I offer seasoned leadership and a deep understanding of Maryland state government operations. My experience running a state agency has taught me the importance of collaboration with all stakeholders to achieve practical real-world solutions. Crucially, I also have firsthand experience with the system's bureaucracy and the lack of accountability and transparency that often hinders government efficiency. As a longtime agency head, I possess the necessary knowledge and connections to drive meaningful change in Annapolis. My career in forensic science provides a unique, impartial perspective on our criminal justice system. I grasp the "big picture" and recognize the need to leverage technology, innovation and cooperation to maximize both public safety and community trust within Maryland. Finally, I am a family man, hobby farmer, outdoor enthusiast and public servant eager to make a difference in the community that my family and I have called home for the past 18 years.

The public leader that I most admire is Gov. Larry Hogan. As the Director of the Maryland State Police (MSP) Forensic Sciences Division during both of his terms as governor, I was able to see first-hand how he pushed forward Republican values in a Democratic controlled General Assembly while not alienating stakeholders and partners. So often, extremism on both sides of the aisle prevents collaborative solutions. We see that today both in Annapolis with the Democratic super-majority and in Washington with the Republican majority. I respected how he was a strong supporter of law enforcement, a fiscally responsible overseer of the state budget and a pro-business advocate while still being a cooperative and compassionate leader. During the pandemic, I appreciated how he found an opportunity during a crisis to bring people together. These are all characteristics I will strive for as a delegate.

The state's structural deficit is the single most important issue facing Maryland. As someone who worked in the Maryland state government for over 18 years, I have seen my share of budget challenges, but never have I seen something like this. We quickly went from having a significant surplus in FY 2023 to facing a $3.3 billion deficit in FY 2026. Then after supposedly balancing the budget with a combination of tough cuts and new taxes, we find ourselves heading into FY 2027 with another deficit, this time $1.4 billion, with projections of it increasing to $4 billion by FY 2030. The biggest contributor to the current situation is the Maryland Blueprint for Education. While well-intentioned, it is the epitome of irresponsible legislation that committed $4 billion of state and county funds over a 10-year period without any assurances that the money would be available. It is an unfunded mandate that has crippled the government. The first thing that needs to be done is to amend the Blueprint by extending the time frame for implementation based on actual available funding. Beyond that, the state needs to establish and fund a State Inspector General's Office responsible for independently auditing, investigating and reviewing existing programs. Based on the results, a comprehensive return on investment analysis must be done, which determines what programs continue to be resourced, realigned, restructured or replaced. Only after this is done should tax increases be considered.

Ironically, the same issue that we have seen with the Maryland Blueprint for Education impacting the structural deficit is contributing to rising energy rates. A well-intentioned initiative with poor execution. Shifting from fossil fuels to renewable and low-carbon energy sources is critical to the health of the environment and the people of Maryland. However, establishing deadlines for implementation without fully accounting for the transition is irresponsible. The result has been an energy sector that is in limbo. The grid is not yet capable of relying on renewable and low-carbon energy sources alone, but the state has already disinvested from the reliable legacy energy sources. The power demands associated with new data centers are not going away and, in reality, will only continue to grow.Therefore, it is imperative that existing energy sources remain available concurrently until the full implementation of the new energy sources is completed. Once that occurs, it will then be the time to decommission the older systems. In the meantime, it is essential that data center operators bear the financial burden associated with the necessary power demands rather than the taxpayers. Furthermore, it would behoove the state to promote and facilitate the use of small nuclear reactors to power existing and future data centers. These modular units can self-sustain a data center rather than draining the grid.

