OPINION: Let Bucks County Voters Have a True Choice in May’s Elections
February 14, 2026
1 Comment
Sarah Baik believes it’s time to put the small “d” democratic back in the big “D” Democratic primaries.
Thomas Taft
Seeking Office: Representative in Congress
Party: Democratic
Primary Ballot: Democratic
District: 1st Congressional District
2026 Democratic Primary Questionnaire Responses
At the Bucks County Beacon, we believe informed voters are the bedrock of democracy. We asked every candidate in the PA-01 primary to clarify their positions on the issues that matter most to our community. Below are their unedited submissions. Most questions included a multiple choice answer, with the choices being Yes, No, or Other/Neutral, along with an explanation for the stance.
1. Healthcare
Do you support a “Medicare for All” single-payer system?
Yes
Healthcare is a right and not a privilege. It is really that simple. I think realistically the way to get to universal healthcare is to gradually lower the age to qualify for Medicare.
I also believe in working to provide incentives for people to take better care of themselves. I helped run a self-insurance program for 18,000 teachers and we lowered our costs with every effort we made to provide strong incentives for healthier lifestyles.
I also believe in working to provide incentives for people to take better care of themselves. I helped run a self-insurance program for 18,000 teachers and we lowered our costs with every effort we made to provide strong incentives for healthier lifestyles.
Do you support adding a public option to the Affordable Care Act, specifically as outlined in the CHOICE Act?
Yes
YES!
Adding a public option to the ACA is another step towards a framework that moves us towards universal Healthcare. It is important to approach challenges like this in a careful, thoughtful process, in order to be sure that all possible negative and unintentional consequence are anticipated and dealt with before the program goes into effect.
Adding a public option to the ACA is another step towards a framework that moves us towards universal Healthcare. It is important to approach challenges like this in a careful, thoughtful process, in order to be sure that all possible negative and unintentional consequence are anticipated and dealt with before the program goes into effect.
2 Immigration & Federal Oversight
The Future of ICE
Do you support the abolishment or disbanding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)?
Yes
A private army, with no budget constraints, with no careful vetting of potential hires, with no effective training, and with no accountability !!
What could go wrong. Everything. Get rid of it. I never thought we would have an unregulated gestapo in this nation. They are supposedly ridding the nation of violent criminals, but they are the ones who are violent!! Every report of their behavior is inhumane, vicious and tearing at the fabric of this nation.
What could go wrong. Everything. Get rid of it. I never thought we would have an unregulated gestapo in this nation. They are supposedly ridding the nation of violent criminals, but they are the ones who are violent!! Every report of their behavior is inhumane, vicious and tearing at the fabric of this nation.
Accountability Measures
Do you support a federal mandate for ICE agents to wear body cameras and a ban on “masking” (face coverings) during enforcement actions?
Yes
If we do not get rid of ICE, we need to enforce the rules that apply to every police office in this nation. Brian Fitzpatrick made a statement to Bloomberg:
"They need body cameras. They need to remove masks. They need proper training. They need to be conducting operations that are consistent with their training. You should not have Border Patrol Agents from McAllen, Texas put inside inner-cities doing crowd control. That is not their mission. That is not their training. They do not know how to do it."
It will be interesting if he makes that point repeatedly and in large public forums. Hoever — ICE is, in fact, beyond repair. We need to start over.
"They need body cameras. They need to remove masks. They need proper training. They need to be conducting operations that are consistent with their training. You should not have Border Patrol Agents from McAllen, Texas put inside inner-cities doing crowd control. That is not their mission. That is not their training. They do not know how to do it."
It will be interesting if he makes that point repeatedly and in large public forums. Hoever — ICE is, in fact, beyond repair. We need to start over.
Sensitive Locations
Do you support the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act (H.R. 1061), which would codify a ban on ICE enforcement within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, and hospitals, regardless of current administration directives?
Yes
This is just obvious. Americans are supposed to be made more safe due to ICE operations, not terrified!!
