Chris Fink
Chris Fink (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 16th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 23, 2020.
Fink completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Chris Fink was born in Bethpage, New York. He earned an undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Albany in May 1981, a J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984, and an LL.M. from New York University School of Law in 1985. His professional experience includes working as a public finance investment banker and practicing law. Fink has been affiliated with the American Public Power Association.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: New York's 16th Congressional District election, 2020
New York's 16th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 23 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House New York District 16
Jamaal Bowman defeated Patrick McManus in the general election for U.S. House New York District 16 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jamaal Bowman (D)  | 84.0 | 218,514 |
 | Patrick McManus (Conservative Party) | 15.8 | 41,094 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 482 | ||
| Total votes: 260,090 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kenneth Schaeffer (Working Families Party)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 16
Jamaal Bowman defeated incumbent Eliot Engel, Chris Fink, Sammy Ravelo, and Andom Ghebreghiorgis (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New York District 16 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jamaal Bowman | 55.4 | 49,367 |
 | Eliot Engel | 40.6 | 36,149 | |
 | Chris Fink | 1.8 | 1,625 | |
 | Sammy Ravelo | 1.3 | 1,139 | |
 | Andom Ghebreghiorgis (Unofficially withdrew) | 0.9 | 761 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 97 | ||
| Total votes: 89,138 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kenneth Belvin (D)
Conservative Party primary election
The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. Patrick McManus advanced from the Conservative Party primary for U.S. House New York District 16.
Working Families Party primary election
The Working Families Party primary election was canceled. Jamaal Bowman advanced from the Working Families Party primary for U.S. House New York District 16.
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chris Fink completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Fink's responses.
| Collapse all
The climate crisis our world is facing is unprecedented in human history and will make our planet uninhabitable for our children and grandchildren in a very short period of time if substantial change does not occur. Having been intricately involved in the Electric industry for over 30 years, I know what it takes to get us to a climate neutral energy grid and will make it my highest priority as a U.S. Congressman.
The infrastructure in our district has been neglected for decades and has resulted in schools, roads, bridges and other essential infrastructure literally crumbling around us. Over the course of my career, I have advised over 700 governments on financing, building and maintaining their infrastructure. I have seen what works and what doesn't. In our district, the time is now to be proactive in addressing these problems. I will fight to make sure that our district receives its fair share of federal dollars for transportation and infrastructure development and upkeep.
- Education is the key to economic equality in our country and serves to bridge a way out of poverty. I was educated in public schools (as were my children) from kindergarten through law school and understand the importance of public education. Currently, our district ranks only 18th out of 27 districts in New York in receiving federal education dollars. This is unacceptable. I will fight my hardest to maximize the amount going to education within our district in order to make the educational experience rewarding and productive for all.
Providing safe infrastructure for everyone in our district
Maximizing public education and providing affordable public college for all
Making sure that all Americans have access to medical care as a fundamental human right
Providing equal rights to women and all individuals
We need fresh ideas and fresh perspectives in most aspects of our lives. Congress especially needs new ways of thinking.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Fink’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
My Policy Positions I stand with the community and will focus my efforts around the policies that mean the most to you and your families. See FORWARD plan to emerge from the pandemic SEE Forward Summary Our world is facing a crisis like nothing before in modern history. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost and whole economies are on the verge of collapse. The United States has always led the world in technology, medicine and opportunity. Today, rather than leading, we are behind the world in safeguarding our population and in responding to the challenges presented by the pandemic. The federal government continues to play politics with people’s lives and has no meaningful plan for treating the pandemic and putting our society on the road to recovery. My campaign for Congress does have a plan that will bring us back together, heal our environment, and provide for immediate economic growth and long-term prosperity. My plan is ambitious, but never before has the public need been so great and so far outweighed special interests and politics. We can solve big problems now because lives and livelihoods depend on our government’s response. By addressing our Social challenges, Environmental exigencies, and creating a road to Economic recovery, we can build our district and country back stronger, safer and cleaner than ever before. Infrastructure Our roads, bridges and public infrastructure within our District are falling apart. Our