Make Your Vote Count - Guest Post by Steve Corbin

The fact that you are reading this means that you are not an average voter. We know that many voters do little if any research on candidates before casting their votes. People cite many reasons for their voting choices – party, gender, where from, good speaker, strong on my issue/issues. Any of these are legitimate rationales. Less compelling would be to use your vote in a random or near random way. That is, to vote for just any candidate because you don’t know any of the candidates for an office, or to vote for one because they are first on the ballot, or you remember seeing their name on a sign. In this case you might well be voting for a candidate whose interests may actually run in a direction opposite of yours. 

Here is something to think about. Even though you can only select one candidate per position (or one of three as is the case with the Maryland delegate race), you are actually helping to determine the collective profile of the entire legislature that will make the rules affecting the lives of you and your family. Maryland is a true citizen legislature. It meets for only 90 days per session to debate and make all of the decisions about legislation that is critical to our state. We do not have professional politicians. But, we also are challenged that the skill sets and orientation of members of the legislature represent the people of our state and their interests. So, how well does our citizen legislature reflect our populace? Currently, 20% of our legislators in Maryland are attorneys. And, in our national legislature, 40% of our legislators are attorneys. That is clearly different than the vocational profile of our populace. At the same time, teachers and people in the health field are barely represented. In Maryland, only 2% of members of our legislature are in the health field.  

I have canvassed with Jordan and District 16 voters have told me that health, access to affordable health care, and our environment are high priority issues for them. And, that makes sense. We have seen unsuccessful efforts to constrain the cost of health care and there are still way too many people without health insurance. The prospects being offered up to rectify these challenges are dim. The health of our environment is important to Marylanders for many reasons. Not only for aesthetics, but because environmental health impacts our own physical and mental health and wellbeing. We live in our environment. How could it not help but impact us? And, there are additional issues such as affordable quality housing, efficient and safe transportation, economic vitality that can lift people’s quality of life, and excellent public schools that can prepare young people to be successful and self-sustaining and make Maryland attractive to businesses.

I feel that Jordan Cooper is uniquely qualified to understand these challenges through his experience and education to be an effective member of our state legislature and an expert leader to achieve the types of laws that can produce both near and long term positive impacts in the lives of Marylanders. He cares deeply about Maryland and District 16 where he was raised and lives. We are indeed fortunate to have a very high quality of life with a strong economy, diverse citizenry and workforce, and a wonderfully pleasing visual aesthetic in our neighborhoods, towns and countryside. But these things are not guaranteed to us. It takes hard work, honest assessment, knowhow and persistence to make sure that we can continue to secure these blessings to ourselves and our posterity. Jordan’s expertise in the field of health policy positions him to understand the many facets of sound public policy. Complex problems are not served with slogans or knee jerk responses. One must have the discipline to bring facts to bear and to weigh the tradeoffs that can or should be made to produce the best net effects on our people and environment.

So, as you think about voting, first make the commitment to take an active role in our democracy by committing to vote. Prepare yourself by thinking about the issues that are important to you. Look for candidates who will advocate for your interests and who possess the knowledge, skills and tenacity to actually advance those issues. Check out Jordan’s qualifications and look closely at the priorities and positions that he has staked out (www.Cooper4MD.com). He has not been coy in stating where he stands on the issues. That is the least that a voter should be able to expect from a candidate. I am soliciting your support for Jordan Cooper in the upcoming primary election on June 26, 2018, and as a fellow voter know that Jordan would do an excellent job as our representative.

Sincerely,

Steve Corbin

Old Farm

North Bethesda, Maryland