Completed 2020 candidate council questionaires
At Large: Robert White (incumbent)
Ward 2:
Jack Evans
John Fanning
Jordan Grossman
Daniel Hernandez
Patrick Kennedy
Brooke Pinto
Kishan Putta
Yilin Zhang
Ward 4:
Marlena Edwards
Janeese Lewis George
Brandon Todd (incumbent)
Ward 7:
Kelvin Brown
Vincent Gray (incumbent)
Anthony Lorenzo Green
Rebecca Morris
Veda Rasheed
Ward 8:
Stuart Anderson
Mike Austin
Yaida Ford
Nelson Jackson
Danielle Platt
Trayon White (incumbent)
Ward 2:
Jack Evans
John Fanning
Jordan Grossman
Daniel Hernandez
Patrick Kennedy
Brooke Pinto
Kishan Putta
Yilin Zhang
Ward 4:
Marlena Edwards
Janeese Lewis George
Brandon Todd (incumbent)
Ward 7:
Kelvin Brown
Vincent Gray (incumbent)
Anthony Lorenzo Green
Rebecca Morris
Veda Rasheed
Ward 8:
Stuart Anderson
Mike Austin
Yaida Ford
Nelson Jackson
Danielle Platt
Trayon White (incumbent)
Collective Bargaining Vote up in VIRGINIA House
JANUARY 30, 2020
***On the House Floor- Will be Voted on Soon****
TAKE ACTION on Collective Bargaining for Public Employees
House Bill 582 (House Co-Patrons) and Senate Bill 1022 (Senate Co-Patrons)
There are 3 states that prohibit collective bargaining for public service employees: Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. This legislation would remove this prohibition and allow Virginia teachers, correctional officers and fire fighters, and state and local employees the right to negotiate for better working conditions and stronger communities.
TAKE ACTION on Repeal Right to Work
*Assigned to Labor & Commerce Sub Committee #1*
House Bill 153 (Co-Patron Sponsor List)
Repealing right to work would go a long way towards empowering working people, raising wages and protecting the dignity of work for Virginians. HB 153 is about building a better Virginia for working people so they have a voice on the job. We can do two things all at once in passing House Bill 153. We can give workers more rights at work and a real say on the job.
***On the House Floor- Will be Voted on Soon****
TAKE ACTION on Collective Bargaining for Public Employees
House Bill 582 (House Co-Patrons) and Senate Bill 1022 (Senate Co-Patrons)
There are 3 states that prohibit collective bargaining for public service employees: Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. This legislation would remove this prohibition and allow Virginia teachers, correctional officers and fire fighters, and state and local employees the right to negotiate for better working conditions and stronger communities.
TAKE ACTION on Repeal Right to Work
*Assigned to Labor & Commerce Sub Committee #1*
House Bill 153 (Co-Patron Sponsor List)
Repealing right to work would go a long way towards empowering working people, raising wages and protecting the dignity of work for Virginians. HB 153 is about building a better Virginia for working people so they have a voice on the job. We can do two things all at once in passing House Bill 153. We can give workers more rights at work and a real say on the job.
Big Changes and Big Challenges Ahead in the 2020 MD Legislative Session
by Jimmy Tarlau
The 2020 Session of the Maryland General Assembly starts on Wednesday January 8. There will be more changes than usual in the upcoming session, and plenty of challenges.
The former Speaker of the House of Delegates, Mike Busch, passed away last April, and the President of the Senate, Mike Miller, is stepping down. The new Speaker of the House of Delegates will be Adrienne Jones, from Baltimore County, and the new President of the Maryland Senate will be Bill Ferguson, from Baltimore City. Both Jones and Ferguson have made some impressive new appointments to the legislative leadership, and I am optimistic that more progressive legislation may now be passed by the General Assembly and become Maryland law.
As we get close to the opening of the session, the top legislative issues are coming into focus. Last weekend I attended two different conferences that discussed legislative priorities. Here are some of the issues that will be discussed at the upcoming session, and some of the legislation that is being proposed. I will discuss more in my upcoming newsletters, and once the proposed legislation is introduced, I will let you know the numbers of the bills.