Qualified Immunity
Do you support the Qualified Immunity Abolition Act of 2026 (S. 3625) to remove the legal shield for federal, state, and local officers?
Other/Neutral
This is a good example of a policy that needs to be approached carefully. Current application of Qualified Immunity has led to the complaint that is is applied too liberally and protects officer misconduct. This may be a case of careful re-wording to improve accountability, as opposed to complete abolition. There is a classic formula for the progression of ideas: Thesis, Antithesis, and Synthesis. The progression goes like this. You have an idea. Someone else proposes the exact opposite of that idea and finally everyone gets together a brings it forward as the best solution: synthesis. Too often in public life we react so quickly that we go too far in one direction and then too far in the other direction, and finally, after a lot of damage has been done we arrive at the right solution.
I am passionately interested in having politicians not react — often for show — so dramatically that they overshoot their goal. I am furious at every single incident I hear of police misconduct. They are in positions of power, and they know what is right and what is wrong. They need to be provided with a framework that leaves them feeling both secure/supported in the tough assignments they face, while at the same time, having clear knowledge that there are consequences for misconduct!
I am passionately interested in having politicians not react — often for show — so dramatically that they overshoot their goal. I am furious at every single incident I hear of police misconduct. They are in positions of power, and they know what is right and what is wrong. They need to be provided with a framework that leaves them feeling both secure/supported in the tough assignments they face, while at the same time, having clear knowledge that there are consequences for misconduct!
The Dream Act of 2025
Do you support the passage of the Dream Act of 2025?
Yes
This is a no-brainer. I have a very close DACA friend. She has only lived and known her life in the US. I thrive on the diversity of our culture. And we need immigrants in order for this country to grow. How can Republicans talk about economic growth when the population of this country will decline due to their policies?!
3. Economic Policy & Taxation
Taxation of Wealth
Do you support implementing a wealth tax on the top 1% of earners?
Yes
This is so complicated — but a wealth tax has to happen! I worked for many years handling a tuition financial aid program. There are some families whose stated wealth varied wildly –especially in regard to professions like commercial real ownership and management. Changes in market values can move them from being millionaires on paper to being broke.
At the same time the aggregation of wealth in the .01% of the population is obscene. It has been driven — again — by Republican policies. Republicans call taxing wealth at the time of death as a death tax, not an inheritance tax. But the fact is that at the time of death a person's wealth will stop changing. Wealthy American use an endless system of Trusts to avoid taxes. It will take a lot of work to pierce the veil of those protections, but a fair wealth tax is possible and has to be implemented to overcome 45 years of detrimental Republican tax policies. We have been had!
At the same time the aggregation of wealth in the .01% of the population is obscene. It has been driven — again — by Republican policies. Republicans call taxing wealth at the time of death as a death tax, not an inheritance tax. But the fact is that at the time of death a person's wealth will stop changing. Wealthy American use an endless system of Trusts to avoid taxes. It will take a lot of work to pierce the veil of those protections, but a fair wealth tax is possible and has to be implemented to overcome 45 years of detrimental Republican tax policies. We have been had!
Corporate Outsourcing
Do you support “tax-on-exit” legislation for corporations that move production to foreign countries?
Other/Neutral
As with so many of issues I have investigated, this needs to be handled in a manner that understands and accounts for very different situations for different corporations. I believe we have the ability to create laws and regulations that are carefully worded and take nuance into account, as opposed to sledgehammer bills that suffer badly from unintended consequences. Every bill that is passed in Congress needs to assess carefully what are the costs and what are the benefits, with the quality of life for all Americans being the guide to those cost/benefit decisions
Tariffs
Do you support the use of broad-based tariffs as a primary tool of international policy?
No
OMG! NO.
Again tariffs — as applied by this administration — are mindless and financially harmful for everyone. Tariff are, in fact, properly used a instrument of last resort. The Trump administration slapped tariffs on Vanilla from Madagascar because we have a trade deficit with Madagascar. No tariff is going to enable some American firm to start producing Vanilla !! Never happening. Again — a sledgehammer solution when careful, informed dialogue is required to approach complex international policy questions.
