Sue Hecht - Issues

Sue on the Issues

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 13:14:16 -0500

I want to be your representative in Annapolis because I believe we must work harder to protect Frederick County’s quality of life. When I served as Delegate to the Maryland General Assembly from 1995 to 2003, I worked very hard to bring the right people together to identify, fund, and provide the best solutions to our quality-of-life issues. So many of the initiatives and projects that we started have languished since then, and I want to go back to Annapolis to finish what we started. Here is what I think needs to get done:

Health care availability: It is imperative that all Maryland citizens have access to decent medical care. Our State leads the country in medical research, yet 14.2% of our citizens were without adequate health care insurance in 2004 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. We also can and must deliver better, more consistent care for our elderly at lower costs for them. And we must protect women’s and mental health programs and initiatives from continuing challenges.
Education, Environment, Economic Development: The single most important contribution to our future is our children, we must work harder to alleviate the woeful overcrowding of Frederick County schools. We can also do much more to ensure that our children will inherit a clean and safe environment. I believe we can work harder to bring more jobs to the State.
Child/Senior Safety: Child/Senior Safety and Domestic Violence have been my passion for years. As the former director of the Heartly House in Frederick, and as the author and sponsor of Christopher’s and Vera’s Laws, I am recognized nationally as a leader in the fields of child sexual predators, senior abuse and of family violence. We have achieved a great deal so far, but we have so much more to accomplish in these areas.
Housing Affordability: I am completely committed to the idea that people who work in Frederick County should be able to live here, as well. We can do so much more to develop affordable housing, to help people find their way to financial security by owning their own home.
Transportation: Our roads are choking and we cannot pave our way out of this problem. Of course we must continue to improve existing infrastructure. But we also owe it to our children and grandchildren to look in earnest for more creative solutions including mass transit and telecommuting.

I am fiscally conservative and socially responsible and my best assets are my ability to listen and to find and bring together the right people to get things done. I want to “fight like Hecht” in Annapolis for all of us. Please send me back so we can finish what we started.

Healthcare

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 13:04:20 -0500

We can be proud that 85.8% of Marylanders are covered under some sort of health-care plan, according to the US Census Bureau in 2004. But we can do better: I pledge to find ways to ensure the other 14.2% have coverage, as well. And I’ve built a reputation for delivering on my promises.

When a for-profit California firm first considered buying Care First, Maryland’s non-profit Blue Cross / Blue Shield provider, I voted for strict conditions on the sale to ensure that those who most needed Blue Cross / Blue Shield would not be abandoned.

I co-sponsored laws that improved healthcare for 60,000 children and pregnant women in working families who were without health insurance.

Education, Environment, Economic Development:

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 13:04:06 -0500

Education

I know first-hand how important education is: I returned to undergraduate studies as an adult and graduated from Hood College at the age of 30. I earned my MBA with at 44 with two kids and a very challenging full-time job.

Yet, I’m worried that our children are not being served well by overcrowded schools. It just seems wrong that in a county where the median home price is $310,000, so many children sit in portable classrooms. Moreover, too many schools are falling apart for lack of funds.

Throughout my tenure in Annapolis, I worked collaboratively with other Appropriations Committee members to achieve an historic 75% increase in K-12 public school operating funds for the state.

Child/Senior Safety and Domestic Violence

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 12:53:51 -0500

As a leader in child abuse and family violence issues, I used my experience and practical knowledge to fight for and win passage of laws that reduce crime and protect our citizens. When I was a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, Public Safety and Administration Subcommittee (1995-99), I oversaw Corrections, State Police and Judiciary budgets.

As former director of the domestic violence /sexual assault program we know as Heartly House and former president of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (MNADV), I am a nationally-recognized expert on abuse issues.

I was also a member of the Lt. Governor/Attorney General’s Task Force on Family Violence and worked for the successful passage of a law call the “24/7 Law.” This amendment to the Maryland Constitution authorizes District Court Commissions to issue temporary restraining orders for victims of domestic violence when the regular court is closed, thereby allowing victims of domestic violence access to legal relief and related protection any time of day or night, any day of the week.

Affordable Housing

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 12:48:00 -0500

The median home price in Frederick County more than doubled from $148,000 in 2000 to $310,000 last year. But median household income rose by a paltry $12,050 over the same period. These aren’t partisan figures: these data are from a study released in March 2, 2005 by the Governor’s Workforce Housing Taskforce.

The economic boom in Frederick County is passing by its hardest working residents. More and more young families just starting out are moving out of the County to find homes they can afford. And more and more of our low- and middle-income families are finding themselves trapped in increasingly more expensive rental units.

Transportation

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 12:31:49 -0500

As your Delegate, I served as the Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee’s Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee, as a member of the Joint Legislative Commission in Interstate Transportation (MD, VA and DC), as an alternate for the Transportation Planning Board, and as legislative liaison for the Frederick Area Committee for Transportation (FACT).

Through my efforts on the Appropriations Committee, Frederick County received $53.7 million in transportation funds including $26 million for State Highway Administration capital improvements, $7.4 million for mass transit, and $14.4 million for Highway User Revenue.

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 -0600

n/a