For more information on these bills, or to find out about a bill or topic that is not listed below, please send me an email.
Education Issues
Kirwan Committee Recommendations and New School Construction Everyone agrees that the top issue in the upcoming legislative session will be education. In 2016, the Maryland Legislature formed the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, popularly known as the Kirwan Commission. The commission issued a report earlier this year with an aggressive plan to improve Maryland’s schools. Implementation of the plan requires increased spending of up to $4 billion per year. New school construction will also be a top priority. In fact, the Speaker of the House has said that the first two bills, HB1 and HB2, will be for school construction and implementing the Kirwan recommendations.
Raising Revenue to Pay for Education Unfortunately, even if the bills pass, little can be done without a realistic plan to raise revenue. A group of legislators have put together a package of revenue proposals that would raise close to $3 billion a year by taxing corporations and the super-wealthy in Maryland, not working people. Some of these proposals are:
Immigration issues
Environmental Issues
Criminal Justice
Health Issues
Transit
Restrictions of firearms sales near schools
Ban on 3D printer guns and guns with no serial number
Worker Rights
If you live in District 47 you may want to contact one of your State Representatives about one of the proposed pieces of legislation. Here is their contact information:
Senator Malcolm Augustine [email protected] 410-841-3745
Delegate Diana Fennell (47A) [email protected] 301-858-3478
Delegate Julian Ivey (47A) [email protected] 410-841-3326
Delegate Wanika Fisher (47B) [email protected] 410-841-3340
If you do not know who are your representatives, you can find them at www.mdelect.net. There is also a very good smartphone app, Verizon MD GOV, that lists all the Delegates and Senators, with their committees and their contact numbers.
There are a lot of good bills that are will be introduced in the next session. This is only some of them. It’s easy to introduce a bill, it is hard to get it passed and it needs people to call their legislators to get it done!
The former Speaker of the House of Delegates, Mike Busch, passed away last April, and the President of the Senate, Mike Miller, is stepping down. The new Speaker of the House of Delegates will be Adrienne Jones, from Baltimore County, and the new President of the Maryland Senate will be Bill Ferguson, from Baltimore City. Both Jones and Ferguson have made some impressive new appointments to the legislative leadership, and I am optimistic that more progressive legislation may now be passed by the General Assembly and become Maryland law.
As we get close to the opening of the session, the top legislative issues are coming into focus. Last weekend I attended two different conferences that discussed legislative priorities. Here are some of the issues that will be discussed at the upcoming session, and some of the legislation that is being proposed. I will discuss more in my upcoming newsletters, and once the proposed legislation is introduced, I will let you know the numbers of the bills.
For more information on these bills, or to find out about a bill or topic that is not listed below, please send me an email.
Education Issues
Kirwan Committee Recommendations and New School Construction Everyone agrees that the top issue in the upcoming legislative session will be education. In 2016, the Maryland Legislature formed the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, popularly known as the Kirwan Commission. The commission issued a report earlier this year with an aggressive plan to improve Maryland’s schools. Implementation of the plan requires increased spending of up to $4 billion per year. New school construction will also be a top priority. In fact, the Speaker of the House has said that the first two bills, HB1 and HB2, will be for school construction and implementing the Kirwan recommendations.
Raising Revenue to Pay for Education Unfortunately, even if the bills pass, little can be done without a realistic plan to raise revenue. A group of legislators have put together a package of revenue proposals that would raise close to $3 billion a year by taxing corporations and the super-wealthy in Maryland, not working people. Some of these proposals are:
- Combined reporting
- Throwback rule
- Close the pass-through/LLC loophole
- Decouple 529 Tax Benefit
- Means testing for individual tax credits
- Restructure of personal income tax brackets and rates
- Capital gains surtax
- Carried interest Applies a 19% state income surtax on the distributive or pro-rata share of a pass-through entity’s taxable income that is attributable to investment management services provided in the State.
- Estate tax giveaway reversal
- Carbon tax
Immigration issues
- The Trust Act This bill would prohibit the police from contacting ICE if an individual has been stopped because of a civil (not criminal) infraction.
