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I Support Building the Life Sciences Center, But...

Lately, many people have asked me whether or not I support the plan to build the Life Sciences Center in Gaithersburg/Rockville area. This is an issue which is very important to me since I live very close to the site of this proposed facility.

Montgomery County residents are in dire need of good, advanced technology jobs right here in our backyard. I would welcome being able to take a 10-minute bike ride to work instead of the current 50-minute drive I have to make daily to Reston, VA because that's where all the good information technology jobs are. So I support the plan to build the Life Sciences Center in Gaithersburg/Rockville.

However very serious concerns about whether sufficient traffic infrastructure exists have been raised by the Maryland Department of Transportation, Gaithersburg City Government and Rockville City Government. These concerns can no longer be dismissed out-of-hand as the rantings of a few disgruntled NIMBYs. The Gaithersburg West Master-Plan should be adjusted to provide the needed infrastructure and ensure our streets aren't overwhelmed due to poor planning.

As a state-level elected official, I have witnessed first-hand political adversaries amazingly reach compromise on issues where no middle ground seemed to exist such as legalization of slot machines and abolition of the death penalty. The issue of the Gaithersburg West is not nearly such an intractable issue. To me there seems ample room for both sides to easily make compromises on how to build the Life Sciences Center. I think this should be a win-win for everyone involved.

House Bill 225: Transparency in Legislative Appointments Act

A great deal of my effort in Annapolis goes towards making government and legislators more transparent and accountable to the public. I have been a leader in making an early theme of the 2010 General Assembly transparency and openness. This has been done largely by introducing a simple, but very innovative bill: The Legislative Voting Sunshine Act.

The Legislative Voting Sunshine act addresses the problem of secrecy in the legislature. But there is another part of the Maryland political scene that is in dire need of some sunshine too: County Central Committees often secretly appoint legislators to fill vacancies caused by death or resignation of incumbents. It sound unbelievable, but it is true.

For a detailed explanation about this issue and how I eliminated the secret ballot in Montgomery County, please read a comprehensive blog post I wrote in 2007 by clicking here.

Even though Montgomery County and Prince George's County Central Committees have dumped the use of the undemocratic secret ballot, most other Central Committees around the state continue to abuse their power by voting secretly. This is something that must change. Now.

That is why I introduced House Bill 225: Transparency in Legislative Appointments Act. This bill would simply prohibit any Central Committee in the state from appointing a legislator via secret ballot. It's 2010. It's time the Central Committees finally let the Sunshine in.

You can read the text of the bill by clicking here and a fiscal/policy summary by clicking here. FYI on 2/16/2010, I had a great public bill hearing. You can watch a video of that hearing by clicking here.

House Bill 57: Subway and Light Rail Operation Safety Act

Many people in the community are aware that last year, Maryland passed a law to ban text-messaging while driving a car. This was a much needed, common sense law that had near universal support. I don't know too many people who would say that text-messaging while driving a car is a good idea.

But I want to take that idea a step further. I want to ban text-messaging for any train operators. You see, there have been some horrible tragedies recently caused by train operators who should have been paying attention instead of texting. In California 25 people were killed in 2008 and in Boston 49 people were injured in 2009 due to this behavior.

In Maryland, our rail systems (WMATA, Maryland Transit Authority, CSX and Amtrak) already have policies in place that disallow texting while driving a train. However, such policies can easily be changed by the whim of bureaucrats. So I think it's important that we back up these policies with strong laws. We need to make sure we never have such an avoidable tragedy in Maryland.

For this reason I have introduced House Bill 57: Subway and Light Rail Operation Safety Act. This bill would impose a $500 fine on anyone caught texting while operating a train. You can read the actual text of the bill by clicking here.

- Saqib

[UPDATE 2/2/2010]: I had a public hearing for this bill in the House Environmental Matters Committee. You can watch the video of that bill hearing by clicking here.

House Bill 1087: Foreign Corporation Campaign Disclaimer Act

Like many Americans, I am deeply dismayed that the recent US Supreme Court Ruling in the case of Citizens United vs. FEC has opened the door to unlimited corporate campaign expenditures in Federal, State and Local elections.

