Democracy
Strengthening guardrails to protect our constitutional and civil rights is Mike’s first priority. Government should serve everyone, not just billionaires.
Affordability
Mike wants to directly address stagnant wages and the rising costs for housing, healthcare, and groceries. Families and individuals need to not just get by –- they need to get ahead. A well-paid labor market and strong unions will allow them to do so.
Education
As a former teacher, Mike wants to reinstate the Department of Education and believes that more investments need to be made in public education. Education is an equalizer and the more children that get the rigorous, well rounded public education they need, the more people will succeed. Our schools are overcrowded and underfunded. Education and extracurricular programming are dependent on the zip code you live in and denies tens of thousands of students equal opportunities to explore and learn. Our schools succeed when we have good education policy and teachers working in classrooms across the district. This includes lowering classroom sizes, developing good rigorous curricula, and ensuring student mandates are not just met, but that all students have access to the resources and programming that leads to success.
Environment
We need to get back to a point where we have a federal government that believes that climate change is real, not refutable, and believes in hard science. Too many elected officials are in the pockets of big oil and special interests. We need to enforce penalties and fines for dumping toxins in our waters and pumping greenhouse gas into our air. We have to invest in our infrastructure and upgrade sewer and drainage systems so that future natural disasters do not completely flood our districts.
Both Staten Island and Brooklyn include miles of vulnerable shoreline, prone to damage from storms and erosion. Protecting our residents includes taking a real look at protecting our shores, to prevent loss of life, and damage to property and infrastructure. A better environment includes an investment into infrastructure that will bring our district into the 21st century and will create good paying union jobs.
We all saw the devastation of Superstorm Sandy in our district and the damage and flooding each new storm brings to our neighborhoods. Climate change is a national security threat and impacts our economy, health, and safety. It’s time to act now and make sure we prevent further damage and degradation of our environment.
Mike participated in an environmental forum in April. Read about it here.
Equality
Mike will defend the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, and make sure everyone is treated equally under the law. Trans rights are human rights and all of those in the LGBTQIA+ community should be free from workplace, banking, and healthcare discrimination.
disability rights
Centering those who are disabled in our community means including them in planning infrastructure, education, ballot accessibility, and work spaces. Accommodation should not be an afterthought. We need to provide accessibility for visible and invisible disabilities.
As a former special education teacher in District 75, Mike saw the potential in every student in his class and knows the support required to help his students develop their knowledge and capabilities. We need to strengthen resources for those students in special education and work on transition plans for older students who eventually age out of school programs so we can help every person reach their full potential.
We need to expand educational and vocational programs that allow those with disabilities to join the workforce. Let’s reevaluate antiquated hiring practices that exclude many disabled people from even applying for work. We need to make sure that disabled employees are treated and paid equally.
Voting rights
Our democracy is disappearing in real time. We all witnessed how the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in April 2026. The decision gave the green light to Southern states to silence the voices of people of color. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibited states from imposing discriminatory maps or practices. Congressional action to safeguard voting rights is long overdue. If elected, Mike will support the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act as a start to repairing the harms caused by this ruling, as well as the continuous disenfranchisement of people of color in this nation.
Reproductive freedom
Mike will continue to be a strong advocate for women's rights, including supporting a woman's right to choose. Women alone should make the decisions that affect them and their bodies, not the government.
Healthcare
When a family member gets sick, we want to focus on making them better. Whether a loved one is battling cancer or your child just needs a few stitches from falling off a bike, the focus should be on your family, not worrying about your ability to pay.
We spend more than any other nation on healthcare, but are left with an unequal system that is either too expensive or completely out of reach for millions. In the richest country in the world, it’s unacceptable. We need a system that treats everyone, regardless of past injury, illness, ability to pay, their race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Mike supports healthcare for all.