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Democrat
Charlotte Crutchfield
What office are you running for? General Assembly: House of Delegates
Political party: Democrat
Where you live: Silver Spring
Date of birth: Dec. 8, 1963
Current occupation and employer:
Lawyer
Political experience:
Elected to Maryland House of Delegates (D19) – 2018
Unsuccessful campaign for Maryland House of Delegates (D19) – 2014.
Elected to Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (D19) – 2010.
Website: https://www.voteforcharlotte.com
Email: charlotte@voteforcharlotte.com
Facebook: /charlottecrutchfielddelegate
Twitter: @CharCrutchfield
Why are you running for this office?
As an incumbent, I want to complete the job that Maryland legislative District 19 voters sent me to Annapolis to perform, which includes continuing to support increased school funding, assisting families and small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting a woman’s choice, ensuring police reform/accountability and leading juvenile justice reform.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
Providing assistance to families, renters, unemployed workers and small businesses who continue to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, through continued legislation and outreach to state and local agencies.
What is one criticism you have received while in office and what is your response?
Constituents have provided me with positive feedback regarding my representation.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
I have completed my last legislative session of my first four-year term (2018-2022) in the House of Delegates, representing Montgomery County legislative District 19. I serve on the Judiciary Committee, where I was appointed chair of the Family and Juvenile Law Subcommittee.
Bonnie Cullison
What office are you running for? General Assembly: House of Delegates
Political party: Democratic
Where you live: Aspen Hill
Date of birth: March 24, 1954
Current occupation and employer:
Consultant with Collaborative Strategies LLC
Consultant to NEA Foundation
Montgomery County Public Schools (retired 2010)
Political experience:
Maryland House of Delegates – Elected 2010, Deputy Speaker Pro Tem, chair Insurance and Pharmaceuticals Subcommittee of Health and Government Committee
President, Montgomery County Education Association 2003 – 2009
Website: https://CullisonforMaryland
Email: delcullison@gmail.com
Facebook: Delegate Bonnie Cullison
Twitter: Del_Cullison
Instagram: Del_Cullison
Why are you running for this office?
It has been my honor to serve in the General Assembly. I have had a successful legislative career, having sponsored and passed over 40 bills, most of which make a difference in the lives of Marylanders, such as the Thomas Bloom Act, which proactively supports individuals who are struggling with mental health issues, Medicaid Coverage for Dental Services, and numerous bills that expand access to health care. I believe that I can continue to be an effective partner with my constituents and my political colleagues in making good legislative policy.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
It is extremely difficult to name one issue as most important – there are so many factors that contribute to the opportunities for better quality of life for all Marylanders. These include education, health care, social justice practices, environmental responsibility, which all contribute to the health, safety and well-being of our friends and neighbors and are all currently being undermined by devastating divisions among us. I have chosen to focus much of my work on health care in the past and will continue to do so. I am exploring ways to increase equity in our health care system by making it more accessible, both in terms of services needed and cost. I was the leader in the passage of legislation that created the Prescription Drug Affordability Board in 2019 and in its work, it has begun to make policy recommendations in new ways to control the rising costs of pharmaceuticals. I plan to continue my work with independent agency to bring these innovative ideas to the floor.
What is one criticism you have received while in office and what is your response?
I came into the General Assembly with the notion that ideas that helped people just made sense and should become law. I was quickly, but politely, disabused of this belief and learned early on in my legislative career that good ideas do not necessarily make good policy. As a result, I spend much of my time working with advocates on all sides of an issue so I can understand all the different perspectives. That work ethnic and understanding has enabled me to be successful in my role as a subcommittee chair at shepherding complex and controversial legislation to a point of consensus among the stakeholders most of the time.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
I hope that I have demonstrated a growth and maturity in my approach to policy making over the last 12 years in the General Assembly. I truly believe in life-long learning. However, two other roles prepared me for this office prior to 2010. In MCPS I was a speech pathologist teaching students with moderate language disabilities for most of my career. Working as a member of a cohesive staff, learning from others more expert than I how to better serve my students laid a foundation for the kind of learning that I need to do now in my work as a legislator. The second role that prepared me for the role was being president of the Montgomery County Education Association (2003 – 2009) where I learned how politics factors into the development of policies, which has served me well as I work to pass meaningful legislation.
