Putting People First

Isn’t it time we had a real person in charge, someone who knows what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck, or gig pay to gig pay? If we want to put people first, let’s get started by electing A People. I’m a people! It’s time the Tennessee government works for you, and not against you. Here’s my agenda on tackling the cost of living, education, healthcare, raising your wages, and keeping your taxes low. Making your everyday life better right before your eyes.

    • Greater state oversight over utility companies

    • First-time homebuyer assistance 

    • Cap tuition at public colleges and universities 

    • Medical/student debt forgiveness program

    • Tax rebates for artists

    • Eliminate the grocery tax

    • Increase the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour

    • Implement statewide universal Pre-K

    • Provide universal free school breakfast and lunch

    • Expand healthcare

    • Cap property tax rates

    • End the voucher scheme

    • $60,000 state minimum for teacher pay in public schools

    • Implement statewide universal Pre-K

    • Expand TN Promise

    • Provide universal free school breakfast and lunch

    • Greater state funding for special education

    • Expand Medicaid 

    • Medical office (hospital, vision, dental) price transparency law

    • Create a rural hospital stabilization fund

    • Protect access to reproductive care and access to abortion

    • Instruct Attorney General not to prosecute anyone for performing or receiving women’s reproductive healthcare

    • Medical debt forgiveness program 

    • Create a task force to examine the possibility of statewide universal healthcare

    • $15 statewide minimum wage legislation

    • Day one executive order requiring state agencies to pay $20 an hour, and only contract with companies that pay at least $15 an hour

    • Repeal the Right-to-Work law

    • Ban state agencies from contracting with companies that practice union-busting

    • Require salary information in job postings

    • Eliminate the tipped minimum wage

    • Paid family and medical leave

    • Cap property tax rates for localities

    • Eliminate the grocery tax

    • Implement a lodging tax

    • Implement a luxury goods tax

    • Increase corporate taxes

    • Increase tax (and legalize if not already legal) on sports betting, cannabis, vape, cigarettes

Building Tennessee’s Future

For too long our representatives have been focusing on the wrong thing: themselves, their own power, and ignoring us, the people of Tennessee. We need to start looking to the future, and working to make sure you can live safely in this state, afford a home, and drive on roads that won’t destroy your tires and undercarriage. We have to bring affordable housing and transit to our cities, support our rural communities and farmers, and make sure big companies don’t come in and destroy our beloved state.

    • Road Repair Initiative

    • Bridge Repair Initiative

    • Expand rural access to broadband

    • Water and sewer system upgrades

    • Conduct a transit study to look at connecting our cities through light rail, high-speed rail, or some other public transportation

    • Make choice lanes exclusive to TN residents only

    • Raise standards on electric providers to help prevent power outages

    • Pay for infrastructure improvements through increased impact fees on developers

    • Replace aging pipes

    • Pass the Homes Not Hedge Funds legislation

    • Zoning reform to encourage duplexes, triplexes, and starter-type homes

    • Limit bulk purchasing of single-family homes

    • Ban junk fees in rentals

    • Tax investment properties

    • Establish Tennessee Land Bank Authority to redistribute vacant and abandoned homes

    • Use unused state land for housing

    • Crack down on industrial pollution

    • More regulations on landfills

    • Expand state parks and green-space areas

    • Invest in solar, wind, and hydro energy

    • Redevelopment of brownfields

    • Mandate state agencies to buy Tennessee-grown food

    • Ban big corporations and foreign entities from buying farmland

    • Establish a state crop loss fund (providing assistance to farmers if crop fails)

    • More farm grants

    • Bring NBA and MLB to Nashville

    • Keep the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis

    • Reduce minimum lot size requirements

    • Pass a state law permitting accessory dwelling units by right

    • Standardized zoning classifications, land uses, and building codes throughout the entire state

    • Require planning commissions to have working-class residents on their board

    • Regional planning oversight boards operated by the state for large developments

A Government that works for you

We’ve let Tennessee get away from us, The People. With a GOP supermajority, the vast majority of Tennesseans have no voice. We need big change, a huge overhaul, and that means reforms to our elections and political systems. Let the people vote for impactful positions like Attorney General and Secretary of State. Undo egregious gerrymandering and set up an independent redistricting commission. Make local, county, and judicial elections nonpartisan by introducing ranked choice voting. And let the people have a say in policy by allowing citizen-led ballot measures. With these reforms, the government will be a hands-on experience where you are represented and have a voice.

