We asked local candidates in contested primary elections to write a sub-750 word essay describing why residents should vote for them on June 24.
Next is Marc Korman, running for one of three District 16 House of Delegates seats in the Democratic primary. Below is Korman’s unedited response:
My name is Marc Korman and I am running to represent District 16 in the Maryland House of Delegates. For the past year, I have been speaking with voters throughout District 16 asking what important issues are on their minds. I am commonly asked “why are you running for Delegate?” I am running because I believe the most important issue facing District 16, Montgomery County, Maryland, and the country is all the same: sustainable economic prosperity. Our state leaders are well positioned to help our community achieve that success.
In our area, prosperity will be built upon continued excellence in public education, effective public transport, and environmental sustainability. If we are able to take important steps to increase the school construction budget; improve Metro; and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, we will be well positioned for the future. This will enable future generations, including my two-and-a-half year-old son, Harrison, to enjoy the same opportunities that I did growing up in Montgomery County.
As a product of Montgomery County Public Schools, I understand the importance of keeping our schools among the best in the nation. Education is our brand. It is why many of us or our families decided to move here. Businesses that locate here frequently cite the school system as a primary reason. But we must fight for the funding and support our schools need to meet new challenges. The school system is growing by over 2,000 students a year and our local schools are overcrowded. In the BCC, Whitman, and Walter Johnson Clusters, a majority of schools are over capacity. The state’s formulas for allocating school construction dollars do not account for school system size or rate of growth, and this must change. Meanwhile, the demographics of the system as a whole are shifting dramatically. One-third of our students, approximately 50,000, are on free and reduced meals (an indicator of poverty). Approximately 25 percent of the elementary schoolers are in English as a second language. That diversity will serve us well over time, but in the short run it creates a resources challenge we must meet.
Transportation is a major quality of life and economic issue in our area. Studies consistently rate our region’s traffic as the worst in the nation. As we grow, this situation will only worsen unless action is taken. There is much to be done to curb traffic but Metro is particularly crucial to our transportation network, even for non-riders. Over 30,000 individuals board Metro at District 16 stations each day, with far more using the buses and Metro Access. If unreliability or cost increases lead these transit users to abandon the system, gridlock on the roads will only increase. Additionally, our region’s focus on transit-orientated development (as seen in places like Bethesda and, soon, White Flint), requires that Metro be effective. That’s why I want to increase oversight of the $300 million a year Maryland sends Metro, improve stations through local community partnerships, and establish a dedicated funding source for Metro. No other transit system of comparable size in the country survives on fares and contributions from surrounding jurisdictions alone.
Finally, our economic success must be sustainable as we ensure that the world we pass on to our children and grandchildren is healthy. Maryland has extremely ambitious renewable energy goals. I have been endorsed by the Sierra Club because I know that we need a solutions-based agenda to actually meet these goals. We must facilitate the ability of renewable projects to connect to the electric grid and promote technology that requires utilities to purchase green stored energy so that we protect the environment for future generations.
It is this desire to ensure that the community my son grows up in allows him to thrive, that motivates me. I have served our community my entire life. That involvement started well before this election, and it will not end with it. My work includes serving on the Board of Directors of the Bethesda Urban Partnership (“BUP”), the non-profit organization that markets and manages downtown Bethesda. I chaired the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board, which advises the County Council and County Executive on local issues. Since 2007, I have served as District 16′s elected member to the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (the governing board of the local Democratic Party), giving me an opportunity to ensure that our area has the best, most active group of Democratic volunteers in Maryland.
You can learn more about my campaign and me at www.marckorman.com.
