One of the assets I can rely upon as a legislator is our professional staff.

Assistant Attorneys General, bill drafters, budget analysts, and research librarians. All of them are non-partisan.

I once told another legislator that we should meet with Ronnie K (name changed) to get advice on an issue the two of us were working on.

My colleague had no idea who this person was.

My conclusion: instead of seeking advice or information from our staff, this colleague sought help from lobbyists.

No doubt, he is not alone in doing so.

Some of my best friends in Annapolis are lobbyists, but I always keep this in mind. I am not their client. Their client is. That’s whose interest comes first.

Why is this story relevant?

Speaker Mike Busch asked me to attend the National Conference of State Legislators summit in Boston this week to serve as a state chair for NCSL.

At the organizing meeting for these chairs, I told the story above because NCSL is another non-partisan source that we can rely on.

After I got home yesterday, I knocked on doors.

One of my constituents reminded me that when he moved to the Cross Country neighborhood 40 years ago, Senator Clarence Blount suggested that he meet me.

I ended my work day by attending the National Night Out for Cheswolde on the street in front of Councilman Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer’s house.