- Overturning the Governor’s veto of the Dream Act Expansion The bill allows all students (including undocumented students) to go directly to a state four-year institution and pay in-state tuition. The bill was vetoed by Governor Hogan; the veto has to be overturned by the legislature in the first week of session.
- Prohibiting MVA from sharing information with ICE
Environmental Issues
- Statewide ban of plastic bag, with a 10-cent charge for paper bags
- Greenhouse gas reduction reform: Raising the 2030 reduction target from 40% to 63%, and requiring that 40% of state resources dedicated to emission reduction be spent in frontline communities (those that experience the “first and worst” consequences of climate change) and economically disadvantaged communities. Includes planting of 1 million trees each year.
- Shutting down the six existing coal plants in MD while compensating employees who will lose their jobs because of the plant shutdowns.
- Public Service Commission climate-based decision making requiring the PSC to factor climate change into all its regulations, including the approval of new generating plants.
- Retrofitting of existing buildings When buildings undergo renovations, they will have to meet new energy efficiency standards.
- New building standards Net-zero standards for new government buildings and new commercial buildings by 2025.
- Healthy Green Amendment: Amends the state’s constitution to include a right to a clean, safe and healthful
- Consumer Rights
- Pilot low-cost auto insurance program for Prince George’s and Baltimore City Lowers the minimum liability coverage for good drivers. MD has the highest minimum liability coverage in the US.
- Increasing the amount of money low-wage workers can protect from garnishment The bill would increase this amount from the current $11,000 a year to $26,000.
- Medical Debtors Protection Act Two bills would increase protections, including ensuring that no one can lose their home because of medical debt.
- Ending Drivers license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees
- Tenant Protection: This bill protects tenants from eviction, abuse, and health risks. It is an omnibus renter’s rights bill that will make it easier for tenants to void their leases when necessary, confront harassment, defend themselves in court, recover their security deposits, and organize with their neighbors into tenants’ associations.
Criminal Justice
- 2nd Chance bill Allows incarcerated citizens with over 20 years of imprisoned time to go to court to reduce their sentence.
- Removing the Governor from the parole process The independent Parole Board recommends whether long-term prisoners should be released, but for the last twenty years Maryland’s Governors have not followed up on the recommendations of the Parole Board, because of politics.
- Women’s pre-release facility MD has four pre-release facilities for men, but none for women.
- Death with Dignity legislation Last year this bill passed the House of Delegates and lost in the Senate by one vote. There will be another attempt to pass the legislation in 2020.
Health Issues
- Banning of Flavored Vaping Products
- Funding for the Prescription Drug Affordability Board - The Board was created in 2018 but it needs to be funded so it can do its job.
Transit
- Opposition to I-270 and Beltway expansion There will be numerous bills to try and block the expansion of the two highways.
- Two Person Crew Legislation – The Governor vetoed this important train safety bill which would prohibit CSX from moving to long freight trains with only one worker directing the whole train.
- Voting rights issues/Democracy issues
- Small-Donor Incentive Act to encourage campaign fundraising from small donors for state legislative campaigns
- Ranked-choice voting
- Allowing independent voters to join a party during early voting
- Allowing prisoners who have not been convicted of a crime (waiting for a court date) to vote
- Stopping the Revolving Door In Annapolis - Prevent heads of state agencies from becoming lobbyists immediately after leaving state government
- Gun Control
Restrictions of firearms sales near schools
Ban on 3D printer guns and guns with no serial number
Worker Rights
- Maryland Worker Protection Act Bill to (1) make sure that pay stubs have all the information on hours and wages so people know they have been correctly compensated; (2) prevent workers from being misclassified as independent contractors when they are in fact employees of a business; (3) prevent retaliation against workers who file complaints about receiving their correct pay.
- Salary History Bill Employers would not be able to ask job seekers about their previous salary.
- Family and Medical leave Insurance Program Bill establishing a private-sector family and medical leave insurance fund to provide partial wage replacement for employees who take unpaid leave to care for a new child or a family member with a serious health condition.
- Local (Prince George’s County) Legislation
- Allowing the County to charge a fee for use of disposable bags
- Prohibiting a state agency from acquiring or constructing any toll road, toll highway, or toll bridge in Prince George’s County unless authorized by Prince George’s County.
