Land Preservation and Rural Landscape
Our rural character and natural resources define who we are. We need thoughtful solutions that focus on land preservation, support our local economy, and enhance education improvement, all while continuing our environmental efforts to build a sustainable future our residents deserve.
Rural Maryland and Land Preservation: I support the Legislative agenda of the Rural Maryland Council (https://rural.maryland.gov/publications-2/) and will continue to champion measures that ensure that rural wealth remains in rural Maryland. Our local Farm Bureau keeps us updated on all news in the District: https://mdfarmbureau.com/baltimore/
The 2024 Rural Issues Survey conducted by the Rural Maryland Council identified the major issues impacting rural regions. (https://rural.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/12/RMC-2024-Rural-Issues-Survey.pdf)
Furthermore the need to preserve and conserve forest and farm land in order to ensure that Maryland continues to be self-sustaining in food production is important. We need to provide an easier process to process paperwork relating to agricultural land purchase and easement, bringing the complex County procedures and paperwork to work for the benefit of farmers rather than the opposite. Rural regions are especially disadvantaged when the bureaucratic demands of purchases, healthcare, and landownership are complex and often result in the communities going without these important protections rather than wrestle with the complicated paperwork.
Within infrastructure, planned development which discouraged sprawl but created residences has been repeatedly favored. For District 42A, we have the URDL which is an important protection against development. We must not allow the beauty and importance of this land to be denuded by urban sprawl. Study after study has demonstrated that there is ample area within the URDL to build housing, if only it is undertaken systematically and responsibly. Northern Baltimore County, and District 42A needs to remain the rural haven it was intended to be when the County was first incorporated.
My Legislative proposals embrace enhancing the Priority Preservation Area (PPA) outside the Urban Rural Demarcation Line (URDL), to strengthen forest conservation regulations, and to utilize state and local funding for agricultural easements by using the North Baltimore County Rural Preservation Act as a framework.
We can strengthen agricultural land preservation with a PPA focus by targeting 95% of agricultural easement funding (MALPF, Rural Legacy) toward designated Priority Preservation Areas (PPA) in northern areas and by streamlining the purchase of development rights (PDR) for farms within the PPA to prevent subdivision.
We can enhance Rural Zoning & Development Regulations by maintaining or increasing the maximum density (e.g., 1 dwelling unit per 50 acres) in RC-2 zones, requiring strict review of development on prime soils and implementing "cluster development" mandates to maximize open space retention during any allowable subdivision.
Our Environment and Forest Protection Policy will include a "no net loss" forest policy, requiring developers to replace lost forest at a higher ratio and, where possible, place protected forests into permanent conservation easements. We also support strengthening riparian buffer requirements along reservoirs (Prettyboy/Loch Raven) to protect water quality.
We propose to offer Funding and Tax Incentives by increasing local funding for the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) to support easement acquisition. We also support tax credits for landowners who place property into permanent conservation easements with local land trusts.
Improving Quality of Life for All Residents
I am committed to sustaining essential resources and programs that improve the well-being of all residents. This includes expanding community mental health services, ensuring our seniors have accessible care, assisted living options, and home services, as well as enhancing our community centers with updated facilities to foster local economy support.
In community development, poverty and providing assistance to low-income families was the top worry. I am so proud to see that District 42A has already stepped up and beyond through food pantries, fresh cooked hot meals, and other forms of assistance through the Hereford school zone. I will make it my priority to ensure that such efforts are supported through grants, coordination and other measures! We must also ensure that our District receives its fair share of funding from the Federal Rural Health Initiative. Being a rural zone means that our seniors who choose to stay in their homes can face difficulties with transportation, home maintenance, medical appointments and loneliness. While some are in multi-generational households which can care for their needs, I strongly believe in creating a virtual and physical village to embrace the wisdom of our seniors while also caring for them.
Affordable healthcare was high on most Marylanders' minds. This is not something unique to rural Maryland. With healthcare premiums set to sky rocket in 2026, health care slips further and further out of the reach of ordinary Americans. At the legislative level, supporting Medicare for All, and point of service payment will ensure that Maryland stay small but mighty in terms of her medical expertise and availability!
My Legislative policy to improve quality of life in North Baltimore County focuses on reducing blight, expanding affordable housing, and investing in infrastructure. I support measures which reduce blight by imposing strict, mandatory fines for neglected, vacant, and blighted residential properties to compel redevelopment and improve neighborhood safety.
