I spoke about two bills at my fundraiser last night.

The first was the law requiring any bidder for the MARC commuter rail contract to disclose its involvement in transporting people to Nazi death camps during World War II.

Leo Bretholz was the prime mover of that legislation. He leapt from the train transporting him from Paris to the German border and has lived to tell the tale – in Annapolis this winter and countless other places as well.

Leo could not be with us last night. He was attending his granddaughter’s birthday party.

The second bill did not pass, but we accomplished our objective. Students at KIPP, a public charter school, have gone on to excel in high school and college. Their teachers work extra hours, but the school cannot afford to pay them the overtime mandated by the contract between the Baltimore Teachers Union and the Baltimore City Public Schools.

The afternoon of the bill hearing, an agreement was reached between KIPP and the union, which will allow the school to continue its great work.

Donna McCall is the grandmother of a KIPP student. She was in Annapolis to testify for the bill, and she was a guest at my fundraiser last night.

I can now turn my attention to legislation for next year’s General Assembly session and to neighborhood issues.

Repeal of the death penalty, education reform that rewards our best teachers, and fair treatment in the work place for the disabled and the religiously observant are my legislative priorities.

A grocery store in Howard Park, school improvements with slots money in communities near Pimlico Race Track, and planning for the Red Line in the Edmondson Avenue corridor are some of the neighborhood issues I’ll be working on.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.