So many aspiring politicians say they are going to Washington to "fight" for us. The fact is, effective "fighting" for us, actually means persuading people. My father was a minority County Commissioner, but he said to me that he could almost always accomplish his goal, if he was able to persuade the other commissioners that it was actually their idea. He cared, as I do, about the result and not about getting credit or making noise.
Again tariffs — as applied by this administration — are mindless and financially harmful for everyone. Tariff are, in fact, properly used a instrument of last resort. The Trump administration slapped tariffs on Vanilla from Madagascar because we have a trade deficit with Madagascar. No tariff is going to enable some American firm to start producing Vanilla !! Never happening. Again — a sledgehammer solution when careful, informed dialogue is required to approach complex international policy questions.
So many aspiring politicians say they are going to Washington to "fight" for us. The fact is, effective "fighting" for us, actually means persuading people. My father was a minority County Commissioner, but he said to me that he could almost always accomplish his goal, if he was able to persuade the other commissioners that it was actually their idea. He cared, as I do, about the result and not about getting credit or making noise.
4. Foreign Policy
International Accountability
Do you believe Congress should pursue formal investigations or legal action regarding alleged war crimes or extrajudicial killings involving U.S. officials?
Yes
A war crime is a war crime is a war crime. End of story.
Sovereignty & Oversight
Should Congress act to limit U.S. intervention in the sovereignty of other nations (e.g., Venezuela, Greenland, Ukraine, Israel & Gaza)?
Yes
U.S. Intervention can take on a number of forms, and it is actually very clear which forms of intervention are important to the rights of all people and which ones are actually for the benefit of those with massive wealth and power.
This comes down to knowing right from wrong. We should help Ukraine in every way we can, and we should not intervene in Venezuela unless we actually have developed a very clear, well discussed and deeply supported bi-partisan intervention program. The capture of Maduro was an example of a haphazard intervention that changed nothing, because it was not part of any real plan and had no support. The proof is that the only benefit has been for those companies who are set up to process Venezuelan oil.
This comes down to knowing right from wrong. We should help Ukraine in every way we can, and we should not intervene in Venezuela unless we actually have developed a very clear, well discussed and deeply supported bi-partisan intervention program. The capture of Maduro was an example of a haphazard intervention that changed nothing, because it was not part of any real plan and had no support. The proof is that the only benefit has been for those companies who are set up to process Venezuelan oil.
5. Climate & Environment
Climate Action
What are your top three concrete policy proposals to address the climate crisis while ensuring economic stability for workers in Bucks County?
Damn! Climate change is real. The Republican party members are, I believe, the only people on the planet who still claim the disastrous effects of climate change are imaginary.
Proposals:
1) Nationwide incentives,
2) Total commitment to research,
3) Effective, honest, powerful education.
My answer is incentives, incentives and incentives. Charlie Munger — Warren Buffett's long time investment partner said that he had used incentives his whole life, and still, the only thing he always did was underestimate their power. We have to address climate change immediately. We are headed toward a cliff, and at this point, it is obscene not to tackle this issue aggressively.
I have spent 4 years building a net zero house. It has been constructed so carefully that when the solar panels are added next spring.summer, the house will generate more electricity than it uses for for lighting, cooking, washing, heating and air conditioning. It is possible, and I have done it. With the right incentives, developers could easily start building every house to either draw no electricity — or very little.
Going along hand-in-hand with incentives is Research, Research, Research. Many times it is pointed out with amazement that the human race went from a 12 second flight at Kitty Hawk to landing on the moon in just 66 years. The only reason that happened was – again — research, research, research.
Misinformation follows us like a plague. But people's impressions can be changed. Effective education is possible, and people do change their minds if given good information, without being scolded in the process.
Proposals:
1) Nationwide incentives,
2) Total commitment to research,
3) Effective, honest, powerful education.