Augustin Esquivar Saah (Information not submitted)
Ben Kramer (Information not submitted)
Vaughn Stewart
What office are you running for? General Assembly: House of Delegates
Political party: Democrat
Where you live: Rockville
Date of birth: Nov. 15, 1988
Current occupation and employer:
Delegate, Maryland General Assembly
Community liaison, Jobs to Move America
Political experience:
Member of the House of Delegates since 2019
Website: https://vaughnformaryland.com
Email: vaughn@vaughnformaryland.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DelegateStewart
Twitter: @DelegateStewart
Why are you running for this office?
Over the last four years, the General Assembly has made tremendous progress. I’ve personally led the fight on issues like housing affordability, climate justice, pedestrian safety, and immigrants’ rights. I’m running for reelection to build on this work, and to ensure that Maryland is a place where everyone can thrive.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
Wages are flat and prices are up. The General Assembly has taken several steps to put money pack into the pockets of both working families and retirees, but we should do much more. To name a few, we should: fight for good-paying, union jobs, especially in the climate sector; invest in transit and electric vehicle infrastructure to give Marylanders an alternative to rising fuel costs; build more affordable housing; make both childcare and higher education more accessible and affordable; and challenge monopoly power, ban price gouging, and close corporate tax loopholes.
What is one criticism you have received while in office and what is your response?
I am passionate about ethics reform. I have passed several laws strengthening our state’s ethics laws, and my campaign rejects corporate contributions. Simply put, I don’t think public office should be a pathway to a pay day. I’ve heard criticism that this crusade against graft will alienate others and make it more difficult to pass my legislative agenda in Annapolis. But I’ve found that if I stand on principle and treat everyone with respect, the vast majority of folks will respect my position.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
Prior to joining the General Assembly, I was a regulatory attorney, and worked on policy for both President Obama and Congressman Jamie Raskin. But the best preparation for the next four years will be the last four years. It’s an honor of a lifetime to represent District 19 in the House of Delegates – I’m lucky to work with an outstanding team in Sen. Kramer, Del. Cullison, and Del. Crutchfield. There’s always more to learn and much more to do, and I hope to earn your support so I can keep working hard for our neighbors for another term.
Republican
Raul Ayala (Information not submitted)
Anita Cox
What office are you running for? General Assembly: Senate
Political party: Republican
Where you live: Derwood
Date of birth: May 25
Current occupation and employer:
Home-maker and volunteer president of an international educational non-profit.
Political experience:
Commissioner – Montgomery County Charter Review Commission (current)
Website: https://anitamcox.com
Email: info@anitamcox.com
Why are you running for this office?
I am running for office to “build Maryland right,” because there is a lot that is wrong. Using common sense and taking concrete steps, I will tackle as priorities the education system that is failing kids, rising crime that is making communities unsafe, safeguarding personal freedom and boosting jobs. I hope to be a bridge-builder that brings views, ideas and solutions to the table that represent the under-represented conservatives in a county that has not seen a single conservative take office in Montgomery County in 20 years or so.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
The most important issue in this race is the impact of rising prices on families who are struggling to make ends meet. When even the dollar store is not a dollar anymore with inflation, it means that price hikes are hurting many. The small business owner and his family are struggling; the price of gas is hurting all of us, when rebuilding out pandemic closures remains difficult entrepreneurs loose hope and close down. In short I see a failure of the current crop of politicians who aren’t solving basic problems. My campaign is about the “kitchen table” issues that are impacting families on a day-to-day basis. With an economics background, I plan to help people get back to work by reducing the massive government spending that has resulted in the inflationary pressure we see today, lowering taxes and reducing business bureaucracy to help small businesses rebuild and grow.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
School safety is one issue of concern to me that has been handled poorly. I refer here to the incident of the shocking school shooting at Magruder High School in Rockville, when a boy was shot in the bathroom. We know from statistics that crime and violence in schools is on the rise, we also know that principals were not happy with the removal of SROs (school resource officers). What I would have done differently is return the SRO program as it was before its abrupt removal. The point I would have made strongly is that what rises out of the area schools is our community of tomorrow, therefore rising crime in schools reflects what will end up on the streets near where you or I live. I also would have entered into a dialogue with parents who are opposed to the program with specific questions about the kind of world they are preparing for their children to live in in which the police, as force to prevent crime, is absent because they are too upsetting to have around.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
As commissioner on Montgomery County Charter Review Commission and also member of Gaithersburg City’s Multicultural Affairs Committee I have gained insight into the communities that I intend to serve through public hearings conducted, researching and reading, and deliberating with members with different party affiliations to achieve our goals. I served with the U.S. State Department overseas for over 15 years, which has exposed me to diversity in a hands-on way. Montgomery County is a diverse county in which my experience will go to work immediately with the myriad portfolios I have worked on including immigration, economics, political (understanding systems) and international affairs (blending perceptions and handling complex on-the-ground realities that are multicultural/multilingual in nature to reach diplomatic goals). As a nonprofit founder I design, write and implement programs such as the one that has delivered 3 million school meals to partner schools in my native Uganda.