highways were not built – nor have they been maintained – to handle the amount and weight of the traffic that they experience every day, and we see evidence of that each time it rains. Because of poor construction, maintenance and drainage, cars and trucks are backed up for miles and sit idle on the Bronx River Parkway, the Hutch, and others. While they sit in traffic, they spend hours polluting our air. We also see school buildings in our District and across our nation crumbling around our kids. And a recent study of the 90,000 bridges within our country has concluded that over 25% of those will fail in the next two decades. Over the course of my career I have advised over 700 governments on financing, building and maintaining their infrastructure. Some were repairing and replacing facilities that were damaged or destroyed by natural disasters, but most were local municipalities who wanted to provide better and more efficient essential services to their constituencies. I have seen what works and what doesn’t in communities across the United States. In our District the time is NOW to be proactive in addressing these problems. Of the 27 districts in New York State, 15 of them have received more federal dollars for infrastructure than ours. I see that as a failure on the part of our Congressman. I will fight to make sure that our District receives its fair share of federal dollars, especially given how important our local infrastructure is. We have a unique opportunity during this current COVID-19 pandemic to not only fix our crumbling infrastructure but to also create millions of new jobs within our district and our nation to replace many of those that have been lost during this crisis. I would propose to create a new workforce, hired, educated and trained to build and repair our infrastructure both locally and across our country. We can do this as a joint venture with local and national private companies who have the expertise and capital to do so and who want to give back to their communities. The workers who join this effort will acquire new skills that will guarantee them employment opportunities for the rest of their lives, and we will all benefit from their efforts and skills. The federal government can support these efforts through loan programs, educational seminars, training and direct investment. Climate Crisis Transitioning to a Carbon-Neutral Economy The climate crisis our world is facing is unprecedented in human history and will make our planet uninhabitable for our children and grandchildren absent radical change in how we run our economy and live our lives. The earth is seeing warming trends never before experienced which are having a profoundly negative effect on our air, land, oceans, and biodiversity. Furthermore, the pollution from power generation, mining, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, and other sectors pollutes the air we breathe and the water we drink, resulting in ever increasing negative health impacts. It is incumbent on all of us to do what we can to mitigate this crisis. The United States’ capacity for innovation and leadership and meeting tough challenges head-on has been proven in the past, and it’s time for us to step up and lead again. My proposals to address the climate crisis include addressing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from power generation, transportation, agriculture and livestock, buildings, and plastic production and pollution. As a start, I will propose that the United States immediately rejoin the Paris Climate Accord. In order to ensure that we meet our goals under this agreement, I propose that the United States transition to a carbon-neutral economy by 2040. I want to propel the U.S. to the forefront of the design, production and implementation of the most up-to-date technologies and storage techniques in order to protect our health, preserve our natural spaces and oceans, and protect biodiversity. We can meet this challenge while taking advantage of the economic benefits that come with it. Not only does adopting new green technologies benefit our health and that of our ecosystem, it will require investment in a resilient and flexible workforce to implement and as such it represents an economic opportunity for our District and for our country. Transforming our economy is a winning proposition, and I know how to get it done. Electricity Production: The climate destruction that has taken place under the Trump administration is extremely dangerous. Its roll-back of the Clean Power Plan and reduced regulation of many GHGs has set our nation back decades in our fight against the climate crisis. The owners of fossil-fuel-burning power plants who, under the Obama Administration, had scheduled retirement of these plants in favor of other cleaner technologies have since extended the useful life of these facilities so as to avoid making large investments in new power generation prior to when it is federally mandated. Under this Administration, such a mandate will never come. Fortunately for us, several states such as California and Florida have adopted state-wide rules limiting pollution and GHG emissions. But this is not enough. For the U.S. to be a world leader in this effort, we need a coordinated, country-wide plan to address this critical issue. Furthermore, the United States Government should not be subsidizing the pollution of our air, land, and water, and we should not consider ourselves free to destroy the habitats of other peoples and species. Rather, our government should be in the business of protecting our valuable resources as well as our health. Therefore, I will propose to immediately end all subsidies to fossil fuel companies and projects and redirect those subsidies to renewable energy projects. In addition, I would propose extremely harsh civil and criminal penalties for companies and individuals who knowingly disregard EPA rules and regulations. I will vote to end mining and drilling on public