There is no doubt as to my priorities for the upcoming legislative session.

Kirwan.  Crime.  Pimlico.

The future of Baltimore, as a constituent wrote me, is inside our schools.  The Kirwan Commission has proposed investments and reforms that are necessary to give every Maryland child access to a world class education.

I will scrutinize what the commission has proposed for pre-kindergarten, college and career readiness for students, teacher compensation, and accountability.  Enacting these recommendations is the most important vote I will cast this year – indeed this four-year term.

Our students, all of us, need to live in a safe city.  More than three hundred murders in a year is unconscionable.

We need to prevent crime from happening and enforce the law when it is broken.  I will propose incentives for police officers to live in Baltimore to address the crippling shortage of officers on the street.  I will work with my colleagues on other means to reduce crime.

We’re going to save the Preakness and transform the Pimlico race track site into housing, recreation, retail, and job opportunities. “While our communities each face their own challenges,” the neighborhood leaders surrounding the track have said, “we share a common desire to see all of our residents thrive.”

I was instrumental in funding the Maryland Stadium Authority’s study of the future of Pimlico. That study is at the heart of the agreement to transform the race track site.

I look forward to hearing from you as we address these and other issues.