Strengthening our Schools

As a public school teacher and a parent, I have a passion for great schools. I believe that my son and every other child in our community should have access to the best education we can provide. In Montgomery County, we are lucky to have an extraordinary school system, but we need to continue building on that success and make our schools even stronger.

That means working to ensure that our schools get the funding they need. Maryland made an historic commitment to children by passing the Thornton school funding bill. We can’t renege on that commitment by cutting schools, especially when we are making progress towards closing the achievement gap and helping all our kids become college and career ready.

I also believe that we need to pay special attention to the needs of our students with disabilities. My wife Emily is a special educator and has worked hard to ensure that our students with the most challenges are given the opportunity to excel. Emily tells me on a daily basis about the challenges parents face in getting attention and services for their children. No parent or teacher should have to fight to get appropriate services for their child. I will work to ensure that students in special education get the services they need.

Building a Family-Friendly Economy

The recent recession has been hard on Maryland’s families. Many of our neighbors and friends have lost their jobs, or their homes, and are struggling to make ends meet. Our state needs to do more to make sure that we are bringing high-paying, high-quality jobs to Maryland.

We need to renew our commitment to small businesses, starting with a serious effort to reduce red tape and make it easier for small business owners to operate. Our communities depend on these locally owned stores and companies for many jobs and services, and too few state economic development dollars are dedicated to them. I also believe that it is important for our state to support working families with common sense legislation like a strong minimum wage and paid sick days.

Preserving the Environment for our Children

As a child, I was able to explore incredible wild places, places untouched by human hands. I want my son to have the same opportunity, to grow up in a world where wild places still exist, where the air is free of smog and the water clean. Maryland has been a national leader in strong environmental policy, but work remains to be done. We need to continue to limit runoff and pollution that is fouling the Chesapeake Bay. Our state must support the next generation of green technology, including electric cars and renewable electricity. And by helping families and businesses become more energy-efficient, we can help stop climate change and save Marylanders money.

Solving our Transportation Troubles

The recent recession has been hard on Maryland’s families. Many of our neighbors and friends have lost their jobs, or their homes, and are struggling to make ends meet. Our state needs to do more to make sure that we are bringing high-paying, high-quality jobs to Maryland.

Too many of us spend hours every week away from our families sitting in traffic. It is time that Montgomery County and Maryland take real action to reduce congestion and provide sensible transportation solutions. We need to recommit to reforming and funding the metro system, but that alone is not enough. I will advocate for more funding for transportation, to help build additional mass transit to serve Burtonsville, Olney, Damascus, and other communities in District 14. Additional transportation dollars will also make needed improvements in our road network, including construction of the long-awaited Brookeville bypass and completion of improvements to our neighborhood roads that will make them safer for pedestrians.

Affordable, High-Quality Health Care

Every Marylander deserves access to affordable, high-quality health care. As a teacher, I’ve seen the challenges faced by my students whose families do not have access to health care. Despite the best efforts of parents and teachers, many of my kids have had medical conditions go untreated or undertreated for far too long. As the federal government works to reform health care, we in Maryland need to ensure that our residents are aware of new opportunities to get health care coverage. Maryland needs to help its residents navigate the changing health care system, and get access to the programs like the State Children’s Health Insurance Program that can help reduce the number of uninsured. But we also need to work to stop the epidemic of childhood obesity in order to keep children from developing dangerous medical conditions in the first place. We can and we will create a healthier Maryland.

Fighting for Family Farms

Montgomery County deserves credit for working so hard to preserve farms and farmland in the agricultural reserve. But farming is not the same as it was when my great-uncle bought land in upstate New York at the turn of the century. Farmers are having a tough time making ends meet. Too many of them are working multiple jobs. We need to make farming profitable again, and help preserve family farms for the next generation. The best way to do that is to ensure that farmers can sell fresh, local produce in their own communities. Maryland needs to do even more to help farmers markets, and to ensure that stores clearly mark local food. We need to ensure that children in our schools have access to fresh, local produce at lunch, not just to junk food. Our state’s farmers deserve a government which will help keep farms in family hands.