State Delegate
State Delegates represent districts within Baltimore City in the House of Delegates in Annapolis. They draft, sponsor, and vote on state legislation.
We sent our questionnaire to all filed candidates in the Democratic Primary. Candidates displayed in black in white did not respond to our questionnaire by the submission deadline. Responses marked with a [...] indicate the candidate didn't directly answer yes or no, but may have provided a written explanation. Responses were edited for typos, but not substance.
You can find the full candidate surveys below, or scroll down to see candidate responses side by side for agree/disagree questions.
CANDIDATES FOR District 40 Delegate
Click on a candidate below to see their full narrative responses
Answer Comparison
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Maryland and its jurisdictions should be required to “fix-it-first,” funding deferred maintenance of bridges and roads and safety retrofits like road diets, sidewalks, ADA compliance, and other infrastructure prioritizing vulnerable road users before spending on new roads and infrastructure.
Maryland should adopt a funding rubric for all transportation investment that follows a modal hierarchy prioritizing pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders over personal automobile use, and mandates that these investments prioritize racial and economic equity.
Provided that preference first be given to communities. Many residents in East Arlington, Ashburton and Druid Park are deeply opposed to bike lanes right now for a host of complicated reasons. That issue in my view is not actually about bike lanes. It will be important to continue pausing and listening.
Highway User Revenues continue to decrease as cars become more efficient, and semi-autonomous driving technology is allowing more comfortable long distance commutes. To address this, Maryland should introduce and income-based Vehicle Miles Traveled tax.
I do not know the answer to this question. I would like to learn Bikemore's position. I would need to examine how the tax could be regressive, even if income based. I am generally opposed to higher taxes, except on "sins".
Maryland should require and fund all-ages-and abilities bicycle infrastructure in retrofits of existing roads and construction of new roads, including fully separated infrastructure or sidepaths/trails on collector roads, arterial roads, state highways, and interstates.
I have experienced this infrastructure first hand. It truly is safer for everyone. However, preference still must be given to communities.
There has been a dramatic increase in car crashes that injure and kill people walking and biking, who are then frequently sued by a driver’s insurance. Maryland should move from a contributory negligence to a strict liability model for crashes involving vulnerable road users.
As a lawyer, I believe contributory negligence is a proper incentive for every person and vehicle to take great care in following the rules of the road.
Paired with a requirement for income-based fines, Maryland should authorize jurisdictions to utilize additional types of automated enforcement like bus lane cameras and stop sign cameras, remove geographic restrictions, and allow a reduced threshold for triggering speed cameras.
I agree, provided that this is not regressive.
Maryland should allow local jurisdictions to lower their own speed limits based on roadway typology instead of based on expensive engineering studies for each road segment, and should set a statewide upper urban speed limit of 25 miles per hour.
Maryland should require employers provide “Parking Cash-Out,” valuing the cost of parking subsidized or paid for by employers and allowing employees the option of taking that benefit as a cash payout in the amount of the parking subsidy instead.
Maryland should require jurisdictions to eliminate parking minimums and institute parking maximums in new development, as well as require the cost of parking be unbundled from rent, giving individuals the choice to rent without paying for parking.
Every community is different. I would need to understand better what additional costs this imposes on working class residents to have parking unbundled for rent. In jurisdictions where this happened, was there a net increase? In Baltimore City, I do not agree with eliminating parking minimums due to the disparate impact that would have on Black communities in West Baltimore in particular. There would be a greatly accelerated increase in congregant homes and more instability in home ownership. There are a number of anticompetitive issues in Baltimore's economy that need to be addressed before a ban on minimums could be successfully implemented in disinvested Black neighborhoods.
It’s widely accepted that single family zoning advances racial and economic segregation. Maryland should ban single family zoning at the state level, allowing both single family and multifamily residences to be built in all zoning areas.
I agree provided that this issue be closely examined for its application in Baltimore. In Baltimore, high taxes are advancing and preserving racial segregation. For example, Bolton Hill is a within-reach neighborhood for many families except for the $800 per month or more tax bill that many families pay. In other words, in Baltimore, it is possible to end single family zoning without greater affordability for families in white neighborhoods.