Campaign Update: Wedding Addition

Friends, Family, and Supporters,

Since my last campaign update, my daughter got married. And yes, it was fabulous. (Welcome to the family and the campaign update!)

Here I am “cutting a rug”.

Here I am “cutting a rug”.

Obviously, a lot else happened in the world and in the campaign. There was the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, which was enraging, and plummeting demand for fossil fuels, which provided a bit of hope. 

On the campaign front, there was a proclamation in support of peaceful public protest, another Coffee with Kate, a lot of chats with friends and supporters, door-knocking, community events, a Legacy Leader graduation, and my last official Emerge Maryland class. 

Thanks to the many people who shared their stories with me these last couple of weeks. A number of these were “wedding-adjacent” conversations. I’ve found that weddings make people reflective and aspirational.

Here are snippets of a few of the conversation and how I responded:

Younger women talked about the challenges of childcare and their longing for multi-generational communities, where people share in caring for those who need support. “Maybe I could actually afford to have a child.”

We need real supports for caregivers and the care economy and public pre-K for every family who wants it. Care and education are the foundation of my campaign.

Old and young talked to me about how starting life as an adult was never easy, but how for decades it’s been getting harder. Rising costs have turned basic medical care, electricity, and rent for a two bedroom into luxuries while wages have not kept pace. “I will never see my grandchildren.” Wildly inflated property valuations and the costs of necessities are crushing older people.

We need housing we want and can afford. This means incentivizing housing built for the future: Energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and built to be accessible to strollers, wheelchairs, young and old. Green energy and strict regulations on data centers.

Older people shared their concerns that younger people aren’t involved in protests, how their fears that public speech and protest could lead to doxxing and blacklisting could limit their careers before they get started, how the state must do more to promote and protect (small “d”) democratic governance. “AI and social must be regulated.”

The state should divest from companies that profit from mass surveillance and the undermining of our democracy. The state should not do business with companies that steal their employees’ wages or undermine employee safety. We need a law to prohibit employers from firing employees who protest or speak out. 

How the Democratic establishment in blue states like Maryland too often blames Republicans and ’47 for challenges that pre-date them—rather than seriously addressing them—and seeks to crush new candidates and new ideas.

If elected I will fight for open primaries, special elections, rank-choice voting. I will answer to the people over the party.

We all know that power concedes nothing without a demand. It’s time for change. 

If you are local — in District 18 or the wider county — there are many ways to get involved! Drop me a note or give me a call. Here is the next opportunity to connect:

If you are not local and would like to contribute to the campaign, you can do so at katesteind18.com. You do not need to be a resident of Maryland or District 18 to contribute.