Maryland Senate District 12

A: The General Assembly is constitutionally required to balance its budget every year, and we do. Given the current state of our economy, I believe it is important for the state to live within its means and strive to maintain our state’s budget through economic growth and belt tightening. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I’ve worked hard to advance policies that help grow our economy, support small businesses, and advance economic development—all while trying to maintain our priorities and values as a state. I think it is important to be judicious about our spending in order to minimize the need for revenue increases. Overall, our state’s budget is a reflection of our priorities, and I believe that we’ve fair and balanced in our spending and revenue decisions.

A: I believe the three most pressing issues facing Maryland are rising utility costs, reduced access and rising costs of healthcare, and sustaining economic growth in an environment of a hostile federal government that has cost tens of thousands of Marylanders their jobs. The General Assembly has made significant strides this year to help increase the supply of energy, to reduce the burden of data centers on our grid, and to ensure more of the cost of infrastructure upgrades are borne by utilities. But we must and will continue to do more to help rein in utility costs. As the Senate’s only physician, I’ve consistently introduced and passed legislation to reduce the cost of healthcare for patients and to increase their access to care. I have also worked hard to sponsor bills aimed at pushing back at federal government overreach and the economic, societal, and environmental hard caused by federal policies that have negatively targeted and impacted our state.

A: I’ve heard from many constituents who are concerned about the rising costs of living because of federal policies or decisions such as self-imposed tariffs, a contracting economy due to federal layoffs, the cancellation of energy supply projects, and rising gas prices due to an unnecessary war with Iran. In this environment, it is difficult to fully cushion Marylanders from the harmful choices made by this administration that seem tone-deaf to rising costs for average Americans. However, I remain committed to supporting policies that will reduce the burden of costs of consumer goods, lowering the cost of energy and gas, raising wages, making childcare more accessible, and that will create more jobs.

A: As a previous member of the Senate’s Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, I participated in many hearings and meetings in shaping the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. Overall, I continue to believe it is a good plan to ensure that our state’s public schools become top tier in the nation. Regarding whether the state should raise new revenue or roll back programs, I don’t think this is a clear black-and-white binary choice. In order to balance the budget to date, the legislature has had to take a measured approach to scale back certain Blueprint goals and also rescope the timeline of others. I believe the General Assembly can and will continue to make realistic—and sometimes hard—decisions about the Blueprint’s provisions and timelines while taking into consideration our state’s budget and revenue forecasts.

A: I think elected officials can be gauged on many factors when it comes to their job performance. For example, I believe my legislative record demonstrates that I have been a thoughtful, progressive legislator in the bills that I’ve sponsored and supported. I also believe that my office has been responsive to constituent concerns and issues. Beyond introducing legislation, it has always been my priority to ensure that the General Assembly has proper oversight over functions of the state. As a leading legislative voice on oversight and accountability matters, I’ve worked hard to ask tough questions of our departments and their leaders, to hold programs or officials to task when they fail to adhere to the law or legislative intent, to reduce waste and fraud of state funds, and to increase accountability and responsiveness of various state agencies.