But even for those people who support the Supreme Court's ruling, one of the most troubling unintended consequences is that US Subsidiaries of foreign corporations may be able to inundate our elections with money. I simply cannot fathom how 5 Supreme Court justices could have been led to believe that Russian, French or Venezuelan companies purchasing our elections would be a good thing for America. It is truly a shame. Just imagine if a Chinese coal-mining company were to open a US subsidiary simply to install a Governor in Maryland who extend Maryland's reliance on fossil fuels. I can think of too many nightmare scenarios that this ruling has now made real possibilities.

I believe that as a State Legislator, it is my job to find creative ways to work within the Supreme Court's ruling to preserve the integrity of our state and county-level elections. This means finding innovative ways to harass those who might choose to unduly influence our elections.

For this reason, I have introduced an emergency bill: House Bill 1087: The Foreign Corporation Campaign Disclaimer Act. This bill will mandate that any state-level campaign material paid for by an independent campaign expenditure from a subsidiary of a foreign corporation clearly bears (in huge type-font) the statement PAID FOR BY A Country-Name COMPANY where Country-Name is replaced by the actual name of the corporation's home country. At least this way, if a foreign company is trying to purchase our elections, the voters will know about it and base their decisions on that fact.

So for example if the Russian state-owned petroleum company GazProm opens a US subsidiary to influence our Gubernatorial elections later this year, then any campaign materials paid for by that US subsidiary would have to bear the statement "PAID FOR BY A RUSSIAN COMPANY".

You can read the actual text of the bill by clicking here.

House Bill 1007: Highway Electronic Toll and Fee Consolidation Act

The Intercounty Connector (ICC) is a very large, controversial highway that is being built to connect I-270 in Gaithersburg to I-95 in Laurel. They started construction on this road in 2009 and it is not scheduled to be completed until 2014. As many people are aware, this will be a toll road. And the tolls will be amongst the highest in the nation (up to 35¢ per mile).

However, what many people are unaware of is that this will be an EZ-Pass only road. There will be no toll plazas. The Maryland Transit Authority has made this decision as a way to save money that would otherwise go towards construction and operation/staffing of the toll plazas. If you have an EZ-Pass transponder, you will drive through and the toll will be automatically deducted.

So what if you don't have an EZ-Pass transponder? Many people don't because the cost of having a transponder is $21 to get a set of four and an additional $1.50 per month "maintenance fee". People who don't plan to use the ICC won't have a transponder but may end up using the road in a pinch anyway. If you don't have a transponder, a photograph of your vehicle's license plate will be taken, your residence identified and you will be sent a bill in the mail plus a $3 "Notice of Toll Due" fee. This $3 dollar fee will be billed per car, per trip.

So, think about it. If you live in Gaithersburg, and drive back-and-forth to Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) on the ICC without a transponder, you will receive two invoices in the mail and will be charged two $3 fees. If each member of your family-of-four did the same, you would receive eight invoices in the mail and would be charged eight $3 fees. This is a waste of your money and a perfect example of government inefficiency. There is no reason that those toll charges couldn't be consolidated onto a single invoice with a single $3 fee.

For this reason, I have introduced House Bill 1007: Highway Electronic Toll and Fee Consolidation Act. This bill mandates that whenever their is a need to issue a "Notice of Toll Due" invoice, it is issued only once per month, per car owner. All charges within a month should be consolidated onto that single invoice with a single fee for processing and handling. It should slightly lower the effective toll rate that non EZ-Pass holders pay.

You can read the actual text of the bill by clicking here.

You can watch a brief video of an exchange between myself and Ron Freeland (Executive Secretary of the Maryland Toll Authority) during the Montgomery County Transportation Transportation Roadshow in Rockville, MD which occurred on 11/12/2009 below. In this video, I zero-in on the periodicity of the "Notice of Toll Due" fees. The transcript of that video is shown below:

Me [SA]: Thank you; I had two or three questions in this regard of the ICC tolling because many of my constituents are very directly affected by this road. One of the first questions -- and it's two or three questions combined -- is: I've heard that for those people who don't have EZ-Pass transponders in their car, they will get a bill in the mail for the toll charge plus a $3 service fee. Is that correct?

Ron Freeland, Executive Secretary of the MTA [RF]: That's correct. (Okay) There would be a, what we call a "Notice of Toll Due," and that would be $3 and the individuals would pay the $3 as an administrative fee for processing the actual toll itself, that is, we'd have to identify the license plate, then prepare a bill and send the bill out.

