Jay Walker (Pennsylvania)

I'm running for PA House 23 (east end of Pittsburgh) in Nov 2020. I'm a community organizer for an environmental non profit. I'm mixed race and a first generation immigrant. Fighting to wrest back control of our lives from corporations. Ban fracking now!

• Ban fracking now! We need to immediately stop drilling new wells and aggressively phase out old ones. We need to be rapidly moving to renewable energy.
• Get money out of politics! Corporate lobbyists control politicians on both sides of the aisles. We need to implement campaign finance reform and ban lobbyist gifts.
• Real change starts local! We can't wait for change anymore. Many of our representatives have been in office for decades and they have not made any real progress. We need a representative who will take action.

Here are the issues I'm personally passionate about:
-Environmental action including banning fracking, ending fossil fuel subsidies, just Green New Deal, divest pensions from fossil fuels, and a statewide carbon tax
-Corruption reform including a blanket ban on gifts. campaign finance reform, and public financing of campaigns like democracy vouchers
-Election reform including proportional representation, automatic voter registration, voting day as a holiday, and redistricting reform to fight gerrymandering
-Police reform including banning police department cooperation with foreign militaries, ending school police departments that are empowered by state law, ban no knock warrants, end state trooper partnership with ICE
-Transit funding including consistent dedicated funding from the state that's not dependent on Vehicle Miles Traveled or budgetary tricks.
-Investing in social housing across the state instead of developer giveaways in the forms of grants.

I would suggest that they read Fearless Cities: A Guide to the Global Municipalist Movement for a look into my and the Green Party's political philosophy.

It's important for our elected officials to be clear thinkers so that they can weigh complicated issues. They also have to remain humble so that they recognize the many areas they lack knowledge and so that they listen to the experts. Lastly they have to have an understanding of how their constituents actually live. It helps if they're down to earth and have a lifestyle that's similar to those of people in their district and not just the people who are wealthy or politically connected.

I'm a very good listener. I have a strong understanding for complex concepts. I am humble. I am the son of an immigrant who had to work multiple jobs for us to get by. We used to live in the projects and on welfare and we eventually moved from place to place until my mother was able to purchase a home using a United Federation of Teachers homeowner program.

Elected officials serve as a liaison between the state government and constituents in the district. They must help residents of their district problem solve their day to day problems. They must also work to pass legislation that will improve the lives of not only their own constituents but also residents across the state. They have a duty to the present AND to the future. They have to bring their constituents into the legislative process and not just make decisions on their behalf. They also have to represent ALL of their residents and not just their donors or even just their voters.

I would like to shine a light on corrupt practices in Harrisburg and make our state government a helpful part of the lives of everyday people. I want our democracy to function better! I would like to serve a short term in the legislature and help break up the pattern of people serving in it for decades.

I worked for five years at an employment law firm as an administrative assistant. I heard so so so many terrible stories about how workers were being screwed by their bosses. The law in Pennsylvania is very stacked against workers. We also represented unions and I was able to see first hand how labor power was able to protect workers from being screwed. I also was able to see how badly people needed to have their healthcare and how their employers would do backflips to deny them coverage. This job had a major impact on me and my view of society.

Universal Soldier by Donovan (an antiwar song) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A50lVLtSQik

When I got out of school I struggled to keep up with my student loan debt. I was working at a bakery and it was tough to be able to afford an apartment while also paying back my loans. I had missed payments and it was a constant stressor but I was eventually able to catch up after finding a more steady job. Today I still continue to pay my loans off and hopefully one day I'll be debt free!

I think we should abolish the state senate and have a unicameral legislature.

I think having experience working with policy and a strong understanding how the government is supposed to work is important. I am lucky to have been able to pick this up both through my work at an environmental non profit and through my activism with numerous organization. I've even been lucky enough to travel to Harrisburg multiple times to apply pressure directly to legislatures. I think working within politics for a long time is a major detriment to good governance. Harrisburg has an extremely pervasive culture of corruption and apathy and I think it needs a ton of fresh blood to stop the passing down of sketchy practices.

I think the governor and the state legislature should work together to pass legislation to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians. Having said that I also know that it's important for the three branches of government to serve as a check for each other. The state legislature should not be used as a tool of party politics as it has been lately. The governor and the Democratic Party should not be acting in complete concert. The Governor should not be making major campaign donations to those who are supposed to have oversight over him such as our attorney general Josh Shapiro.

I believe it's very beneficial to build relationships with all of the legislators in the state house in both chambers. Democracy is a team sport and being able to work together is important. Having said that it's important to remain principled. I would remain cordial and friendly with people but that does not mean that I need to agree with them.

When i'm elected to the legislature I would be in a caucus of one (hopefully two).

I would definitely want to follow in the footsteps of Representative Summer Lee.

No.

I spoke with a business owner in Oakland about how things have been for her and her family during COVID. She talked about the many difficulties she faced with getting the appropriate permits and how hard it is for her to expand her business to new areas. We talked about how the chain stores that are popping up in the neighborhood are global brands with the resources to afford professional staff to deal with the permit offices. We also talked about how many corporations avoid paying state taxes through the use of the Delaware loophole and how unfair our government is for small business owners. It's clear that the representatives we have at all levels of government are serving the interests of developers, healthcare giants, and other corporations.