Full Platform
Economic Development
Hagerstown has seen an increase in the number of projects built around the city that have not come with the needed support for the surrounding communities. Plans like the indoor sports complex are investments that may draw more people into Hagerstown but come without insurance that they will be successful. Brooke knows that when we bankroll large projects, we also need to support the small businesses and community members in the area so they benefit from these changes as well.
We have also seen an increase in the number of warehouses built around the county. While these provide job opportunities, we need businesses that offer career potential. Brooke understands that one of the most important aspects of a job is the ability for growth and advancement in the company. This is why, as Delegate, she will work to create connections between the community and businesses so that we are actively attracting a variety of businesses to Hagerstown.
Brooke also knows that many residents are employed in various trades. This is why she believes we need to expand training in trade areas locally. Washington County Technical High School is a great resource for young people looking to enter the workforce out of high school or receive specialized training before college, yet every year there are fewer seats available than students who wish to attend. We need to expand the size of the existing programs at Tech High and add new areas of study. The new Hitachi Rail manufacturing plant set to move into the county is a great opportunity but we need to make sure that we have a prepared workforce for these new jobs. Brooke will build connections between our high schools and businesses to create a sustainable pipeline that benefits the workers and ensures that local businesses are staffed with our own residents.
As Delegate, Brooke will:
- Work with citizens surrounding new projects such as the indoor sports complex to hear and address any concerns and find out how to best assist them with changing landscapes.
- Bring businesses to Hagerstown that offer career opportunities, not just temporary jobs.
- Advocate for the expansion of Tech High and the addition of other needed trade programs.
- Create high school to job pipelines so young people are not left behind.
Workers' Rights
Brooke recognizes that economic development and increases in job opportunities cannot be sustainable without protecting the rights of workers. As a strong supporter of unions and collective bargaining, she will fight to defend workers’ rights to establish them and bargain fairly—on equal footing with business leaders. She also believes a guarantee of paid family leave is long overdue and will fight to establish maternity and paternity leave that catches us up with the rest of the world.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Support unions and protect workers’ rights to collectively bargain.
- Fight to guarantee paid family leave.
Racial Justice
Black and Brown lives matter and their prosperity is imperative for Hagerstown to have a brighter future. Not only is this a social issue, but it is an economic issue as well. Brooke intends to heavily invest in local minority-owned businesses as well as important community resources such as the Robert W. Johnson Community Center. Oftentimes, historically Black neighborhoods such as Jonathan Street are overlooked and left behind when the rest of the city pushes new economic development projects, but Brooke will ensure that Black voices and concerns are heard and that any new major projects include tangible plans that show how they will benefit our minority communities.
Brooke also understands the importance of history in racial justice. She will work with community leaders to raise awareness about Black history in Western Maryland—an area of education often overlooked. This includes protecting cultural sites such as the Jonathan Street cabin as well as resources such as the Doleman Black Heritage Museum.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Fight for the prosperity of Hagerstown’s Black and Brown residents.
- Invest in local minority-owned businesses and community resources.
- Ensure Black voices and concerns are heard in major projects and that tangible plans are included to show how such projects will benefit our minority communities.
- Raise awareness and provide resources for education in local Black history.
Environment
Brooke is a strong environmental candidate focused on Hagerstown's sustainable growth and increasing the sustainability of our jobs. Realistically, we will see more warehouses built in Hagerstown, so we need a Delegate who can anticipate these changes and make sure that any large project in Hagerstown is completed with a net-zero environmental impact. This can be done by requiring more stringent oversight of construction sites and restrictions on where new buildings can be built. Brooke knows our environment is one of our best assets and is worth protecting.
She will also look into creating tax credits and grants for businesses that purchase and utilize more eco-friendly products. Brooke knows that the residents of Hagerstown care about sustainability but sometimes a credit or grant is all it takes for businesses to make smart choices in their supply chains.
Solar energy is also a vastly underused form of energy production in Hagerstown. We have many rooftops fit to house solar panels but we are not taking advantage of this opportunity. Solar panels owned by the city also provide direct benefits to residents who would see tangible outcomes in the reduction of their energy costs.
Brooke also knows that environmentalism starts in the classroom which is why, as Delegate, she will work to fund and develop environmental education programs for grades K-12 and to expand on the work of the Claud E. Kitchens Outdoor School. We also need to educate our citizens on the benefits of reducing our consumption as well as the importance of environmental consciousness.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Ensure large projects and economic development do not bring reckless environmental damage along with them.
- Look to provide tax credits and grants to businesses who put in the work to make their supply chains environmentally sustainable.
- Expand solar energy projects and use them to provide tangible reductions in energy costs for residents.
- Work to fund and develop environmental education programs both for grades K-12 and adult citizens.
Affordable Housing
There is not nearly enough affordable housing in Hagerstown. The disparity between the average cost of housing and average income does nothing but maintain cycles of poverty that impact our most vulnerable. It is especially bad that what affordable housing we have is often plagued by health and safety issues such as raw sewage overflow and mold. How can we expect our communities to grow and thrive under the stress of suffocating housing and rent costs? Brooke sees these inequities and is determined to change the housing landscape in Hagerstown for the better.
