State Senate District 16

February 13, 2018 3:49 p.m.

REPUBLICAN

Marcus Alzona

Has not responded

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• Campaign information:

*did not respond to additional questions

DEMOCRAT

Susan Lee (incumbent)

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• Where you live: Bethesda

• Date of birth: May 14, 1954

• Current occupation and employer (may also list up to two other jobs you’ve held); if retired, list your last job and employer: Current: District 16, state senator, 2015-present. Previous: District 16, state delegate, 2002-14; attorney, Gebhardt & Associates, LLP.

• Political experience (public offices held and when, as well as unsuccessful campaigns for office and which years: District 16, state senator, 2015-present (elected 2014). Previous: District 16, state delegate, 2003-14 (elected 2002, 2006, 2010). Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee member, 2000-02.

• Campaign information:

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1 – Why are you running for this office? (75 words max)

I want to continue my work in the Senate to enhance and uplift the lives of my constituents and Marylanders. As a legislator, I have passed major laws to advance education, gun safety, clean environment and energy, civil rights, affordable health care, bioscience, cybersecurity, and Telehealth; fight domestic violence, human trafficking, and identity theft; and repair aging infrastructure. Building on my record, I will be honored to continue my service to our communities.

2 – What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it? (100 words max)

Ensuring every student has access to a quality education and resources to succeed is a top priority. To achieve those goals, I will support measures to update, build on Thornton and implement the best recommendations of the Kirwan Commission; provide full K-12 and GCEI funding; Universal Pre-K, increased funding for school construction, renovations, safety and security, and educator recruitment, retention, and development. This year, I helped pass laws to advance those priorities, including a Constitutional Amendment to create an Education Lock Box requiring Casino revenues to go to education and new interagency commission to achieve greater school construction funding.

3 – What is one major issue the current Senate has handled poorly and what would you have done differently? (100 words max)

While we passed historic Metro dedicated funding, we still need to continue to make improvements to the WMATA board and governance and ensure mass transit is safe, efficient, reliable, and affordable. Having in our borders a large concentration of scientists and innovators, top higher education institutions, Federal agencies, we can be the Epicenter of bioscience, cybersecurity, and IT. To help innovators transfer research to product, enabling them to create breakthrough innovations, treatments, jobs, and revenues, we can build on laws passed by supporting incentives, tax credits, grant programs, and other measures to advance knowledge based industries and sustain our future.

4 – What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office? (100 words max)

As a Senator; Deputy Majority Whip; Co-Chair-Cybersecurity Law/Policy Subcommittee; Member-Safe Harbor Youth Victims of Human Trafficking Workgroup and Governor’s Family Violence Council; former Women’s Caucus President and Identity Theft and Nanobiotechnology Task Forces Co-Chair, I have passed laws advancing education, clean environment, affordable health care, gun safety, civil rights, mass transit, cybersecurity, bioscience. I was Lead Sponsor of Maryland Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and laws to fight domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder and child abuse, and identity theft. Building on my record of leadership, experience, and hard work, I can further serve all our communities.

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