Marc Korman says he sees the state legislature as a way to have a “much bigger impact on a narrow range of issues.”
Judging by the support he got at a Sunday afternoon fundraiser, the District 16 House of Delegates candidate stands a pretty good chance of putting that belief to work.
Korman, an attorney and longtime local Democratic Party organizer, last week announced the support of a number of elected and former elected officials. On Sunday, Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Riemer (D-At large) introduced Korman as an ideal choice to represent the Bethesda and Chevy Chase area in Annapolis.
Attorney General Doug Gansler, District 16 Delegates Ariana Kelly and Susan Lee, District 39 Delegate Charles Barkley, Councilmember Roger Berliner, County Sheriff Darren Popkin and a number of Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee members attended the event.
With District 16 Delegate Bill Frick and State Senator Brian Frosh both vying to take over for Gansler as Attorney General and Lee seeking Frosh’s Senator spot, there are two open delegate seats. Kelly is running to keep her seat.
Korman, 32, said Metro would play a big part of what he specializes in while in Annapolis.
“Metro’s really tough. I’m not naive. It requires the cooperation of Virginia and D.C., the federal government and us, but it’s a really important issue. And it’s important not just for those people who ride it. It’s important for everybody who doesn’t ride but commutes every day, because if the 30,000 people who get on the District 16 Red Line stations every morning got in their cars instead and the people who got on buses and Metro Access got in their cars instead, that’d be pretty bad for traffic for everybody,” Korman told supporters on Sunday.
Korman said Maryland needs to do a better job of using the roughly $300 million a year in operating funds it sends to WMATA to pressure the agency into improving management and communications.
In the long-term, he wants to create a dedicated funding source for the beleaguered transit agency similar to the real estate transfer, business and sales taxes that go toward running transit systems in other cities.
Korman faces at least four other candidates for the district’s three delegate seats. Announced candidates include Jordan Cooper, Hrant Jamgochian, Kelly and Kevin Walling.