Easing the weight of housing costs for current and potential residents is well within our reach through cooperative programs such as income proportional rent and reinvestment in neglected communities. By cooperating with nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity, our most underappreciated real estate can be refurbished to dramatically expand cheap housing options for our citizens.
While some might claim that significant expansion of affordable housing would devalue real estate or deter wealthier individuals from moving to Hagerstown, Brooke knows that such an expansion is not only necessary for our communities but it also can only help our economy. Investing in affordable housing initiatives will both give Hagerstown the diversity of housing options we desperately need and attract individuals of varied wealth to boost our economy by moving to Hagerstown.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Hold landlords accountable for rent extortion practices.
- Support cooperative programs like income proportional rent.
- Work to restore neglected real estate into affordable housing options.
- Legislate to improve, expand, and protect affordable housing in Hagerstown.
Guns
As we have seen with the recent shootings in Smithsburg and at the Valley Mall in Hagerstown, the crisis of gun violence is at our door and must be addressed. It is beyond time to take decisive and informed action.
Brooke will fight to implement a 10-day waiting period on all gun purchases, protect Maryland’s ban on assault weapons, and uphold and ensure the enforcement of the recent statewide ban on ghost guns. She will also work to prevent the sale of guns to documented domestic abusers, require the completion of a certified gun owner safety program in order to guarantee that those who exhibit responsible gun ownership will be unaffected, and ensure extensive background checks and mental health evaluations are carried out prior to purchase. The enforcement of measures like these ensure responsible gun owners do not have their rights thrown into jeopardy.
Our gun violence and mental health crises are linked, so in order to properly address this issue, Brooke supports allowing for the rapid removal of guns from individuals experiencing mental health crises and following up with a rigorous psychiatric evaluation before guns are returned. She will also push to fund walk-in mental health clinics statewide as well as the implementation of violence prevention and community-based intervention programs to promote alternative ways to manage conflict.
Brooke has also been awarded the 2022 Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate distinction.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Fight to implement a 10-day waiting period for all gun purchases.
- Protect Maryland's ban on assault weapons.
- Uphold and ensure the enforcement of the recent statewide ban on ghost guns.
- Advocate for the removal of guns from and prevention of the sale of guns to documented domestic abusers.
- Push to require the completion of a certified gun owner safety program, guaranteeing that those who exhibit responsible gun ownership will be unaffected.
- Work to ensure extensive background checks and mental health evaluations are carried out prior to purchase.
- Push to allow for the rapid removal of guns from individuals experiencing mental health crises and follow up with a rigorous psychiatric evaluation before guns are returned.
- Work to fund walk-in mental health clinics statewide.
- Advocate for the implementation of violence prevention and community-based intervention programs to promote alternative ways to manage conflict.
Women’s Rights
Women are often expected to hold 2 or 3 full-time jobs at the same time—their career and their responsibilities as wives and mothers. Working to ensure women get all the support they need includes fighting for accessible low-cost healthcare as we are experiencing a lack of access to care and essentials for their health and their children's health. Brooke will work to establish support centers for mothers who need extra assistance. This support will come in the form of mental healthcare such as counseling, physical necessities such as diapers and formula, and reproductive healthcare such as contraceptives and testing.
On average, women are paid 20% less than men, and the gap is even larger for women of color. Brooke intends to work with the Maryland Department of Labor to create a division that monitors these pay gaps and oversees equal pay practices with businesses to ensure everyone is paid equally for the same work. Businesses in noncompliance with equal pay laws should be given 30 days to resolve the issue or face fines.
Given the erosion of reproductive rights nationally thanks to the Supreme Court, Brooke also finds it important to make clear that she supports a woman's right to choose what to do with her own body and to make her own decisions regarding her health in private without government interference. This is an issue of personal freedoms, and Brooke will ensure that reproductive rights are upheld in Maryland.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Establish support centers for women and mothers.
- Secure affordable quality healthcare for women in Hagerstown.
- Work with the Maryland Department of Labor to establish an Equal Pay Division to weed out pay discrepancies across the state.
- Uphold a woman's right to choose in Maryland.
LGBTQ+ Rights
Hagerstown’s queer community has a voice that needs to be heard just like every other, and Brooke promises to keep their well-being in mind in everything she does as a Delegate. A thriving queer community means protecting and recognizing not only gays, lesbians, and bisexual people, but also transgender and non-binary individuals—especially those who are Black and Brown and find themselves at the intersections of marginalized identities. With close family and friends in the queer community, this is a personal fight for Brooke.
Given the recent erosion of personal freedoms and privacy rights thanks to the Supreme Court, Brooke also finds it important to make clear that she supports marriage equality and the right for individuals to love anyone they choose without government interference. If such questions of LGBTQ+ rights are returned to the state level, Brooke will ensure that they stand in Maryland.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Protect and recognize the rights not only of gays, lesbians, and bisexual people, but also transgender and non-binary individuals—especially those who are Black and Brown and find themselves at the intersections of marginalized identities.
- Uphold marriage equality and the right for individuals to love anyone they choose without government interference.
