TERM LIMITS FOR ALL REPRESENTATIVE OFFICIALS: Joseph Sandy for Maryland State Delegate

TERM LIMITS FOR ALL REPRESENTATIVE OFFICIALS

When elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, I vow to present and support legislation to require term limits for all elected officials who represent the people of Maryland.

A term limit is a limit on the amount of time a representative may hold an elected office. Term limits are often thought to prevent long-term corruption and increase performance of representatives holding elected or appointed seats – making them work for you and me.

Members of Congress, for example, have no term limits – and that’s a HUGE problem. They have all the time in the world to build relationships with lobbyists for big-time corporations who will influence their legislation – instead of you and I being the primarily influences behind legislation proposed by our representatives. And with all the time in the world once occupying that seat, it doesn’t offer much incentive to get anything done.

Our founding fathers knew that people given power will eventually be corrupted by it if you give them unlimited time in a position of power.

If you put limits on the amount of time reserved for any one person to hold a position representing the people, they will more likely run for a position for the purpose of actually serving the people.

And with term limits in place, legislation proposed and enacted by our representatives will affect those very same representatives once they become constituents themselves.

It’s no secret and no surprise that career politicians aren’t very popular among the people. Often they’re too bent on re-election and holding onto party seats within a governing body to be open to compromising (“reaching across the aisle”) to work toward legislation that actually benefits the whole of the public.

So maybe we shouldn’t aspire to have CAREER politicians. There is all too often a significant disconnect between long-time public representatives and the community they are supposed to serve.

In limitless terms of public representation when long-time politicians have spent years amassing funds from lobbyists and big-name corporations & special interest groups, they often use those profits made while in power to get re-elected. It puts middle-class citizens, who are likely to be far less removed from the daily realities of the American workforce, at a major disadvantage when running against an incumbent long-term politician – even if, though considerably less-funded, they may actually a better fit for the job.

The fact is, the will of the people must be heard and will be heard – and this is my priority.

When elected, I vow to present and support legislation to require term limits for all elected officials who represent the people of Maryland.

I’m not a career politician. But I sure fulfill many roles of service in my life. I’m a member of several local community councils here in Baltimore, including the Greater Parkville Community Council and the Police Community Relations Council Precinct Eight. I am a healthcare professional working for over eleven years with world-class physicians and practitioners in delivering mental health care services to the regional community in need; I also provide hospice services to the regional community in need of ongoing palliative care via home & assisted living visitation. I assist at a local nonprofit animal rescue, an adoption service for abused animals in crisis; I’m a designated storm spotter for the National Weather Service; I am an ally and proponent of peer support recovery services for the community that has struggled with substance abuse, trauma, & related circumstances.  Public service is important in my life, and an informed public is close to my heart. I am NOT bought-and-sold, as are too many of our career politicians. And should I find myself selected for a ‘seat at the table,’ I vow not to settle-in indefinitely, as have TOO MANY POLITICIANS done for decades.

It is time to END LIMITLESS TERMS in public office. Our DEMOCRACY demands it. ACCURATE REPRESENTATION demands it. The FREE MARKET demands it. Our LAND OF THE FREE demands it. And THE PEOPLE demand it.

Term limits preserve our liberty.

FIGHTING SECTION 8 EXPANSION & ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: Joseph Sandy for Maryland State Delegate

FIGHTING SECTION 8 EXPANSION & ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

When elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, I vow to present and support legislation that emphasizes community preservation: we will protect and preserve our communities by fighting forced Section 8 expansion into our neighborhoods and by combatting illegal immigration in the state of Maryland.

Property owners have worked their entire lives making their homes and creating their livelihoods in this community, while property values plummet in neighborhoods with introduction & expansion of Section 8 residences. It’s no wonder that long-time residents of our communities are firmly against Section 8 expansion into, and within, our community.

It destabilizes the community and brings a hoard of social problems. The increase in crime threatens our safety daily, the safety of our most vulnerable neighbors, and of our own family members. Housing authorities throughout Maryland express ongoing concerns that many Section 8 households hold citizens with significant criminal records. Very often, these criminal records involve drug-related charges. Should we welcome Section 8 expansion into, and within, our community given these facts? I think not – and many long-time residents of Maryland agree with me.

An expansion of housing vouchers means an expansion of the false narrative that it is necessary to award publicly-funded homes to those who can demonstrate a need – and leaves nothing to be said about the efforts that many families make through struggle, sacrifice, and thrift to improve their residence prospects and avoid (or discontinue) dependence on this form of welfare.

Landlords often welcome Section 8 tenants into their properties because of the guarantee of direct deposit by the government for the majority of the rent due. The effect, sadly, upon the community is twofold: it takes opportunities away from working class families who would just as soon rent those properties, and it accelerates the decline in quality of living in the community. It accelerates the crime rate; it puts greater demand on public services (police & emergency services), which eventually leads to increases in taxation; it changes academic reputations of schools; an influx of low-income renters causes a lack of buying power in the community, and the economy further suffers. The entire community suffers.

 In latter 2017 Baltimore has announced that it will provide legal assistance, with taxpayer money, for immigrants facing deportation, as a part of the SAFE Cities Network. As an elected representative of the state of Maryland, specifically Baltimore County, I will vehemently oppose any initiative, directive, or legislation calling for publicly-funded assistance for individuals facing deportation, or illegal immigrants residing in our state. The fact is that the welfare state is tremendously expensive to taxpayers and I believe that only American citizens should reap the benefits of programs into which American citizens pay.

