rationing care is bad medicine (vtdigger.org, 02/12/16)
Basic Income and Economic Justice
STEVE WILL FIGHT FOR FIFTEEN AND DIGNITY AT WORK EVERYDAY!
Steve is a former Vice President of the Champlain Valley Central Labor Council and a past member of the VT AFL-CIO Executive Board. Steve is committed to raising the dignity of Vermont workers and fighting precarious work. The part-time, low wage, honeymooning-in-Vermont economy is not working for Vermont families. It is time to make investments in human capital and create communities where we can afford to buy a home and raise our families.
- State can’t not afford a raise in minimum wage (vtdigger.org, 02/26/17)
- Automation and basic income (vtdigger.org, 10/16/16)
- Carbon tax means predictable economic environment, energy independence (vtdigger.org, 07/28/16)
- Vermonters in exile (vtdigger.org, 03/06/16)
Privacy and Civil Rights
STEVE THINKS YOU SHOULD CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR DATA…
Steve is committed to safeguarding the individual privacy rights of every Vermonter. Privacy issues in the age of big data continues to be one of the emerging civil rights concerns of our time. Recent data breaches at Yahoo!, Equifax, TJX and others have brought increased attention to privacy issues here in Vermont. Genetic information is especially vulnerable to manipulation and misappropriation. This reality led Steve to form the Forum on Genetic Equity, an organization committed to combating genetic bias.
- Personal information is not a commodity (vtdigger.org, 06/06/17)
- Privacy rights under assault (vtdigger.org, 05/03/17)
- The future genetic ghetto (vtdigger.org, 03/28/17)