Brent Mulrooney
DemocraticQ1 Maryland residents are facing sharply rising electricity bills driven by a combination of power plant retirements, surging market prices, and rapidly growing demand (including from the proliferation of data centers across the region). If elected, what specific steps will you take to address the causes of high energy costs for Maryland residents and businesses, including data centers?
“The major issue is that Maryland is producing less than 40% of the energy that it consumes. We need to work with the federal government and private business to reinvigorate Calvert cliffs. We also need to make sure we can finish the wind project off the Easter shore. I also believe in turning public land parking lots into covered solar panels to increase production and lower electricity costs for the state. This will increase supply and ultimately lower costs.”
Q2 Since early 2025, Maryland has lost nearly 25,000 federal jobs (more than any other state) as funding cuts to federal agencies including the NIH, NASA, and NIST take effect. How would you approach strengthening Maryland’s economy, and what steps would you take to ensure that workers across different roles and education levels benefit from those efforts?
“We need to create opportunities from the trade skills through our union workers in the various trades with projects like the bridge and then the various projects for energy production. I also want to create opportunities for small business of various fields to be successful along with leveraging the skill sets of these federal employees to start businesses in new and emerging technologies such as robotics.”
Q3 Maryland faces public health challenges ranging from stark socioeconomic health disparities, a behavioral health and opioid crisis that disproportionately impacts communities of color, gaps in rural mental health access, and a strained public health infrastructure. What evidence-based policies do you support to improve community health for your constituents?
“Public health is always a difficult challenge. There are many different approaches to deal with these complex issues. I believe a sense of community is a major driver to get people rehabilitated off of opioids and supports mental health. We need to ensure we have community centers and parks available to use in all communities. This will hopefully prevent a never ending cycle post rehabilitation.”
Q4 Across the state of Maryland, science and STEM education cultivate interest at a lower rate than intended, too few community-college students successfully transfer and complete bachelor’s degrees, and college affordability remains vulnerable to shifts in federal student aid and support. What evidence-based policies do you support to build a strong science and STEM pipeline from public schools and K-12 programs through colleges and universities for the next generation of Marylanders?
“We need to have after school programs that focus on STEM activities either hosted at schools or grants for some after school programs that can add some focus and importance of our science focused children. This will ensure our future is ready for the future whether it is in computer science, health science, or physical sciences.”
Q5 What policies, if any, do you support or envision for managing land-based resources in your district (i.e. water, open-space preserves, parks)?
“Maryland desperately needs to have a concerted effort to clean up the bay and the surrounding areas. The water is in terrible condition. We also need to work on reducing littering in our public parks. These habitats need to be secured.”
Q6 What advisory mechanisms will you implement to ensure that evidence and scientific findings play a crucial role in your policymaking process?
“I will also discuss with experts of their respective fields and create a roundtable discussion among various experts to come to a consensus of best course forward while presenting any relevant studies to the problem that is attempting to be solved.”
Q7 What initiatives will you take to support investment in innovation via federal science funding?
“I will always advocate for more funding to education. This could mean MESA at schools or research projects at our universities through grants and scholarships.”