2022 Voter Guide: Kris Fair, candidate for Maryland House District 3

Why are you running for office?

I am running to harness my experience in the for-profit, governmental, and nonprofit communities to bring more significant equity, efficacy, and efficiency to our state government. As the development director of a small business of thirty-five employees for nearly twenty years, I witnessed firsthand the impact of COVID on our workforce, especially the inefficiencies when they needed access to their state-mandated unemployment benefits. As state legislative staff, I learned how to help move legislation and support change at the state level. As the current Executive Director of a social justice organization, I see how systemic and systematic inequities in policy lead to unequal application of laws and access to resources. I want to do my part to address these challenges, work with stakeholders and make our policies and government more transparent and accessible for all Marylanders.

What is the most pressing issue in your district?

Frederick County is at a crossroads. As the fastest growing county in Maryland and the increasing percentage of commuter residents, what this expansion looks like has been the most pressing issue. The expansion includes roads, access to mass transit options, affordable housing, smart growth for development, agricultural support, and environmentally conscious development. Partnerships with county/city governments and interested stakeholders will be critical to implementing a long-term strategic plan that meets the demands of the increasing population while still protecting Frederick’s resources.

How will you help your constituents deal with inflation?

The Maryland General Assembly was helpful when it identified the gas-tax holiday. An initiative I would be willing to look at again to help constituents immediately. Additionally, the state can work with local partners by providing subsidies to increase food supplies and other necessities to our markets to help drive down the cost spikes caused by inflation. As the federal reserve continues to raise interest rates, the impact of inflation will plateau and decrease. We are at the beginning of that process, but our residents should rely on its state government to be a partner in finding short-term solutions to some of the most basic and essential needs.

What do you see as the top transportation priority in your district, and how would you address it?

Frederick County continues to grow at an increasing pace. While the geographical span of housing has changed over the last few decades, the focus on mass transit services has not. We need to invest in transit that works for all of Frederick County and increase the frequency, and transit stops while focusing on low-income and satellite communities. Additionally, many of our residents are commuters to Montgomery County and Washington. Therefore, we need to continue increasing MARC train services and, as a long-term strategy, review the costs and process for building out the red line from Shady Grove to Urbana/Frederick City.

What should schools do differently during the next pandemic to help students, families and teachers?

When the next pandemic hits our community, we should be prepared entirely using proactive approaches to addressing the needs of every student, teacher, parent, and administrator. In-person and virtual options should be utilized. Technology should be available and harnessed to bridge the gap between teachers and students that can or cannot attend classrooms in person. Better access to social and emotional learning programs can help provide much-needed mental health support to students and parents who rightfully are in crisis trying to understand the realities of the pandemic. Finally, we need to work together with parents to provide consistent information to avoid misinformation permeating our communities in the absence of clear direction, leadership, and strategy.

How equitably do police officers treat people of color?

The Frederick City Police department provides a model system for working with communities of color and other historically disenfranchised communities. Their training programs include organizations that work on identifying bias, dismantling racism, and other disproportionately impacted communities. They invest heavily in Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) training to hold one another accountable. They work on the ground, meeting with people in their communities to encourage positive relationships. They also have a community-led citizens advisory council with the chief of police, allowing for community representatives to directly address leadership. Finally, they focus on community policing initiatives that focus on corrective behavior and not just penalization.

What would you do to make sure Maryland’s voting system is secure and accurate?

First, I believe our voting system is secure and accurate. Countless officials, audit committees, and state and federal agencies have all verified that our elections are some of the most secure in the world. I will continue to work with networking and ethical hacking experts to identify and rectify any potential vulnerabilities to our voting systems. We also need to invest in outreach efforts to instill confidence in our voting systems that have been shaken by the words of a few bad-faith actors.

What are the right goals and deadlines for Maryland to reduce carbon emissions and develop renewable energy sources?

The Maryland General Assembly took its most significant step toward reducing carbon emissions in 2022 by passing the Climate Solutions Now act. A carbon-neutral economy by 2045 is an excellent step for reducing carbon emissions promptly. I would encourage our state to move quickly and decisively toward this goal to reach that carbon neutral status as early as possible. Tax incentives for businesses, homeowners, and farmers will help drive us toward that goal. We can identify more renewable energy companies to locate in Maryland and provide more renewable energy resources to the community by working with economic development. We need to focus on access to electric vehicles, non-fossil-based energy sources for housing, and creating environments in farming/forestry to create more biodiversity and regenerative soil health.

What’s Maryland’s best use of federal COVID relief money?

COVID has been devasting for our communities and families in Maryland. The virus has underscored many of the existing challenges in our communities around access to healthcare, state resources, and disparities in disenfranchised communities. However, COVID has offered a unique opportunity for us to reimagine how these services are built and delivered to our community. With the influx of funding from the federal government, we can invest in effective programs and strategies that provide healthcare to all Marylanders that is affordable and accessible. We can tackle our mental health crisis by investing in more robust services for our most vulnerable populations. Finally, we can invest in historically underserved people and communities to lift every Marylander together institutionally.