Our country is experiencing great change; our federal government isn't working for us right now. In the coming years, the states will likely bear the heaviest burden in caring for their citizens. My family is filled with veterans and public servants, I grew up watching their dedication. I have spent my adult life working for the young people I teach, putting them first. I believe our children should have access to quality education, I believe everyone should have health care, I believe our bay and Maryland wildlife should be protected. If we hope to protect our way of life here in Maryland, we will have to rely on ourselves. I will bring a new perspective to the General Assembly and enact real change in Maryland. I will ensure the same dedication to my constituents and the people of Maryland as I have for my students.

I admire Pete Buttigieg. Buttigieg has consistently demonstrated his dedication to the working people of the country in a multitude of ways. He has spent the last five to six years reaching out to Americans who disagree with him, he has requested meetings with Fox News and held town halls all over the country where he discusses the issues. He is the true definition of a leader because he genuinely wants to hear what others think. He is polite and knowledgeable and willing to engage with anyone in a professional and respectful manner. He doesn't demonstrate prejudice or hatred towards anyone, he doesn't cultivate fear or sow division. He is the kind of politician we need right now. Someone who can talk to anyone about the issues that really matter. Buttigieg is the kind of politician I aspire to be.

I think we should start by increasing the tax rate on the top 18% of earners as some have suggested. I would also support a small tax increase on luxury items, such as cigarettes, alcohol, recreational marijuana and vapes. I would propose an increase to the Bay Bridge toll to $10 to $12 in the summer to target out-of-state tourists coming to our beaches. E-ZPass already has a program where locals and commuters can purchase special packages at a reduced rate, under my plan these rates would not change, https://mdta.maryland.gov/toll-rates. Maryland does not charge for its state roads, Virginia and Pennsylvania do. With the necessity of building and maintaining bridges in Maryland, let's get the tourists to pay a little more to save Maryland taxpayers the burden of fully funding these necessary transportation projects.

Gov. Wes Moore calls data centers "lighthouse industries," but I don't believe that they should have to come to Maryland. The full extent of the ecological and environmental damage to the environment has not been sufficiently studied. Our Chesapeake Bay provides a diverse home for a wide variety of wildlife, the noise and vibrations created by data centers and their impact on these animals has not been studied enough. Maryland fisherman and crabbers rely on the Chesapeake Bay for their livelihood; it would be a mistake to allow the construction of these centers before an extensive impact assessment has been completed on our wildlife and their environment as well as the rates of energy increases for our citizens.

Many people in Maryland rely on wells for their running water. With many counties pulling water from the same aquifer, wells will go dry all over our state if data centers start pulling large amounts of water. If data centers must come to Maryland, they should be required to bring their own sources of water and electricity from the first day of operation. They should also be expected to pay a premium on state and local taxes to pay for the expansion of electrical grids, water and sewer upgrades and the construction of sewage treatment plants. Until these conditions can be met, the state should place a moratorium on the construction of data centers in Maryland.

In Baltimore, the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative is meant to rehabilitate homes that have been abandoned and are in need of significant repair, in an attempt to make more homes available in Maryland. I believe this idea could be extended to additional locations as well. In many locations, Calvert County, for example, there are many abandoned homes in need of repair. Renovating abandoned homes all over the state could create affordable additional housing options everywhere. Additional mandates on home builders along with certain tax incentives could be implemented to make sure that affordable housing is established in areas of need. In urban areas, capping rent at a reasonable rate is also something that the General Assembly could look into, rental homes are so expensive and in some cases, many of the rents are artificially high. The General Assembly can certainly cap the amount of profit that some landlords are pocketing through price gouging.

I support the Governor's legislation efforts in the DECADE act. I think the legislation is a well rounded testament to his commitment to finding a way to bring the state's budget back into the black. I think there are other changes that could be made in addition to the DECADE act that would have similar effects in reigning in our spending while generating additional revenue. One example of this is stricter oversight of spending in Maryland state agency contracts. Scaling back local government cash match requirements for state grants to optimize regional project efficiency. Creating employment pipelines between state universities, private and state agencies. Raising taxes on recreational marijuana, alcohol, cigarettes and gambling are another way that revenue could be increased, along with raising the Bay Bridge tolls during the summer vacation season. The goal here would be to target vacationers headed to our beautiful beaches without impacting the local residents who can purchase commuter and shopping passes from EZ Pass.

We cannot allow our state and local law enforcement agencies to participate in illegal arrests and kidnappings. This would leave the state and these departments vulnerable to litigation and lawsuits that would then add to the burden on the state budget. To keep our citizens safe, habeas corpus must be maintained in all law enforcement situations and the U.S. Constitution must be the followed to the letter in every operation our state and local law enforcement agents participate in.

Our immigrant communities must feel safe going to work and school without the threat of deportation without a trial and tearing their family apart. Assaulting and killing people because they are different is a crime. As a country, ICE has violated our signed commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a multitude of ways, including the right to be treated with humanity in detention, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to recognition before the law.

It is the job of the state to step in when it's people need help. Franklin D. Roosevelt knew this, he used this premise to design and implement the ABC programs that held out a lifeline for our country's people during the Great Depression.

The current federal administration has deliberately ignored the mandate of "by the people, for the people." Instead it has instituted a system of personal wealth creation by making sure the wealthiest among us live undisturbed in their greed, as the president, his family and friends and our federal representatives grift billions from those who would pay for access to governmental influence and the passage of self-serving legislation. The purpose of government is for the people, at the federal level that is no longer true. Maryland must commit to helping our citizens through this very difficult time in our nation's history. This moment in time demands that we all work together for the benefit of us all, it is a moral moment and if the U.S. is to survive this administration, we must rise to meet this moment in solidarity and set aside our petty differences in order to support each other.