Nearly a dozen of the Democrats seeking the nomination to represent Maryland’s 6th Congressional District gathered in Frederick Sunday to participate in a forum sponsored by the county’s Democratic Party.
The participants in Sunday’s event at Frederick’s Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ included Mohammad S. Mozumder, Laurie-Anne Sayles, Lesley J. Lopez, Tekesha A. Martinez, Ashwani Jain, George Gluck, Peter Choharis, April McClain Delaney, Joe Vogel, Destiny Drake West and Altimont Mark Wilks.
The group is running for the Democratic nomination to replace Democratic U.S. Rep. David Trone, who is running for the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Benjamin Cardin.
The Democratic and Republican primary elections are on May 14. The general election is Nov. 5.
Maryland’s 6th District includes all of four counties — Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett — and part of Montgomery County.
Participants in Sunday’s event answered questions about climate change and sustainability; military funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan; fixing the country’s immigration system; income in equality; and improving transportation in the district.
“Climate change is our generational crisis,” Lopez said, leading off the answers on the first topic.
The federal Inflation Reduction Act opens up possibilities for renewable energy projects and a chance to look at the country’s infrastructure through the lens of climate change, she said.
Martinez, the mayor of Hagerstown, touted the city’s work to make several of its parks more sustainable, and said she would work with farmers to increase sustainability on their farms.
Jain called for electrifying more buses and cars, expanding MARC train service and employing “smart growth” and mixed use development practices.
Some people who have previously resisted action on climate issues have started to recognize the need to act, said Choharis, who said the issue requires a global approach.
McClain Delaney said the country needs more mass transit and to create incentives to drive investment.
“We’re going to have to innovate our way out of this,” she said.
Vogel touted his endorsement by the Sierra Club, and said Maryland should look to attract climate technology companies to make itself a leader in climate development industry.
Drake West said the country needs to train more young people to give them opportunities to learn green jobs.
Sayles called for bringing more people together to help address the issue.
“We need policy makers who are committed to policy solutions,” she said.
On aid for Israel and Ukraine, Mozumder said he doesn’t support funding for Israel, which he said is committing a “genocide” among Palestinians, and suggested a single state that includes Israelis and Palestinians might be the best solution to the problem.
Wilks addressed criticism of Israel’s response to an October attack by members of the Hamas terrorist group on Israel.
“How dare we tell [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu he can’t defend his people,” Wilks said.
Gluck said he supports a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, arguing that democracy can’t be enforced at the point of a gun.
McClain Delaney said she supports aid to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, saying that the United States has to support its allies so it can be a “shining beacon of light” for other countries in the world.
On immigration, Sayles said she understands the importance of the issue as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, and said the country needs to process immigration cases faster.
Jain said the country needs to expedite the approval of work permits, while Gluck called for adding more judges to process immigration cases.
On income inequality, Lopez said the country needs to find ways to create more affordable housing and child care.
“This is not an economically sustainable way to do things,” she said.
Jain touted his campaign platform of canceling student debt and making public colleges free for students.
Sunday’s conversation was mostly friendly, except for when Vogel criticized McClain Delaney for her friendships with Republicans such as former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and former Sen. Jim DeMint.
After the event, Vogel said it wasn’t that McClain Delaney was friends with Republicans, but Republicans such as Ryan, DeMint, and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Vogel, a state delegate from Montgomery County, said he works with Republicans every day in the General Assembly. But he criticized Ryan’s record in Congress, and Roberts’ work on the Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade.
“That’s not who we need representing us in the United States Congress,” he said.
McClain Delaney, the wife of former 6th District Democratic Rep. John Delaney, defended her record as a strong Democrat, and said she’s not sure why Vogel chose to say what he did.
Ryan served with her husband in Congress, and she’s been friends with Roberts’ wife since their children took ice skating lessons together years ago, she said.
A member of Congress has to work across the aisle and talk with people who they disagree with, she said.
Of Vogel’s comments, she said, “He needs to run on his own record and what he’s done.”
Along with the Frederick County Democratic Party, Sunday’s event was co-hosted by United Democrats of Frederick County, the Women’s Democratic League of Frederick County, North and South Frederick County Dems and Friends, and Young Democrats of Frederick County.