2018 Maryland election results

Eve Hurwitz

Eve Hurwitz
  • Democrat
  • Age: 46
  • Residence: Annapolis

About Eve Hurwitz

Education

I attended public schools K-12 and graduated from Rutgers College, Rutgers University, with a degree in Music (Vocal Performance). I was a third of the way into an MBA in Accounting when 911 happened and I joined the Navy. I graduated in top of my class at Officer Candidate School, then went through flight school and earned my wings as a Naval Flight Officer. Once in the fleet, I received firefighting, damage control training, . graduate level training at the Airborne Mission Commander Course in Fallon, NV, and at the School of Aviation Safety in Pensacola, FL. I also graduated SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape) Training, which was instruction on how to handle being a Prisoner of War. After entering the Navy Reserve, I completed three semesters of graduate school with University of Maryland University College.

Background

I am a Certifed QuickBooks ProAdvisor and owner of a full-service business bookkeeping and consulting business. I have 24 years of experience in the accounting field, including eight years of active duty military service, where I continued working on QuickBooks to stay sharp. I am a Naval Flight Officer, Advanced Mission Commander, and Aviation Safety Officer, among other qualifications and roles. After entering the Navy Reserve, I started my own business helping small businesses use QuickBooks to make their digital bookkeeping match reality. I am also on the board of several nonprofits - March On, March On Maryland, Maryland NORML, and The Milky Way Foundation. I am active in my VFW and American Legion, and I am a member of the Working Matters coalition, one of the groups that helped get earned sick leave passed in Maryland.

Questionnaire

1
Kirwan
Do you support the findings of the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education? Are you committed to funding associated reforms, and if so, how?
Hurwitz: The Kirwan Commission produced a preliminary report that is an excellent guide to begin the process of improving our state education system. We need to pay our teachers, and we need to address the education gap in Maryland. We can start by ensuring that casino revenue be set aside in a special fund for education and fulfill the promise to voters. This past legislative session, the General Assembly passed a bill that puts that question on the ballet. We need to vote in November and send a message from the ballot box to our elected officials that education is our priority. We need to continue to build awareness about it and help get people to the polls.
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2
Transportation
Is Maryland’s transportation spending appropriately balanced between roads and transit? Does the state have the resources to meet its transportation needs? With the cancellation of the Red Line and the advent of BaltimoreLink, is the Baltimore region adequately served by transit?
Hurwitz: Maryland’s transportation system is not adequately serving the needs of our growing communities. We need to improve our transit system to ensure that more Marylanders have access to efficient public transportation. Investing in better, cleaner mass transit will lessen the environmental impact of our commuters on our state’s ecosystem. More access to affordable public transit also means more access to jobs and more opportunities for entrepreneurship.
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3
Marijuana
Do you support the legalization of recreational marijuana?
Hurwitz: Over 61% of Americans support legalizing cannabis. 64% of Maryland voters support legalization. It’s time to listen to the people. I supported the bill in the 2018 legislative session to put legalization on the ballot as a referendum, by testifying in hearings and canvassing around the county to raise awareness. I am on the board of Maryland NORML, and we work with our allies and partners to ensure that cannabis law reform happens the right way, and that communities of color are included in the process of establishing responsible adult use. We have to make sure that the people who have been hurt by the war on drugs are not continually marginalized as we move into an era of legal and normalized cannabis use. We also need to make sure the medical marijuana program is accessible to patients who need help and entrepreneurs who have valuable industry knowledge, and then expand that approach to cover responsible adult use. We also cannot ignore the potential revenue from a thriving legal cannabis industry that could be used to supplement things like education, job creation, paid family leave, and environmental programs.
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4
Chesapeake Bay
At a time when the federal government’s commitment to Chesapeake Bay restoration is questionable, what new steps should Maryland take to protect this resource?
Hurwitz: We should immediately take steps to fully fund the Chesapeake Bay Program at a state level, should federal money be withdrawn. We need to track Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and implement Watershed Implementation Plans (WIP) to hold corporations accountable for their environmental impact. Then we need to fund the programs that will cover the gap. We also need to look at multiple chemicals being used in manufacturing in Maryland (and the U.S.) that are banned in many other countries. Pthalates and endocrine disruptors like PCBs need to be eliminated. Two of my main objectives are banning EPS foam (Styrofoam), which absorbs toxins and is not truly recyclable, as well as implementing business recycling programs. Too much recyclable material ends up in landfills because thousands of Maryland businesses have no way to recycle.
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5
Health Care
What steps should Maryland take to ensure the broadest possible access to affordable health care?
Hurwitz: When I was an active duty service member, my healthcare was completely covered by the Navy. I had no co-pays, no deductible, and an electronic record-keeping system that followed me wherever I went under the military healthcare system called Tricare. All Marylanders deserve to have that kind of care and medical coverage. I support the development of a universal healthcare system for Marylanders. Most of our taxes go to governmental and defense programs, which means we are already paying into Tricare. I believe that we can expand it to cover Marylanders and eventually the country. The Tricare system is already prepared to provide care for all ages and genders, and I believe it could be the answer to our healthcare crisis.
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6
Crime
What role should the state play in helping Baltimore address violent crime?

