I am excited, honored and humbled to announce that I have been endorsed in the Democratic Primary in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District by the Clark County Black Caucus. I was thankful for the chance to speak with this wonderful group and talk about the issues and what I plan to do as a Congressman to address the issues that have been ignored for too long in Southern Nevada. I am even more thankful and proud that I have earned the endorsement of the Clark County Black Caucus.
In 2016, it is completely unacceptable that Black Lives Don’t Matter in a large portion of this country. Over 50 years since the Civil Rights Act was passed, we still have massive inequality not just in society, but in our education system, our justice system and more prominently in our economic system. To truly be a united country that lives up to “E Pluribus Unum” we must make it a reality with strong legislative action.
We must start by re-investing in minority neighborhoods and no longer leaving behind large segments of America, due to the lack of political influence they carry. The same way we spend on infrastructure in middle and upper-class neighborhoods, we must do the same in poorer, minority neighborhoods that remain poor due to the lack of modern infrastructure. By investing in neighborhoods that have are plagued by high poverty and low employment opportunities, we can lift millions out of poverty and into the workforce and finally make the American dream a reality for families that have never had that hope.
We need to make housing affordable and accessible in minority neighborhoods and force banks to reinvest once again in these neighborhoods. One of the tragic and lost statistics of the Great Recession was the effect that the economic crash had on Black and Latino American families and businesses. While the economic collapse was devastating across the board for most Americans, Latino and Black households were devastated: Hispanic households lost over 66% of their wealth, and Black households lost 53% of their wealth, compared to 16% for white households. While we have made great strides in the past eight years, there is still a lot of work to do JUST to get back to where we were before the collapse.
We need to reform our justice system, and when I am in Congress, I plan on doing just that. I will work tirelessly to end our for-profit private prison system that has devastated Latino and Black Americans. I will work to reform our drug sentencing system by introducing legislation to push for mandatory drug treatment programs instead of automatic prison time for drug possession. I will also work tirelessly to end police violence by working with community leaders and law enforcement agencies to make sure that law enforcement officers that abuse their authority are held accountable in the court of law. If we are to have safe communities, our police departments must start being representative of the communities they serve, as hiring from within the community itself must be a top priority in recruitment. I will also work to de-militarize the police, as no one in America should feel threatened when exercising their constitutional right.
A top priority of mine when I step foot in Washington will be to make education a top priority. If our country is to be competitive and productive into the future, we MUST once again start investing in the next generation of leaders, doctors, lawyers, scientists and teachers. To do this, we must start paying teachers their worth, as very few jobs in America carry the importance that being a school teacher does, and we must invest accordingly. We also must invest in infrastructure to rebuild crumbling schools that do not provide a safe learning environment for school children. You can’t expect a child to learn if the building that surrounds them is crumbling. By rebuilding existing schools and building new and bigger schools, we can provide a gateway to the future for future generations.
Unfortunately in too many poor, minority neighborhoods across Southern Nevada, the opportunity is a distant dream. We know the way out of poverty and the way to revitalize our neighborhoods, and that’s through education. Let’s start investing in our future! Let’s start with the building of bigger and better schools, proper teacher salaries and union protections, adequate school supplies, and technology for children to properly learn in the 21st century, as well as infrastructure spending to bring affordable and subsidized high-speed internet into the homes of every American family. We know the solutions to the issues that we face, let’s start standing strong in providing those solutions.
My platform of a more equal, progressive and prosperous America is one that will help all communities not only in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District but across America.
I hope you’ll join me in the final three weeks of this campaign and help turn Nevada Blue. We need strong leaders who have a Progressive vision for the future, who will stand strong for those ideals. I am asking for your vote in this primary, knowing that together we can achieve a more progressive and prosperous future.
Thank you
Alex Singer
SingerforCongress.com
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