Our Initiatives

If elected, my first priority is that Congress take responsibility for its War Powers, as articulated in Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution.

A second priority is surveillance and control of the Military Industrial Complex, which may have special incentives in involving our nation in conflicts and wars. The present and future consequences -- moral, financial, diplomatic, environmental, and historical – are grave.  

A third priority is the restoration of federal departments and watchdogs that DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) has rendered non-functional. At this crucial moment, when gasoline and oil prices are soaring because of the Iran War, we need the sharp guard dog barks from our Environmental Protection Agency to alert us to the poignant threats of deep-sea mining, off shore drilling and exploitation of resources in our national parks.

I am running as an Independent for the Fourteenth Congressional District because I wish to voice the diverse yet intertwined interests of this region. I plan to work beyond party politics to foster union between divided parties. My professional and life experiences have qualified me for this office:  as a human rights lawyer with the United Nations, as a high school educator with lessons to foster my student's critical thinking and writing abilities, and as a parent with an adopted son from Tanzania, Africa.

As a human rights lawyer, I served with the United Nations for 16 years (1999- 2015) as a senior legal counsel to advise 17 judges in assessing evidence and in drafting judgments about crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide and war crimes, in relation to the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

As a high school instructor of English (Advanced Placement for Juniors) and French at Berkeley High School for nine years, (2016 to present), I value the skill of critical analysis in making wise decisions. I am widely traveled, multi-lingual, and enthusiastic about learning about everything and everyone, particularly situations to be remedied and individuals in need of assistance in my district.

As a white parent of a young black man, I deeply empathize with the consequences of many nuances of discrimination.  I will strive to uphold equal justice and equal opportunity, under the law, in relation to race, religion, age, ethnicity, gender and sexuality.  I am the founder of "Teach Me to Fish" a non-profit organization for sustainable development in Tanzania, because I believe in giving a hand up -- not a hand-out -- to those of us born not to material wealth but with a willingness to work to realize dreams and to fix some of the wrongs of our world.   

As of 2024, approximately 293,000 residents in our14th Congressional District are foreign-born. These tax-paying citizens represent 39.7% of our  total population.

I oppose the profiling by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department(ICE) of anyone, whether or not she or he is foreign-born. I oppose the indiscriminate deportation of any one. I emphasize with the profound level of fear and human suffering of anyone who has been deported or has a family member who has been deported. Everyone, under our Constitution, is to be afforded fundamental human rights, which under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, includes the right to an equitable defense – not mass incarceration followed by deportation.

Unless ICE undergoes radical reforms, with all employees held to account for adherence to the rule of law, I propose that ICE be disbanded. However, at the present time, while ICE is a strong arm of the present administration, I would like to ensure that department officials wear large idetifying name tages to dentify themselves at all places. I further insist that all ICE employees respect the Fourth Amdendment, which requires that they obtain a warrant before detaining anyone. 

Many citizens of the 14th Congressional district have demonstrated their support for fellow citizens who may be threatened by ICE. I greatly admire all the persons who have protested in the Bay Area against ICE, including the fifty people who spoke at the Dublin City Counil meeting in October 2025 against a proposed detainment facility.  I support your opposition and agree that we need to fundamentally reform ICE or to eliminate it.

I support legislation -- yet to be enacted -- that requires complete transparency in identifying all sums bestowed to political campaigns, all donars' names, and all corporate affiliations, including members of groups that donate to Super-PACs.  Vested interests can significantly compromise the integrity of voting and the election of governmental representatives.  As an independent candidate, with no financial support and no funds to pay for a profile printed next to my name on the ballot, I am particularly curious about the political expectations of the donars who bestow gifts. Like most voters, I would like to be informed. I believe that an informed public that thinks critically and understands the probable consequences -- the cause and effect -- of a donar's gift to a political candidate will vote with greater care and responsibility.