Between 2010 and 2023, Maryland experienced a net domestic outmigration resulting in a loss of 300,000 residents. This average loss of 25,000 residents per year is due in large part to unaffordable housing costs. The monthly homeowner and rental expenses in Maryland are higher than all of our border states and not surprisingly Maryland has seen high rates of net domestic outmigration to Pennsylvania (26%), Virginia (17%), West Virginia (10%) and Delaware (7%). Other factors contribute to this phenomenon besides housing costs including unfavorable income, estate and inheritance taxes; but the lack of affordable housing is the leading cause for those under 55 years old. This is problematic because these are the people looking to work and raise families in Maryland. As they leave, the economic impact on Maryland is felt in the loss of commerce and tax revenue contributing to the state’s growing structural deficit. Local county and city governments are responsible for zoning and permitting and often there is a tendency for local jurisdictions to challenge housing expansion because they fear the impact on the local landscape (both culturally and environmentally). These are reasonable reactions, but there needs to be a level of compromise that currently is lacking. The state can help by 1) providing incentives for local jurisdictions that are expansion friendly and penalties for those that are not; and 2) facilitating rent to own opportunities that build financial independence while also making local communities more welcoming to new residents.

I strongly support the DECADE Act's concept of boosting lighthouse industries including life sciences, technology, aerospace and defense, and manufacturing. As a forensic scientist, I appreciate the recognition that innovation and vision is the driving force for societal successes. As a crime lab director, I appreciate the recognition that lighthouse industries are interrelated and their own successes are dependent on a synced approach. Beyond my professional experiences, I recall my father and his career as a research chemist for DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware. During my youth in Wilmington, everyone had a family member who in some manner worked for DuPont, from researching new synthetic polymers to manufacturing and marketing novel life-changing products. It was a stabilizing force both economically and socially that brought pride to the community. Even today, I tell people proudly that my father was on the team that discovered Kevlar which led to the production of bullet-proof vests worn by law enforcement and the military for the past fifty years. The investment in lighthouse industries within the private sector is a critical step in establishing a long-term and sustainable economic framework within Maryland, but I would advocate for a comparable investment in the public sector to develop needed infrastructure within Maryland state government. State services could be so much more efficient and effective if the government would follow this same forward thinking and collaborative model. Unfortunately, the reality is that science and technology at the state level today is underfunded, lacks resources and operates in silos.

While I understand and appreciate the disappointment and disgust for the actions of some ICE officers during recent immigration enforcement efforts throughout the country, I believe that banning county and local law enforcement from partnering with ICE via Memorandums of Understanding (287(g) agreements) was not warranted. The fact is that all these agreements did was establish expectations and guidelines to follow when law enforcement had an undocumented individual in custody charged with a crime or had a criminal warrant for such an individual. These agreements were actually a means of ensuring the proper handling of such individuals by highly trained and reputable law enforcement officers when dealing with often lesser trained and unreputable ICE agents. In my role as the MSP Forensic Sciences Division director, I have been integrally involved in the operations of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division (IID) since it was implemented in 2021 for the purpose of investigating all police-involved incidents in Maryland that result in a person's death or injuries likely to lead to death. I am pleased to say that investigation after investigation has shown that law enforcement officers in Maryland operate with the highest integrity and professionalism under extremely challenging circumstances. While there are bad apples and every IID investigation requires an in-depth and impartial evaluation of the specific incident at hand, as a general rule, the police in our state are worthy of our trust and respect.

I have found there to be a troubling lack of accountability and transparency in Maryland's State Government operations. I have experienced numerous incidents during my time as the director of the MSP Forensic Sciences Division in which actions were blocked, processes were mishandled and decisions were made in bad faith. These were serious situations involving public safety, many of which remain unaddressed today despite my tireless efforts to remedy them. Too often the lack of funding and staffing resulted in failures that compounded on themselves year after year. That combined with misaligned agencies, uninformed decision makers and an unwillingness by the governor and his secretaries to do the right thing has created an environment of disillusionment among state workers. Currently, in Maryland, there is not an adequate means of addressing these sorts of problems. That is why it is essential that Maryland create and fund an independent Inspector General's Office to oversee the functions of our state government. I am a hobby farmer in rural Baltimore County with a herd of eight Nigerian Dwarf goats, and as such, I created a campaign slogan using the acronym G.O.A.T. which stands for Government Operating with Accountability and Transparency. While the mnemonic is cute, there is nothing cute about the real issues that exist in state government. If I am elected, I am committed to doing all I can to fix this mess.