Thanks for your vote, for your support, or for your advice.

I’m honored to be returning to Annapolis – to work on policy issues and neighborhood issues.

There’s lots for my colleagues and me to do.

Now it’s time to govern.

To get a bill passed in Annapolis, you need to count to 71 in the House and 24 in the Senate.

You can’t do that by yourself.

We need a governor who will take the initiative on crucial issues.

We will not increase funding for our schools and improve the quality of the instruction offered in the classroom without a governor who is committed to our children’s education

County Executive Rushern Baker believes that all of Maryland’s children should have access to high quality equal education, no matter where they live or their economic status.

“We have to eradicate this culture of using our education system as a billy club in political season,” Baker has said.

Governor Larry Hogan’s agenda, on the other hand, has been to keep our schools closed until after Labor Day and play politics with such basics as the classroom temperature.

I worked with Rushern Baker when he was a member of the House of Delegates. He served on the budget subcommittee that I chaired.

His accomplishments as County Executive are no surprise to me.

I also worked with Elizabeth Embry, his running mate.

Elizabeth was my Legislative Director during the 2001 General Assembly session. She did a great job for me, as she has in her subsequent career of public service.

We also need an effective team in the 41st District.

That’s why I’m supporting and running with Angela Gibson for the House of Delegates.

I worked with Angie when she was the legislative liaison for five Mayors.

Since she became a delegate last year, we have gotten results for the neighborhoods of the 41st District.

When the Baltimore Sun endorsed Angie, it said, “She has already shown attentiveness to community issues like problem businesses.”

I agree.

I hope you do also.

The race for delegate in the [41st] district includes one no-brainer: Del. Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg, who has for years been one of the sharpest minds in the legislature and a dedicated champion of his district.

Baltimore Sun endorsement, http://www.baltimoresun.com/…/bs-ed-city-legislative-endors…

…

It’s very nice to be praised for my mind.

How I use my skills is what matters.

Praise for being a “dedicated champion of the district” no doubt centers around my work to keep the Preakness at Pimlico.

But there are several other neighborhood issues that have been and, if I’m re-elected, be the focus of my concern.

What will happen to Northwestern Senior High now that Forest Park students are returning to their rebuilt school?

Can we turn the Ambassador Theatre into an arts attraction?

The Edmondson Village Shopping Center has been a dangerous eyesore for years. Can it be turned around?

My ability to work on those issues depends upon you.

I hope you think that I deserve your support.

Early voting ends at 8 pm on Thursday. The polls will be open from 7 am – 8 pm on Tuesday.

The Maryland Stadium Authority held a public hearing on the future of Pimlico Race Track Tuesday night.

The testimony of Rosalind Griffin did not make it into the Baltimore Sun story, but I took note of it.

She testified on behalf of herself; her community, Mt. Washington; and two others, Cylburn and Levindale-Sunset.

Mt. Washington is north of the track; Cylburn and Levindale-Sunset are on the south side.

Their demographics differ, but their interests regarding Pimlico’s future are the same.

The survey results in all three neighborhoods were very similar as to the preferred uses of the site.

We are very supportive of horse racing, Ms. Griffin testified, but concerned about the traffic, litter, and noise that would be generated by the daily use of the site for non-racing purposes.

Those concerns can be addressed.

It’s my job to make sure that they are.

It’s also my job to help expand the number of neighborhoods working together.

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Why I work hard on behalf of all of the communities of the 41st District is at the heart of this video:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XKNKNDKRLRLd_08SykTvn4kSoIclP6nl/view?usp=sharing

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Early voting begins today. I look forward to seeing you at the polls.

The Preakness was first run on this site in 1873. It should remain here for the 21st Century.

Hundreds of jobs will be created by making this a 365-day per year model of economic and community redevelopment. They should be 21st Century jobs.

“To me, it’s magical in here. There’s something about it. I’ve been watching it since I was 10, 11 years old.
You think of Jim McKay. You think of the Preakness. There’s so much history here.”

Bob Baffert, trainer of the Triple Crown winner Justify, said that when he was here three weeks ago.

I’ve been watching horses run around the track at Pimlico since I was in elementary school. I’ve represented the surrounding neighborhoods for 36 years.

We’ve seen a lot of changes at Pimlico during that time – good and bad. And we’ve seen a lot of changes in Park Heights, but the question before us today – whether to keep the Preakness here and to redevelop the land no longer needed for racing, will be a crucial turning point for the Park Heights community.

We need a vision for Pimlico and Park Heights: economic and community redevelopment that would complement a 21st Century thoroughbred racing facility. We need a vision that would allow for the necessary upgrades at Pimlico and help fulfill longstanding promises to revitalize the Park Heights community.

We can make this vision a reality. We can make the infield a year-round facility for recreation and entertainment. The Baltimore Development Corporation has already had serious conversations with various commercial enterprises interested in the site.

“The question is, can we come up with a solution which is a win-win-win?” Frank Stronach, founder and honorary chairman of the Stronach Group, recently told the Baltimore Sun. “A win for the horse industry and a win to eliminate poverty in that area.”

What the Stadium Authority is considering for the Pimlico site and what Mayor Catherine Pugh is proposing for the Park Heights neighborhoods meet the definition of a win-win-win.

Redeveloping the track to ensure it continues as host of the Preakness Stakes is not a pie in the sky proposal. It would appeal to “anybody,” developer David Cordish said last week,

For the 21st Century School Buildings Plan, which is administered by the MSA, a memorandum of understanding requires efforts to maximize local and minority Baltimore hiring and to identify student work experiences. We must do the same here.

Two 21st Century schools, Pimlico and Arlington Elementary Middle Schools, will be reopening within a mile of the track over the next 15 months. Additional investment in these schools neighboring the track is essential.

On the eastern end of the site, LifeBridge Health expects to use its Preakness Way property as a destination campus, including an outpatient care center.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the first major-league baseball stadium to win the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) award – the mark of an environmentally sound facility. We should do the same here.

“The Preakness isn’t going anywhere,” declared Governor Larry Hogan on Preakness Day. Mayor Catherine Pugh is steadfastly committed to keeping the Preakness and redeveloping Park Heights.

The Maryland Stadium Authority built Camden Yards, the “ballpark that forever changed baseball.” It can do the same for horse racing at Pimlico.

I look forward to working with the Authority and the residents here tonight in accomplishing that goal.

My written testimony at a meeting of the Maryland Stadium Authority on the future of Pimlico. 6/12/18

A business constantly seeks ways to expand its customer base.

The tobacco industry does this by selling flavored tobacco products – .

But not in San Francisco.

The City Council passed a law banning the sale of flavored tobacco products.

Flavors especially designed for young users include bubble gum, chicken and waffles, and unicorn milk. Also prohibited are vaping liquids packaged as candies and juice boxes for electronic smoking, and menthol cigarettes.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was instrumental in petitioning this issue to referendum.

The voters overwhelmingly approved it on Tuesday – by 68% to 32%.

I’ve asked the General Assembly research staff how this ban differs from Maryland law.

The supporters of the law are a who’s who of anti-smoking advocates, including former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

I may be in touch with them after June 26.