In Focus
 PM:
How did you become involved in politics?
Feldman: I was extremely interested in politics at a
very young age. As in many old-line blue-collar U.S. cities, the
Democratic Party was the dominant political party in Pittsburgh, where I
grew up, and I got involved early on in several Democratic campaigns at
the local level.
PM: Most members of the General Assembly have another
job besides lawmaker. What is yours and how does it shape your approach
to legislating?
Feldman: I am currently an attorney in private
practice, but the majority of my career was spent as a U.S. Department
of Justice trial attorney. I am the only practicing attorney on my
committee, the House Economic Matters Committee. In addition, I have a
CPA background and am the only Attorney/CPA in the state legislature. My
experience as a litigator has proven to be extremely valuable when it
comes to advocating for and against bills and questioning witnesses
during committee hearings. My legal background has also been very
helpful with respect to scrutinizing bills and enabling me to frame the
relevant issues in a way that is helpful to the entire legislative
process.
PM: Your district – District 15 in western Montgomery
County – used to be mostly Republican, but over the past 10 years it has
trended Democratic. What accounts for the change?
Feldman: Prior to the 2002 election, Republicans
occupied 3 of the 4 state legislative seats: In 2002, 3 Democrats were
elected for the 4 available spots. As for what accounted for this
change, Montgomery County, including the majority of District 15, is
fundamentally a progressive county, particularly with respect to social
issues. The drift to the right at the national level under George W.
Bush on a myriad of these issues was, in my view, a major contributing
factor to the Democratic success in District 15 in 2002.
Notwithstanding that success, District 15 remains the most competitive
legislative district in Montgomery County in terms of Democrats vs.
Republicans.
PM: As a freshman delegate, what are your impressions
about the General Assembly and state politics? Have you been surprised,
pleased, disappointed?
Feldman: Although the legislative session lasts 90
days, I’ve been most surprised by how much time I spend on my
legislative responsibilities during the other 9 months of the year. The
issues confronted by the 110,000 constituents I represent do not stop in
mid-April when the session is complete, nor do the invitations, the
public speaking engagements, and numerous other responsibilities that go
with the job. I’ve been very pleased to come to fully appreciate the
fact that as a state legislator, I really can make a difference in the
lives of people, not only through the legislation I introduce but
through the various constituent services I’m in a position to provide.
My disappointment relates to the high level of partisan rancor that has
been so dominant in Annapolis since I began serving. While a certain
level of tension between the legislature and Governor was clearly to be
expected with the election of the first Republican Governor in 35 years,
the partisan pitch reached new levels during the 2005 session. I fear
that with 2006 being an election year, the partisan tension may escalate
to new heights. When such tension exists, cooperation between the
legislature and Governor becomes difficult, and Marylanders lose out
because it makes it extremely difficult for the parties to come together
to enact responsible measures to deal with the real issues facing our
State.
PM: What were your legislative priorities in the
General Assembly’s 2005 session?
Feldman: With respect to bills that I introduced,
passage of the “Biotechnology Investment Incentive Act,” HB 664, was a
high priority. The bill represents an important step for Maryland as it
competes with other states and other nations to be a leader in the
biotechnology sector. A second priority bill that I introduced which
passed, HB 232, relates to the State looking for ways in which it can
provide some type of procurement preference to small businesses owned by
service disabled veterans. With the ongoing war in Iraq, the numbers of
service disabled veterans is skyrocketing and we bear a responsibility
to provide some modest assistance to those veterans who have sacrificed
so much for our country.
With respect to bills that came to my committee, passage of the minimum
wage bill, which increases the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 in our
State was a high priority. The hearings were lengthy and contentious,
as was the subsequent debate within the Committee. After the Committee
voted the bill out favorably to the full House, I was pleased to have
had the opportunity to argue in support of the bill’s passage on the
Floor of the full House of Delegates. I’d like to think that my work in
the Committee and arguments on the Floor were helpful in gaining passage
of this critically important piece of legislation.
PM: Congratulations on securing passage of the
Biotechnology Investment Incentive Act. It’s rare for a freshman
delegate to pass such a significant bill. Progressive Maryland is
generally skeptical about targeting tax breaks at specific businesses –
i.e., asking government to pick economic winners. But we’re open-minded
– perhaps it makes sense under certain circumstances. Why should
progressives support the Biotechnology Investment Incentive Act?
Feldman: This legislation at its core is about having a
vision as to what we want Maryland’s economy to look like over the next
several decades. I voted against the slots proposal, in large part,
because I concluded that Maryland should not be building its economy
around the gaming industry or on gambling losses. By contrast, I
strongly believe that our state, which is home to NIH, John Hopkins
University, the 270 technology corridor, and the 2nd largest
concentration of biotech companies in the U.S., is uniquely positioned
to take advantage of all the economic potential of the biotech sector.
Unfortunately, we rank last among all of the major biotech sectors in
the United States in terms of venture capital investment and many
promising early stage Maryland biotech companies are failing as a
result. Maryland is in direct competition with other jurisdictions that
have been very aggressive in enacting similar measures to lure biotech
companies there and this measure was essential if Maryland wants to be a
leader in this sector. The potential tax revenues flowing from this
sector are enormous, revenues that will go a long way towards supporting
all the important progressive principles that I believe in. For all
these reasons, progressives who share a similar vision for our State
should be fully supportive of this bill.
© Progressive Maryland, Inc. 2005
|