My answer is incentives, incentives and incentives. Charlie Munger — Warren Buffett's long time investment partner said that he had used incentives his whole life, and still, the only thing he always did was underestimate their power. We have to address climate change immediately. We are headed toward a cliff, and at this point, it is obscene not to tackle this issue aggressively.
I have spent 4 years building a net zero house. It has been constructed so carefully that when the solar panels are added next spring.summer, the house will generate more electricity than it uses for for lighting, cooking, washing, heating and air conditioning. It is possible, and I have done it. With the right incentives, developers could easily start building every house to either draw no electricity — or very little.
Going along hand-in-hand with incentives is Research, Research, Research. Many times it is pointed out with amazement that the human race went from a 12 second flight at Kitty Hawk to landing on the moon in just 66 years. The only reason that happened was – again — research, research, research.
Misinformation follows us like a plague. But people's impressions can be changed. Effective education is possible, and people do change their minds if given good information, without being scolded in the process.
6. Leadership & Local Priorities
Party Leadership
If elected, would you support Hakeem Jeffries to continue as House Democratic Leader or someone else? Please explain your reasoning in the context of representing a district like PA-01.
Yes. I believe Hakeem Jeffries will be the next as the Speaker of the House, and I want to give him all the support we can muster to act on behalf of all Americans and begin to claw back the horrific damage done by Republicans. Being the minority can be deeply frustrating and we need to give Hakeem a chance to see how he can perform with Democratic support. It would be a huge missed opportunity not to act in a unified manner, while we try to restore democracy to our nation!
As with any position, if he is unable to lead effectively, we can work to select a better Speaker, but I have confidence in him and want to give him a substantive opportunity to move us forward together.
As with any position, if he is unable to lead effectively, we can work to select a better Speaker, but I have confidence in him and want to give him a substantive opportunity to move us forward together.
Local Priority
Outside of national headlines, what is the single most important local issue facing Bucks County residents today, and how do you plan to address it?
The single most important issues actually exists in two parts: Affordability & Housing. Congress has the ability to make major impacts on both issues, but Republicans have cared more about Hunter Biden’s laptop than they have about governing.
One out of every 5 residential permits in California now are for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). I am almost finished with the house I have built myself. I know there is room — even on my modest lot in Chalfont — for me to build a compact, energy-efficient ADU. ADUs give young couples and single people an opportunity to find low cost housing as they begin their careers.
ALICE ! Asset Limited, Low Income, Employed. I am adamant about addressing this situation facing so many Bucks County Residents. We continue to dive deeper into debt as a nation, so do not tell me there is not “money” to work on the challenge. The nation just prints money. We can provide those families with additional government support. The obvious fact is that they will SPEND it on critical needs they have. We give money to wealthy people in terms of tax cuts, and they DO NOT spend it. Families spending money on the necessities of life provides a huge boost and more stability to our economy. Shocking!! it is a win/win.
Republicans keep up their mantra that cutting taxes on the wealthy jump starts out economy. That is now a BOLD-FACED lie.
One out of every 5 residential permits in California now are for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). I am almost finished with the house I have built myself. I know there is room — even on my modest lot in Chalfont — for me to build a compact, energy-efficient ADU. ADUs give young couples and single people an opportunity to find low cost housing as they begin their careers.
ALICE ! Asset Limited, Low Income, Employed. I am adamant about addressing this situation facing so many Bucks County Residents. We continue to dive deeper into debt as a nation, so do not tell me there is not “money” to work on the challenge. The nation just prints money. We can provide those families with additional government support. The obvious fact is that they will SPEND it on critical needs they have. We give money to wealthy people in terms of tax cuts, and they DO NOT spend it. Families spending money on the necessities of life provides a huge boost and more stability to our economy. Shocking!! it is a win/win.
Republicans keep up their mantra that cutting taxes on the wealthy jump starts out economy. That is now a BOLD-FACED lie.