- Repealing statutes that prohibit developers with pending projects from making contributions to the County Executive of Prince George’s County or a slate that includes the County Executive. (Not something I support.)
If you live in District 47 you may want to contact one of your State Representatives about one of the proposed pieces of legislation. Here is their contact information:
Senator Malcolm Augustine [email protected] 410-841-3745
Delegate Diana Fennell (47A) [email protected] 301-858-3478
Delegate Julian Ivey (47A) [email protected] 410-841-3326
Delegate Wanika Fisher (47B) [email protected] 410-841-3340
If you do not know who are your representatives, you can find them at www.mdelect.net. There is also a very good smartphone app, Verizon MD GOV, that lists all the Delegates and Senators, with their committees and their contact numbers.
There are a lot of good bills that are will be introduced in the next session. This is only some of them. It’s easy to introduce a bill, it is hard to get it passed and it needs people to call their legislators to get it done!
Critical 24 hours ahead in East End hospital crisis
The District of Columbia Nurses Association (DCNA) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1199 urge all concerned area supporters to:
PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL MEMBERS OF THE DC COUNCIL AND THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR NOW TO SUPPORT WORKERS AND RESIDENTS IN WARDS 7 & 8
The next 24 hours are critical in the battle for a new East End hospital, workers and Howard University. A final vote by the DC City Council on the East End Hospital is scheduled for Tuesday, with two crucial amendments at stake, one ensuring that workers at the new hospital will be protected by a union contract, the other that Howard medical students and residents can continue to be trained there. Universal Health Services, the Mayor and Councilmember Gray have threatened to kill the East End Hospital if these two measures remain part of the legislation, but “We must continue the fight and make sure the DC Council does not abandon workers or Howard University,” says Metro Washington Council Political Director David Dzidzienyo. DCNA, SEIU 1199, other unions, community leaders and Howard University urge turnout at the DC City Council vote – 9:30a at the Wilson Building – as well as calls and letters to Council members to support all labor-proposed amendments.
SAMPLE LETTER (COPY AND PASTE; see below for email addresses and phone #s):
Councilmember ___/City Administrator, Rashad Young:
Re: East End Hospital Equity Act of 2018
I write you today in support of efforts by the District of Columbia Nurses Association, National Nurses United, 1199SEIU, the Metropolitan Labor Council, AFL-CIO and church and community leaders. I strongly request that you vote “NO” on the “East End Hospital Equity Act of 2018,” or “YES” with amendments ensuring continuation of quality union jobs at the new hospital and that the new hospital will provide comprehensive health care services.
As described by labor, church and community leaders at a press conference last Thursday morning, “here in DC, an oasis in a desert of corporate greed, our leaders must decide whether they will drain the water from our community and add to the swamp of corporate greed by allowing a documented anti-union corporation, Universal Health Services to add to its coffers without providing equal health care services to residents of Wards 7 and 8.” This bill will give UHS a monopoly on health care services that will threaten the very existence of Howard University Hospital. Services including care for cancer, cardiac issues, at risk pregnancies and many others may not be available in Southeast, but fed to the GW University Hospital campus.
UHS, with no apparent disagreement from the Mayor, refuses to provide workers at United Medical Center with quality, union jobs at the new hospital that is replacing the services at UMC. Good quality union jobs are in jeopardy. Workers at UMC have endured multiple management configurations, bankruptcies, pay freezes and benefit cuts, yet they have stayed loyal to the residents of Southeast and their patients. To now be told by the very people that have mismanaged care at UMC that guaranties of job security and pay and benefits will no longer be honored is unacceptable.
