LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Ronda Kennedy said her campaign for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District is driven by concerns about constitutional rights and the future of her children and grandchildren.
Kennedy, a 53-year-old civil rights constitutional lawyer and mother of six, including 13-year-old triplets, said she wants the country to remain free.
“I grew up in a very different country than we are today,” Kennedy said. “I think that the Constitution is being chipped away at or, you know, our fundamental rights are not taken seriously anymore.”
She said she has heard people in her community say the Constitution is racist, which she called shocking. Kennedy said the Constitution protects people, citing Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia as cases that addressed constitutional rights violations.
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Education reform and teacher accountability
Kennedy said education is her number one priority. She said education is bad in Nevada but worse on the historic West Side.
“I plan on holding teachers accountable,” Kennedy said.
She said the House of Representatives controls funding through the power of the purse. Kennedy said if teachers are not graduating students higher than a fifth grade reading level, funding should be cut.
Kennedy said she supports school choice and does not believe students should be limited to schools based on zip codes. She said her family moved 60 miles from Milwaukee so she could get a decent education.
“We were the only black family in the whole town out of 2,300 people,” she said. “But I’ve seen the difference between getting educated in one zip code versus education in a different zip code in the city.”
Kennedy said some teachers are qualified but do not care anymore because there are no consequences. She said teachers are protected by unions and politicians without accountability.
She said funding should be redirected from administration to teachers and schools. Kennedy said the Clark County superintendent receives $500,000 annually while some students share books.
“The money should go to the teachers,” she said. “Money should go to the schools and the tools that the school needs.”
Kennedy said teachers who are not performing up to a certain level should be terminated, noting performance reviews happen in every other job.
Opportunity zones and community development
Kennedy said opportunities exist in District 4 but are not being utilized because people in the community do not know about them.
She cited opportunity zones created by Sen. Tim Scott under President Trump, which she said are in the heart of the district and the historic West Side. Kennedy said people do not know about opportunity zones or how to set up to bid on government contracts.
“I’ve had people in the historical west side say that, you know, the west side looks like Beirut,” Kennedy said. “Horsford’s not doing anything for the historical west side.”
Kennedy worked in contracts for a family power engineering and manufacturing company, handling government contracts and compliance with federal acquisition regulations. She said she was negotiating a contract while in labor delivering her triplets.
Immigration enforcement
Kennedy said she supports deporting criminal illegal aliens. She said her uncle was murdered by an illegal alien at age 26 when she was 13 years old.
The illegal alien had police contact three times before murdering her uncle, Kennedy said. She said had he been deported during any of those contacts, her uncle would have been able to get married and have children.
“That just about killed my grandparents,” Kennedy said. “I could just remember the screams from my grandmother when she had the news that my uncle had been murdered.”
She said similar incidents happen every day in the country. Kennedy said she has no problem with people who want to come to America for a better life but they should follow rules, laws and regulations.
Kennedy said she agrees with President Trump’s immigration stance and would support his initiatives when he needs Congress to pass new bills.
“He’s the enforcement arm of the government,” she said. “I would support him in enforcing our immigration laws.”
Housing and cost of living
Kennedy said she had a plan in 2020 to overhaul the FHA program, a government-backed loan with low interest rates and down payments.
She said many people do not qualify with banks, and while there is no credit score requirement from HUD, banks impose varying credit score requirements.
Kennedy said she would like Congress to implement a system that uses rental history instead of credit scores from three private credit bureaus.
“If a family is renting for somewhere for 10 years, you know, when they want to buy a home, they should be able to,” she said. “If you could pay your rent consistently for three years, why couldn’t you pay a mortgage?”
She said studies show neighborhoods with high home ownership have lower crime rates and higher graduation rates.
On grocery costs, Kennedy said Congress should examine whether costs are truly that high or artificially inflated. She said corporations could be price gouging by blaming gas prices, labor shortages and other factors.
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