D. Transportation: (Please Provide Your Response on a Separate Sheet)

D. Transportation: (Please provide your response on a separate sheet).

1. Going into WMATA's FY2019 budget season, politicians, community groups, labor, and business groups have weighed in on the dedicated funding debate. If you are elected, what would you propose to provide WMATA dedicated funding, and how would you navigate the politics of the situation and unite the jurisdictions around your proposal?

Based on ridership and collective benefits to the broader metropolitan region it is clear that local jurisdictions have not contributed at a level commensurate with the returns provided by WMATA. The very predictable deterioration of the system over the past decade has now claimed lives and endangered workers and riders alike is partially due to the lack of sufficient investment.

If elected I would support the recommendation of reformatting the board and decreasing its size. 16 members is much too unwieldy and makes finding consensus difficult. Allowing jurisdictions to have the flexibility of raising sufficient revenue to pay their fair share is also key. Provided the requisite amount is raised its unnecessary and counterproductive to require a “one size fits all” approach. Prince George’s County should certainly pay its fair share. Declining ridership must also be acknowledged even as we have to focus on the working poor and those who are completely dependent on WMATA to provide timely and affordable transportation to their workplace.

The current Republican majority on Capitol Hill presents a more durable challenge given their inability to move forward on a range of common-sense issues including infrastructure projects. Governor Hogan and surrounding jurisdictions are far better partners than any at the federal level at this time. Tying these critical investments to the booming development market in the Washington Metropolitan area and demonstrating the real constraint that an aging and overburdened public transit system is to further growth is the best frame to navigate around.

2. In the last few months, there have been several major safety concerns that have been raised publicly by ATU Local 689 leadership and members. From operator assaults to issues with the 7000 series trains, the public has seen that WMATA management doesn't seem to be able to create a true safety culture at WMATA. How would you work with and support employees who raise safety concerns and are ignored?

Primarily by treating WMATA employees as the professionals that they are. It is important to open a clear line of communication between the county government and the employees that are also citizens. Their perspectives are invaluable and a safe space must be created so that they can share concerns and or patterns of misconduct in a manner that protects them from retaliation or adverse consequences. A meaningful relationship must be established between the proper government officials and the rank and file of WMATA to ensure that uncomfortable truths and harsh realities can be addressed quickly and decisively to protect the safety of riders and workers alike. 3. In addition, how would you work with labor to help tackle the larger issue of establishing a safety culture at WMATA and solving some of the recent safety issues, like operator assault, that have been brought to the forefront?

Exploring and rethinking the partnership between local law enforcement agencies and Metro Police would be a good start. There should be no tolerance for those who target operators in any manner much less the repugnant acts we’ve seen in recent years.

4. In the last six months, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding the possibility of the establishment of a federal control board to run WMATA. If that happened, the possibility of eliminating legally binding labor contracts would become a reality, endangering thousands of workers. What are your thoughts regarding the takeover of a federal control board and would you be open to adding a labor seat to the WMATA Board?

A federal takeover of WMATA would be a negative development that would make the situation worse, not better. A labor seat should be added to the WMATA board.

E. Bail Reform: (Please provide your response on a separate sheet).

Under the current money bail system, judges in Maryland typically set financial conditions of release, with little consideration as to whether the defendant can meet them. Defendants must then either pay the court or a commercial bail bondsman to get out of jail. Those who can’t afford bond often remain incarcerated until their cases go to trial, sometimes for periods of weeks or longer.

Maryland’s highest court approved key changes to the state’s bail system, setting into motion a reform designed to keep defendants from languishing in jail before trial simply because they’re poor, do you support Bail Reform Efforts?

I wholeheartedly support these efforts. The bail bond system’s persistence in Prince George’s County is a reminder of the durable influence of money on our political system and the way that the profit motive distorts our criminal justice system. With a significant number of citizens in jail simply because they lacked the ability to pay is an affront to true justice. With neighboring jurisdictions demonstrating alternatives to the money bail system via pre-trial services we all know that there is a better and fairer way to administer our criminal justice system that better stewards our tax dollars and treats all fairly – regardless of their economic status. The bail bond industry is a parasite in our county. F. Confederate Monuments and Memorials: (Please provide your response on a separate sheet).

At the federal level, legislation is being proposed that would prohibit the use of taxpayer funds for the creation, maintenance, or display of any Confederate symbols on Federal property. The Federal proposal defines “Confederate symbol” as a Confederate battle flag, any symbol or other signage that honors the Confederacy, any monument or statue that honors a Confederate leader or soldier or the Confederate States of America. Localities across the nation are having this debate.

1. What is your position on this matter?

I support such legislation to bar the use of taxpayer funds in the misguided effort to honor traitors to the United States and those who celebrated the enslavement of African Americans.

2. Should there be legislation removing Confederate symbols from libraries, parks, streets, and public buildings?

Yes, I would support such legislation removing Confederate symbols from all public property and buildings. There should be space for educating current and future generations about the ugly history of race and racism as seen through the Civil War. Public monuments and memorials and related honors should be reserved for those individuals and ideals that we value as a nation and not dedicated to those who worked to defend an evil institution.