[SA]: Well, that raises a host of other questions. Suppose, for example, that I am in a household of 4 people, with 4 cars. And these people, this family, each member of the family drives back and forth on this road 3 or 4 times without an EZ-Pass transponder. How many $3 charges will they incur, for example, if there were 10 round trips in a week?

[RF]: For each time they use the facility, that is, they use the ICC and if they did not have an EZ-Pass, they would infact be charged a notice of toll due. The preferred way to do that, quite frankly, for that family of 4, to apply for one EZ-Pass account because you can put 4 transponders on 1 account.

[SA]: You have 4 transponders on 1 account?

[RF]: You can put 4 transponders on 1 account. (Okay) That way, they would all be able to use the ICC and use EZ-Pass as well.

[SA]: Right, but you didn't... The question I am asking is: Are those $3 charges going to be grouped by vehicle, or grouped by household, or grouped by month? Because if someone goes back and forth several times in a short period of time, the service charge, in my estimation, should only apply once. You know, they should be grouped together on one bill.

[RF]: The way that it is organized and designed, the service charge or notice of toll due of $3, it would be charged per vehicle, per trip.

[SA]: Per vehicle, per trip?

[RF]: Per trip. Correct.

[SA]: Okay... that's a very significant policy and it may have very serious ramifications.

[RF]: It is, and I'm sure that it will come up in the public comments that we are now taking in. I should mention, however, this is a policy that applies to all of the Transportation Authority's facilities, not just the ICC.

[SA]: Okay.

Kill the "Blackwater Bill"

House Bill 201 is currently being considered by the Motor Vehicles Subcommittee in the Maryland's House Environmental Matters Committee. It was sponsored by Delegate Wayne Norman (R-Harford County). It deals with renewal of drivers licenses for people who are overseas. Currently if a Maryland resident wants to get their drivers license renewed, they would have to go to an MVA branch to do so. However there are two exceptions in current law

• Active duty military personnel who are deployed overseas will have the expiration date automatically extended to 30 days after their return to Maryland.


• Anyone else who is out of the state "for cause" can renew their license by mail.

House Bill 201 seeks to add a third exception: Contractors who are working overseas in support of the military. You can read the text of the bill by clicking here. The bill has already had a public hearing.

I refer to this bill as the "Blackwater Bill" because amongst many other companies, it would give employees of the very notorious company Blackwater Worldwide (which recently changed its name to Xe Services LLC) and Halliburton special dispensation in Maryland law that we currently only give to US Military Personnel deployed overseas. I believe that this is a bad precedent to set. Why should we elevate private contractors in Maryland's State law over other crucial Federal Government employees (such as Foreign Service workers, USAID, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, etc)? Contractors are overseas out of their own free will. They often get paid many times more what the soldiers get for the similar jobs. They are free to leave. They include foreign citizens. And most importantly, like anyone else, they can renew their license by mail under the already existing law. Giving them a special place in Maryland's law is not necessary, nor a good idea.

I believe this bill should be stopped. And I need your help to stop it. The next time this bill will be considered is on Tuesday (2/16/2010) afternoon in the Motor Vehicles Subcommittee. If you agree that this bill sets a bad precedent, then please contact the state legislators on the committee (their emails are shown below) before Tuesday and politely ask them to vote this unnecessary bill down. I have provided their contact information at the end of this blog post.

Here is some background information regarding recent behavior of some of a few such military contractor companies. Certainly this is not representative of all military contractors. Most are upstanding and law abiding people committed to doing a very difficult job. In fact, I am one myself. However, there have been too many well-documented cases of egregious abuses and illegality.

• Contractor gets Probation for executing a handcuffed Afghan prisoner (5/8/2009): Click here.


• British Aerospace Engineering pays a $400 million settlement for bribing Saudi officials in an arms deal between UK and the Saudis (2/6/2010). Click here.


• Army Specialist Marcos O. Nolasco was electrocuted while taking a shower due to Kellogg Brown & Root's (Halliburton) faulty electrical wiring in Iraq which was then covered up (5/4/2008). Click here.


• Private contractors overpricing in Iraq (10/1/2007). Click here.


• Blackwater said to have billed US Government for prostitute (2/12/2010). Click here.

