A Better
Western
Maryland
is Possible
This region once powered Maryland. There was opportunity if one was willing to put in the work. We can make that opportunity real again, with a plan that’s just as much about the present for us as it is the future for our children.
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This plan puts control of process and the benefits into local hands. This is our land and our resources, we’re going to make sure it benefits our people.
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Good jobs pay the bills. Good careers build futures. With this plan, we make sure families can put down roots for generations to come and be secure in the knowledge there is a place in this economy for them.
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These plans are short, medium, and long term projects. If we focus too far into the future, we fail to address the problems of today; if w stay focused on the present, we won’t be ready for tomorrow. There is no one-fix solution, but how each project plays into another.
Western Maryland has been ignored for decades. This wasn’t by accident or misfortune; this was a deliberate choice by leaders and corporations. This is the result of ignoring the families that live and work here, and instead focusing on boardrooms and shareholders. We change that with action that follows a very simple principle: we use our land and our resources to fund our future.
power western maryland. Keep our dollars here.
Energy prices are out of control. High bills hurt working families and local businesses the most. We don’t need energy generation ready in 10-15 years: we need it now. We shouldn’t focus on buying more out of state fuels that leave us dependent on market changes and utilities. Energy that is fast to bring online and reliable to maintain doesn’t just lower energy bills, it adds revenue directly to our local budgets to fund the services we need.
RAPIDLY DEPLOYING SOLAR WITH LOCAL OWNERSHIP
By installing solar on county- and town-owned buildings to keep revenue and development in our hands, we can increase county budgets without extra cost to the taxpayer. For example, a county in Arkansas gave their teachers a $15,000 raise by installing solar on and around their public schools.
PROTECTING INDIVIDUAL ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
Household solar allows for individuals to take control of their energy bills, achieve greater energy independence from utilities, and improve the value of their property. By expanding support for individual property owners, they can spend less on energy and more on supporting our local economy.
ENERGY GENERATION WITHOUT UNCHECKED DEVELOPMENT
Planning and development must remain under the control of our community. Our beautiful landscape shouldn’t become a playground for developers to reap the rewards while we pay the price. With control in the hands of county governments, town councils, and individual property owners, the benefits stay in our communities, not lining a CEO’s pockets.
GOVERNMENT MUST DO ITS FAIR SHARE
Marylanders are being asked to lower their power usage to cut costs. Our government should do the same. The State and local governments must develop Energy Efficiency Master Plans on how they will cut down on energy usage in government buildings.
AN ECONOMY FOR ALL TO BUILD A FUTURE
A job pays the bills, a career builds a family. We need to focus on bringing in industries that offer good benefits, union labor, and career security so that families don’t have to search elsewhere for stability. Whether that’s expanding rail service to remake “Hub City” in Hagerstown, fighting for more manufacturing jobs like the Hitachi Factory, or supporting small businesses in an economy that actively fights against them - a local economy puts more money into our towns, not far off board rooms.
HUB CITY REBORN WITH RAIL
Western Maryland was built with the rail roads, and it can join in rail’s rebirth. There is growing support at all levels to reinvest in rail, not just for freight transportation but passenger services too. Railyard workers and engineers are good union jobs that offer lifelong benefits. Federal and state funds are available to those who fight for them, and would bring much needed careers and better connections to our community.
NO MORE FREE RIDES FOR DATA CENTERS
The cost of data centers is high, and the expansion has only just begun. Rather than supporting families in need of housing and good, career jobs, we’re helping Big Tech rip up the ground, drain our water, and skyrocket our energy bills. I’ll remove the tax exemptions data centers receive and fight the law that says they are as critical to us as schools, hospitals, and water.
COHERENT PLANNING, NOT SHORT TERM REACTION
The plans here mix short, medium, and long term staging. If we focus too far in the future, we fail to address the problems we face today; if we stay focused on the present, we won’t be ready for tomorrow. When we make plans for multiple time frames, it gives us adaptability to new situations and a vision to strive towards.
AN ECONOMY OF, BY, AND FOR US
Investing in small businesses can’t be a tagline, but an active choice. When we make it easier to start a business, and put them in a situation to thrive, we know that they tend to spend more money in our communities than the big box stores. If we want development to make our community better, we need to support people who decide to set up shop here.
NO MORE CORPORATE WELFARE
Billion dollar companies that don’t pay their workers a fair wage aren’t part of the solution. If an employee working full time still needs state assistance, than the corporation should pay for it. Closing loopholes so Big Businesses pay their share means more money for small business grants to make an actually competitive economy.
IF DEVELOPERS WON’T DO IT, WE WILL
Western Maryland is one of the most beautiful places in the State. But that beauty is threatened by unchecked construction, sprawling warehouses, and abandoned properties. We don’t need warehouses, data centers, and suburbs; we need smart growth, local control, and housing that our families can afford. No developer is coming to fix these problems, so let’s do it ourselves and control our own expansion.
