I am running to become Northern St. Mary’s County’s first female state delegate in Maryland's history. District 29A has many working class families who are struggling as they are raising children, caring for aging or disabled family members, serving on the naval base, participating in local unions, running small businesses and tending to our farms and waterways. I believe in our community's ability to thrive when provided educational, healthcare and socio-economic justice. Our current delegate, Matthew Morgan, as chair of the Maryland Freedom Caucus, in 2026, has a zero percent primary legislation and bond initiative pass rate. He claims he cannot work together with Annapolis Democrats to achieve goals for our district because he is Republican, which is not true; his Republican colleagues have worked collaboratively for the benefit of their districts. Our community deserves to have a voice in Annapolis that respects the dignity of every member of our state. As a licensed clinical professional counselor, former educator, wife of a police officer, mother to five children in the public school system and candidate endorsed by nine local unions and coalitions, I am uniquely qualified to represent Northern St. Mary's County, Maryland.

I am highly impressed by the service-mindedness, career longevity, ethics, professionalism, poise under pressure, integrity and honor displayed by House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk. Our family stories share commonalities. I am proud of my immigrant Chinese great-grandfather and Mi'kmaq great-grandmother who sought the American dream and dedicated their lives to raising a family built on grit, faith, community support and resolute belief that we can be the change we seek in the world. Peña-Melnyk exemplifies the ethos of my own family. She represents what is possible when we commit to honoring our shared humanity.

Neighbors have expressed frustration with the economic impact of federal funding cuts on Maryland's ability to stabilize their budget. County budgets are, in turn, affecting school and infrastructure budgets. They are feeling the hit on their wallets and mental wellbeing as they wrestle with job insecurity, medical and retirement benefit cuts, food and water quality and safety, and rising energy and health care costs. These government decisions are affecting the productivity of workers, the health of neighbors and the security of communities. I hope to be able to collaborate with the delegation to ensure that relief is provided though fair share tax reform, specifically around closure of corporate loopholes. While this is not the only way to correct our path, we can start there to ensure funds are available to feed our school children, provide speciality health care access to seniors, veterans, women and help our farmers and watermen nourish our community with locally sourced, healthy food options, to name a few.

Before any additional data center development occurs, we must update the grid. This will be a fiscal challenge, and an issue I will need to collaborate strongly with experts on in order to ensure we meet the needs of the 21st century. We must assure our community members are able to provide the basics of quality food and water, affordable housing, accessible healthcare and equitable employment and educational opportunities before asking them to stretch their budgets further by paying ever increasing energy rates. I support legislative efforts to build affordable, clean and local energy, providing households access to efficient electric technologies, while ensuring that utilities and data centers pay their fair share.

This is not just a Maryland issue. According to recent June 2026 Pew Research Center analysis of government data, the majority of metropolitan and rural regions face similar challenges for first time homebuyers. Housing prices have skyrocketed, employment rates and incomes are falling. Additionally, mortgage rates, insurance, costs lending practices and county-determined property taxes all play important roles in our affordability crisis. Possible legislative solutions could include discussions regarding MIT's data that supports Maryland's adoption of a $25 living wage by 2030 with scaled increases each year (the living wage indexed to inflation after 2033). Secondly, we could consider increased and expanded regional access through redefining eligibility to both Maryland's mortgage program and rehabilitation initiatives to repair and restore existing housing to current standards utilizing U.S. Department of Agriculture-targeted financing options.

I am in support of the DECADE Act of 2026. Knowing the DECADE Act has the support of the Maryland Association of Counties assures me that this economic development initiative has merit.

As a wife of a police officer, I support community safety initiatives and the protection of our constitutional rights. Our county sheriff provided the community assurances that the rate of local crime perpetuated by undocumented persons was "infinitesimal" and that any collaboration with federal immigration customs enforcement would be bound by the law. He stressed that the safety of our immigrant families was one of his top priorities. We discussed ideas as to how to more efficiently and affordably promote citizenship for those who seek to be American citizens. The legislation that was brought forth by the Community Trust Act of 2026 helps clarify the roles of local law enforcement and that of federal ICE in order to maintain public trust between our law enforcement officers and the community they serve. Police can still help federal agents if there is an active, serious criminal investigation or a proven violent crime, as they are bound by oath to do. A person's immigration status cannot be used as sole justification for being held/detained without a judicial warrant. In the vast majority of cases, immigration status violations are a civil matter, not criminal. The majority of those being detained are living in Maryland legally, in process of citizenship, without criminal backgrounds. They are your neighbors, coworkers, farmers, members of your places of worship, your children's classmates. This act does not stop immigration officials from working with police; it places safeguards so that our immigrant children, friends and family are not placed in detention and deportation proceedings without benefit of constitutional protections.

Education of our children must remain a priority investment. Fully funding public schools and libraries are two means of ensuring the longitudinal success of our future workforce and growing communities. I would like to pilot universal pre-K and universal school meals, expand agricultural and agri-coastal programs of study, both of which would not only provide foundations for our youth to expand their knowledge and skillsets, but provide for local employment of educators, farmers, watermen, scientists, specialists, nutrition services, transportation professionals, security and more.

More than half of our state's population is female. More than 62% of women 16 years and older participate in our workforce. Women's health has a direct impact on the economic success of our state. Therefore, we need to more-strongly invest in women. Suggestions for consideration include, but are not limited to: increased and expanded local access to speciality healthcare options, such as maternal baby units with tier three-plus neonatal units, dedicated mental health hospitals with pediatric and mother-baby units, support for the development of the Maryland hospital for women and statewide clinical network focusing on women's health across the lifespan, support for grants for women-owned small business start up or job skill training, provided affordable and accessible childcare and dependent care for working families, bolstered laws protecting against violence and workplace harassment, a closed pay gap between men and women (currently women earn 15 cents less per dollar than male counterparts) and the creation of down payment assistance for female first time home buyers.