Maryland House of Delegates District 17

A: This year we faced a $1.5 billion budget deficit. We balanced the budget without new taxes or fees. And in spite of the difficult budget, we were able to expand SNAP benefits and child care scholarships, while maintaining other critical health and human services, such as Medicaid, housing, and energy assistance.

Looking ahead, I believe that the state budget shouldn’t be balanced solely through budget cuts, especially given that we’ve made cuts over multiple years. We also need to ensure that our state’s revenues are meeting our needs for essential government services, such as education, transportation, and social safety net programs. That’s why I’ve been fighting to close tax loopholes so that big corporations and billionaires and millionaires pay their fair share of taxes. To that end, I’ve sponsored legislation to adopt combined reporting and other targeted tax changes in the Fair Share for Maryland Act. This year, I sponsored a bill to decouple from certain harmful and costly tax provisions in Trump’s Big Ugly Bill (HR 1). Two of these reforms were adopted. By opting out of additional federal tax breaks, the state can save hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

A: 1) Fighting back against the Trump Administration and their attempts to dismantle our democracy and wreck our regional economy. As a state elected official, I know that we can’t undo every bad federal action, but we have to fight back where we can. This year I sponsored two bills on this front to prevent additional state tax breaks being given to corporations as a result of the Big Ugly Bill (HR 1) and another to maintain current protections for endangered and threatened species in spite of federal rollbacks.

2) The unaffordability of child care. Child care is now more expensive than sending a student to college. Meanwhile, we’ve lost a quarter of our child care workforce since the pandemic. I’ve been working to tackle these issues from several angles, including enacting a property tax credit for child care providers, which is now offered in Montgomery County. I also got passed a bill to stabilize the child care scholarship program, which subsidizes the cost of child care for tens of thousands of working families. Another of my passed bills reinstates state support for professional development for child care providers.3) The quality of public school education. (See my below response.)

A: Affordability is a real concern, whether it’s housing, utilities, health care, child care, groceries, and many other daily necessities.

Affordable housing is a major problem across Maryland. That’s why I’ve sponsored bills—now laws—to make it easier and less expensive for affordable housing projects to get developed and to save prospective renters money on rental applications. I plan to reintroduce legislation to drive down rent prices by prohibiting landlords from using non-public competitor data to set rents; this is a growing problem that is costing renters an average of $112 a month.This session, I voted for the comprehensive utility relief act, which will save households at least $150 a year.To help families, I created the Maryland Child Tax Credit as a targeted way of providing help to low-income families with children. This year, I sponsored—and passed—legislation to allow counties to create local versions of the tax credit. Looking ahead, I plan to reintroduce legislation to provide free school meals to all students in the highest needs schools.

A: I was proud to vote for the enactment of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a landmark reform bill for our state’s public education system. Although we are only a few years into implementation, we’re seeing encouraging signs in terms of more students achieving reading and math proficiency, growth of four year olds attending pre-Kindergarten, more teachers completing advanced credentialing, and declining chronic student absenteeism. The Blueprint is pointing us in the right direction for our public schools and is still sound policy. The issue is ongoing costs.

I recognize the funding shortfall the Blueprint Fund will face starting in FY 2027 and am committed to finding and/or raising the money needed. To that end, I will be reintroducing the Fair Share for Maryland Act. This legislation would raise more than $1 billion by closing corporate tax loopholes and ensuring that billionaires and millionaires pay their fair share of taxes. Currently, the wealthiest 1% of Marylanders pay less in cumulative taxes (as a share of their income) than anyone else and that isn’t fair. Additionally, decoupling from several costly tax breaks in HR 1 will save several hundred million each year.

A: I believe that elected officials should be productive in their positions and responsive and accessible to their constituents. In terms of productivity, more than 50 of the bills I’ve sponsored have become state law. That makes me one of the most productive members of the House of Delegates. Moreover, my office helps numerous residents each year to solve problems with state agencies and programs. In terms of accessibility, I’ve always had an open door policy in terms of meeting with residents and stakeholders from my district.

A: Maryland’s structural deficit cannot be solved with temporary fixes. We need a disciplined approach that starts with a full review of state spending, cutting out administrative waste, and scaling back or eliminating lower priority programs that are not delivering results. At the same time, I support targeted revenue solutions such as closing tax loopholes and reviewing corporate tax breaks that do not provide clear public benefits, rather than raising taxes on working families. Maryland needs a balanced, honest plan that focuses on long term stability while protecting core services like education, infrastructure, and public safety.

A: Maryland is facing three major challenges that require immediate action. First the rising cost of living is putting pressure on working families. Housing, utilities, and everyday expenses continue to increase, while wages have not kept pace. The state must focus on policies that will make it more affordable to live and work in Maryland. Second, Maryland must invest in and modernize our infrastructure, from roads, and transit, to water, and sewer systems. Third, we must protect our environment and public health. Issues like sewage spills into the Potomac River, and long term health of the Chesapeake Bay show that we need stronger oversight. That circles back to better infrastructure and real investment into protecting our natural resources, and improving the foundations of our state.

