Maryland Senate District 40

A: Maryland has faced this challenge before. In 2025, we closed a nearly $3.5 billion deficit through a balanced approach, and we will apply that same discipline going forward.First, we grow our way out of part of the gap. A stronger Maryland economy means more revenue without raising rates, and that means aggressively protecting and expanding our economic base. With the federal government actively threatening the livelihoods of Maryland’s large federal workforce, economic defense is not optional it is urgent. We cannot afford to be passive while Washington destabilizes one of our state’s core economic pillars.Second, we ensure that wealthy corporations doing business in Maryland are paying their fair share. That is not a punishment, it is basic accountability.Third, we hold the line on our core commitments. Healthcare, world-class education, and public safety are not line items to bargain away, they are the foundation that everything else is built on. Cuts that undermine those priorities would cost us more in the long run than they save today.Maryland’s Constitution requires a balanced budget every single year, and we have always delivered. This session will be no different. The question is not whether we balance it. It is whether we do so in a way that protects the people who depend on us most.

A: Protecting against Trump, lowering costs, and growing the economy.

A: We will focus on energy, housing, and healthcare affordability.

A: My approach is balanced and deliberate. When we built the Blueprint, we intentionally included evaluation checkpoints because no major initiative should be set in stone. Every significant program we create comes with the expectation that we will go back, measure what is working, make adjustments, and ensure it is delivering real results.The Blueprint is no different. The funding challenge ahead is serious, but it does not change our fundamental obligation to Maryland’s children. What it does demand is honest accountability, we need to look at what the data is telling us, course correct where necessary, and make the case for continued investment where the program is performing.I am not going to take options off the table before we have done that work. But I will say this: gutting the Blueprint before we have given it a fair chance to deliver would be a mistake. We made a commitment to our kids, and that commitment has to mean something.So yes, we will keep investing. And yes, we will keep demanding that the investment performs. Those two things are not in conflict. That is exactly what responsible governance looks like.

A: Beyond the ballot box, I want constituents to hold me accountable every day. The most meaningful measure of my performance is whether people in District 40 actually feel the difference in their schools, their streets, and their access to opportunity.That is why my office hosts structured touch points throughout the year. Before session begins, I hold a Pre-Session Briefing so constituents know exactly what I am prioritizing in Annapolis and can weigh in before the work starts. During session, District Night brings neighbors together to hear updates in real time and ask the hard questions directly. And when session ends, the End of Session Briefing gives everyone a full accounting of what passed, what did not, and what comes next.These are not formalities, they are my commitment to transparency and two-way communication.Beyond those events, track my votes, follow the legislation I champion, and watch whether the funding I fight for actually reaches our neighborhoods. Call my office when something isn’t working. I work for District 40, not the other way around. Your judgment of this job should never wait for an election.

A: My approach would be equity-minded and pragmatic. I will not attempt to articulate a balanced $70 billion budget affecting 7 million people in just 200 words. I would listen to experts. I would look at the specifics of the proposal, not evaluate it against my ideology of government.

While I don’t have strong beliefs about whether taxes should be higher or lower, I have strong beliefs that our taxes need to be better. First, I do not support the solution to the budget problem last year which was to raise fees instead of taxes, because fees are just hidden taxes that usually burden the poor more than the rich. Second, taxing the rich is a tricky business because they are the most likely to be able to avoid taxes. Raising the Maryland estate tax won’t work because you can avoid it easily with a trust. Raising income taxes or capital gains is tricky because the rich can just avoid them by living in Florida for 51% of the year. According to the comptroller, rich old people have been leaving the state at the highest rates. We need to tax the rich but we need tax policy that is progressive and pragmatic.

A: The issues I’m most focused on are the ones that you don’t know are pressing.

The tax sale extorts low-income people because it’s convenient for the government and profitable for debt-buyers. If you don’t pay your property taxes, then the government sells your debt to a debt buyer who gets to charge egregious levels of interest and fees. At this point, you have to pay whatever they charge or you lose your house and get a fraction of the equity. So most people end up paying the extortion. The tax sale is a leech on our society, draining resources from our lowest-income residents for the profit of faceless corporations and their lawyers. For unpaid property taxes of $1,000, within two years the bill has grown to $5,000 from interest and fees. That’s a debt growing six times faster than a credit card bill. Untold millions of dollars are siphoned from the lowest-income residents in West Baltimore each year. And it’s been going on for decades. Stopping this injustice is my highest priority once elected. Probate reform is also pressing. Inheriting property is stopped by unnecessarily burdensome laws. And this leads to vacant houses with all the problems they create.

A: My mission is to disrupt systems of economic oppression found in the law. I will repeal the tax on leaving an inheritance to your niece or nephew. I will eliminate ground rent. I will end the tax sale. We will all thrive more when we create a more equitable system.

For housing prices, we need more housing supply and the solution has to be deeply involved in local control over building. I don’t have any magic solutions but I would talk to different constituencies and experts to find solutions.

A: Again my approach would be pragmatic. I am sensitive to the issue because I taught in an under-resourced school. We need to do better for our students. But how many billions of dollars do we need to invest each year is an open question.

A: I would love to hear from constituents about what they think should be done. But the election is the only place where everyone’s voice can be heard. So please vote!