lands, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWAR), as well as on Native American lands and in off-shore, deep-water sites. I will vote for strict regulations to clean up existing fracking operations so that they do not contribute to groundwater pollution, and will also ensure that all existing natural gas projects are regulated so that they do not release methane and other harmful GHGs into the air. The combination of strict regulation, an end to subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, and increased subsidies for renewable energy will result in economic conditions that cause a rapid transition away from fossil fuels. Companies react quickly to rules that adversely affect their bottom lines. I believe that nuclear energy is a part of our medium-term clean power future. While additional nuclear power plants should not be built due to their high cost compared to renewables and the issue of the disposal of spent nuclear fuel, well regulated existing nuclear power plants must continue to contribute to our growing energy needs without contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the Department of Energy should continue to explore the viability of Advanced Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which can be quickly and safely deployed in many areas while they transition to renewable solutions. We can get to a carbon neutral grid, and I promise to make that happen. For the last 18 years, I ran the Municipal Energy Group at Bank of America and was on the firm’s Environmental Impact Task Force. Bank of America made a pledge to finance and provide funds totaling more than $125 billion in order to encourage investment in green energy and I am proud to say that the bank has already reached that goal. I have personally worked on over $24 billion in renewable energy projects in the last 7 years, and I know how to get these projects done. Transportation: Transportation powered by fossil fuels is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. These emissions negatively impact people’s health, exacerbating asthma and heart disease, with the biggest adverse effects in lower-income areas. I believe this is unacceptable, and that everyone, no matter their zip code, has a right to breathe clean air. In large part due to our proximity to Manhattan, NY-16 is in dire need of investment to facilitate the efficient transport of goods and people while improving our air quality. Within New York State, our District ranks #16 out of 27 in receiving federal aid for transportation. This is completely unacceptable. Given then number of our residents who use public transportation daily, there is no reason why rural districts in upstate New York should receive more federal support than us. The technology exists to make the transition away from fossil-fuel powered transportation, and I will support the incentives and infrastructure investments necessary for that transition to take place as soon as possible. I will propose an immediate expansion of fast electric car-charging infrastructure, as well as increased tax incentives for citizens and businesses to purchase electric vehicles (EVs). I will direct resources in our community to improve our crumbling roads and bridges, including a significant increase in protected bike lanes so that people can safely engage in healthy and emissions-free bicycle transportation. I will also support increased investment in emissions-free public mass transit, to further reduce dependency on cars. Finally, as our nation undergoes the enormous transition to EVs in the next decade, we must remain cognizant of the electricity generation that is used to power those vehicles. As such, the section above regarding Electricity Production becomes that much more relevant. Agriculture and Livestock: Agriculture and the raising of livestock together contribute about 10% of the United States’ GHGs from cows’ digestion, manure, on-farm energy use, fertilizers (which are largely made of fossil fuels), and the packaging, storage and transportation of food products. I will support efforts to reduce the GHG emissions associated with the food sector, including supporting more local agriculture, farmers’ markets in our District, and food programs such as City Harvest, County Harvest and the New York Food Bank that feed the hungry and prevent food waste. I have contributed to addressing this problem head-on in my own life by significantly reducing my meat consumption, and I will support regulation and tax incentives to redirect our agriculture sector away from its heavy emphasis on meat and dairy and the feed for these animals to a more plant-based agriculture sector, which can feed just as many with much lower water use and lower production of GHGs. I will also support legislation to ensure that all animals on farms and feedlots are not subjected to cruel and inhumane conditions. About 11% of our total GHGs from the food sector could be eliminated if we stopped wasting food, which is also a moral problem when one considers the numbers of people who are food-insecure. In addition to significantly lowering harmful emissions, reducing food waste will have the added benefit of lowering sanitation costs to municipalities from hauling heavy food scraps and either burning or landfilling them. I will support efforts to recycle food scraps, such as the pilot project that is currently underway in Westchester County under the leadership of George Latimer, as well as provide incentives for backyard composting of both food scraps and yard waste, efforts which should be happening across the country and which can be modeled on the successful efforts to reduce food waste in other countries such as Canada and Korea. One of the many lessons we have learned during the current pandemic is that we can be much more efficient in our food preparation and consumption. We need to continue our diligence even after this horrible period is behind us. Green Buildings: GHG emissions associated