Author: delsandy

A dedicated champion of the district

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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.

I took note of it

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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.

Pimlico: A 21st Century Redevelopment with 21st Century Jobs

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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

The smoke didn’t get in their eyes

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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.

Fairness in the Workplace

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Should Maryland enact a pay equity law?

North Dakota, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Oregon are among the states that have done so.

I began the process of working on this issue after reading a newspaper article this weekend, headlined “How Boston Is Taking On the Gender Pay Gap.”

My first question: Do we need this bill in Maryland?

I emailed the General Assembly’s professional staff on Monday: “To what extent does the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act provide greater protections for employees than existing federal or Maryland law?”

If the reply indicates the additional protections are warranted, I’ll share it with advocacy groups to learn their interest in working on such legislation.

This would not be the first time I worked on fairness in the workplace.

I successfully introduced the Lilly Ledbetter Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2009, which expands workers’ opportunity to file a claim for unequal pay.

It was prompted by reading a court decision, a dissent writing by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Putin’s bots and the First Amendment

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Litigate or legislate?

The General Assembly just passed a law requiring online platforms, such as Facebook, to keep records of who paid for political advertisements on their sites.

We acted in response to the ads bought by Russian agents, working at the behest of the Putin government, during the 2016 Presidential election.

Before I introduced my legislation, I sent the draft to the Attorney General’s Office, which advised me that it was constitutional.

Several of its provisions were amended onto the legislation that we passed, House Bill 981 and Senate Bill 875.

Late in the session, I attended a meeting with representatives of Facebook, newspapers, television, and radio.
Facebook said that this legislation could serve as a national model.

However, a newspaper representative asserted that the First Amendment prohibits the government from requiring the press to print anything, even a database of political advertisers on a newspaper’s online edition.

We decided not to revise the bill because an amendment would delay final action and possibly prevent the bill from passing.

Last week, Governor Hogan let this legislation become law without his signature.

He supported the intent of the bill, he wrote, but was concerned about the First Amendment issue.

The law could be challenged in court, stated Rebecca Snyder, executive director of the press association.

Whatever happens in court, we should also discuss whether the law could be amended to meet those First Amendment concerns next year in Annapolis.

“It’s magical in here.”

| by delsandy | Sandy's Campaign Diary 2018 | No Comments

“The Preakness isn’t going anywhere. I’m for keeping it here in Baltimore.”

I was quoted extensively in the media this past week, but I’m not the person who said that.

It was Governor Hogan.

He wasn’t the only big name supporter of keeping the Preakness at Pimlico.

“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,” said Bob Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer of Justify, the Preakness winner.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/horse-racing/bs-sp-bob-baffert-is-still-charmed-by-charm-city-20180516-story.html

Last year, the conversation was about whether the State and City should spend more than $250 million for a one-day per year return on its investment.

Now there are serious discussions about both renovating the track and making the rest of the site a 365-days per year asset of economic and community development.

Our goal is redevelopment that benefits Maryland, the Baltimore region, the track’s neighbors, and the track’s owners.

If that’s our objective, I like the odds.

And I won’t stop working to attain that result until we cross the finish line.

Extended Hours at the Pratt Library

| by delsandy | Sandy's 2018 Legislative Diary | No Comments

The intersection of Pennsylvania and North Avenues was the focal point of the demonstrations and confrontations after the death of Freddie Gray.

The neighborhood branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library at that intersection stayed open.

That commitment to the library’s mission prompted the 2016 General Assembly to enact legislation providing state funds to extend the hours of all Pratt branches.

The bill became law without Governor Hogan’s signature because he opposes mandates that require him to put money in the state budget.

When we told neighborhood groups that their branch would be open longer, they were elated – from Edmondson Village to Roland Park, with branches in Walbrook, Forest Park, and Glen In between.

Delegate Angela Gibson and I wanted to learn about the impact of the longer hours first hand.

We toured the five branches in the 41st District last week.

Patronage and circulation are up.

The lesson I brought home, however, is that a library branch and the access it provides to computers is of great benefit to job seekers.

What they learn from the books they borrow will make them more skilled employees.

Not just the classroom, Food stamp app, and Vaping with Juuls

| by delsandy | Sandy's Campaign Diary 2018 | No Comments

I’m running for reelection to the House of Delegates so that I can help make good public policy.

This week, I found some time between door knocking, community meetings, and candidate forums to get the process started on some issues.

The American Federation of Teachers took the lead in reinvigorating the poorest county in West Virginia. This model could be used for the community served by Pimlico Elementary Middle School, a 21st Century school that will be reopening this fall. Such an effort could be part of the redevelopment of the Pimlico Race Track and Park Heights communities now being studied by the Stadium Authority, the City, and the Maryland Jockey Club.

The link to the article where I learned about the West Virginia initiative is not yet available. I will share it when I get it.

There’s an app that allows people receiving food stamps to make smarter and healthier use of the program. Should we encourage its use in Maryland?

I’ve written an advocate to get her thoughts.


This past session, I introduced House Bill 1094, which will impose the same penalties for the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors that we impose for the illegal sale of tobacco products. HB 1094 was enacted.
At the federal level, the Food and Drug Administration began undercover sting operations this month targeting retailers of Juuls, smoking/vaping devices that resemble thumb drives, produce little plume, and are concealable – even in a classroom.
How should Maryland cut down on their use? I’ll talk to both school and health officials.

Saying “No” and Filling the Void

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My literature and my blog posts discuss the issues I want to share with you.

Campaign forums give voters an opportunity to see and hear us in the flesh on a variety of subjects.

Candidate questionnaires make us put it in writing.

I’ve answered fourteen so far.

They’re from the media – the Sun, Afro, and J’more.

They’re from various unions and interest groups.

More are coming.

My responses are all on my website – delsandy.com.

Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke does that. It’s a good idea.

The voters, not just the interest groups, should know what your positions are.

Incumbents, like myself, have a voting record.

Challengers are a blank slate. Their answers help fill that void.

Sometimes, there’s a temptation to give the answer that the group wants.

But as Pete Rawlings taught me, “You have to learn how to say ‘no’ to people.”

One activist asked me, “Are you looking to be a little antagonistic or do you want to give straightforward answers that they can take or leave?”

“Straightforward,” I replied.

  • My Key Issues:

  • Pimlico and The Preakness
  • Our Neighborhoods
  • Pre-Kindergarten
  • Lead Paint Poisoning