First Responders
First responders are overwhelmed and under-supported. Between the rise in addiction-related deaths and injuries and the increased violence within the past few years, our first responders are stretched thin and do not have adequate support.
Each overdose in Washington County costs us over $10,000—each overdose requires a fire department, police, and EMS supervisor on scene as well as an ambulance ride. This level of oversight on overdose cases is not necessary and racks up hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills every year. It also creates situations where first responders are unable to attend to other emergencies because they are at an overdose scene. Brooke will work to reduce the personnel on the scene of an overdose while improving the addiction-centered care the individual receives through investing in recovery programs and rehabilitation support.
Police are expected to be parents, foster workers, and many other roles on top of their role as law enforcement officers. Brooke will work to redistribute the workload of cases our officers handle so they are only called in when necessary. We must increase the funding for our social assistance programs so police are not called for largely civil or personal disputes that do not require officers but would benefit more from mediators or other trained social professionals.
Our first responders are also stretched thin and underpaid, especially in comparison to neighboring areas offering more attractive salaries. This is why Brooke will work to fully fund our first responders and provide more support for training and resources, including supplying all responders with NARCAN.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Decrease the amount of unnecessary personnel at overdose scenes while increasing the access to care for the individual.
- Fund social assistance programs to ensure that police only respond to calls that directly require their presence.
- Fund training programs and the distribution of NARCAN to all first responders.
Addiction
There is no simple answer to addiction, but this is no reason to give up hope. Having worked with addicted citizens and running a recovery house, Brooke has seen the reality of addiction in Hagerstown up close. First and foremost, we need a specialized crisis center in Hagerstown. Relying solely on facilities like Meritus where the patient is released without receiving recovery-focused care is unhelpful to our citizens and unfair to the hospital. The establishment of a crisis center has been considered for years but left in limbo by local representatives who refuse to build one within the city limits, preferring that our addicted citizens be relocated to a facility outside of Hagerstown and claiming that if they want treatment bad enough they’ll find a way to get there. This is exactly the lack of compassion and understanding that has left our victims of addiction out to dry for far too long. By building within city limits, we could provide viable access to specialized recovery treatment for some of our most vulnerable, cut down on the cost of ambulance transport, and put citizens on a path to rehabilitation.
Still, rehabilitation is not a guaranteed fix-all, especially given that the process is limited to 12 days under Medicaid. We must also coordinate and invest in long-term care strategies. This means supporting and establishing recovery houses in Hagerstown and ensuring they’re run by capable and compassionate individuals. It means facilitating mental health services that are specifically for people who are recovering from addiction. It means coordinating with businesses and property owners who will value individuals in long-term recovery as part of their workforce and responsible tenants.
Addiction is an incredibly complex and challenging issue faced by our community, but Brooke has not given up hope. We can build a better future for Hagerstown.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Fight for a crisis center right here in Hagerstown.
- Legislate to expand specialized mental health services and facilities for addicted citizens.
- Regulate and coordinate with recovery houses, businesses, property owners, and more to provide better pathways to long-term recovery.
Education
Despite continuous budget surpluses, the Board of County Commissioners has refused to fully fund the budget for Washington County Public Schools. Fully funding the WCPS budget and the Blueprint for Maryland plan would provide our struggling staff with much-needed help in the form of added support personnel, classroom resources, and more. Despite the egregiousness of this move, we have not seen any state elected official call it out and demand better for our teachers and students.
Brooke is also against funding private schools until our public schools are fully funded. Private schools are not held to the same anti-discrimination standards as public schools. We should not be siphoning money away from our public school students to fund schools that do not meet the same criteria. Instead, we should be using the money to expand Tech High to include paraprofessional programs and certificate programs that create a direct school-to-career pipeline. We should also seek additional funding for local schools with a high concentration of students from low-income households.
As for hiring teachers, we need to be actively recruiting diverse candidates with a wide variety of backgrounds. Brooke will work to make sure our teachers are representative of our student populations. In order to attract a diverse and qualified staff, we also need to support those we have through the implementation of college loan forgiveness programs.
Teachers are also currently being asked to perform far beyond their job descriptions. COVID-19 put a strain on all of us, but teachers especially. As Delegate, Brooke will work to increase the number of support personnel within schools and increase the funding available to each teacher for classroom supplies and projects. No one can thrive in a school that is purely in survival mode.
Finally, we must make sure all of our students feel secure and represented in the curriculum. This includes difficult but important intersectional topics such as race, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Students will learn about these topics elsewhere, but providing the opportunity to do so in schools will allow them safe spaces to understand themselves and each other. Brooke knows that a healthy learning environment allows everyone to work and grow together.
As a Delegate, Brooke will:
- Call out unfair funding practices for our public schools.
- Fund public schools before private schools that are not held to the same standards.
- Seek additional funding for local schools with a high concentration of students from low-income households.
- Work with WCPS to improve their diversity and inclusion assessments when hiring teachers.
- Collaborate to implement loan forgiveness programs to attract qualified teachers.
- Work to increase the number of support personnel in schools.
- Increase the accessibility of mental health wellness programs and resources for WCPS students and staff.
- Ensure all of our students feel secure and represented in the curriculum.