with the construction and operation of buildings are another area where well designed regulation and tax incentives can make a huge impact. Making our buildings more green will not only cut back on emissions, but it will also have a positive effect on human health, save people money on electricity, heating and water, and create new jobs. Our New York headquarters at Bank of America was the first platinum LEED certified building in New York City. Working in that environment over the past decade made me realize that the efficiency and positive environmental changes are well worth it. I will propose that we strengthen current energy standards and create new ones to make buildings and the machinery that heats, cools, and electrifies them more efficient and less polluting. In addition, I will support changes to the construction industry to incentivize the use of more efficient materials and methods, as well as a new national green building code that uses the LEED standards as a model. Plastic Production and Pollution: As a longtime scuba diver, I am horrified at the reality that a truckload of plastic waste enters the world’s oceans every eight minutes, and that the amount of plastic in our oceans will exceed the amount of fish by 2030 if we do not dramatically reduce our production and consumption of plastic. But one doesn’t need to be a diver to be aware of the magnitude of this problem: a short walk down an urban street or on almost any beach is enough to see that the world is awash in plastic waste. It causes the deaths of marine animals including whales, turtles, dolphins, and albatross, who mistake floating plastic for food and subsequently die of intestinal blockage and malnutrition. Moreover, micro plastic particles are so widespread that they have been found in locations as disparate as Arctic ice, the Mariana Trench, both bottled and tap water, and human bodies. We have yet to see the full impact on our health of this widespread and increasing pollutant. And it’s getting worse: plastic production is on the rise, largely due to the welcome widespread adoption of renewable energy. Fossil fuel companies, seeing a decline in demand for oil and gas for power production, heating, and transportation, are hedging against that decline by increasing their production of petrochemicals to make plastic. Petrochemicals are projected to drive half of global oil production growth between now and 2050. Thus, we can’t address our climate crisis without also addressing plastic production and the resulting pollution. As part of my commitment to protecting public health and biodiversity, I am proud to throw my full support behind the proposed Udall Lowenstein legislation which calls for extended producer responsibility (EPR), wherein producers of plastic – as opposed to cash-strapped municipalities – would be responsible for its proper disposal and recycling. In addition, it calls for much higher recycled content in plastic produced for packaging in the United States. I will also support an immediate halt to permitting for new plastic production plants and much stricter environmental regulation of all plastic production plants in the United States. We need radical action to mitigate the enormous and growing problem of plastic pollution, and I will do what it takes to make this happen. Healthcare for All I firmly believe that health care is a fundamental right – not a privilege that should be available only to those who can afford it – and I will work to make sure that all Americans have access to health care. Americans should not have to live in fear of being made poor or bankrupt because of an illness or accident, and we can all agree that prescription drugs in this country are too expensive. There’s no justifiable reason why any American should not be able to buy the medications they need to stay or get healthy. Moreover, our current fractured health care system has put us at or near the bottom of health rankings for industrialized countries by many measures, including maternal mortality, infant mortality, and life expectancy. This is unacceptable. Additionally, I don’t believe that one’s ability to access health care should be tied to their employment status. The COBRA system, while well-intentioned, is fundamentally flawed: it doesn’t make sense to expect a newly unemployed and therefore salary-less person to be able afford to pay the premiums that their employer formerly paid for their health insurance. Furthermore, our current health care system inhibits entrepreneurship, which is fundamental to our country’s economic health and growth. Americans are less likely to start a new business if it means going without health insurance, and a new small business can struggle to pay the high cost of health insurance premiums to cover its employees. Thus, I will work to disentangle health insurance and employment status. These critical faults with our current medical system have been magnified during the current COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis not only caught our incompetent president off-guard; it also has exposed the danger posed to everyone by a system that only provides care to those who can afford it. Well over 30 million Americans have already found themselves jobless as a result of this crisis, many of whom will also have lost their health insurance. Furthermore, the pandemic has hit our African American community particularly hard, which is a result of structural inequalities in our economy, in access to health care, and in the delivery of health care. As a nation we must work harder to eliminate these inequalities. A necessary component of a plan toward equality is ensuring comprehensive health care access for all Americans. Therefore, I strongly support strengthening and building upon the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), as well as efforts to move quickly toward a universal health care system in the United States, with the caveat, at least initially, that