Tammy Garcia
State Representative
District 37
EDUCATION
After years of budget cuts to public education, Florida has fallen to 29th in education in the nation. Pasco County is ranked lower than the surrounding counties. We've had a lot of population growth in Pasco and it's nowhere near done yet. With rapid population growth and decreasing funds, we simply aren't educating our children as well as they deserve.
With thousands of new homes being built and approved recently in Pasco, there will be a large influx of school aged children. The public school system has not kept up with demand. Schools are overcrowded and stressed beyond their limits. We can't expect optimal education in sub-par conditions.
Our teachers are doing the absolute best they can with what they have been given and are doing an exceptional job despite being woefully underpaid and lacking in classroom resources. They deserve proper pay for the large task of shaping our future generations. They need more help in the classroom.
ENVIRONMENT
We can all agree that we'd rather live a world with beautiful beaches, lakes, and rivers, with parks full of green grass and shady trees, and clear of litter than a world that looks like the opening scene from Wall-E.
Florida relies on tourism and our beaches are critical to keep tourists coming. Offshore drilling would be a catastrophic hit to the industry. A spill would damage our coastline for years. Instead, we need to invest in alternative energy sources. As the "Sunshine State", we have an incredible resource at our disposal. Instead of penalizing solar technology, we need to promote its use.
As Pasco County grows, we need to protect parks, wilderness areas, and preserves. These areas are necessary for various reasons. Preserves such as the Conner Preserve are used for water management. Without these areas, the flooding we currently experience would be much worse. If wildlife doesn't have wilderness areas, they will move into whatever land they can, usually neighborhoods. There are enough areas of Pasco that will be able to sustain growth without destroying parks, wilderness areas, and preserves.
EQUALITY
I will fight to ensure that every Floridian is granted the same opportunities. We need to eliminate the gender pay gap along with the racial pay gap. We need to fight against racial inequalities in the criminal justice system. I will make sure that justice is truly blind.
There are currently no protections for the LGBTQ community in Florida. I will fight to make it a protected class in Florida. I will fight any legislation that attempts to limit the the rights of the LGBTQ community whether it be in the form of housing discrimination, adoption discrimination, or transgender bathroom discrimination. The LGBTQ community shouldn't have to consider themselves part of a different community. They are Floridians and as such they will be guaranteed all the same rights as every other Floridians.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
There are currently over 90,000 Pasco County residents that travel outside the county for work. Some by choice, some by necessity. I want to work to bring jobs to Pasco so that residents don't have to continue to endure long commutes.
Bringing jobs to Pasco does not need to include corporate welfare. Florida business taxes are already favorable for them compared to many other states. Things that can entice businesses to move here would include top rated public schools, environmental protections, equality protections, and great infrastructure. These are things that I will work hand in hand with the County Commissioners, other representatives, and the governor to improve so that we can bring better economic opportunities to the people of Florida.
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