Below is the email list of the relevant committee members that should be contacted.

Please make sure that all communications are respectful and concise:

maggie.mcintosh@house.state.md.us,

james.malone@house.state.md.us,

alfred.carr@house.state.md.us,

barbara.frush@house.state.md.us,

cheryl.glenn@house.state.md.us,

anne.healey@house.state.md.us,

wayne.norman@house.state.md.us,

andrew.serafini@house.state.md.us,

dana.stein@house.state.md.us,

paul.stull@house.state.md.us,

pamela.beidle@house.state.md.us,

elizabeth.bobo@house.state.md.us,

rudolph.cane@house.state.md.us,

virginia.clagett@house.state.md.us,

marvin.holmes@house.state.md.us,

tom.hucker@house.state.md.us,

stephen.lafferty@house.state.md.us,

doyle.niemann@house.state.md.us,

anthony.odonnell@house.state.md.us,

tanya.shewell@house.state.md.us,

richard.sossi@house.state.md.us,

michael.weir@house.state.md.us

- Saqib

House Bill 616: Independent Campaign Expenditures Restriction Act

Like many Americans, I was very dismayed by the recent Supreme Court ruling in the case of Citizens United vs. the FEC in which 5 Supreme Court Justices tossed out over a century of precedent by giving corporations the same free-speech rights guaranteed in our Constitution to persons. This ruling allows massive corporations to hijack elections with unlimited independent expenditures, thus drowning out the voices of individual Americans. It effectively reverses years of progress on campaign finance reform and returns our country to the anything-goes, pre-Watergate days of political influence-peddling. It is very corrosive for our democracy.

The Supreme Court’s decision has left many good-government advocates stunned at the new reality of money's increased influence in our elections. Although I'm a very strong supporter of businesses, I feel that our democracy should represent the people's interest -- not the corporate interest. I am proud that 80 percent of my campaign financing comes from regular people -- not special interests or corporations. This is amongst the highest of any elected official in all of Montgomery County.

As a State Legislator, I am bound by the new constitutional reality created by the high court. Even so, I believe it is my duty to find creative and innovative ways to make sure that our elections reflect the peoples' will not those of Wal-Mart, Exxon-Mobile and Halliburton.

For this reason, I have introduced House Bill 616: Independent Campaign Expenditure Restriction Act. This bill mandates that:

1. Whenever any corporation makes an independent campaign expenditure for an MD state level (or lower) election in excess of $10,000 it has to be reported and disclosed publicly online within 24 hours.


2. Before any corporation makes an independent campaign expenditure for an MD state level (or lower) election in excess of $10,000 it has to get approval from the majority of its shareholders.


3. Any corporation doing business with the State of MD cannot make an independent campaign expenditure for an MD state level (or lower) election.

The idea is to make it more difficult for such corporations to simply dump tens of millions of dollars into election campaigns to elect candidates most amenable to their interests.

You can read the text of the bill by clicking here.

House Bill 707: Sexual Supplement Safety Act (Last Updated 2/5/2010)

I introduced this bill in 2009 as House Bill 920: No So-Called Sexual Stimulants For Kids Act. I have re-introduced it in 2010 as House Bill 707: Sexual Supplement Safety Act. Below is my write-up from last year, with contemporaneous updates.

I had a great bill hearing in the House Economic Matters committee on 3/17/2009. Please watch the video here.

When you walk into a gas-station convenience store do you pay much attention to the items on sale? Many of us don't. But if you did, you would see the usual fare: candy bars, sodas, cigarettes, first-aid supplies, etc. You might also see something more surprising: Aphrodesiac Pills.

These products are not FDA approved and are sold under sleazy brand names such as "Horniest Goat Weed", "Stamina-Rx" and "All Nite Long".

Just like unregulated nutritional supplements sold at GNC stores, there is very little government control over what is in these pills. This is a danger to public health.

Furthermore, these products are available to anybody who walks into the store. Including children. Maryland's age of consent is 16. So marketers of sexual products have no business targeting children under that age.

For this reason I have introduced the "HB 920: No So-Called Sexual Stimulants For Kids Act". This bill would ban selling products marketed as sexual stimulants to minors (people under the age of 18). It would force gas-station owners to check IDs the same way they currently do for cigarettes. They will also have to keep these items behind the counter.

