What's going on in Silver Spring & Takoma Park?

I hope you had an excellent summer -- in spite of the endless political strife in the news! These uncertain times have kept me busy, as I try my best to represent the residents of Silver Spring & Takoma Park. I have a few updates on these efforts for you below.

I'm also in the middle of planning for the 2018 legislative session, so if you have thoughts about legislation, please don't hesitate to contact me. And if you missed my newsletter about bills I passed this year, you can read it online: [ click here ].

Best wishes,

Delegate David Moon

david@davidmoon.org

P.S. I have an event coming up on TUE 9/19 in Takoma Park, and I'd love to see you there (details below). Also, if you'd like a free lawnsign or bumper sticker [ click here ].

Delegate David Moon Economic Justice Event Tuesday, September 19 | 5:30-7:30 pm

Takoma Bev Co
6917 Laurel Ave, Takoma Park >>>> [ RSVP ONLINE ] <<<< Special Guest Speakers House Speaker Mike Busch Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart Host Committee (in formation) SEIU & 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

PRESERVING THE ROLE OF VOTERS IN THE RACE FOR GOVERNOR - Maryland's gubernatorial race is beginning to heat up, and to avoid what happened in past elections, I've organized Democratic politicians from around the state to give voters a role in the upcoming primary. The Washington Post covered my efforts: "A state lawmaker from Montgomery County is urging his fellow Democrats not to endorse any 2018 gubernatorial candidates until next winter, hoping to avoid perceptions of an anointed favorite in what is expected to be a crowded primary...."

"Moon said his petition is partly inspired by Maryland’s 2002 and 2014 gubernatorial races, the only two won by Republicans in the past 50 years. Both times, elected Democrats in the state coalesced around candidates who had served as lieutenant governor but did not generate strong enthusiasm for voters.... He is asking Democrats to withhold endorsements until after the Feb. 27 filing deadline and at least one debate, and to sign a pledge saying early endorsements 'may create a primary among insiders that reduces voter input and unnecessarily keeps potential candidates out of the race....'"

PURPLE LINE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS - Last week, state and county officials broke ground on the long-awaited light rail project that will connect WMATA Metro stations in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The build-out is expected to take a few years, and residents in parts of Silver Spring and Takoma Park will undoubtedly have to be patient as we encounter construction impacts. But when all is said and done, the Purple Line will have eight stations serving our communities (see map below). The full map of light rail stations is online [ HERE ].

POST-CHARLOTTSVILLE PUSH TO REMOVE DIVISIVE SYMBOLS IN MARYLAND - After the violent KKK & Neo-Nazi rally in Charlottsville, Virginia, Maryland leaders have been working to remove divisive symbols in our state. While I normally prioritize working on more substantive issues, we are clearly in the midst of a national debate about racism and xenophobia and I think it's important for political leaders to push back against the wave of extremism we're witnessing.

As a result, I've joined with members of Maryland's legislative Asian Caucus to call for Maryland to eliminate it's current state song. Our ridiculous Confederate song is basically unusable, as it calls the North "scum" and refers to Abraham Lincoln as a "despot." You can read our letter on this topic [ HERE ].

FIGHTING DONALD TRUMP'S REJECTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE GOALS - After Donald Trump decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement to combat climate change, I joined with over 550 legislators from around the nation to condemn the action. As part of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, we signed a letter to Trump that you can read [ HERE ].

SPEAKING OUT AGAINST MILITARY ESCALATION WITH NORTH KOREA - As a Korean American elected official, I felt compelled to speak out against Donald Trump's recent escalation of nuclear tensions with North Korea and to instead use diplomacy to resolve the standoff. A group of elected Korean Americans from around the nation joined together to push Trump on this issue. You can read about our efforts [ HERE ].

PROTECTING IMMIGRANT KIDS FROM TRUMP'S XENOPHOBIA - Donald Trump is threatening to end President Obama's "DACA" program, which allows children who were brought into the United States to stay here. I joined with political leaders from around the nation to call on Congress to pass legislation to stop this anti-immigrant madness: "Since June 2012, nearly 800,000 of these young people who came to the United States as children have come forward, passed background checks, and received permission to live and work in America. With DACA, they have advanced their education, started small businesses, and more fully established themselves as integral members of our society. Ending DACA means all of these young people would be at risk of deportation and separation from their families and our communities; this would be senselessly cruel. Ending DACA and removing hundreds of thousands of young men and women from our workforce also would cost the country an estimated $460.3 billion in lost Gross Domestic Product over a decade and tens of billions more in lost contributions to Medicare and Social Security, and force businesses to incur $3.4 billion in turnover costs." Read about our efforts [ HERE ].