My name is Jess Scarane, and I’m running to fight the broken system of power that rewards an elite few at the expense of the majority of us. We face big, structural problems in this state and country: prohibitively expensive healthcare, segregated and underfunded schools, scarcity of affordable housing, and looming climate catastrophe. In order to tackle these issues, we need elected officials who will take power back from corporations and return it to the people.

I’ve tried to work within this system to make my city and state better. I did everything I thought I was supposed to do to improve my community: tutored and mentored young students, donated to causes and candidates I believed in, and joined the board of Girls Inc. of Delaware where I could help empower more strong, civically-engaged girls and advocate for their rights at a state level. I also regularly pushed my elected officials to support policies that would raise the standard of living for Delawareans: things like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal.

But Senator Coons wasn’t focusing on us. I watched him repeatedly make concessions to Republicans at the expense of our most vulnerable communities. I watched as he voted to confirm numerous Trump cabinet nominees and judges while dismissing progressive policies — like Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, and the Green New Deal — as “wild-eyed.” Through this experience, I understood that people like Chris Coons will never work to change our political system because, to them, it’s not broken.

This system doesn’t work for the majority of us. Even the small, incremental gains we’ve made are fragile. I saw this firsthand when the state of Delaware tried to balance its budget on the backs of the most vulnerable by cutting funding to nonprofits like Girls Inc. As long as the people in power don’t prioritize our needs, we’ll never get the things we deserve like Medicare for All, equitable schools, a living wage, a Green New Deal, and a government that puts people at the center.

We have to be the leaders we’re looking for to change this power structure ourselves. I know it won’t be easy. We’ll be fighting powerful, well-funded corporate interests and people who don’t believe better is possible. But I assure you it is, if we fight for it together. If you believe we’re worth fighting for, now is the time because we can’t sit back while our leaders continue to compromise our future.