Friends,
First the good news: As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I have much to be thankful for -- most importantly you! Just a few weeks ago, over 20,000 Silver Spring and Takoma Park residents voted to send me to Annapolis to represent their voices in the Maryland House of Delegates.
But here's the bad news: As you are likely aware, in January I will be entering public office alongside Republican Governor-elect Larry Hogan. We don't yet know whether Mr. Hogan shares the same priorities as our community -- particularly on the issues of school overcrowding, traffic relief, and economic development in Montgomery County.
DEFEND MONTGOMERY COUNTY'S INFRASTRUCTURE: Rest assured that strategizing among stakeholders and county leaders is well underway to make the best case for education and transportation funding for our neighborhoods. Indeed, high quality transit and world-class public schools are the anchors for local economic development and our quality of life. But defending our community infrastructure can't happen without you. Please stay tuned as Governor-elect Hogan prepares his first budget, and be ready to make calls, send emails, and meet with your elected officials. I'll do my best to keep you updated on any developments and opportunities to weigh in.
GETTING OUR STORIES STRAIGHT: In the meantime, the trouncing of the Democratic Party in the November elections (which didn't happen in Silver and Takoma Park, of course), is leading to a vigorous debate among Democrats about the future agenda for the Party. There are some who believe that the best way forward is for Democrats to embrace the Republican vision for trickle-down economics and to therefore cut taxes for millionaires and big businesses. If they succeed, we can expect unfortunate cuts to our social safety net and a long delay in funding our backed up infrastructure projects. If this happens, I won't be holding my breath for the beneficiaires of these policies to start trickling down the wealth to the rest of us. That's why it's critical that we stick together and speak with one voice to defend Montgomery County's priorities in Annapolis.
REBUILD MARYLAND'S MIDDLE-CLASS: To be clear, to advance social and economic justice in Maryland, it won't be enough to convince Governor-elect Larry Hogan to do the right thing. In fact, much of the convincing will have to happen within the Democratic Party. In my estimation, the Democrats' greatest failure in the last few years has been the Party's unwillingness to tackle the historic wealth gap and income inequality head on. In other words, it's time for us to find our populist soul and start standing up for the little guy/gal. This is a challenge not just for Maryland Democrats, but for the Party at the national level. I am hopeful that if we do our jobs well, we can help trigger this debate in the upcoming Democratic Presidential Primaries. Indeed, the situation at the federal level is more bleak than in our state. Something must be done, and we can't rely on insiders to voluntarily prioritize economic justice for middle-class residents and working families. Let's get the ball rolling in Maryland.
AN ECONOMIC JUSTICE VISION: As you know, months ago I campaigned on an economic justice agenda and called for Democrats to end their support for "voodoo economics." Instead, I urged a renewed focus on the wealth gap and economic security for ordinary people -- including by advancing paid sick & parental leave, reining in college tuition costs, fighting for housing affordability, and ending taxpayer giveaways to special interests. This vision seems more important now than ever, and we have no time to waste.
THE CITIZENS UNITED PROBLEM: Let's be honest for a minute. The Democratic Party has for years been too cozy with Wall Street, wealthy donors, and industry lobbyists. And somewhere along the way, we've forgotten who our real friends are -- the people. That's why I made the decision to reject corporate money in my own campaign, and just a few weeks ago I returned a check I received from a utility company. That's a short way of saying that the path I've chosen is not an easy one. I hope you'll stand with me in the difficult months and years ahead.
Let's get this done!
David Moon
Progressive Delegate-elect
P.S. I've not been shy about sharing my views on how to move the Democratic Party forward in the coming years. Over the last few weeks, I've made numerous media appearances to spread the message of economic justice far and wide. You can watch and listen to some of my comments below.
DAVID MOON TALKS ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Watch David Moon's commentary about economic justice on Maryland Public Television's State Circle program (click below):
Listen to a WNAV radio interview with David Moon about Maryland's November election results and the future of the Democratic Party (click below):