A: Lowering the cost of living in Maryland starts with addressing the biggest pressures families face every day. I would focus on increasing housing supply by cutting unnecessary regulatory barriers and supporting responsible development so more people can afford to live here, including supporting the resurgence of boarding houses being available as a lower cost housing option. I would also work to stabilize utility costs by investing in reliable energy infrastructure and ensuring rate increases are justified and transparent. At the same time, we need to reduce the overall tax burden where possible, and make sure state spending is disciplined, so we are not passing rising costs on to residents.

A: Maryland should not rush to raise broad new taxes or walk away from the goals of the Blueprint. We need to take a disciplined approach by reviewing how the funds are being spent, ensuring the programs are delivering measurable results and phasing implementation in a way that is financially sustainable. If gaps remain, I would prioritize targeted adjustments and efficiencies before considering new revenue, and only support revenue changes that do not place additional burden on working families.

A: If elected, constituents should be able to evaluate my performance in real time. I would provide regular, transparent updates on the work I’m doing in Annapolis, including votes, legislation, and process on key issues. I would also hold consistent town halls and make myself accessible to hear directly from residents. Most importantly, I believe constituents should judge me based on results, whether I am following through on my commitments and delivering meaningful improvements for the community.

A: Under our state constitution, we are required to balance our budget. Despite talk of “deficits,” it is always balanced. I am proud to be a part of the House Appropriations Committee team that worked hard to close a $1.5 billion gap this year driven largely by federal policy decisions that reduced funding to states while increasing demand for critical services. Last summer, the federal government passed the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” which made severe cuts to funding for healthcare, housing, and food assistance, among other important programs that Marylanders rely on, and federal tax policy changes benefiting the wealthiest resulted in lost revenue for the state. Thousands of Marylanders also lost federal jobs during mass layoffs, further straining both our economy and the programs that support working families. We balanced the state budget with zero tax or fee increases, while maintaining and even increasing investments in a wide range of important programs for struggling families. Fiscal responsibility requires a mix of cuts and targeted revenue generation, depending on the circumstances each year, without sacrificing critical investments in education, housing, healthcare, and other priorities.

A: Affordability: We are facing a crisis of affordability from electricity bills to housing, from childcare to gas prices. That’s why I supported bold legislation like the Utility RELIEF Act which reduces utility bills, the Housing Certainty Act, and a state budget that includes zero increases in taxes and fees while investing an additional $20 million to address the childcare scholarship waitlist for 3,700 families, more than $10 billion for public schools, and other ciritical programs and services to help Marylanders struggling with growing costs.

Protecting our Communities from Trump: We must continue to push back against the federal government’s assault on immigrants, federal workers, medical research, and federal safety net programs, and we must fortify our democratic institutions and elections infrastructure from unlawful federal interference. I am committed to ensuring that our immigrant, LGBTQ+, minority, and other vulnerable communities are safe from hate and discrimination, whether it comes from the federal government or elsewhere. Investments for Jobs, Infrastructure, and Economic Development - We need to dig out from stagnant economic conditions. We have great assets in Maryland, and I am committed to finding solutions to grow jobs and opportunity.

A: I was proud to vote for a series of important bills that passed the General Assembly this year to help lower the cost of living for Marylanders, including the Utility RELIEF Act which will lower residential electricity bills by at least $150 annually. I also voted for housing reforms like the Housing Certainty Act and the Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act that will streamline the production of more housing supply, thereby driving down housing costs. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I helped craft a state budget that includes over $1.5 billion for food security programs, $14 billion for Medicaid and children’s health insurance, over $400 million in renter assistance and homelessness support, $80 million for energy assistance, and $20 million for senior services. On healthcare, I voted for laws requiring insurers to cover treatments for cancer, menopause/perimenopause, mental health, and vaccines. I have also been a longtime advocate for financial empowerment programs that help Marylanders reduce debt, increase credit, and build savings. I have introduced bills to expand these services, help retire medical debt, and shine a light on student loans to universities, and I passed a law strengthening consumer protections against financial fraud.

A: In recent years the General Assembly has made fiscally responsible decisions to modify implementation deadlines for select aspects of the Blueprint, without sacrificing the core principles of the Blueprint. As the implementation proceeds, we will need to continue making decisions that balance a mix of revenue generation and program tweaks to ensure that the purpose of the Blueprint -- serious reforms that invest in public education, which is the lifeblood of a free, equitable, thriving society with a strong economy -- is realized. The General Assembly must continue to work closely with the Blueprint Accountability and Implementation Board, chaired by former Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, to develop the right mix.

A: The proof is in the pudding. Over 16 years as a Gaithersburg City Councilmember and more than three years as a State Delegate, I have a long record of constituent service and responsiveness, listening to concerns and thoughtfully developing policy positions, and working to solve problems with professionalism. I also have a record of voting for the priorities that my community cares about and a record of working with a variety of stakeholders to deliver real results. I hope that my constituents will agree that I work very hard to represent them and give me the honor of continuing to do so.