The 21st century has seen numerous challenges to Democratic principles. I have fought for these principles all my life. In 2020, I helped beat Donald Trump and his cronies in court and fought back against the big lie that even his personally appointed judges would not believe.

I also drafted and lobbied for an amendment to the Pennsylvania constitution to stop partisan Gerrymandering.  But there is so much more we need to do to protect our Democracy.

Authoritarianism is on the rise, and for the first time since the civil war, the United States was unable to have a peaceful transfer of power.  In Pennsylvania, some leaders have embraced conspiracy theories. They also have abandoned Democratic principles, attempting to make it harder to vote, questioning the legitimacy of our elections, and interfering with the work of local election boards. Many will compromise any value and exploit any opportunity for short-term political gain.

We need fighters in the statehouse to stand up to these politicians and fight the big lie.  We must defend the truth, protect voting rights and demand a higher standard from our elected officials. Our legislators should be fighting for democratic principles, not challenging them. We must demand better; our future and our children’s future depends on it.

If elected, I would work to enact electoral reform, such as:

• Investing in civic education for our young people.
• Voter pre-registration at 16.
• Same-day voter registration to increase turnout.
• Explicit standards for the availability of county drop boxes.
• Allowing pre-canvassing of mail in ballots to provide voters with notice of any errors and to speed up vote calculations.
• Protect and expand mail-in voting provisions.
• Redistricting reform.

I would also support citizen-first ethics reforms such as:

• A “no budget/no pay” requirement.
• Pay-to-play protections.
• Campaign finance reform
• A requirement that local campaign finance reports be accessible statewide.

Pennsylvanians are working longer hours, are more productive than ever, and are being asked to do more every day.  Families are often sandwiched between raising children and caring for an older or sick family member.  At the same time, the government is doing less to help these families. 

Our leaders have a fundamental responsibility to make government work for these people and to provide programs and support that makes it easier to be a good parent and a good citizen. Helping these families is crucial for our Democracy and our shared future.

I will support programs that help build stronger families and better citizens including:

• Expanding access to healthcare and protecting CHIP.
• Expanding childcare, Head Start, pre-K, and full-day kindergarten.
• Providing paid family medical leave.
• Providing resources for families caring for an older or sick family member.
• Providing accommodations for parenting, family, and civic responsibilities

I have worked with struggling families throughout my career and understand what they face.  Low wages persist while we face rapid cost-of-living increases, organized labor is under assault, and the middle class has continued to shrink. Our economy is changing rapidly and our legislators are not keeping pace.  Working people live with more fear, uncertainty, and change than at any period in our history. 

This insecurity affects us all and we cannot build a foundation for a better society without addressing these most fundamental questions and rebuilding the middle class. 

• I will fight for a minimum wage increase that provides families with sustainable wages. 
• I will fight to create more family-sustaining jobs and careers by continuing our investment in Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and 21st-century innovation. 
• I will fight to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and enhanced job training, to meet the demands of the future and an expanding global marketplace.  
• I will fight to support our state schools and to reduce tuition to help our next generation build better futures and more meaningful lives.
• I will fight regressive taxes that place undue burdens on struggling families. 
• I will fight for organized labor and to turn back the assault on Unions, which have long been an essential building block of the middle class. As an attorney, I continually a better quality of Justice for Union workers. That should be a norm, not an exception.

I am 100% pro-choice and support the mission of Planned Parenthood in serving women, men, and some of those most in need in our communities. One of the most important relationships, outside of a family relationship, is that of a doctor and patient. A woman’s decision about her own health care should be made between her and her doctor.   I will fight the unnecessary restrictions that Harrisburg continually proposes that would place a barrier between a woman and her doctor and will fight to ensure that Planned Parenthood continues to have the resources necessary to serve our communities.

• I will support evidence and science-based healthcare choices and programs. 
• I will vote against legislation restricting access to contraceptives and birth control.
• I will support and protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.  
• I will fight against cuts to Medicaid, Planned Parenthood, and other family planning resources, which are essential for local health care access and our communities.
• I will fight against laws that interfere with a woman’s relationship with her doctor or harass or demean a woman exercising her reproductive rights. 
• I will also fight to protect women and others from violence, intimidation, and harassment for their healthcare decisions. 

