2020 Election Profile: David Morales, House District 7

Monday, August 17, 2020

GoLocalProv Political Team

 

View Larger +

Meet David Morales who is running for election in House District 7 (Providence).

Read what he has to say about why he is running for office.

This is part of an ongoing series by GoLocal featuring each of the candidates for House and Senate.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

 

1.  What do you think is the biggest political issue this campaign season in Rhode Island? 

The most important issue currently affecting working people is our state’s response and recovery to COVID-19. Our working families have felt ignored throughout this pandemic because little support has been provided by the state. Rent is still due, utility payments are still due, and essential workers are still earning the same pay they did pre-pandemic, despite risking their health (and their families) to work. Our people deserve solutions that prioritize their needs such as mandated hazard pay, higher wages, rent relief, and affordable healthcare options (especially for those who were recently laid off). 

Furthermore, we need to further invest towards our communities of color and low-income neighborhoods as Latinos and our Black community have been disproportionally affected by COVID due to social inequities. When I talk with neighbors it is no surprise that they are demanding change because we cannot continue “business as usual” -- we are in a pandemic alongside economic insecurity, now more than ever, our state government must be bold and pass policies that protect working people.

 

2.  What do we need to do to improve Rhode Island's economy?

Improving our economy is an issue that must address: low wages, our unfair tax-code, and a lack of well-paying job opportunities. We must get on a path to a $15 minimum wage. Each year, the cost of living in Rhode Island increases (e.g., rent, medicine, utilities, groceries), while wages stay stagnant. Working people deserve economic dignity, regardless of their occupation. With higher wages, our people will have more “spending power” which will help stimulate our local economy. Furthermore, we must create well-paying job opportunities.

Given our depleting public school buildings, affordable housing shortage, and a growing demand for renewable energy – RI has several opportunities to create well-paying jobs! Lastly, we must establish a fair tox-code. In 2006, RI passed one of the largest tax-cuts for wealthy residents in American history. Since then, we have experienced a budget crisis each year (even before COVID). Therefore, we must urgently repeal these tax-cuts for the wealthiest residents and demand that they pay their fair share. It is unfair that millionaires are currently paying the same state income tax rate (5.99%) as a working and middle-class family.

We must also ensure wealthy institutions like Brown University and RISD are paying their fair share as they are currently exempt from taxation, despite owning large sums of land.

 

3.  What is the greatest challenge facing Rhode Island as a state?


One of the greatest challenges is the lack of healthcare coverage our working and middle-class families experience. Over 50,000 Rhode Islanders lack health insurance while even more are underinsured (this means a person has health insurance, but their coverage is still not enough to cover their full medical expenses). Between February and May of this year alone, over 20,000 Rhode Islanders lost their health insurance. Think about that, during a global pandemic, thousands of children and working adults lost their healthcare coverage, that’s wrong.

Furthermore, a common story I hear when talking with neighbors is the following: their wages are too high to qualify for healthcare benefits (Medicaid), but they are also too low to actually afford their employer’s healthcare plan. It is clear, RI has a broken healthcare system as it does not work for the working and middle-class. It is even more concerning, however, to see a lack of urgency from our State Legislature who hardly discuss this issue to begin with. When elected, one of my top priorities will be to expand high-quality healthcare to all and lower prescription drug prices.

 

4.  Why are you running for office? What makes you uniquely qualified?  

I’m running for State Representative (District 7) to bring diverse working-class representation to the State House and unapologetically advocate for higher wages, affordable housing, quality public education and a healthcare system where everyone is covered. Most importantly, I am running a grassroots campaign to help empower our neighbors in Mt. Pleasant/Elmhurst/Valley into the electoral and legislative process. I firmly believe my personal experiences have prepared me to advocate for our neighbors and serve as a responsive State Representative that our community deserves. I grew up to a single mother in poverty where I watched my mom work

2-3 jobs at a time in order to pay rent, buy groceries, and support me and my sister. These experiences taught me the value of a strong work-ethic as I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree at 19 and with a Master’s degree at 20. Most importantly, these experiences taught me the importance of empathy and the importance of paying it forward to our communities.

 

5.  Who is your inspiration?  

My mom is without a doubt my greatest inspiration. Despite being an immigrant who knew little English, despite being in an unfaithful marriage, despite working multiple minimum wages to support two children – my mom never gave up. She persevered because her life goal was for my sister and I to “Salir Adelante” (move ahead) and earn economic dignity for ourselves.

 

Bio:

David Morales is a community advocate running for RI State Representative (District 7) to fight for the needs of working families. Having been raised by a single immigrant mother in poverty, he is passionate about organizing around economic, housing, and healthcare justice. Over the last several years, he has been involved in local community efforts alongside the Sunrise Movement and Never Again RI. He is the youngest graduate from Brown University’s MPA program and is proud to call the diverse community of Mt. Pleasant, Providence home. Since announcing his candidacy in December 2019, his grassroots campaign has received donations from over 300 individuals and has been endorsed by several advocacy groups.

Campaign Website: https://www.davidmoralesri.com/

Twitter: @DavidMoralesRI

Instagram: @DavidMoralesRI

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidMoralesRI

Contact: [email protected]

 

Related Articles

 

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

 
 

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast

I want to follow on Twitter

I want to Like on Facebook