Here are a few questions I have received during the campaign, followed by my responses:

Q: What do you think is the biggest problem we face in this election?

A: I believe one of the greatest threats we face to jobs, the economy, and personal freedom is unrestrained government growth and reckless spending. At the national level, the federal government has taken over banks, car companies, the student loan program, and has inserted itself into our business and our daily lives in a way the U.S. Constitution does not authorize. The national debt is currently over $13 TRILLION – and this doesn’t even include many unfunded liabilities.

At the state level, legislators play budget games by borrowing from dedicated accounts, engage in reckless deficit spending, and vote-buying schemes paid for with YOUR hard-earned money. Maryland taxpayers are now footing the bill for over $1 Billion annually in debt service alone.

If entrusted with the position of delegate, I will carefully scrutinize each bill and fight against wasteful spending, unconstitutional programs, and fight against encroachments on your personal freedom.

Q: What are your views on abortion?

A: The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.…….”

I believe that the Right to Life is an unalienable right. Irrefutable medical evidence is available to demonstrate that unborn children are not simply masses of tissue, but living human beings- human beings that I believe are worthy of protection under the law.

As your delegate, I will be a staunch defender of life in the legislature. Unlike my opponent who ran as a pro-life candidate in 2006, I will vote AGAINST the legislation that uses taxpayer  money to pay for abortions.

Q: What are your views on the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?

A: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state,
the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

The words “shall not be infringed” sound pretty simple to me. Law-abiding people have the right and the duty to protect themselves and their families from harm, to repel invasion, and to defend their liberties.

I will stand against legislation that attempts to infringe on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and I will work to advance laws that recognize our right to keep and bear arms.

Q: You indicate on your campaign literature that you will protect Harford’s agricultural industry. How do they need protecting?

A: Farmers are currently under assault by their elected officials and bureaucrats, despite campaign rhetoric to the contrary. I believe elected officials should legislate in a way that respects the contributions of the ag community, not in a way that makes it more difficult to make an honest living.

I have observed farmers and landowners that lost the use of THEIR land that has been farmed for 150+ years due to government agents now declaring the land a “forest buffer” or a “wetland”.

In Harford County, a Whiteford farmer was harassed by a county official in 2005. He sold  Christmas trees, wreaths, and trinkets out of his barn and was ordered to stop, costing him over $20,000 in revenue for the season.

In Glen Arm, a dairy farmer who invested his life savings in building a local creamery (and is widely supported in the community in which it has been built) has been harassed repeatedly for several years, with very little support from the politicians who should be defending this man trying to earn an honest living and provide a benefit to the local economy.

As your delegate, I will do more than offer lip service on ag issues in an election year- I will be a vocal advocate for the family farm, and I will fight against regulations and bureaucrats that seek to make it difficult for the farmer to survive.