Issues
I invite you to talk with me and with your neighbors.
No one person can see all facets of problems and opportunities in our district. Please ask me questions, tell me your stories, or offer proposals. We will build out this page with more issues as we meet and hear from you. We are in this together.
Ken’s Assumptions and Commitments
-
Ask our neighbors in the Sixth District who live at or below the Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed (ALICE) level. On average, forty-four percent of our neighbors work – often multiple jobs – but do not have savings or make a consistent living wage. They live paycheck to paycheck and one unexpected medical bill or car repair away from financial catastrophe. See the complete Alice report for Virginia at unitedforalice.org/virginia.
-
Sustained stress pushes people into hypervigilance, including looking for “an enemy” to fight, even if that enemy is their neighbor. They are also vulnerable to following leaders who promise to fix everything. To save democracy, we must rebuild economic security and a sense of belonging for everyone in our communities.
-
The mental health crisis in our country is caused by an excessive emphasis on going it alone. We must rekindle an ethos of mutual care, compassion, and common sense shared problem-solving for individual and collective benefit. Democratic governance is how we pool our resources and collaborate to lift everyone.
-
Congress must act to codify the right of every citizen to control their reproductive planning and make medically sound decisions with their healthcare providers. We must also act immediately to protect the rights and dignity of every member of our community, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation. The government does not belong in our bedrooms or our medical appointments.
I invite you to judge every policy I put forward against these questions.
Does it rest on respect for every person's rights, dignity, privacy, and bodily autonomy?
Are large corporations and Wall Street traders bearing their share of the costs to run their business – roads, power grids, bridges, broadband, etc – and paying to clean up their messes?
Does it give local agriculture and Main Street businesses what they need to grow, innovate, and support their workers?
Are workers given a place at the table to negotiate for their needs?
Are we investing in families and our children?
Jobs and the Economy
Ken Mitchell prioritizes revitalizing the economy and creating robust job opportunities for all Americans. Ken advocates for policies promoting job growth, fair wages, and worker protections. He understands the importance of investing in infrastructure, renewable energy projects, and small businesses to stimulate economic development and create jobs. Additionally, he champions measures to address income inequality and supports initiatives to provide training and educational resources to ensure that all individuals have the opportunity to secure meaningful employment. Ken’s stance underscores the fundamental belief that a thriving economy should benefit everyone, not just the privileged few.
Education
Ken Mitchell is committed to ensuring every student can access a high-quality public education. With a deep understanding of the importance of education in shaping the future, Ken advocates for increased funding for public schools, support for teacher education programs in public universities, and paying educators the professional salaries they deserve. All students need adequate access to technology, including investment in rural broadband. Disparities between urban and rural schools in the Sixth District must be addressed. All children deserve equal opportunities regardless of ZIP code. Ken’s positive stance on education encompasses a vision of innovative learning environments that empower students to thrive and succeed in an ever-changing world.
Privacy and Bodily Autonomy
If we had doubts about the impact and long-term goal of elected leaders and activist judges in the post-Roe world, Alabama just put those to rest. We are facing an unprecedented attack on a fundamental building block of our democracy – respect for each person's human dignity and right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Congress must act to codify the right of every citizen to control their reproductive planning and make medically sound decisions with their healthcare providers. We must also act immediately to protect the rights and dignity of every member of our community, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation. The government does not belong in our bedrooms or our medical appointments.
Energy Transition
The fossil fuel economy was created and maintained with substantial public taxpayer investment. We have paid for highways for generations instead of maintaining a robust rail system. We have invested in roads to connect suburbs to cities instead of paying for public transit systems. We fought wars to defend oil supplies. It is time for the United States to transition public investments away from propping up fossil fuel companies. Our money should be invested in encouraging renewable, green energy systems. Climate change is real; the need is urgent. Ken will use his experience building broadband and upgrading water supply and treatment systems to advocate for much-needed energy system changes.
Climate Change is Real
The need for action is urgent. Congressional District 6 (CD6) is fortunate. On every projection of catastrophic impacts, we are spared the worst climate change consequences. We will be a climate change destination for those fleeing unlivable areas. We will need to expand housing, water sources, food supplies, and schools. We can prepare by building on our strong agricultural base and expanding our manufacturing sector. Encouraging industrial hemp as a commercial crop will help farmers diversify their income and spur industrial development in manufacturing plants that use hemp to create commercial products. Removing the federal legal barriers to farming hemp is a priority. Incentivizing farmers to grow this climate-friendly crop will help farmers and the planet.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
For decades, the United States has supported a two-state solution as the goal and diplomacy as the means to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We have not always acted consistently to support that outcome. For too long, peace-seeking Palestinians and peace-seeking Israelis have seen their hopes dashed by their respective leaders. The crisis in Gaza requires a change in our engagement with all parties to the conflict. The U.S. must:
Promote an immediate ceasefire and support the implementation of non-military means for holding accountable anyone from either side who committed atrocities,
Surge humanitarian aid into Gaza and
Engage with regional leaders to rebuild Gaza and support the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.
There are indications the Biden administration is making changes in U.S. engagement with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as well as other regional leaders. They need more time. We know that a Trump administration will act carelessly and in ways that further destabilize Israeli-Palestinian relations. They already did so by condoning illegal settlements, moving the U.S. embassy, and negotiating the Abraham Accord with no reference to the future of Palestine.