The scientific research showing that these pills are dangerous is overwhelming. I have laid out the case below with references to peer-reviewed-scientific journals.

1. All Nite Long Herbal Sexual Supplement causes the dangerous and potentially lethal priapisms [International Journal of Impotence Research, 2005].
2. Stamina-Rx, which is sold over-the-counter, is "deliberately contaminated with pharmacological doses of PDE5 Inhibitors". "Fatal interactions with PDE5 inhibitors and commonly consumed drugs have been reported, and are well accepted." [Journal of Urology, August 2005].
3. FDA Warns against taking Stamina-Rx because "FDA has determined that the products actually contain the prescription-strength drug ingredient, tadalafil. Tadalafil is the active ingredient in Cialis, an Eli Lilly product approved in Europe to treat male erectile dysfunction. An interaction between certain prescription drugs containing nitrates (such as nitroglycerin) and tadalafil may cause a drastic lowering of blood pressure. There is real danger that this product may be taken by patients taking nitrates since erectile dysfunction is often a common problem in people with diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), ischemic heart disease and in people who smoke." [FDA, 7/20/2003] .
4. Rize 2 The Occasion was recalled in July, 2008 because the FDA "found the product contains potentially harmful, undeclared ingredients. FDA asserts that its chemical analysis revealed that Rize 2 The Occasion and Rose 4 Her contain thiomethisosildenafil, an analog of sildenafil, the active ingredient of a FDA-approved drug used for Erectile Dysfunction (ED). FDA maintains that this ingredient is close in structure to sildenafil and is expected to possess a similar pharmacological and adverse event profile. This undeclared chemical poses a potential threat to consumers" [FDA, 7/28/2008].

[UPDATE 3/17/2009]

• I had a great bill hearing in the House Economic Matters committee on 3/17/2009. Please watch the video here.
  
• You can see the Power Point presentation I gave during the bill hearing by clicking here.

You can see the written letters of support/opposition that were submitted for this bill:

• Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative in support here.
  
• Maryland Delaware Service Station and Automotive Repair Association in support here.
  
• Greater Washington Area Boys and Girls Club in support here.
  
• Montgomery County Government in opposition here.
  

[Updated 2/5/2010]: I have re-introduced this bill as the House Bill 707: Sexual Supplement Safety Act. You can read the text of the bill by clicking here.

House Bill 613: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Renaming Act (Last Update: 2/17/2010)

Every state government has a department that handles health and welfare of its citizens. Maryland does too. Most states call these departments simply "The Department of Health".

Not Maryland, however. Our health department bears the strange, almost humorous name"Department of Health and Mental Hygiene". Really. It's true. Take a look at their website.

"Mental Hygiene" is an archaic term from the mid 1800s. It roughly means "mental health". It seems odd that in 2010, one of our largest state agencies would carry this outdated phrase in its title. I would be that to most lay-people, this name might sound like a joke. It's time get rid of this relic of the past and rename it to the "Department of Health".

For this reason, I have introduced the House Bill 613: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Renaming Act. This bill would simply change the name of the department while allowing them to continue to use their existing DHMH stationary and other office products until they are all used up to save printing costs. You can read the text of the bill by clicking here and a fiscal/policy analysis by clicking here.

Obviously this is not the most pressing issue in the world. And it's not something that will effect the daily lives of our citizens. It's just a minor bureaucratic fix. But it's a small matter of modernizing our state government whose time I think has come. And it cannot be done without legislation.

[UPDATE 2/17/2010]: I had a public bill hearing today for this bill. You can watch the video of that hearing by clicking here.

- Saqib

MC 4: Montgomery County - Tenant Credit Check Restriction Act

[UPDATE 3/24/2010]: Good News! This bill passed the House Environmental Matters Committee delegation by a vote of 20-2. Democrats voted for it 16-0. Republicans voted for it 4-2. Now onto the Montgomery County Senate Delegation.

[UPDATE 2/19/2010]: Good News! This bill passed the Montgomery County House delegation by a vote of 20-4. Now onto a hearing in the House Environmental Matters Committee.

[UPDATE 2/18/2010]: Good News! This bill passed the County Affairs Subcommittee of the Montgomery County House delegation by a vote of 7-0 after this amendment was attached to make it fairer on landlords. Now onto the full Montgomery County House Delegation for a vote tomorrow...

