Ruth Kirk proves my point

Before I return to discussing the benefits of focusing heavily on nurturing the next generation of educated, responsible, enterprising young citizens, I want to point your attention to an article recently added to the “News” page of my website.  The article by Peter Hermann, which appeared last week in The Baltimore Sun, discusses a new bill whose lead sponsor is the 44th District’s own Delegate Ruth Kirk and which was co-sponsored by the 44th’s other two incumbent delegates, Keith Haynes and Melvin Stukes.  House Bill 752 would effectively gut a year-old law that requires pawnshop owners to separately report each item they buy in their shops.  Law enforcement praises the reporting requirement for making their job easier to track stolen property and, in turn, helps to return more pilfered items to their rightful owners.  In the article, Del. Kirk says she introduced the bill at the behest of an Annapolis pawnshop dealer who found it too difficult and time-consuming to comply with the reporting requirement.  When hearings were conducted to debate the merits of the HB 752, police officers testified that the year-old law makes their job easier and helps to solve more crimes.  Ruth Kirk is quoted as saying she didn’t believe the police officers’ testimony.

So let me get this straight.  Delegates Kirk, Stukes and Haynes rarely utter a noise on the House floor and rarely introduce and originate a single piece of legislation during 90-day General Assembly sessions– except for the occasional bond bill or ceremonial resolution– and now they’re backing a measure that will make it more difficult to return stolen property to rightful owners and end up wasting the time of law enforcement?

Amazing.

In the hardest hit district in the state, these incumbents have no ideas for improving the lives of their constituents, never introduce or originate legislation that directly addresses the most pressing issues facing 44th District residents, remain silent in the halls of Annapolis while sections of Baltimore slowly wither away….and this is the kind of legislation they support?! 

As voters, we should be outraged!  The 44th District needs new representation.  Voters in the 44th deserve to have representatives in Annapolis who are persistent and determined in the way they advocate for the needs of the district.  Ruth Kirk began her career in Annapolis in 1983.  Twenty-seven years.  We appreciate Kirk’s service to Baltimore, but I believe she would be hard-pressed to remember a single legislative accomplishment that she originated, especially one that resulted in meaningful and lasting change in her district.  My position is that anyone who serves as a delegate representing the district should introduce several pieces of legislation every General Assembly session that attempt to address one of the many pressing issues facing district residents. We can no longer afford to elect a delegation that seems content to let years—no, decades—pass without playing a meaningful role in turning around the fortunes of the 44th district.

I am running for office to give my community the kind of effective representation which we have all desired for so long. When I am elected to represent the 44th, I will be a delegate who brings Active, Accessible and Accountable Leadership on your behalf to Annapolis.

Please support my campaign by sending a contribution today!  http://electwesleywood2010.com/donate.html

Education is the key

So why do we need to focus on nurturing our children and future generations?  Why re-direct much-needed tax dollars now for a payoff that may not materialize for several years?  For several reasons.  The most immediate benefit of making sure our students receive an honest-to-goodness education is a more attractive workforce.  In today’s highly competitive economy, a region with schools who churn out wave after wave of well-trained and well-educated students won’t have to do much to attract companies of all sizes.  The 21st century economy increasingly calls for workers capable of learning how to manufacture optical lenses or some other sensitive technological apparatus, not just handle the drive-thru at McDonald’s.

Given the shifting requirements for high school graduation in the state, how many seniors do you think learned enough in school to help the high-tech companies of the new economy?

With an enviable concentration of world-class colleges and universities, government labs, and technology firms, this region might one day be able to vault past Silicon Valley as a high-tech economic center.  If we improve the quality of education in our schools, we can gain an advantage by producing workers who can perform a broader range of tasks, and young graduates with the knowledge and ability to be more innovative and entreprenuerial.  Investing in our children now will help transform and strengthen the region’s economy and its tax base for the long term.

We need to be visionary, not reactionary

Here’s a problem: The Baltimore region needs to redirect the focus of government spending so that we are making crucial investments that will pay dividends beyond a four-year political term.  Our municipal and state governments need to begin focusing on raising generations of young people who are equipped with a useful education and/or skills, and imbued with basic moral and civic values.  How can this be accomplished?  I will address solutions in a later blog posting, so please bear with me.

But for now, ask yourself: what are we really accomplishing by touting Maryland’s public school system as the best in the nation?  The publication that came to this conclusion acknowledged that there is a persistent, disturbing disparity between the better-performing schools and the worst-performing schools.  And where are the worst-performing schools overwhelmingly located?  In Baltimore City and Prince George’s County.  I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about the jurisdictions, but I want to know why none of the 44th District delegation went on record to denounce the ”Best in the Nation” moniker until sufficient attention is paid to raising the performance of Baltimore City students.

It’s Not Rocket Science

Can anyone out there tell me what it is our state delegates do that can’t be accomplished by a young, energetic aspiring candidate like myself?  Although we have much to celebrate in the 44th District, like many voters I am amazed that our elected officials are not outraged at the current state of affairs in the district. For decades now, the 44th has ranked dead last in all relevant economic indicators. When compared to the rest of the state, per capita income levels in the 44th are the lowest in Maryland, economic development dollars invested in the 44th are the lowest of any other district, and support for schools in the 44th lags behind that of other districts as well.

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over but expecting different results.  Well, we who live in Baltimore need to stop the insanity!  This September when the election rolls around, let’s elect a new slate of officials to represent us.  I urge you to visit my campaign website (www.ElectWesleyWood2010.com) to review my Five Point Pledge to the voters who support my candidacy.

Welcome!

Hello Baltimore!  My name is Wesley Wood and I am running for one of the three House of Delegate seats for the 44th District. 

Welcome to my blog.  My hope during this campaign season is that this blog will become a forum to discuss ideas that can help the 44th District– and all of Baltimore City– to turn things around.  I’d also like this blog to be a sounding board for community concerns and act as a veritable “ear to the ground” at the grassroots level.

Why am I running?  The short answer is I am running for office to give my community the kind of effective representation which we have all desired for so long. When I am elected to represent the 44th, I will be a delegate who brings Active, Accessible and Accountable Leadership on your behalf to Annapolis.  Please visit my campaign website (http://www.ElectWesleyWood2010.com) for more on Triple A Leadership.

Over the course of the next few months, this blog will clearly illuminate the reasons why I am running.  Thank you for joining me on this journey!