Welcome
As your state senator I have built relationships around the state and practiced the type of principled and collaborative leadership I believe will benefit the residents of District 20. I have delivered for our community and I have been responsive to the needs of our district. I appreciate you visiting my website, and thank you for your interest in making our community a more inclusive and equitable place for all.
I appreciate you visiting my website, and thank you for your interest in making our community a more inclusive and equitable place for all.
Vision
Equity in Education
Keeping college affordable – I have fought alongside my Democratic colleagues to make college more affordable by freezing tuition and limiting tuition increases at Maryland’s public universities. As a result, tuition at Maryland’s public colleges went from being 7th most expensive in the nation to 26th least expensive. I have also been working with my colleagues to develop a plan to make community college more affordable and, in some cases, free.
Defending the Right to Vote
Access to the ballot box – Every voice in our society should be heard, and expanding access to the franchise should a priority for any thriving democracy. While in the legislature I helped lead the fight to re-enfranchise the more than 40,000 Marylanders with felony records on parole and probation regain their voting rights.
The Environment
Environmental justice – Baltimore has the highest emissions-related mortality rate in the nation with 130 out of every 100,000 residents likely to die prematurely in a given year due to long-term exposure to air pollution, which disproportionately affects communities of color. Clean renewable energy, such as wind and solar, does not have these harmful emissions.
Equal Justice for all
Focusing on rehabilitation and deterrence – I worked tirelessly to pass the Justice Reinvestment Act of 2016, which changed the criminal justice system in Maryland by repealing minimum mandatory sentences for certain nonviolent drug crimes and focusing on treatment rather than incarceration for nonviolent offenders.
Common Sense Gun Legislation
No guns on college campuses – College campuses should be places in which the open and free exchange of ideas is encouraged. Our students deserve a learning environment free from the fear that a firearm may be present in a classroom, the campus quad, or the dorm room. As your state senator, I have led the fight to keep guns off of our college campuses.
Expanding Economic Opportunities
Affordable housing – Today thousands of Marylanders are denied housing because they have a housing voucher. 79% of voucher holders in Maryland are people of color and 43% are single mothers. I’ve been working on legislation to prohibit this practice and to give every Marylander an opportunity to live in safe, clean housing.
Protecting our immigrant communities
I’m working hard in Annapolis to ensure our immigrant communities are protected from invasive policing practices and are afforded equal access to educational, social, and economic opportunity.