Maryann for Delegate

Background:

Maryann Maher is an accomplished professional and energetic mother whose compassion makes her a strong force to serve the people of 9A. Her academic and professional backgrounds are in Computer Science for which she holds Bachelor and Master Degrees. She met her husband, Steve, while in graduate school at Purdue University. Eventually they moved to Maryland to work for the U.S. Government; Steve for NASA and Maryann as a Department of Defense contractor. She served as a software engineer for 10 years before starting a family. Currently, Maryann takes on part-time consulting in order to allow time to raise her two sons and to work on her other passion: government and legislative affairs. She was a member of the Women’s Leadership Network for the Maryland Democratic Party and continues her association with the League of Women Voters. After volunteering for many campaigns and Democratic causes, she has decided run for Maryland State Delegate.

Goals:

I'm running to represent District 9A because we need a State Delegate who will be actively involved in creating policies and legislation that plan and invest in our future while serving the common good, not special interests. We are experiencing challenging times in our state with a national economic downturn, an impaired electricity market, and struggling efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay. Nevertheless, we can prevail if we seize opportunities now to make government spending efficient, lower health care costs, conserve and invest in renewable energy, and follow-through on smart growth initiatives.

Issues:

1) Maintaining our educational standards and sustaining affordability in higher education

2) Smart growth and smart transit

3) Promoting green energy and consumer protections in the electricity market

Grassroots Support:

As a first time candidate running to unseat a Republican incumbent, grassroots organizing will be the most essential part of our campaign, and the key to our success. As a very local race, this is essentially a door-knocking campaign and we will depend on our grassroots volunteers to champion our message.

DFA Values:

Is it the responsibility of our government leaders to work for the common good, which includes not passing an unfair debt burden to future generations. I want to create policies and legislation that plan and invest in our future, but we must find a way to pay for things we believe are important. I would support adopting 'pay-go' in budget planning.