Why I'm Running
This Isn’t the America My Father Died For
Op-Ed, originally published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press February 13, 2017 A long time ago,...
10 Things About Me
I’m a progressive candidate running to represent District 26 in the Tennessee House of...
Why I’m Running: The Hero
I don’t remember my dad, but he was my hero. Dad was a med-evac pilot in Vietnam. He was shot down...
From the Campaign Trail
News on the Ground
“Tennessee is just so red. It feels hopeless.” I’ve been canvassing for several weeks now and...
Hope Grows Like Weeds
Where things seem dark, look for the light. I spent much of Friday in the back seat of a car en...
State of the Union
Workers are David against the Goliath that’s Tennessee. Last Monday, a few of us pro-worker folks...
Reproductive Rights
No Excuse for Ignorance
Last week the Washington Post ran a cover story about Allie Phillips, the Clarksville mom who had...
Reflections on the 2023 Women’s March, from the front line
If you’re a progressive woman in Tennessee, maybe you participated in your local women’s march on...
Lose Your GPS—And Go There
I’m navigationally challenged, so last week I gave myself an extra half hour to canvass Fairfax...
Health Care
Democratic Policies Save Lives
“In an ideal world, politics and health would be independent of each other and it wouldn’t matter...
Governed by the Cheese Touch
If you were in elementary school in 2007 or you had a child in elementary school in 2007—I fall...
Familiar Story
What if someone offered you $20 billion? What if, by taking that money, you could help 350,000...
Gun Safety
Video Evidence
Plenty of viral videos came out of last year’s special legislative session on gun violence, where...
Mind Your Manners
After the Kansas City shooting—the latest chapter in a uniquely American story of anguish and...
Dangerous Lies
Some lies just won’t die, and the results can be dangerous. You know, like vaccines cause autism....
Public Education
“Well, I’m a teacher . . . so.”
I get that response a lot (usually accompanied by an apologetic shrug) when I’m knocking doors in...
Book Banners Don’t Tread Lightly
Back in April, when the debate on school book bans was sweeping the country, a survey of...
The Briefest Book Ban Ever
When I was a little kid, a family friend gave me a hardback copy of James and the Giant Peach. My...
Economy
Bad Faith
Governor Bill Lee tweeted out something interesting last year: “Government isn’t the answer to the...
Home Depot and Hamster Wheels
Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, the billionaire Republican donor, claims that “socialism” has...
Tennesseans: How Conservative Are You?
Op-Ed, Chattanooga Times Free Press Here's a question for every Tennessean: Do you consider...
Democracy
Is This Thing On?
My husband and I have three daughters. The first two were born two years apart. Seven years later,...
Performative Patriotism in the State House
This week has been ridiculous. And trying. This week legislation was introduced in the State House...
Let’s Go Running Together
Today I picked up papers to run for the Tennessee General Assembly. That’s the state legislature,...