Sincerely,
Send to:
Chairman - Phil Mendelson – 724-8032; [email protected]
At-large - Anita Bonds – 724-8086; [email protected]
At-large - David Grosso – 724-8105; [email protected]
At-large - Elissa Silverman – 724-8087; [email protected]
At-large - Robert White – 724-8174; [email protected]
Ward 1 - Brianne Nadeau – 724-8109; [email protected]
Ward 2 - Jack Evans – 724-8023; j[email protected]
Ward 3 - Mary Cheh – 724-8118; [email protected]
Ward 4 - Brandon Todd – 724-8052; [email protected]
Ward 5 - Keynon McDuffie – 724-8028; [email protected]
Ward 6 - Charles Allen – 724-8054; [email protected]
Ward 7 - Vincent Gray – 724-8068; [email protected]
Ward 8 - Trayon White – 724-8055; [email protected]
City Administrator – Rashad Young (202) 478-9200 – [email protected]
PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL MEMBERS OF THE DC COUNCIL AND THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR NOW TO SUPPORT WORKERS AND RESIDENTS IN WARDS 7 & 8
The next 24 hours are critical in the battle for a new East End hospital, workers and Howard University. A final vote by the DC City Council on the East End Hospital is scheduled for Tuesday, with two crucial amendments at stake, one ensuring that workers at the new hospital will be protected by a union contract, the other that Howard medical students and residents can continue to be trained there. Universal Health Services, the Mayor and Councilmember Gray have threatened to kill the East End Hospital if these two measures remain part of the legislation, but “We must continue the fight and make sure the DC Council does not abandon workers or Howard University,” says Metro Washington Council Political Director David Dzidzienyo. DCNA, SEIU 1199, other unions, community leaders and Howard University urge turnout at the DC City Council vote – 9:30a at the Wilson Building – as well as calls and letters to Council members to support all labor-proposed amendments.
SAMPLE LETTER (COPY AND PASTE; see below for email addresses and phone #s):
Councilmember ___/City Administrator, Rashad Young:
Re: East End Hospital Equity Act of 2018
I write you today in support of efforts by the District of Columbia Nurses Association, National Nurses United, 1199SEIU, the Metropolitan Labor Council, AFL-CIO and church and community leaders. I strongly request that you vote “NO” on the “East End Hospital Equity Act of 2018,” or “YES” with amendments ensuring continuation of quality union jobs at the new hospital and that the new hospital will provide comprehensive health care services.
As described by labor, church and community leaders at a press conference last Thursday morning, “here in DC, an oasis in a desert of corporate greed, our leaders must decide whether they will drain the water from our community and add to the swamp of corporate greed by allowing a documented anti-union corporation, Universal Health Services to add to its coffers without providing equal health care services to residents of Wards 7 and 8.” This bill will give UHS a monopoly on health care services that will threaten the very existence of Howard University Hospital. Services including care for cancer, cardiac issues, at risk pregnancies and many others may not be available in Southeast, but fed to the GW University Hospital campus.
UHS, with no apparent disagreement from the Mayor, refuses to provide workers at United Medical Center with quality, union jobs at the new hospital that is replacing the services at UMC. Good quality union jobs are in jeopardy. Workers at UMC have endured multiple management configurations, bankruptcies, pay freezes and benefit cuts, yet they have stayed loyal to the residents of Southeast and their patients. To now be told by the very people that have mismanaged care at UMC that guaranties of job security and pay and benefits will no longer be honored is unacceptable.
Sincerely,
Send to:
Chairman - Phil Mendelson – 724-8032; [email protected]
At-large - Anita Bonds – 724-8086; [email protected]
At-large - David Grosso – 724-8105; [email protected]
At-large - Elissa Silverman – 724-8087; [email protected]
At-large - Robert White – 724-8174; [email protected]
Ward 1 - Brianne Nadeau – 724-8109; [email protected]
Ward 2 - Jack Evans – 724-8023; j[email protected]
Ward 3 - Mary Cheh – 724-8118; [email protected]
Ward 4 - Brandon Todd – 724-8052; [email protected]
Ward 5 - Keynon McDuffie – 724-8028; [email protected]
Ward 6 - Charles Allen – 724-8054; [email protected]
Ward 7 - Vincent Gray – 724-8068; [email protected]
Ward 8 - Trayon White – 724-8055; [email protected]
City Administrator – Rashad Young (202) 478-9200 – [email protected]
MWC AFL-CIO 2018 General Election Endorsements
(10/2/2018) Here's the complete and latest Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education 2018 General Election Endorsement List. It includes endorsements in the District of Columbia, Montgomery, Prince George's, Calvert, Charles and St Mary's counties. Please direct questions and comments to MWC Political Director David Dzidzienyo [email protected]
MARYLAND STATE AND D.C. AFL-CIO 2018 General Election Endorsed Candidates
MARYLAND STATE AND D.C. AFL-CIO 2018 General Election Endorsed Candidates
2018 MWC-endorsed candidate statements
Alphabetical by last name; Click here for the complete list of endorsed candidates.