Deciding to become a parent is one of the most significant decisions in a person’s life and the ability to make that decision is fundamental and necessary for any real autonomy and economic independence. 

A just society includes and protects all people.  I will continue to fight to level the playing field for all regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, or social status.

As the loyal brother to a gay sister, I saw the opportunities that were taken from my sister. I am proud of her work, the fantastic parent she became, the good woman she married, and the happiness she found. Regardless of the passage of time and the many steps we have taken towards a more just Pennsylvania, I remain stung by the harm and irrational rejection of her talents and good heart.

As an attorney representing my LGBT, minority, disabled, and women clients, I can feel the nausea and heartache they suffer due to an irrational abuse of power or discriminatory action. These preventable abuses hurt a fellow human for no reason but hate and indifference. It cannot stand; we can no longer permit it, we have to do better, and we must tear down the old walls of these injustices.

Over the last 30 years, fighting for Justice has been my life’s work.

Beginning as a ten-year-old, working the polls in response to a political advertisement that exploited racial division, I have fought to move our society forward, to improve our political culture, and to oppose the forces of hate, fear, and institutional bias.

I continued that fight through my 20’s and 30’s, advocating a more just society as President of the Pennsylvania Young Democrats. Throughout those years, I fought for racial justice, immigrant rights, and to protect workers’ rights.

As a pro bono attorney, I appealed discrimination cases for the LGBTQ community, worked on domestic partner benefits, and helped establish an LGBTQ community center.

As a Councilperson, I am proud of my vote to ban gay conversion therapy in Doylestown and am a staunch supporter of our trailblazing nondiscrimination ordinance. In response to a hate group appearing at CB West, a fellow councilperson and I wanted to support the LGBT community, which led to the first Pride event in the Borough of Doylestown. I also called on our borough officials to review our sexual harassment policies to ensure victims are never silenced.

That is how I spent the last 30 years and what I will continue to do as your state representative.

As your voice in Harrisburg, I will challenge institutional bias, protect our residents from discrimination and hate, and ensure that ALL families can expect Justice under the law.

• I will fight to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, expand hate crimes protections, and promote inclusion and fairness. 
• I will fight for a level playing field for women in our workforce, demand that they receive equal pay for equal work, and insist on protections for women’s healthcare.
• I will fight for criminal justice reform and a second chance for deserving citizens.
• I will fight for greater accessibility and accommodation for those with disabilities. 

In 1860, Henry David Thoreau said, “[w]hat is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”  That rings true today, in a less simple time. Today, the environment is under constant assault and science is ignored, placing the planet at greater risk than at any time in human history. The environment and the natural resources that are essential to our quality of life must be protected.

Locally, the Delaware River Basin is a precious resource that needs our elected officials’ thoughtful and dedicated stewardship. It provides drinking water to 15 million people, provides fresh water for our farming industry, and drives three billion dollars per year in industry with an additional seven hundred million dollars generated annually from entertainment along the river.

As your representative in Harrisburg:

• I will fight against the sustained attack on science in our public policy. 
• I will fight for sustainable development and preserve precious resources for future generations. I will also reverse efforts to stop local governments from being good stewards of our environment. 
• I will work to promote clean energy and work to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. 
• I will fight to continue a ban on fracking and related activities in the Delaware River Basin and our state parks.

The last two years have been challenging for our citizens, economy, and local governments. Unfortunately, the Pennsylvania legislature has not been a reliable partner and has not thoughtfully balanced the public health crisis, the threats to our neighbors and children, and legitimate economic concerns. The legislative response has often worsened the health and economic crisis we continue to face.

As a municipal official, our energies have focused on creating supports for the business community, encouraging compliance with masking, and attempting to safely create an environment with as much normalcy as possible in these difficult times. We immediately began outdoor dining programs to bolster our restaurant community, provided a forum for the entire business community to address issues on a weekly basis, and started a public campaign to educate and protect our public.

