So how do citizens get a louder voice?

The first step is getting more people out to vote. There is a huge opportunity in this year’s election to increase participation across the board, early voting. Starting Friday at 10AM, you can vote early at a variety of locations around Anne Arundel County.

Here are the two that are most convenient to residents of District 30:

Annapolis Senior Activity Center
119 South Villa Avenue
Annapolis, MD 21401 [Map]

Edgewater Library
25 Stepneys Lane
Edgewater, MD 21037 [Map]

The polls will be open from 10AM to 8PM on Friday, September 3 through Thursday, September 9 (except for Sunday, September 5 when early voting centers are closed.)

Everyone should vote early. You may think you will be able to vote on Election Day (September 14) but your kid could get sick or you might have to stay late at work. Bank your vote now and no matter what happens, your voice will be heard.

If you are reading this blog post, I’m fairly confident that, one way or another, you’ll be voting. But make sure to tell all your friends, family and neighbors about early voting.

While you are at it, tell them to vote for Judd Legum for Delegate!

Legum For Delegate Raises $0 From State Lobbyists and PACs
Campaign has collected over $107,000 in total contributions this cycle

Judd Legum, candidate for State Delegate in Maryland’s District 30, reported raising $0 from state lobbyists and PACs for the period ending August 10. “Government should work for the people they represent, not for the special interests who line their pockets,” Legum said, “I have never taken money from state lobbyists or PACs, and I never will.”

Legum is the only candidate running in District 30 who has pledged to refuse contributions from state lobbyists and PACs.

Overall, Legum has raised $107,579.82 in total contributions including $98,927.26 in monetary contributions and $8,652.56 in in-kind contributions. As of the August 10 reporting date, the campaign maintained over $81,000 cash on hand.

The totals include robust and enthusiastic support in Maryland. The campaign has received 453 contributions from 314 individual Marylanders. About two-thirds of the contributions from Maryland came from within the boundaries of District 30.

This campaign is powered by individuals. If you want to get involved, sign up to volunteer here.

COLLEGE PARK – Swimming in the rivers that feed the Chesapeake Bay after a hard rain could be as hazardous to your health as hopping into an unflushed toilet.

At least that is the key finding of a water quality experiment conducted last month by reporters at the University of Maryland working for News21, a national consortium of journalism schools.

The team took water samples before and after significant rainfall at seven beaches and recreation spots along five rivers that feed the Chesapeake Bay, including two in Anne Arundel County.

Their goal was to gauge the impact of stormwater – one of the fastest-growing pollution sources in the Chesapeake Bay – on bacteria levels in the water

You can find more information about stormwater, including steps you can take to limit stormwater runoff from your property, here.

Annapolis, Md. – Today, two of the state’s leading environmental organizations, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club, endorsed Judd Legum for the House of Delegates in District 30.

Legum is the only challenger not running for an open House seat to be endorsed by both organizations.

“Judd Legum is an exciting new leader who will bring fresh energy and perspective to the General Assembly and the fight to restore the Chesapeake Bay and protect our natural resources,” said Cindy Schwartz, Executive Director of the Maryland League of Conservation voters, “We are impressed with his understanding of and commitment to environmental issues. The Maryland League of Conservation Voters enthusiastically endorses his candidacy.”

David Prosten, chair of the Anne Arundel Sierra Club, said, “Judd Legum has a thoughtful and well-articulated understanding of environmental issues and clearly views the health of the Bay and its tributaries as a top priority. He understands the nexus of land use, transportation and other concerns that have an impact on our quality of life. He deserves the support of every voter.”

“I’m running because the next four years represent the best – and possibly last – chance to make real progress in restoring the Chesapeake Bay to health,” said Legum, “I’m proud to have the support of two organizations who care so deeply and work so hard to protect the Bay and our environment.”

Legum is currently an Annapolis Representative to the Severn River Commission, a joint body of the City of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, charged with providing advice to protect the Severn River Watershed.

The Maryland League of Conservation Voters and the Maryland Sierra Club represent tens of thousands of members throughout Maryland.

There is no silver bullet, but there are some fresh approaches to transportation that hold promise. One idea I’d put near the top of the list is called Complete Streets.

What is a Complete Street? Here is a definition from the National Coalition for Complete Streets:

Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities must be able to safely move along and across a complete street.

Creating complete streets means transportation agencies must change their orientation toward building primarily for cars. Instituting a complete streets policy ensures that transportation agencies routinely design and operate the entire right of way to enable safe access for all users. Places with complete streets policies are making sure that their streets and roads work for drivers, transit users, pedestrians, and bicyclists, as well as for older people, children, and people with disabilities.

A complete street can mean different things in different places. In a city, a complete street may include a sidewalk, pedestrian crossings, a bike lane and a bus lane. In a rural area a complete street might simply have a well defined shoulder for biking and walking.

How can Complete Streets help tackle traffic congestion?

Designing streets only for automobiles reduces opportunities for safe travel choices that can ease traffic congestion: walking, bicycling, and taking public transportation. Americans drove almost three trillion miles in 2008, and many of those trips were very short. Half of all trips are three miles or less and 28% are one mile or less.

…Currently, short bicycling and walking trips account for 23 billion miles traveled annually. Shifting even a small portion of travelers out of single occupancy vehicles can have a big effect on congestion. In 2008, when national vehicle miles traveled (VMT) dropped by 3.6% , congestion plunged 30% in the nation’s 100 most congested areas.