TOM DERNOGA (Prince George’s County District 001, top left) is an attorney, long time civic and environmental activist. He has represented numerous organizations and citizens in protecting the quality of life in their community. He's consistently fought for ethical, open and transparent government. Tom been endorsed by numerous progressive, environmental and labor organizations including the Prince George's County Educators' Association and the AFL-CIO.
SYDNEY HARRISON (Prince George’s County District 009, top middle): After being abandoned at birth, Sydney was adopted by the Harrison family, raised in southern Prince George’s County, attended public schools, and graduated from Frederick Douglass Senior High. In 2014, Sydney was elected to serve as the Clerk of the Court, for Prince George’s County and the Democratic Central Committee. He successfully manages 208 employees and oversees $58 million in annual revenue. Under Sydney’s leadership, the Clerk’s Office successfully streamlined business operations, improved workflow and service delivery, as well as instituted his acclaimed “We Care Standard.”
BRIANNE K. NADEAU (District of Columbia City Council - Ward 1, top right) has been a DC Councilmember representing Ward 1 since 2015, and has distinguished herself as a leader on affordable housing, education, and supporting working families. She grew up in a union family, with organizers in both of the generations that came before her. She lives in Park View with her husband Jayson, and daughter Zoe, and is proud to be a working mom, serving others.
EDITH J. PATTERSON (MD House of Delegates D28, row 2, left): Throughout my years of public service, I have been a proven Democratic leader who has remained committed to serving as the voice and advocacy for working families and creating opportunities for a better quality of life. During my four - year tenure representing District 28 in the House of Delegates, I’ve been hard at work putting Maryland Families First, voting to increase the State’s Minimum Wage for thousands of working families; to provide 700,000 hardworking Marylanders with Paid Sick Leave; supported legislation to reduce health care and prescription costs to ensure working families have health care access. With your help, I will continue to be your Strong Voice in the House of Delegates for District 28 Families.
SAMIR PAUL (MD House of Delegates, D16) is a public school teacher. The son of Indian immigrants, he grew up in Montgomery County and studied computer science at Harvard. After working on the 2012 Obama campaign in rural Wisconsin and spending two years serving government clients at IBM, Samir returned in 2014 to teach computer science in the very same MCPS classroom where he was once a high-school student; he was named Montgomery County's Rising Star Teacher of the year in 2016.
SUSIE PROCTOR (MD State Delegate, row 2, middle): I believe in strong leadership to create better working conditions from wages to contracts, from advocacy to empowerment. AFL-CIO unions provide these benefits for workers and I provide leadership at the state level to support unions. I will always support working people and the organizations that support them. Vote for those who support your work!
ELISSA SILVERMAN has focused her career on making the District of Columbia government accountable, responsive, and accessible to residents. In 2014, she was elected to an at-large seat on the D.C. Council, where she serves as chair of the Council’s Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. During her first term, Elissa co-authored a groundbreaking family leave bill, now law, which gives D.C. workers the time necessary to take care of themselves and their family members without fear of financial repercussions. She also authored a bill that strengthened the District’s unemployment insurance program. A major focus of Elissa’s legislative agenda has been making sure that the District remains affordable to all, delivering $20 million in additional money to repair D.C.’s public housing and more tools to keep landlords accountable to tenants and combat displacement. She has been a champion of putting at least $100 million into affordable housing production every year.
JOSHUA THOMAS (Prince George’s County District 002, row 2, right): I’m a native Prince Georgian and alumnus of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD. Why am I running? I’m a former middle school teacher, and I remember the challenges of teaching in an underfunded school system in which I had no way of expressing my concerns to those who were elected to represent me. I want to amplify the voices of teachers, families, and students because I understand their struggles in education from firsthand experience. I fully believe that educators can make the best decisions for public education, and I pledge to act in the best interest of working families in every tough decision I face as a board member for Prince George's County Public Schools.