We also need targeted, affordable housing through zoning reforms in high-demand areas to encourage diverse, transit-oriented housing options (such as accessory dwelling units) while protecting existing single-family neighborhoods. Suburban mobility is a big concern and can be alleviated through transit solutions (similar to the "Loop" system) to connect residential areas with regional hubs. We also need to modernize water/sewerage services to ensure environmental sustainability. While the County has oversight of these services, the State delegation can help fund these initiatives.
We need to implement the Age- Friendly Baltimore County programs for seniors like the BCause program for home repairs for residents 65 and older to enable safe aging-in-place. Expanding the transit system and access to senior recreation facilities can also significantly impact quality of life for our Seniors.
These policies aim to balance modernization with the preservation of the community's unique character.
Supporting Our Local Economy
Our family farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs—from vineyards to farm markets to agritourism—are the backbone of our community. I will work to remove regulatory barriers and increase access to loans and grants to support the local economy, promote education improvement, and ensure land preservation, helping these businesses grow and thrive.
For economic development the largest obstacle was the struggle to maintain businesses and recruiting employers with decent wages: in District 42A offering tax credits for hiring hard-to-place individuals, providing subsidies and tax breaks for small businesses that meet certain criteria, creating a community-centered approach for the county-wide consumption of small business and farm output can ensure the continued existence and preservation of America's small business core.
Key Legislative actions include adopting Master Plan 2030 strategies for suburban retrofitting, implementing Small Business Navigator services, and leveraging Commercial Revitalization Districts to drive investment.
Within the framework of the North Baltimore County Economic Resilience Act we can target suburban node redevelopment by amending zoning laws to prioritize "retrofitting" in key nodes, promoting higher-density, walkable, mixed-use development to modernize traditional suburban areas. Another solution is to expand the use of Commercial Revitalization and Enterprise Zone programs to incentivize, rehabilitate, and redevelop aging commercial corridors.
To accelerate small business and development in 42A, a North County-specific Small Business Navigator and Ombudsman would expedite permitting and licensing, reducing, or removing, administrative barriers. At both the County and State level, tax credits for small businesses, particularly for property improvements that enhance sustainability or accessibility would boost small businesses. We can also ensure that a fair share of small businesses are Women/ Minority Owned and that the availability of grants to launch such initiatives (instead of loans) is expanded.
Economic growth can be encouraged by prioritizing public investment in infrastructure that supports development, including transit, sewer, and high-speed broadband to attract new employers. Additionally, targeted public investment to improve the aesthetics, safety, and walkability of commercial districts would also attract private investment.
Workforce Development partnerships between local high schools (HHS and DHS), CCBC, and North County employers to create apprenticeship programs would bridge skill gaps, particularly in manufacturing, healthcare, and technology. Simultaneously we can promote not just white collar business development but attract manufacturing industries back to the District, regardless of the size of the business.
This policy aims to foster a, more, resilient and diverse local economy which embraces technology, agritourism, hospitality, health professions, manufacturing and retail to reduce reliance on single-sector growth.
Strong Schools and Enriching Education
As an educator and a parent of three children in Baltimore County Public Schools, I have immense respect for our public school system and educators. I do believe that we can do better by our children and educators by increasing the resources available to them, ensuring that all school facilities are well maintained and that educators are paid competitively in order to retain their services long-term. I also support expanding access to technical and vocational programs for students, and broadening the internship and summer job program for youth. We will work with the County to ensure that students in 42A are well prepared for their adulthood as empathetic, responsible individuals.
Our Education Platform in Legislative Policy is based on the Freedom to Learn.
School is a place where childhood happens. A place where children learn from the past, make sense of the present & prepare for the future. Whatever our background, political beliefs or faith, we want our children to have an education that imparts honesty about who we are, integrity in how we treat others, & freedom to pursue our dreams. Most of us in Maryland believe that children should have the freedom to pursue their dreams. So, we must equip every school with the resources to deliver a quality education for our children- our future.
While educators fight to provide every child with an accurate and quality education, the dismantling of the federal Department of Education has led to a crisis in funding for public education, and for student loans to name just a couple of issues. Most of us rely on public education, and for good reason. Public education in the United States has been consistent in preparing children for adulthood.
Yet we can ensure that Marylanders get the best public education, because it is primarily funded by the State. As your Delegate, I will support and sponsor legislation to prioritize funding for public education, using alternate revenue streams to ensure that the Federal cuts are compensated for by State funds, and that the youth- our most important resource- are given every opportunity to learn and to thrive.
Together, we can ensure that the schools in the Hereford Zone continue to be fully funded, that we continue to attract qualified, trained and passionate teachers, and that all children in District 42A can access the resources they need in order to be successful adults. Let’s work together to ensure that class sizes remain small, that students get all the resources and accommodations they need and that the school curriculum is preparing our children for adulthood in the 21st century.