people should be able to keep their private health insurance if they have it, can afford it, and want to keep it. Also, our country should join the ranks of other industrialized countries and provide paid medical leave, paid parental leave, and paid leave for those who must care for sick children or relatives. These policies are good for families and good for our health care system, and will result in lower transmission rates of illnesses by employees who are no longer afraid of losing their jobs and income if they stay home from work due to illness. Lastly, as I work with other representatives to ensure health care for all Americans, I will fight tooth and nail any attempt by this administration and its allies to weaken Obamacare, Medicare, and Medicaid before we have a new, comprehensive health care system in place. It is unconscionable that the current administration has as its stated goal the starving of funding to these programs which are so vital to individual and public health. Racism & Police Brutality Our country is plagued by systemic racism. The roots of this racism go back to the shameful days of slavery, and long after emancipation people of color continue to be deliberately denied their constitutional rights. Equal opportunity has never been the reality in the United States, nor has our nation ever lived up to its promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That has only been available to white men. And this is unacceptable. Police brutality toward people of color is one of the many ways in which this reality manifests itself in our country. This has gone on throughout our history, and must stop. Too many lives have been lost and dramatically altered by violence perpetrated by those tasked with protecting us all. I want to make clear that I know that racist cops are in the vast minority. But there should not be any, and until we can guarantee that, we must change the way police operate in this country to eliminate these acts of violence that terrorize people of color. I have five children. Four are white and one is black. As a parent, my first priority is keeping them safe. I don’t want to live in a country where one of my children – or any child – is treated differently than the others because of the color of their skin. We need real leadership on this issue in this country. Leadership like that of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta, who took immediate action to deal with rogue cops and reduce tensions in her city. If I had a say in the matter of the senseless murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, I would expedite the trial of racist cop Derek Chauvin. And I would immediately arrest the other three officers at the scene for probable cause. If elected to Congress, I will propose the following legislation at the federal level to put an end to this stain on America: 1. That hate crimes legislation be used when prosecuting officers who target people of color in such a way that results in a denial of their rights or physical harm to their bodies. 2. That all jurisdictions put tighter restrictions on how and when they can use force. 3. That all police officers are taught through extensive training how to recognize and nonviolently deal with cases of mental illness. 4. Require that strict standards of “reasonable” and “necessary” be met prior to the use of physical force. 5. Require deescalation prior to the use of force, and provide all officers with more extensive deescalation training. 6. Institute a national ‘3 strikes and you’re out’ rule for police officers. The officer who murdered George Floyd had EIGHTEEN complaints filed against him, and somehow he was still on duty. This rule would require a police department to remove any officer with three or more complaints from active duty until an independent group verifies and evaluates the complaints. 7. That military equipment no longer be offloaded from the Pentagon on to police forces. Guns Off Our Streets Over 37,000 American die every year in gun-related crimes, including 1500 children. Every month, 52 women in America are shot and killed by a domestic partner. Black Americans are ten times more likely than white Americans to be killed in gun violence. These statistics are shocking and unacceptable. Americans are unique in the level of gun violence that we experience, and we should not have to live this way. While we are not going to repeal the 2nd Amendment, as a country we need to make sure that we keep guns out of the wrong hands and protect women, children and innocent victims from gun violence. This can be done through extensive background checks, restricting ownership of guns by individuals with mental health or domestic violence issues, supporting programs and organizations that promote gun safety, and strictly enforcing the current gun laws in our country. In addition, the gun lobby should not be dictating our gun policies; these should be informed by data, study, and common sense, and with the goal of protecting public health – not the profits of the gun industry. Specific actions I would support include: Mandatory background checks: Every single gun owner should be required to pass an extensive background check in order to purchase a gun, including guns purchased in private sales, on the internet, at gun shows and transfers upon the death of a registered owner. In addition to a background check, I would institute a waiting period of at least 72 hours for all firearms purchases. Limitations on ownership: Individuals under 21 years of age should not be allowed to purchase guns. We need to pass a federal “red flag” law that would allow law enforcement to confiscate firearms from individuals deemed by the courts to be a threat to themselves or others. We should also ban assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and silencers. We need to eliminate the “boyfriend loophole” which allows domestic abusers to have guns simply because they are not married to their