Joan Barone Cole

“Bills went up because of a regional power auction that raised prices sharply, two old power plants near us that BGE customers are paying to keep open until as late as 2029, and data centers using power faster than we can add it. When families pay for power lines built for someone else, it’s like being asked to split the check for a dinner you didn’t eat. This year’s utility relief law makes data centers pay for their own upgrades, and I’d make sure families don’t end up paying those costs if a data center leaves. I’d also permanently stop utilities from raising rates based on money they haven’t spent yet, since the current pause ends in April 2027. And I’d speed up solar and battery projects and help seniors and families with the highest bills lower their energy use.”

“Maryland lost more federal jobs in 2025 than any other state, and many of those workers are our neighbors near Fort Meade and BWI, as well as my own daughter who lost her job at the FDA. The state’s long-term plans for biotech and research jobs are smart, but they don’t help a mom who lost her federal job this spring and has a mortgage due now. What’s missing is a bridge from the job someone lost to the job that’s open today. I’d fund job training at Anne Arundel Community College designed with real employers, the kind that has been shown to raise people’s pay for years, and add apprenticeships to reach Maryland’s goal of 60,000 by 2030. I’d also help people with security clearances find defense and cyber jobs quickly, and treat child care as part of the plan, because a parent can’t take a job without it.”

“My husband and I have helped our parents through serious health problems, so I know how much depends on the system working. For addiction, I’d put opioid settlement money into what works: medicines that cut the risk of a fatal overdose by more than half, Narcan, and walk-in help at fire stations through Anne Arundel’s Safe Stations. I’d keep the 988 crisis line and telehealth, and fund community health workers who help families get care. When new federal Medicaid work rules start in January 2027, Maryland should make it easy to stay covered, because when Arkansas tried this, 18,000 people lost coverage, mostly over paperwork. I support the state board that can limit what’s paid for expensive prescriptions, because no one should have to ration medicine. And I treat gun violence as a health issue, which is why my Survivor Medical Debt Shield Act would spare survivors the medical bills.”

“I was the first in my family to finish college and I have two adult children who pursued STEM careers, and I want that to be normal for Maryland kids. I’d protect the $60,000 starting teacher pay and add bonuses that research shows help keep math and science teachers. Kids who score well in math should go into advanced classes automatically, and when North Carolina and Dallas did that, many more Black and Hispanic students took advanced math. With the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center here in Anne Arundel, let’s get kids outside doing real science on the Bay. I’d copy a New York program that nearly doubled community college graduation rates with advisers and help with books and transportation, and make sure credits count toward a student’s major at four-year schools. And I’d protect Maryland’s college grants for families who need them and help every high school senior fill out the financial aid form.”

“Our district has shoreline on the Patapsco and Magothy rivers, plus creeks like Bodkin, Rock and Stoney. Anne Arundel has more than 40,000 septic systems, so I’d make state grants easier to get for upgrades that cut their pollution roughly in half, or for connecting to sewer where it’s available. I’d fund natural shorelines made of plants and marsh instead of walls where they work, and fix stormwater problems in older neighborhoods where flooding is worst. Parks like Downs Park and Fort Smallwood Park are part of why we live here, and the state money set aside for parks and open land should be spent on parks and open land. I’d support oyster restoration and trees along our streams, and I’d keep decisions about how neighborhoods grow in local hands.”

“Voting on a bill without reading the evidence is like giving your child medicine without reading the label, and no parent would do that. I’d ask local scientists, nurses, teachers and watermen to advise me, including people from the Smithsonian research center in Edgewater and Anne Arundel Community College. I’d read the nonpartisan analysis the legislature’s own staff writes on every bill, and I’d share the evidence behind my big votes with the people I represent. I’d work for a program that places scientists in the legislature as nonpartisan advisers, like California and Missouri have. And every new program should have clear goals and a set date to review results, so we keep what works and fix or end what doesn’t.”

“Maryland can’t replace the federal research money that’s been cut, but we can keep talented people here. I’d protect state programs that already work, like the one that pairs Maryland companies with university researchers. I’d expand the state’s matching grants for small tech companies that win federal research awards, since the latest round helped only seven companies. I’d support short-term jobs at our universities and state agencies for scientists who lost federal funding, so they can work on problems like clean water and public health. And I’d make sure this money is spent in Anne Arundel too, not just in Montgomery County and Baltimore, and that the public can see what we get back for business research tax breaks.”