ABANDONED PROPERTY RECLAMATION PROGRAM
A County-State partnership program to identify and assess abandoned properties: unsalvageable properties will be demolished and rebuilt. Once the work is completed, they are sold to the county governments to utilize as they determine; sold to first time home buyers, turned into community housing, or used for local needs. Local control and benefit at every point of the process.
COMMUNITY HOUSING, OPERATED BY US
Housing development should be controlled by the community, not big developers and distant landlords. I’ll fight for funding for affordable community housing where our towns and councils control the development and pricing. Expansion doesn’t have to come at the price of our autonomy and landscape.
SUPPORT FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS
Owning a home shouldn’t be out of reach for working families. I’ll fight for down payment assistance and financial support for those working to buy their first home. Financial literacy will be a requirement in public schools, and provided through community centers to help homebuyers make the right call.
healthcare in any zip code
Whenever the State faces a budget crisis, rural hospitals are among the first to be on the chopping block. Quality medical care shouldn’t require you to live in the DC area, and it shouldn’t mean seeing an underfunded or unprepared facility in Western Maryland. We don’t need healthcare an hour’s drive away - we just need the same resources the rest of the state already gets.
INVEST IN DOCTOR TRAINING
Medical school is expensive, and graduates leave with debt that pushes them to where they can make the most money. Covering tuition costs for students who serve at least 10 years in Western Maryland brings talented professionals here without increasing medical costs. University of Maryland currently offers this for the Eastern Shore, so why not Western Maryland?
THE OPIOID CRISIS ISN’T OVER YET
We’ve made strides against the opioid crisis, but there is still more to do. Maintaining funding of our crisis centers, and ensuring that job training and housing is available means people who start treatment are more likely to succeed. These centers are just one part of a process to beat addiction, but their availability is crucial to taking the first steps towards recovery.
CAN’T GO TO THE DOCTOR? THE DOCTOR COMES TO YOU
Our community has seniors, people with disabilities or handicaps, working families with children, and people who don’t have reliable transportation. We can’t leave them behind. Affordable telehealth and mobile nurses means people can be seen without leaving their home. These programs already exist; we just need a Delegate to make sure they get the funding they need.
OUR CHILDREN’S FUTURE BEGINS TODAY
Our children don’t get a fair shot. Teacher shortages, classroom sizes being too big, a curriculum that doesn't teach for success, and technology designed to distract means our children don’t have the same opportunity we had. Our teachers are underpaid and spend more time parenting than teaching. Our kids spend more time on their laptops searching for answers than thinking out the problem. We can do better for schools.
SAFE SCHOOLS FOR SUCCESSFUL LEARNING
Many of our schools are in need in renovation. An inspection found asbestos in Williamsport High School. Many others have issues securing funding for repairs. This is unacceptable. Our children should be safe in our schools, without us wondering if they’ll be exposed to deadly chemicals or deteriorating conditions.
FIGHT FOR THE FUNDAMENTALS
Maryland increased education funding, but we’re not seeing results. We need to ensure that we are teaching the fundamentals starting in elementary school. By making sure kids understand the fundamentals of reading, math, and writing, as well as planning targeted interventions when a student falls behind, we set them up for the future.
TECHNOLOGY TO AID LEARNING, NOT HINDER IT
The U.S spent $30 billion to put laptops in schools, believing it would help our kids succeed. It did the opposite. Now AI floods our schools and we don’t have a plan to address what we’re already seeing - students understanding less about what they’re learning and crippling their ability to think. We need to develop a comprehensive approach that actually addresses what we’re seeing, rather than blanket funding increases.
SMALLER CLASSES = GREATER SUCCESS
We know that smaller class sizes lead to better outcomes for our youth. When a teacher can focus on teaching our kids rather than corralling them, more time is spent on building the future. Fighting for better teacher pay and small class sizes means more jobs, better results, and safer schools.
SUPPORTING THOSE WHO FEED US
Over a third of the district is farmland, and agriculture is an essential part of our history. Maintaining and expanding support is essential for them to keep providing for us. The current subsidies benefit Big Ag and processing foods, rather than healthy food that we actually eat. Changing this structure, and rebuilding our community connections to our farming legacy, builds a new generation of farmers to keep us fed.
TARGETED SUPPORT FOR FAMILY FARMERS
Farming corporations don’t need our support, family farmers do. I’ll fight to increase support for locally owned and operated farms so that they can save, plan, and invest with security.
HEALTHY FOOD FOR A HEALTHY COMMUNITY
Investing more in support for farms that grow the foods we eat every day - real fruits and vegetables - will help move away from processing foods that make us unhealthier and towards a stronger community.
RECONNECTING TO OUR RURAL HERITAGE
Whether to inspire the next generation of farmers, spread the importance of locally grown food, or just to appreciate the hard work that goes into feeding our communities, we need to connect farmers with our youth. A state program that brings local farmers into the public schools, built by farmers and communities to spread the importance of supporting local agriculture, makes this connection lasting for generations.
FARM-TO-TABLE SCHOOL PROGRAM
Our food should feed our kids first. With additional funding to make sure the farmers still make the revenue they need we’ll stop shipping food away, feed our kids with healthy local food, and make sure what we grow here stays here.