Priorities

Montgomery County’s traffic is among the nation’s worst; our average commuting times are twice the national average. Gridlock is more than an inconvenience—a recent study found that a lack of reliable and efficient transportation is a key factor in helping people get ahead.

In the legislature, I have fought for public transit, safer road design, and pedestrian safety. I have sponsored bills to throw the book at drag racers and keep children safe when they walk to school.

I will keep advocating for:

• All-day, weeklong MARC service from Frederick to get cars off the I-270 corridor;
• The speedy completion of the Purple Line, with no single tracking;
• More reliable transit solutions between Olney, Aspen Hill, and Leisure World; and
• Safety improvements on Norbeck Road, Georgia Avenue, and other state roads in District 19 to protect all road users.

We must invest in our schools to provide students, teachers, and parents with the support they need.

In the legislature, I have supported the passage of historic funding for both schools and school construction. As we recover from the pandemic, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future should be the floor, rather than the ceiling, of our commitments to public education. I have also advanced legislation to close tax loopholes to ensure that the state’s largest corporations are helping to support our schools.

I will keep fighting for:

• Pre-K for all three- and four-year olds;
• Reduced class sizes and enough classroom space to keep pace with enrollment, without portables;
• Competitive salaries to attract and retain highly qualified teachers; and
• Student loan forgiveness and pathways for Maryland students to pay little or no tuition at public universities, community colleges, and vocational schools.

Climate change is the existential challenge of our time and the Chesapeake Bay is our state’s most vital resource. Economically depressed areas, particularly communities of color, suffer the most from environmental injustice.

As a legislator, I have advocated for protecting the Bay and making Maryland the national leader on climate. I have sponsored legislation to hold Bay polluters accountable, ban toxic substances, and create good, union jobs in the climate sector.

I will keep fighting for:

• A Maryland Green New Deal, to combat climate change while we create family-sustaining, union jobs and tackle wealth inequality;
• The health of the Chesapeake Bay, as well as our rivers and lakes outside the watershed; and
• Smarter growth, an end to sprawl, and a reorientation of our transportation priorities from automobiles to transit.

We must empower citizens like you—not lobbyists, large corporations, and the wealthy—to democratically control elections and policymaking. Elected officials should fight for Maryland’s interests, not their own.

In the legislature, as a member of the ethics subcommittee, I have been one of the leading voices for ethics reform and good government, including by sponsoring two landmark ethics bills that are now law. I have also championed increased access to the ballot box, fighting back against the GOP’s voter suppression agenda.

I remain committed to:

• A statewide public financing system that provides public matching funds for candidates who opt in to the system;
• Redistricting reform so that representatives cannot pick their own voters; and
• A ban on political contributions from registered Maryland lobbyists and for-profit corporations.

The pandemic exacerbated preexisting economic hardship. Too many Marylanders are working harder, but struggling to make ends meet. And District 19 residents on fixed incomes continue to see their expenses increase. We must recommit ourselves to building an economy for everyone, not just the rich and well connected.

As your Delegate, I fought for the passage of legislation to create a $15 minimum wage and expand the Earned Income Tax Credit. I’ve also been of the General Assembly’s most steadfast advocates for workers and unions.

I will keep fighting for:

• Paid family leave, paid vacation, and childcare subsidies;
• Protections for renters and funding for more affordable housing;
• Reversing the trend toward corporate consolidation; and
• The right to organize and collectively bargaining.

To fund bold investments in education, health care, and the environment, we need to rid our tax code and budget of giveaways for the largest corporations and the wealthiest few.

I support:

• Closing the loophole that allows multi-state and multi-national corporations doing business in Maryland to hide their revenue and evade income taxes in Maryland;
• Re-establishing a Millionaire’s Tax on the highest earners; and
• Eliminating corporate handouts to large companies.

We have a gun crisis in this country. Every Marylander should feel confident that their workplace, schools, and public spaces are safe from gun violence. While the facts of each individual shooting are unique, the reality is that states with stricter gun laws have fewer gun deaths.

As your Delegate, I have fought to strengthen our laws and protect Marylanders by expanding background checks and regulating ghost guns.