victim. I would also ban all guns in schools, except for law enforcement. Support for gun safety: Increase BATF funding. Set national safety and storage requirements for guns with a focus on those in homes that have children under 18. Provide funding for the CDC to conduct research and study on ways to reduce gun violence and protect public health, including by looking at the ways that other countries have maintained low rates of gun violence. Current laws: We should strictly enforce our current laws as they apply to both buyers and sellers of guns. Here in New York, for example, we need to enhance interstate law enforcement to block the “iron pipeline” which floods our state with illegal guns from other states that lack strong gun laws. Judicial Reform Over the last three years, the Trump Administration and Mitch McConnell have made a dedicated effort to nominate judges to the federal bench that are aligned with their extremely conservative policies. These include Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges and District Court judges. To me, this is a concerted effort to put in place judges that will side with the Administration on important issues such as Women’s Rights, LGBTQ+ Rights, Gun Reform, Healthcare and Environmental priorities. Unfortunately, the U.S. Constitution sets no specific requirements for these nominations. The problem we are facing is that a large majority of these judges are not qualified for the positions for which they are being proposed and many of them have extremely poor grades from the American Bar Association. The bigger problem is that these judges are appointed for a life term! This means that the damage that the Trump Administration is causing will extend well beyond his term in office. My proposal would be to establish minimum criteria that all federal judges would have to meet before being considered for one of these important positions. This would not be limited review by the Senate Judiciary Committee (as it is now) and would take into account prior rulings and a judicial scorecard established by a nonpartisan council of legal experts that will apply to all ongoing nominations. Article III of the Constitution also provides that federal judges can only be removed through impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate. Once we have regained control of both the House and the Senate, I will propose that all of these subpar judges be impeached and be replaced with judges that meet the new minimum criteria discussed above. Immigration Policy Our country was founded and built by immigrants and is made stronger through immigration. That is why I support comprehensive, humane immigration reform that improves border security and targets criminals, not families. The policy of family separation at the border is abhorrent, and I will fight to pass legislation aimed at reuniting every single child in U.S. custody with his or her family, unless there is a danger to the child in so doing. I will also work to enact an immediate lifting of current bans on immigration from predominantly Muslim nations. Our nation should never discriminate against immigrants based on their religion, country of origin, or ethnicity. I will support an immediate end to funding for President Trump’s racist border wall, which is costing U.S. taxpayers upwards of $5 billion and destroying the habitats of many wild animals that live in the border region while doing nothing to keep out the latest Coronavirus – a far bigger threat to our safety and our economy than any immigrant. There should be a legal path to citizenship for DREAMers who arrived in our country as children and know no other home, and I will work to make this happen. I will also support U.S. economic, security, and development aid to the Central American countries which the majority of immigrants are fleeing. Improving the safety, security, and economic conditions of these countries is the only effective way to stem the flow of immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Affordable Public College Education in the United States is a basic right that should be provided to all individuals similar to health care and equal rights. Education is the key to economic equality in our country and serves to bridge a way out of poverty. I attended New York public schools from kindergarten through law school and I am proud that my children followed in my footsteps attending public schools in our District through high school and then public colleges. I saw how the strength of our public school system can serve as a stepping stone to a fulfilling career that can support a family comfortably and gives an individual the opportunity to achieve even more. However, in order to keep up with the private schools and the competition from students from other countries, individuals looking for a strong public school education need to be able to afford attending these schools and these schools have to be funded in a way that they are able to keep up with ever-changing technology. We also need to hire the best professors. We need to make sure that public funding is able to do that from both the state and federal levels. We need to create a system that allows all students to attend public colleges, even if they do not have the means to do so. But we also want those students to be motivated to succeed. In Argentina, college is free to all. However, for every 100 students that enroll in free colleges, only about 23 go on to graduate. We should learn from this. We should start with junior college which should be free. Anyone who successfully finishes junior college should be able to attend a 4-year institution for free. Click here to view the following additional themes on Fink's campaign website:
|
” |
| —Chris Fink’s campaign website (2020)[3] | ||
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 9, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Chris Fink 2020 campaign website, “My Policy Positions,” accessed June 22, 2020