You may be aware that many residents of Montgomery County (especially those who earn less money than the Federal poverty threshold) receive government subsidies to help cover their monthly housing rental payments. Montgomery County's Housing Opportunity Commission (HOC) is the agency responsible for providing this subsidy. And in some cases the HOC subsidizes 100% of tenants' rent.

It has come to my attention that in some cases, even when the HOC is paying 100% of the rent, prospective landlords are running credit checks on applicants. And those applicants are being rejected for having undesirable credit. This really doesn't make sense because those tenants (whose entire rent is being paid by the HOC) are not participating in the financial transaction with the landlord. I'm concerned that a few bad-apple landlords are grasping for an excuse to reject the applicants and the credit-reports provide a convenient foil.

In fact, Montgomery County's HOC website has a published guideline that says:

"Credit checks may be conducted on Section 8 subsidy holders, but if the entire rent is paid by the subsidy, there is no reason to reject the tenant if the credit check is negative because the tenant is not responsible for paying the rent."

You can see that guideline for yourself by clicking here and scrolling about halfway down the page.

Unfortunately, that guideline is being ignored. Since it is just a "guideline" (instead of a law), it has no teeth. Landlords that violate that guideline face no consequences.

For this reason, I have introduced MC 4: Montgomery County - Tenant Credit Check Restriction Act. This bill simply makes the existing guideline law by mandating that any prospective tenant with a 100% subsidy should not face a credit check from a landlord. This is a "local bill", so it applies only to Montgomery County, not the entire state.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

Fighting the Smears

Recently the Montgomery County Gazette Newspaper printed an article in which my State Senator, Nancy King made some unfounded personal attacks against me. You can read that article by clicking here. Below is my response. I expect the Gazette to print an abridged version of this response in their February 5th edition.

I was dismayed to read your recent article about me in which unnamed sources and rival politicians questioned the ethics of my campaign activities. This article was nothing more than baseless charges, political innuendo and anonymous smears. I owe it to your readers to set the record straight.

During my recent listening tour I was consumed with listening to the people of District 39 to gauge what issues they cared about at the onset of this year's legislative session. The state budget is in crisis and the budgets of our households are similarly strained. Every evening I heard from individuals who are struggling to make ends meet. Many had lost their jobs or been furloughed. These were real problems that we in the legislature have a responsibility to address -- not contrived political issues. I held my listening tour to give voice to these every-day struggles. Our idea to hold the raffles mentioned in Allan Brody's article was an afterthought that the Legislative Ethics Council Bill Sommerville had cleared. On December 22, he wrote: "It is my opinion that this presents no problems as a matter of legislative ethics". Still, we ended up eliminating them for unrelated logistical reasons. Unfortunately recent political chatter about this non-issue has distracted attention from the pressing concerns of my community.

The article also carried water for critics who claimed outrage that I recommended a low interest credit card from a non-profit Federal Credit Union on a local blog. Of course there was no personal gain in it for me. I was merely helping constituents escape usurious credit card APRs of 30%. It is remarkable that in these trying economic times some would see fit to criticize my efforts to save money for constituents. I've always considered saving my constituents money to be part of my job.

Formal ethics complaints are always handled by the state Legislative Ethics Commission. This commission has never issued any finding regarding me. However, when smear-peddlers know they have no leg to stand on, they are forced instead to rely on media to get their message out. The truth is that the "ethical questions" the Gazette reported are actually nothing more than a unfounded political accusations that are ridiculous on their face. It is unfortunate that the Gazette has given these accusations any credence at all.

Let me be clear: I have done nothing illegal, unethical or even slightly untoward. These accusations by political opponents are utterly without merit.

I am working very hard to do the business of the people of Maryland. I've introduced bills in the State Legislature to increase legislative transparency, fight against abusive credit card companies and increase road safety. I also continue to seek constructive input and advice from my constituents. For this State Senator Nancy King has launched over-the-top personal attacks on me calling me "crazed" & "desperate". It is unhelpful and unbecoming.

I respect Nancy's service to our community. But she would do well to remember that the seats we occupy in the State Legislature do not belong to me or to her. They belong to the voters. So instead of lobbing nasty personal barbs, lets all roll up our sleeves to solve the problems that Marylanders have sent us to Annapolis to work on.