Ken Kerr, candidate for Maryland House District 3 – Baltimore Sun

What is the most pressing issue in your district?

Congested roads lead to reduced quality of life, long journeys, frustration, difficulty performing daily tasks and impede local economic expansion. Specifically, I270 both ways, RT15 between I70 and RT26, MD144 and RT85 – parts of each are in my district.

How are you going to help your constituents deal with inflation?

At the state level, there is little we can do to affect inflation. Monetary policy is controlled by the federal government through interest rates, price stability, and maximizing employment. At the state level, the biggest help for my constituents is investing in affordable child care, which is often more expensive than a college education. This would broaden the labor pool by easing child care pressures on working families, allowing parents, caregivers and older siblings to enter or re-enter the workforce. labor market.

What do you consider to be the top transportation priority in your district and how would you respond to it?

The most pressing transportation issue is a 3-mile stretch of RT15 that bisects Frederick City, and is a daily problem that makes travel in all directions difficult. Every year, this is our number one transportation request to the state. We are also working with our federal partners to secure the funds necessary for the improvement.

What should schools be doing differently in the next pandemic to help students, families, and teachers?

We have learned a lot – both positive and negative – from our recent experience with school operations continuing during a pandemic. One of the advantages we will have next time is that the technology needed for remote learning is largely already in place. We learned a lot about the effectiveness of masks and physical distancing in reducing infection rates. We need to provide teachers with additional opportunities to develop the skills needed for effective remote learning and develop protocols to get students back into buildings as quickly and safely as possible.

How fairly do the police treat people of color?

A study conducted between 2012 and 2018 by the American Journal of Public Health found that police, on average, kill about 2.8 people (mostly men) every day and are responsible for about 8% of all homicides with of adult male victims during this 2012 and 2018 period during which the study took place. The mortality risk for African-American men is between 1.9 and 2.4 deaths per 100,000 per year, the Latino risk is between 0.8 and 1.2, while the risk for white men is much higher. low between 0.6 and 0.7. Additionally, a 2020 NYU study of nearly 100 million traffic stops across the United States found that African American drivers were approximately 20% more likely than white drivers to be stopped; additionally, black drivers were searched about 1.5 to 2 times more often and were less likely to be carrying drugs, firearms, or other contraband than their white peers.

What would you do to ensure Maryland’s voting system is safe and accurate?

I believe Maryland’s voting system is safe and accurate.

What are good targets and timelines for Maryland to reduce carbon emissions and expand renewable energy sources?

I believe the right goals were set by the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. This act, which went into effect without the Governor’s signature, requires the Maryland Department of Environment to submit a plan by the 30 June 2023, which reduces greenhouse gases statewide. emissions from 2006 levels by 60% by 2031. By December 31, 2023, the Maryland Department of Environment must adopt a final plan to achieve the goal that puts Maryland on a path to achieve net-zero GHG emissions statewide by 2045. By December 31, 2030, MOE must adopt a final plan that achieves net-zero GHG emissions statewide ‘state by 2045. These are the goals and timelines worked out by the two chambers over years of negotiations and seem reasonable and achievable.

What is Maryland’s best use of federal COVID relief money?

First, relief money should be used to cover direct costs incurred during the pandemic. We should also invest in technology and infrastructure that proved inefficient and obsolete during the crisis – in particular, the unemployment insurance division of the Department of Labor. We should also provide direct help to landlords whose tenants were unable to pay rent during the state of emergency. Finally, we should use relief money to develop and establish a low-cost/no-cost pipeline and associated education and training for frontline and health care workers who were in short supply during the crisis.