TOM DERNOGA (Prince George’s County District 001, top left) is an attorney, long time civic and environmental activist. He has represented numerous organizations and citizens in protecting the quality of life in their community. He's consistently fought for ethical, open and transparent government. Tom been endorsed by numerous progressive, environmental and labor organizations including the Prince George's County Educators' Association and the AFL-CIO.
SYDNEY HARRISON (Prince George’s County District 009, top middle): After being abandoned at birth, Sydney was adopted by the Harrison family, raised in southern Prince George’s County, attended public schools, and graduated from Frederick Douglass Senior High. In 2014, Sydney was elected to serve as the Clerk of the Court, for Prince George’s County and the Democratic Central Committee. He successfully manages 208 employees and oversees $58 million in annual revenue. Under Sydney’s leadership, the Clerk’s Office successfully streamlined business operations, improved workflow and service delivery, as well as instituted his acclaimed “We Care Standard.”
BRIANNE K. NADEAU (District of Columbia City Council - Ward 1, top right) has been a DC Councilmember representing Ward 1 since 2015, and has distinguished herself as a leader on affordable housing, education, and supporting working families. She grew up in a union family, with organizers in both of the generations that came before her. She lives in Park View with her husband Jayson, and daughter Zoe, and is proud to be a working mom, serving others.
EDITH J. PATTERSON (MD House of Delegates D28, row 2, left): Throughout my years of public service, I have been a proven Democratic leader who has remained committed to serving as the voice and advocacy for working families and creating opportunities for a better quality of life. During my four - year tenure representing District 28 in the House of Delegates, I’ve been hard at work putting Maryland Families First, voting to increase the State’s Minimum Wage for thousands of working families; to provide 700,000 hardworking Marylanders with Paid Sick Leave; supported legislation to reduce health care and prescription costs to ensure working families have health care access. With your help, I will continue to be your Strong Voice in the House of Delegates for District 28 Families.
SAMIR PAUL (MD House of Delegates, D16) is a public school teacher. The son of Indian immigrants, he grew up in Montgomery County and studied computer science at Harvard. After working on the 2012 Obama campaign in rural Wisconsin and spending two years serving government clients at IBM, Samir returned in 2014 to teach computer science in the very same MCPS classroom where he was once a high-school student; he was named Montgomery County's Rising Star Teacher of the year in 2016.
SUSIE PROCTOR (MD State Delegate, row 2, middle): I believe in strong leadership to create better working conditions from wages to contracts, from advocacy to empowerment. AFL-CIO unions provide these benefits for workers and I provide leadership at the state level to support unions. I will always support working people and the organizations that support them. Vote for those who support your work!
ELISSA SILVERMAN has focused her career on making the District of Columbia government accountable, responsive, and accessible to residents. In 2014, she was elected to an at-large seat on the D.C. Council, where she serves as chair of the Council’s Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. During her first term, Elissa co-authored a groundbreaking family leave bill, now law, which gives D.C. workers the time necessary to take care of themselves and their family members without fear of financial repercussions. She also authored a bill that strengthened the District’s unemployment insurance program. A major focus of Elissa’s legislative agenda has been making sure that the District remains affordable to all, delivering $20 million in additional money to repair D.C.’s public housing and more tools to keep landlords accountable to tenants and combat displacement. She has been a champion of putting at least $100 million into affordable housing production every year.
JOSHUA THOMAS (Prince George’s County District 002, row 2, right): I’m a native Prince Georgian and alumnus of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, MD. Why am I running? I’m a former middle school teacher, and I remember the challenges of teaching in an underfunded school system in which I had no way of expressing my concerns to those who were elected to represent me. I want to amplify the voices of teachers, families, and students because I understand their struggles in education from firsthand experience. I fully believe that educators can make the best decisions for public education, and I pledge to act in the best interest of working families in every tough decision I face as a board member for Prince George's County Public Schools.
2018 Questionnaire: download here
CLICK HERE to download the 2018 Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO Prince George's/Montgomery County Primary Election Questionnaire.