Seth Funk
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?
“Highest costs are from generation and transmission. As a Delegate I would attack those two costs by targeted investment into renovation for transmission and bringing new generation online rapidly. Community solar canopies for parking lots, public walkways, and the rooftops of public buildings are the most useful and applicable for my district. I’d also look to continue and expand support for homeowner solar. Rapid and widespread usage of this will lower the need for large transmission projects that cut across farmland, and improve reliability. I am open to wind power, however I have not found any information that leads me to believe it would be effective in my district and I believe Maryland as a whole is more suited for solar. I am open to nuclear energy, particularly SMRs and other advanced reactors, and would support proposals to advance this technology in Maryland with emphasis on safety. I have pledged to sign onto the bipartisan data center moratorium; speaking with my constituents, they are very worried about the rapid expansion combined with the lack of clear answers on how to adjust for energy, land, and water use. I believe Maryland’s greatest potential “industrial base” should be in technological advancement and development, and I would look to use Maryland’s resources to support that effort from the way we educate our children to what we base our economy on. We must ensure that in this we install robust practices that serve everyday working people.”
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?
“I spoke of community solar, nuclear construction and research development, and building a tech-based economy that serves Maryland and its everyday people. We should invest heavily in job training, connections, multi-stage planning, and ensuring our farthest communities receive these as well. Community solar is a perfect example. Multiple roles and education levels will be utilized in the preparation, construction, deployment, and maintenance of these projects. Having these widespread ensures far out communities like Western Maryland also receive the boons in this. There have been calls here for a nuclear plant, which would also bring the multi-stage and multi-level opportunities. I’ve also pledged to support united labor and collective bargaining, as well as trade schools to support these projects long term. We can’t build an economy for high-level education alone; we must build for every level of a project to see true results.”
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?
“Rural healthcare is among the first to be cut when budget crisis occur. I’ve committed to fighting those cuts, as well as expand telehealth and mental health care. I’ve proposed a Western MD Rural Health Program that would tuition forgiveness and job placement to students who pledge to serve here at least 10 years. I’ve pushed mobile medical teams that can respond to the elderly, people with disabilities, or without reliable transportation to attend to their medical needs. For substance abuse, Washington County lacks enough housing and programs to serve people who need to be removed from situations that hinder their will to be clean. I will push for specifically community housing for people in substance abuse programs that will remove them from the harmful environment and connect them with resources, jobs, and support systems. Getting users our of the situations that encourage substance use and into pro-social systems that work with them to get clean is the best method for addressing the crisis.”
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?
“I would need to see information as to why they are not transferring/completing their programs. Addressing college affordability at the State level would be difficult without federal assistance. I would not have been able to attend college without a Pell Grant, a federal program. To address affordability, we should look to combat the high fees and costs associated with many STEM programs that discourage or prevent low-income individuals from enrolling. We should also look to incorporate the humanities, especially ethics (especially with AI rapidly evolving), social impact, and how to utilize to benefit communities rather than exploit. Right now technology is heavily associated with an elite class and their corporations that want to exploit communities for their labor but not give them anything in return. Focusing on courses, programs, and connections that emphasize bettering our communities rather than raiding them would interest more people.”
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)?
“Land-trusts and community involvement with development, focusing on denser neighborhoods and limiting over-development, programs for cleaning and maintaining nature areas, as well as community gardens and green spaces. All of this paired with community solar and sustainable energy practices. Western Maryland natural beauty must be protected, for its own sake and the sake of our people. Limiting over development and using least-intrustive-methods is a top priority for me.”
Q6 What advisory mechanisms will you implement to ensure that evidence and scientific findings play a crucial role in your policymaking process?
“I prefer direct and open channels with the scientific community to advise me. I’d encourage frequent conversations on the top priorities for the communities and how I can use my role to assist. My office will always be open to ensure legislation is evidence based.”
Q7 What initiatives will you take to support investment in innovation via federal science funding?
“Government has an important role to play in science funding to pressure scientific funding to benefit the State and its people as a whole, rather than a strict profit motive. As the “lobbyist” of its people, I’d support investment into innovation that seeks to address the needs of every day people, be that jobs, quality of life, etc. I’m very supportive of utilizing public funds for scientific advancement, so long as that advancement benefits the whole rather than only a small part.”