Better Schools

Education Funding is a Priority
As a parent and a college instructor, I support full funding of our public education system. Governor Hogan’s first budget proposed a $275 million cut to schools. Last year he wanted to cut $30 million from after school and college preparation programs. Maryland currently has the highest median income in the nation, but ranks 16th in school spending when adjusted for regional cost differences. Education is a winning investment in our future because employers and entrepreneurs need a workforce ready to tackle the challenges ahead. Let’s put our students first in line for those jobs by restoring our #1 ranking in education.

More Jobs

It Starts with a Living Wage
Nobody should work 40 hours a week and live in poverty. Too many full-time workers can’t afford to pay their rent or put food on the table. Maryland minimum wage will reach $10.10 in 2018 and that is still too low. A family of four living on a single full-time minimum wage income lives below poverty level. I support a living wage of $15 per hour tied to inflation as a first step to building an economy that works for all of us. If hardworking Marylanders have more money in their pockets, they will spend it, creating more jobs and boosting our local economy. Giving women a raise will help close the gap between what men and women get paid. A living wage will help all Marylanders, including people of color, care for their families and build strong communities.

Healthcare is a Right, Not a Privilege
Our right to healthcare is under attack by the Trump Administration. They are determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act and take away health insurance from over 20 million Americans. Premiums for 2018 increased by about 30% for Marylanders because Donald Trump stopped paying critical subsidies designed to keep out of pocket costs affordable. Maryland has filed a lawsuit to restore these critical payments and I support these efforts. What also needs to be done is to take the profiteering out of health insurance by offering Marylander’s a public option on Maryland Health Connect. This can be done now by allowing people to buy into the state Medicaid program. This provides a choice for Marylanders to increase competition in the healthcare marketplace to lower premiums.

Less Crime

Mental Health
Gun control and addressing mental health are both part of the solution to reducing mass shootings. We must end the mentality that says it is one or the other. By preventing people who are experiencing a mental health crisis from acquiring firearms and providing resources them resources for treatment, we can address potential risks they might pose to themselves or others. Mental health issues can be as dangerous as heart disease or other serious illnesses. Health insurance must cover mental illness. We have to provide public health resources for those who do not have access to providers. We also must make sure that identified mental illness information is part of the background checks for buying guns without compromising patient privacy.

Opioids
The opioid epidemic is growing exponentially in Maryland with people dying every day from overdose. Families in our own community live with grief of a lost loved ones or the fear that they may be next. Democrats and Republicans have come together to take steps to address the problem and there is more to come. Bringing this crisis under control requires all hands-on deck including law enforcement, our healthcare system and social services. We must find ways to get help to those who need it most. Addiction is an illness and we must make sure that our system of justice doesn’t simply punish people who are ill, but connects them with resources to recover. We need to enforce responsible regulation of these dangerous drugs and prevent addiction in the first place. There are no easy answers and I promise to listen carefully to the experts and leave politics at the door when considering the best policy to end this scourge.

Time to get even Tougher on Guns
I want tougher laws on the “wearing, carrying and transporting guns” in Maryland. We are not immune from the political influence of the NRA. Even their members disagree with their reckless policies concerning gun safety.

Source: Sandy Bartlett