Frank Nice
What office are you running for? General Assembly: House of Delegates
Political party: Republican
Where you live: Derwood
Date of birth: Feb. 8, 1945
Current occupation and employer:
Pharmacist and president:
Dr. Nice Products LLC
Nice Breastfeeding LLC
Pharmacist, US Public Health Service
Pharmacist, NIH and FDA
Political experience:
N/A
Website: https://drfranknicefordelegate.com
Email: info@drfranknicefordelegate.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dr-Frank-Nice-for-Delegate-100742369103884
Why are you running for this office?
I am disappointed by the ugly rhetoric and self-serving politicians (from both parties) coming out of Annapolis. I am running for office to advocate for the less fortunate. I am running for real reform. No one in Montgomery County or our state should lack access to health care or to an excellent education or to adequate and safe housing – independent of your status in life.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
Government leaders need to give families the dignity they have earned and deserve. We give dignity to families by honoring and focusing on the diversity and beauty of families, by allowing our children to attend school in person without fear, and by investing resources and encouraging programs that make families popular and sustainable again. We need to prevent any policy or law that takes away the dignity of the family to give privileges and entitlements, instead, to illegal actions by criminals and law breakers. I will support family-friendly policies that enable families and not mandate to them.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
Families are our greatest resource. We have not supported and used that greatest resource to benefit our families and society. Instead of having promoting family-adverse policies by political leaders far removed from the daily lives of our citizens, I would have promoted family friendly policies. I have an initial list of those policies, but it would take more space than I have to answer. Three examples are:
facilitate part-time employment with full-time benefits for parents of small children; subsidize home schooling expenses; and provide parental leave incentives to breastfeed.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
I am a local pharmacist (40 years of practice in Montgomery County). I served as a public health pharmacist in the U.S. Public Health Service for 30 years, I have committed my life to helping the less fortunate. Twenty-five years ago, I began an orphanage and a K-13 school in Haiti. More than 550 students every year are helped with housing, food, safety, and education. Closer to home, I volunteer my healthcare services to Black and Hispanic pregnant and breastfeeding women. I am a servant leader in both word and deed.
Green Party
David Jeang
Where you live: Rockville
Date of birth: Sept. 10, 1989
Current occupation and employer:
Animal service provider at Montgomery Pet Sitters
Political experience:
Ran for state Senate District 19 in 2018
Website: davidjeang4md.com
Email: jeang4md@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/DavidJeangforDistrict19/
Why are you running for this office?
In 2018 I ran to implement rarely talked about policies such as net-zero consumption and public banking. In the time between the last gubernatorial election and now the majority of the issues I previously campaigned on remain unaddressed. Thus, I feel it important that I bring these issues to the table once more.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
The biggest issue I feel needs addressing is the growing dissatisfaction of the constituency that is leading to more depressed voter turnout. Not enough people feel any substantive change is being implemented at the state level for issues that concern them largely because most related bills die in the committees, leaving the needs unresolved for at least a year afterwards, often exacerbating the issues. I feel this can be resolved along with a mountain of other concerns by implementing a direct democracy amendment to our state constitution, requiring a ballot initiative to be voted on each election.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
When Covid relief programs first started, I felt they were barely adequate, especially for people on the poorer side of the wealth spectrum. Still, it was better than no lifeline at all, which many have now. Ending the relief benefits before the majority of restrictions were lifted was a mistake as it only added to the disparity of living standards. I would have looked for ways to keep them going for as long as possible, especially since the current inflation crisis is further crippling everyone’s spending power and putting our economy on a fast track to stagnation.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
During the course of assembly sessions in the past decade, I participated and supported public lobbying groups on a number of vital issues, both successful and still ongoing, in Annapolis such as the state fracking ban and implementing ranked choice voting. I also consider my previous run in 2018 to be my most valuable experience as my grassroots strategy helped me directly interface with the people who would vote for me about their concerns as well as how to address them and I’m sure this election cycle will only add to it further.