The pandemic has raised a steady stream of new questions on safely navigating our new normal.  We cannot do this without a basic appreciation of facts, without reliance on experts in the field, and without a sincere desire to do what is right for our citizens instead of party bosses.

As your representative, I will work to support small businesses, find accommodations that protect public health, and begin the process of thoughtfully responding to this crisis.  I pledge to do what is right after considering the best evidence available, regardless of the political winds.

I believe that how we treat animals is a barometer of how we treat each other in a society, and far too many shameful abuses are accepted and routinely suffered by animals.  Animals are also treated like property under our law. This means that regardless of the close personal and familial connection between animals and pet owners, that relationship is not honored by our government. We must do better and, as a legislator, I will draft innovative laws to improve the quality of Justice for animals and pet owners.

If elected, I will lead on humane issues and fight for common-sense reform:

• I will work to better define the nature and value of companion animals under the law.  Because animals are treated like property, anyone whose family pet is killed or injured may be limited to recovering only the economic value of the animal in court. Pet owners deserve fair compensation, even if it exceeds the economic value of their pets. Their value extends far beyond their economic value and I will make the law to recognize this. 
• I will work to deter abuses directed and animals intended to harm pet owners. Pet owners deserve relief when someone intentionally causes emotional harm by attacking a family pet. Without such regulations, there is no deterrent to such abuses. 
• I will work to change how pet stores sell animals to provide a better chance for the many amazing animals at local rescues and shelters.
• I will work to allow humane officers to safely respond to animal emergencies.
• I will support programs to provide better public awareness and education regarding humane statutes and the consequences of violating such statutes.
• I would work to support habitat protection and open space use. 

The Pennsylvania Legislature has systematically failed to adequately or fairly fund public education. It has failed to address structural deficits in our budget while subsidizing the shale industry and big business at the expense of our kids. These are not the priorities of Main Street and this trend must stop.

As a former community college professor, I know that our children’s futures are at stake due to the priorities being set in Harrisburg. I will make investing in our children’s future is one of my top priorities.

• I will work to protect education funding, readjust our budgetary priorities, and to ensure that main street values are a fundamental part of our budget process. 
• I will work to fairly fund our children’s education, areas of historical need, and growing areas like our own which need more significant support from Harrisburg. 
• I will push for investment in early childhood education, which builds stable healthy families, young minds, and a stronger economy. 
• I will work to utilize our community colleges fully and to open doors to more students. 
• I will work to provide educational opportunities that adapt to changes in our work environment, including increased funding for trade and technical schools. 
• We also have to protect our children’s safety, which will require common-sense gun reforms, support for school social workers, and programs to stop bullying and hazing.

I believe there is a balance in our democracy between freedom and order.  Even with the 1st Amendment, there is no right to scream “fire” in a crowded movie theater. It has become painfully clear this balance is not being struck appropriately with regard to guns.

Our first responsibility as elected officials is always the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens. We cannot have our children living in fear. To protect our citizens and our quality of life, we must restore a proper balance in our society. I support common-sense gun reform to restore that balance, including:

• Strengthening background checks
• Supporting a no-fly/no-buy ban
• Limiting assault-style weapons 
• Providing better regulation of lost guns
• Providing life-saving protection to those at risk of suicide

As a Doylestown Borough Councilperson, I voted to demand that Harrisburg take action on common-sense gun reform.  We cannot kick this can down the road until more people unnecessarily die.

Tim will improve our infrastructure and build a stronger economy to support working families and small businesses.

On the Doylestown Borough Council, Tim worked for years to IMPROVE borough streets, making them some of the best in the region. But fixing potholes on STATE ROADS meant getting PennDOT to do that same work on its roads. Each year, veterans march in the oldest Memorial Day parade in the country on a pothole-filled state road that hasn’t been paved in this century. Harrisburg recently committed to paving 1,000 feet ON THIS road, but when the time came, the state only paved 500 feet. We deserve better than a 50% effort from our state government, but that is what Harrisburg politicians keep giving us.