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I am running because I want to make tangible change for our state and our district. Below you will find real solutions, not vague values. I'm focused on long-term, systemic reform of housing and inheritance laws especially as it relates to how they impact low-income people. These problems have existed for decades (and in some cases centuries) and they continue to deeply degrade generational wealth in West Baltimore. Focusing only on the issues that are on the top of news cycle keeps us in a cycle of trying to fix long-term problems with short-term solutions.
End the Tax Sale
End the Tax Sale
If you don’t pay your property taxes, then the government sells your debt to a debt buyer who then gets to charge egregious levels of interest and fees. Untold millions of dollars are siphoned from the lowest-income residents in West Baltimore each year. And it’s been going on for decades now. Stopping this injustice is my highest priority once elected.
A few years ago, my neighbor abandoned her home when threatened with tax sale. Her parents bought it in 1963 and now it's vacant and the roof has caved in.
Repeal the Inheritance Tax
Repeal the Inheritance Tax
The inheritance tax is a tax on non-wealthy people who leave an inheritance to their niece, nephew, friend or unmarried partner. So, it is effectively a punishment for not having children. Besides being discriminatory, it's often arbitrary, often unenforceable and bring in very little tax revenue. Almost all other states have repealed their inheritance taxes and we should too.
I have kids, but others shouldn't be taxed just because they don't.
Eliminate Ground Rent
Eliminate Ground Rent
Ground rent is where a homeowner has to pay a relatively small fee to an investor each year. There are about 85,000 properties subject to ground rent, almost all are in and around Baltimore. Usually this is little more than a nuisance. But if you get behind on your bill, it can lead to steep fees that dwarf the original bill. If it remains unpaid, the homeowner will lose their home and all of its equity. I have a plan to eliminate ground rent.
Baltimore Sun exposé of the abuses of the ground rent system in the early 2000's. Reforms were made in 2007 but the job isn't finished.
Reform Probate
Reform Probate
Probate law is complicated and convoluted. As an attorney helping low-income families with probate, there are so many laws that shouldn't exist and that disproportionately harm low-income people. No one should be stopped from getting what is rightfully theirs due to unnecessary barriers. Often, these problems exist because they just hurt low-income people and nobody has bothered to fix them.
The same neighbor mentioned above probably would have been able to keep her home if it has been legally passed down to her. This issue is common due to our dysfunctional probate laws.
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