Hurwitz: The best way to fighting crime is a multifaceted approach. By giving people who have no good opportunities a lawful way to survive, we can be effective in the long term. Revitalizing Baltimore manufacturing centers would provide good paying jobs. “Banning the Box” would allow prior offenders who have paid their debts to society the chance to get a job and care for their families.

Youth outreach would be key, as well as increasing funding for community centers, after school, and summer programs. We need to give the youth of Baltimore a safe place to go, and have access the tools and resources they need to thrive and grow, both socially and professionally.

We need to foster connection by implementing aggressive and empathetic outreach to ALL neighborhoods. We must try to engage young men and women and give them a reason to turn away from crime and become productive members of society.

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7
Business Climate
How would you characterize Maryland’s business climate? What can the state do to foster the creation of more family-supporting jobs?
Hurwitz: Maryland offers a favorable climate for medium and large corporations, but Maryland’s true small businesses are suffering and need a boost. We need to make sure that small businesses have access to the capital that they need to thrive. Maryland can foster cooperation between the banks, larger cooperations and small businesses. Developing agile corporate mentorship programs will boost small businesses will spark innovation and create jobs. Additionally, we need to make banking laws more friendly towards small business by addressing exorbitant overdraft fees and high analysis charges. Encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs will then open up more jobs and truly make Maryland “open for business.”
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8
Redistricting
Do you support the creation of a non-partisan, independent body to draw legislative and congressional district maps after each census?
Hurwitz: Absolutely. Gerrymandering has created disjointed and illogical districts. Every person I talk to, regardless of party, is done with politicians who choose their voters, when it really should be the other way around. Districts should be made up of whole communities with similar concerns and logical borders. Voters should have the ability to come together and choose their representatives. We also need to address some problems with the census and the continued voter suppression tactics.
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9
LEOBR
Does the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights adequately balance protections for police and the public? Should it be changed, and if so, how?
Hurwitz: Law enforcement officers should be afforded the same protections as all citizens – officers are not above the law. And our criminal justice system must be reformed and dramatically simplified. We need to have more transparency within our justice system. We can begin by including ordinary citizens in the disciplinary hearings. Too frequently police are called to respond to non-criminal situations and the results can be tragic. We are incarcerating disproportionate numbers of minorities and the current standards and systems we use, including the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights, may be contributing significantly to the current criminal justice crisis.
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10
Opioids
What strategy would you adopt to address the opioid addiction and overdose crisis?
Hurwitz: We have to look at the root causes of addiction, which leads to a multi-pronged strategy: addressing the overprescribing of opioids, increase funding for beds, and finally, we need to practice empathy with logic. The opposite of addiction isn’t sobriety; it’s connection. I propose that we emulate military organizational structures like the Fleet and Family Support Center, which offers an abundance of services for military members and their families, including every kind of counseling. We must bring communities together and give people an alternative. We need to remove the stigma of addiction and treat is as the disease it is rather than a crime. We must also think outside the box when it comes to alternative treatments. The healing arts have been shown to dramatically improve outcomes for our addicted loved ones.
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11
Income inequality
What if anything should the state do to address income inequality?

Hurwitz: One of the most important programs we can implement is paid family leave; women and minorities are the ones hit hardest by the absence of this program. There are only three countries in the world with no paid family leave program: Papua New Guinea, Suriname, and the U.S. But now four states have a program for parents and those with sick family members. I pledge to make this one of my top missions: Maryland must be the fifth state to have paid family leave. No one should have to choose between a child or dying parent and their livelihood.

We need to implement technical training programs that teach small business innovation through agile industry-based partnerships. Through these programs we can build sustainable communities that are innovative, resilient, and ecologically sound. We can create programs in schools that result in kids being either career-ready or college-ready.

Finally we can create laws that lift the veil over salaries and allow employees to freely discuss wages. Corporations must not hide behind unfair laws that benefit them and hurt the workers.

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12
Transparency
Do the state’s Public Information Act and open meetings laws adequately ensure Marylanders’ ability to exercise oversight of the government?
Hurwitz: There are gaps in these laws that still block full transparency. Developers can get as many waivers for meetings they need from the local governments, which takes away the opportunity for public discourse with residents. Centralized emails are deleted after 30 days and the request receivers have 30 days to answer the request, so vital information may not even be available anymore. There have also been numerous violations of the Open Meetings Act, so we must increase training for elected officials and state employees across the board.
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