Complete Streets can also reduce traffic accidents, improve air quality and help children get physical activity and gain independence.

In 2000, Maryland became one of a handful of states to adopt a Complete Streets policy. But there has not been adequate follow through. A 2009 study found Maryland “ranks 49th among the 50 states in per capita spending of federal transportation funds on bicycling and walking projects. The study puts Maryland’s per capita spending on such projects at 45 cents – compared with a national average of $1.46.”

We need to strengthen our policy and invest in Complete Streets throughout Maryland. (In Annapolis, Forrest Drive would be prime candidate.) Although state transpiration dollars are scarce, this is an area where federal grant money could be available.

Here are a couple of shots of our energetic group getting ready for the Annapolis parade:

Agriculture contributes 43 percent of the nitrogen, 45 percent of the phosphorus and 60 percent of the sediment to the bay, more than any other source of these three key pollutants;

For some river systems, farm pollutants overwhelm pollution from development and all other sources;

Agriculture has met only 50 percent of its pollution reduction goals that were supposed to be met by 2010. For wastewater treatment plants, 99 percent of the phosphorus and 78 percent of the nitrogen goals have been met despite huge increases in sewerage flows and great expense, including the Flush Tax on all Marylanders; and

Reducing farm pollutants is the most cost-effective way to save the bay.

Winegrad asks, “We wouldn’t let a town of 25,000 people dump untreated human waste on open lands; why should we allow the dumping of the equivalent amount of manure from 150,000 chickens without meaningful regulation?”

Winegrad is part of a group environmental leaders that’s recommending 8 science-based measures to curb pollution into the Bay from agriculture. You can read that entire report here.

I have spent the past several months knocking on doors in Broadneck, Annapolis and south county, talking to Marylanders about their concerns. One topic keeps coming up: The state budget.

There’s a good reason: Maryland faces at least a $6 billion structural deficit over the next four years. We should not try to solve this problem through tax increases and furloughs. We need to take the problem head on by making government leaner and more efficient.

To do so, we need to open ourselves up to new solutions. Here are some ideas worth considering:

1. Switch most state employees to a four-day, 40-hour work week. By doing this, the state could close most offices on Friday. Police, firefighters, prisons, courts and other essential services would continue to operate on a regular schedule. Utah implemented this schedule last year and saved millions by reducing energy use 13 percent and cutting maintenance bills. Employees saved over $6 million on gasoline and had more flexibility to spend time with their families. Citizens benefit because state agencies are open later, giving them more flexibility. Maryland, with more than twice the population of Utah, could enjoy even greater savings.

2. End special interest giveaways. Maryland plans to spend over $40 million between now and 2020 subsidizing the purchase of coal. This is not only a waste of money, it runs counter to our goal of increasing the use of green, renewable resources. The state fails to even calculate the cost of dozens of other special interest tax breaks. All of these measures should be scrutinized and eliminated, where appropriate.

3. Embrace open source software. The state should stop paying millions of dollars to companies such as Microsoft for bloated software full of features most state employees do not use. Open source software is available for free or at a nominal cost. For example, while Microsoft Office costs hundreds of dollars, OpenOffice is a free alternative with virtually identical functionality. A recent study found the federal government could save nearly $4 billion a year by switching to open source software. Maryland could certainly reap substantial savings. Moreover, IT experts say open source software is now more secure than its traditional counterparts.

4. Eliminate or consolidate state boards and agencies. There are some state agencies we can eliminate completely. For example, we have an agency called the State Board of Contract Appeals, dedicated to adjudicating disputes between the state and its contractors. In 2003, a bipartisan commission recommended the agency be eliminated because the few dozen cases before it each year could be handled more efficiently by the regular court system. Seven years later, it is still around and taxpayers are on the hook for $3 million over the next five years to keep it running.

In other cases, we can consolidate functions. We currently have one group of engineers, architects and planners devoted to building stadiums and arenas (Maryland Stadium Authority) and another devoted to building schools (Interagency for Public School Construction). These two entities perform many of the same tasks and could be combined into a unified state construction agency.

You can read the whole thing here.

Please let me know your thoughts. You can reach me directly at judd@juddlegum.com or 443-510-8880.

Last weekend, we had a very successful kickoff for the campaign. Thanks to everyone who braved the heat, especially those who hit the streets afterward to knock doors.

If you’d like to get involved with the campaign, you can sign up to volunteer here.

The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County recently released a fascinating report documenting the deep pockets of poverty in a largely affluent and bucolic community. Although 39% of families earn in excess of $100,000 a year, many others struggle. The report’s findings include:

Poverty. Over 22,000 Anne Arundel County residents lived in poverty as of the middle of this decade according to recent U.S. Census data, and over 7,000 of these are children.

Health. In addition to difficulties accessing housing, the share of Anne Arundel residents lacking health insurance swelled to 57,000 people in 2007, or more than 11 percent of the population.

Public Transportation. Limited public transportation imposes significant barriers on access to both work and public services for many Anne Arundel citizens. Only 3 percent of Anne Arundel residents utilize public transit to get to work.

A bright spot was in education. The report found that graduation rates have increased substantially over the last several years and the gap between White and minority graduation rates has narrowed considerably.

You can read Pamela Wood’s article on the report here.

You can check out the entire report for yourself here.