    • Voting for TN Constitutional Officers/Important Positions (Secretary of State, Treasurer, Comptroller, Attorney General, Lt Governor, Tennessee Supreme Court, Public Service Commission, State School Board)

    • Reform the Utility Commission to give them greater oversight over statewide and local utility companies

    • Financial disclosure forms for all elected officials at every level as well as members of official boards or commissions

    • Implement citizen-led ballot initiatives

    • Term limits (4 terms for State House, 2 terms for State Senate)

    • Let municipalities have greater freedom in what laws they can enact

    • Tennessee constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering

    • Tennessee constitutional amendment to prioritize keeping communities together in redistricting

    • Automatic voter registration

    • Make municipal, county, and judicial elections nonpartisan

    • Implement ranked-choice voting

    • Establish an Independent redistricting commission

Safe communities, smart justice

Let’s focus on the things that actually affect the safety of our communities. We need criminal justice reform to alleviate pressure to our over-burdened penal system, while also restoring trust in policing. The vast majority of us agree that we need common-sense restrictions on guns, while making clear that no one is trying to take your guns away from you. And we have to stop vilifying our immigrant friends and neighbors who are valuable and contributing members of our Tennessee community.

    • Stop state collaboration with ICE on Day 1

    • Work to move detainment centers out of Tennessee

    • Greater language accessibility to reduce communication barriers

    • Greater penalties for corporations that exploit undocumented labor

    • Protections at locations such as schools, churches, hospitals, and other public places; Teachers shouldn’t have to report their students, and doctors shouldn’t have to report their patients

    • End qualified immunity

    • Statewide use-of-force standards

    • Require body cameras for state police

    • Create an independent state board to investigate police misconduct

    • Restore voting rights for individuals convicted of non-violent crimes

    • Remove criminal history checkbox on job applications

    • End contracts with CoreCivic and all other private prison companies

    • Statewide gun violence intervention programs; More funding for local programs

    • Pass a universal background check law

    • Pass red-flag laws

    • Implement a ban on individuals convicted of violent crimes from buying guns

    • Require a permit for open carry

Freedom and liberty

Government needs to stay out of our personal lives. Government is supposed to be on our side, helping us—not tracking our medical records and telling us how to live our lives. That means it’s time to legalize marijuana. That means protecting, not vilifying, all of our fellow Tennesseans. It means protecting freedom of speech, which is under attack by the Tennessee legislature. When I’m Governor, we will be proud to live in the most free state in the country.

    • Day 1 pardons for individuals convicted of marijuana possession

    • Legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use

    • Tax and regulate marijuana, creating a whole new stream of revenue to fund other programs

    • Make sure that in-state farmers are prioritized over corporate farms

    • Establish a Human Rights Commission to investigate discriminatory practices at businesses

    • Reverse all of the Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ legislation 

    • Support the Human Rights Amendment

    • Protect free speech

    • Pass legislation protecting the right to protest for all Tennesseans

    • Ban political retaliation by the government—your political affiliation shouldn’t have any bearing on getting a job

    • Oppose book bans and curriculum restrictions

The Day 1 Agenda

  • Leading by Example

    Appoint an Attorney General who will not prosecute women for receiving abortions

    Require state agencies to pay $20 an hour, and only contract with companies that pay at least $15 an hour

    Ban state agencies from contracting with companies that practice union-busting

    Paid family and medical leave for state workers

    Mandate state agencies to buy Tennessee-grown food

    Use unused state land for housing

    Greater language accessibility to reduce communication barriers

    Require body cameras for state police

  • Powers of the governor

    Establish Tennessee Land Bank Authority to redistribute vacant and abandoned homes

    Ban political retaliation by government

    Pardons for marijuana possession

    Launch State Office of Gun Violence Intervention

    Stop collaboration with ICE

    Bring NBA and MLB to Nashville

    Keep the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis

    Work to move detainment centers out of Tennessee

    Make choice lanes exclusive to TN residents only

  • powers of the purse

    On Day One, Governor Kurtz will use the full power of the state’s purse to lower costs for working families and make Tennessee more affordable. That includes strategically deploying federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to expand access to affordable housing, eliminate childcare waitlists, and relieve families burdened by predatory medical debt. This will ensure that these dollars go directly to the people they’re meant to serve, not sit unused or be diverted from their purpose.

    At the same time, Kurtz will launch a top-to-bottom audit of TDOT to root out wasteful spending and politically-driven projects. The savings will be reinvested where it’s needed most—fixing and upgrading rural roads, improving safety, and making sure every community sees real infrastructure improvements.

  • Bipartisan commissions and study groups

    Establish Human Rights Commission to investigate discriminatory practices at businesses

    Establish a working group of current and former electeds of both parties to look at election reforms

    Establish a group to study the implementation of statewide universal healthcare

    Establish a study group within TDOT to look at the best path towards connecting our urban centers—whether it be light rail, high-speed rail, or some other solution

Invest in the Future