I do not take developer campaign contributions

Too often county residents describe being proud of living in Prince George's County, but disappointed by the state of their local public schools. Across the county, too many school buildings are in disrepair, without proper AC, often with missing or long-broken facilities. Too many students can't count on reliable bus transportation. 

Teachers, in the meantime, feel overworked, underpaid, and  unsupported. They want what's best for their students, but feel there isn't enough time or resources to give students the personalized attention and support they need to learn and thrive. 

It doesn't have to be this way. Numerous other jurisdictions have achieved better outcomes for students, educators, and parents. We owe it to Prince Georgians to borrow best practices from other counties to ensure every public school student receives a quality education, to provide teachers competitive pay and support, and ensure parents receive timely communication and transparency from their schools. 

Generations of elected leaders have promised that more development would mean better shopping and plenty of tax dollars for schools, parks, roads, and services. Yet the substantial commercial and residential growth of the last thirty years has not delivered on this promise.

County residents have seen a reduction in everyday services, deteriorating schools, neglected parks, worsening traffic congestion, and higher property taxes. 

Other counties do a better job ensuring development impact fees and commercial property taxes genuinely benefit local schools, roads, and amenities. Prince George's County can follow suit with a development process that sets a higher bar for quality stores and businesses, focuses growth on areas with access to rail and mass-transit options, and protects green and open space from new development. 

Residents deserve to feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods, with professional, highly-trained law enforcement that focuses on community policing, open, transparent communication, deescalation, and interpersonal relationship building. 

Prince George's County should set a high bar for law enforcement recruitment and training, place a premium on building resident trust and communication, and work proactively with communities to deter crime. 

Residents, community leaders, and business owners too often describe projects--building a shed, putting a small extension on their home, or a larger commercial renovation--that have been delayed months or years by an onerous, slow-moving permitting process. 

These frustrations deter home improvements, make it harder to attract quality new businesses, and lose the county economic investment opportunities. 

Better funding and reforming county permitting will go a long way in correcting these problems, and will help attract and retain residents, businesses, and economic opportunities that will benefit the entire county. 

Climate change will have a disparate impact on coastal jurisdictions and requires serious policy solutions. Prince George's County has taken many great steps, with a world-class composting facility and an ambitious Climate Action Plan, and can do more. 

Prince George's County can be a regional leader in decarbonization by building on existing residential composting programs, developing community solar, installing EV charging stations, and focusing on smarter development that emphasizes multi-modalism and protects green and open space. 

Too many county residents have senselessly lost their lives to neighborhood accidents. Better planning, modern street design, and smarter bike and pedestrian safety can save lives. 

The county can make a difference by working proactively with the bike and pedestrian community to identify problem areas, collect better data, and direct available state and federal dollars to improvements that will make walking and biking safer.  

Seniors deserve a county where they can safely and affordably age in place with access to community services, quality medical care, and property taxes that don’t break the bank. 

The county can do a better job communicating with seniors, ensuring eligible residents are taking advantage of tax benefits, and offering services that make aging in place safer and more affordable.