Maryland House of Delegates (District 35A - Cecil County)
Issues
Protecting our natural beauty and the Chesapeake Bay through conservation efforts is not mutually exclusive from supporting farmers. I voted to expand State Parks and have been working with local leaders to prevent future over-development of our backyards. I have been willing to stand up to out-of-State companies trying to take advantage of our environment, and am a staunch advocate for clean water. 2022 SB-541, the Great Maryland Outdoors Act, establishes a new State Park encompassing the Historic Tome School campus and the Snow Hill Archeological site along with the adjacent conservation wooded area. It is important that we preserve this parcel to maintain open space, local history, and Cecil County’s rural character. After twenty years under lock and key, the public will finally be able to enjoy this outdoor treasure.
I am proud to be a friend of Maryland agriculture, support local 4H, and continue my advocacy for farmers and farming in Cecil County. I have consistently been endorsed by the State and local Farm Bureaus for my record of standing with farmers on issues of public policy. Agricultural production, processing, and distribution contributes greatly to our State’s economy, tax base, and workforce. I have personally worked with Eastern Shore farmers on consumer protection legislation to ensure farm equipment can be repaired. I look forward to continuing my work for this bedrock industry over the next four years and beyond.
I grew up hunting and fishing on the Susquehanna Flats, and still enjoy being an outdoorsman to this day. Working with other members of the Cecil Delegation, we were successful in passing legislation to make our County one of the most sportsman-friendly jurisdictions in Maryland.
I have consistently voted to support the individual right to bear arms. I believe the Second Amendment is quite clear when it says “shall not be infringed”. I voted NO on Red Flag Laws, and support repealing the Firearm “Safety” Act of 2013 which makes lawful ownership of a handgun for the average citizen far too difficult, and arbitrarily restricts many long guns. The natural right to defend one’s self is for everybody – from all walks of life.
I am proud we delivered some tax relief during my time in the General Assembly, but leadership in Annapolis still isn’t getting the message. We lose citizens every day to neighboring States. I support ending ALL taxes on retirement income, repealing the inflation tax on gas, and expanding tax reductions for veterans & first responders. Given Maryland’s geography, we also need to cut the State sales tax and income tax to make us more regionally competitive. There are plenty pie-in-the-sky bureaucratic programs from Annapolis that can be trimmed to accompany these proposals.
I am proud to be endorsed by the Maryland Free Enterprise Foundation as a pro-business legislator. Entrepreneurs deserve a streamlined and painless process to enter the market and remain in business. Our labor force deserves a thriving jobs market with competitive employment opportunities and a responsive State government when something goes wrong. I will NEVER support a return of the type of lock-downs we saw destroy so many small businesses and ruin so many livelihoods in 2020.
Part of the challenge in Annapolis is ensuring rural healthcare providers are not left behind in the policy-making process. I have consistently worked with and passed legislation on behalf of several rural healthcare providers such as Upper Bay Health to ensure Cecil County is not put at a disadvantage while providing for the well-being of our citizens. I also believe we should have taken the COVID-19 pandemic seriously without enacting the devastating lockdowns. I am 100% opposed to any vaccine mandates or passports. I believe people comfortable with getting the vaccine should go ahead and get it. I myself decided to get the vaccine last year, but believe this is a decision better made by the individual – independent of government.
Our first responders are facing several challenges in the field, including appropriate funding to confront modern emergencies. Along with the help and support of several EMS organizations, I took the lead on passing a long overdue increase in EMS transport reimbursements, now including calls for service where a patient is not transported to a hospital. I am also proud to be supported by SLEOLA, and will continue my record of supporting police against over-prescriptively misguided “reform” from Annapolis.
Our society needs to get over the myth that every-single student needs to attend a 4-year bachelor’s program. Working with blue-collar education advocates, I passed greater access to already-existing scholarship funds to help tradespeople, truck drivers, and other everyday working citizens further their education. I have also consistently voted to increase education funding every year in general, including through the BOOST program. However, I voted NO on Kirwan because of the astronomical increase in spending it presents, along with several accountability issues.
