The Next Generation of State Leadership From Montgomery County

MPW is pleased to welcome Marc Korman. Marc is a law student at the University of Maryland and one of District 16's members on the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee. He worked as a policy advisor and legislative assistant on Capitol Hill for five years. He has previously served as president of the Montgomery County Young Democrats.

In Montgomery County, the past year and a half has brought a generational shift in our county's legislative delegation. November of 2006 saw the election of Jeff Waldstreicher (28), Saqib Ali (32), Craig Rice (35), Heather Mizeur (35), and Tom Hucker (40), and the reelection of Rob Garagiola (35) and Anne Kaiser (39).* Recent vacancies have led to the appointment of Kirill Reznik (33) and Bill Frick (33). When the legislative session opens in January of 2008, nine of Montgomery County's 32 state legislators will be 40 and under. 19 of 32 will be 50 and under. The average age of Montgomery County's Delegation has dropped from 56 years of age in 2006 to 48 years at the beginning of 2008.

Experience and seniority are important traits in state legislators. With experience can come an increased ability to navigate the legislature, pass bills, and achieve results. With seniority can come increased power in a legislative body such as committee chairmanships and leadership roles. However, it is also important that new and young individuals are brought into the legislature to ensure strong leadership not just next year, but in the years and decades to come. Younger legislators also bring new perspectives on education, homeownership, and a host of other policy issues our legislature must grapple with.

Many of these younger legislators have already taken on leadership roles. For example, Senator Garagiola is a Deputy Majority Leader in the Senate. Delegate Heather Mizeur spearheaded passage of a major healthcare reform bill requiring insurance companies to issue coverage for domestic partners and dependent children up to 25 years old. But perhaps more important is the potential these legislators have to represent Montgomery County in Annapolis for years and decades to come.

In 2006, 13 of our legislators were 60 and over. Today, we only have 6. Montgomery County is lucky to have seasoned legislative veterans like Senator Brian Frosh and Delegate Sheila Hixson representing us in Annapolis. But we are also lucky to have younger legislators in Annapolis to keep Montgomery County well represented when our veterans retire.

Montgomery County Legislators 50 and Under:

Jeff Waldstreicher (28)
Saqib Ali (32)
Bill Frick (33)
Kirill Reznik (33)
Craig Rice (35)
Heather Mizeur (35)
Rob Garagiola (35)
Anne Kaiser (39)
Tom Hucker (40)
Herman Taylor (41)
Roger Manno (41)
Jim Gilchrist (42)
Richard Madaleno (42)
Mike Lenett (45)
Jamie Raskin (45)
Brian Feldman (46)
Kathleen Dumais (49)
Kumar Barve (49)
Ben Kramer (50)

*Ages listed are the ages of each individual at the beginning of 2008