According to the Pew Research Center in 2017, there are likely over 11 million illegal immigrants in American today. As the ‘melting pot’ of the world, we have a rich history of welcoming immigrants from around the world to America – to become American citizens. The importance of becoming a citizen is complex, but it is worth noting that it officiates an individual to pay into, and reap the rewards of, a complex system of public services. Accordingly, we have a pathway for immigrants to attain United States citizenship. We must hold immigrants seeking to prosper and benefit by residence in America to the same standard – to be expected to apply for citizenship, or to otherwise conduct business in America entirely within the parameters of the law as applicable.

Granting ‘breaks’ to illegal immigrants – through public funding – is inherently wrong. As your elected representative, I will stand firmly against it.

When elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, I vow to present and support legislation that emphasizes community preservation: we will protect and preserve our communities by fighting forced Section 8 expansion into our neighborhoods and by combatting illegal immigration in the state of Maryland.

End Red Light & Speed Light Cameras & Other Mass Surveillance: Joseph Sandy for Maryland Delegate

ENDING MANY USES OF MASS SURVEILLANCE

When elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, I vow to present and support legislation eliminating and prohibiting the use of many forms of surveillance equipment, including red light & speed cameras on our roadways, without individualized warrants or probable documented suspicion of individualized wrongdoing.

In our innovative, ever-growing technological world, American citizens grow increasingly wary of unwarranted bulk data collection, domestic spying by our government, and the ever-growing prospect of loss of privacy. Sometimes you might as well say it seems there’s a camera on every corner of America. And it’s got its eye on YOU, all the time. Every phone call, every internet search, every keystroke, every text message, every social media post.

There are shockingly few laws in place regarding the state’s use of surveillance equipment and bulk data collection. Your every move can easily be tracked today – all without any individual warrant, or even any legitimate suspicion that you have done anything wrong. It’s as though the government is waiting for you to ‘slip up’ so that you can pay-up to the state.

Government use of drones, red light cameras, speed cameras, and all kinds of surveillance equipment leads to HUGE CORPORATE PROFITS for Big Business - and it comes right out of your pocket whether you like it or not. They make a FORTUNE from YOUR tax dollars when the state invests in this equipment – often without your knowledge, and most assuredly against most citizens’ consent.

Red light cameras and speed cameras lead to BREACHES IN CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT. Citizens are being falsely ticketed for vehicles that don’t even belong to them, or for vehicles in which the ticketed citizen was not the driver. Speed and red light cameras are well-documented as being error-prone. And yet this FRAUD is allowed to continue because the vendors of these devices make HUGE profits, and Maryland collects HUGE profits from citations that are EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to fight when a citizen is falsely cited. The devices aren’t even owned by the state government – in fact, they are owned by the vendors. It is the vendors who charge citizens a fine – one that is all too often in error, and then the state simply gets a cut of the profits. This is a FAILURE OF DUE PROCESS UNDER THE LAW, and that is a BREACH OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT.

It is up to Marylanders to demand that it come to an end.

We the people have a choice – and it’s just not in Big Government’s interests to remind you of that. We have a choice, we have a right to be informed, and we have a right to individual privacy. It’s a human right and our own Supreme Court has upheld it in countless cases throughout time. Not to mention our right to DUE PROCESS UNDER THE LAW!

When elected, I vow to present and support legislation eliminating and prohibiting use of many forms of surveillance equipment, including red light & speed cameras on our roadways, without individualized warrants or probable documented suspicion of individualized wrongdoing.

We absolutely must choose the correct representative individuals who will bear our most basic human rights in mind – and remain ever-vigilant when our liberties are threatened. Joseph Sandy is committed to the cause.

Open Letter to Citizens of Baltimore County

AN OPEN LETTER 

TO THE

CITIZENS OF BALTIMORE COUNTY

It is foremost in the spirit of public service that I seek a representative position in the 42nd District Maryland House of Delegates where I may be of service to my neighbors in this district, this country and this State of Maryland. At the end of the day, my decision to run for office is all about ALL of YOU.

I’m not a “career politician,” a doctor (though I've worked with many), a lawyer, or an affluent businessman – after all, not everyone brings home a six-figure income annually. I’m a working-class Marylander making a fair living and I have no stakes in any representative position other than a sincere desire to bring principle, conscience, and the preservation of liberty to politics and public representation.

What sets me apart from the rest? For starters, I'm NOT a current or former politician, because we sure have enough of those. But more importantly, I'm NOT bought-and-sold, and am NOT obliged to "PARTY INSIDERS" - though I welcome their support if they truly believe in my message. What sets me apart from the rest, ultimately, is that by refusing the "red tape" that you find in politics that often keeps new faces from running for office, I can guarantee you that my ONLY allegiance is to YOU, and to the conservative values that matter to you. I don't subscribe to "politics as usual," I don't run local political clubs with access to high-profile "party favorites" and "party insiders." I'm a free agent who wants the same common-sense values and conservative approaches to legislation concerning OUR community.

I am a lifelong resident of Baltimore, Maryland, and a graduate of Loch Raven High School, the Community College of Baltimore County, and Towson University. I have come to fulfill many roles of service over the years. I’m a member of several local community councils here in Baltimore, including the Greater Parkville Community Council and the Police Community Relations Council Precinct 8. I am a healthcare professional working for over eleven years with world class physicians and practitioners in delivering mental health care services to the regional community in need; I also assist in providing hospice services to the regional community in need of ongoing palliative care via home & assisted-living community visitation. I assist at a local nonprofit animal rescue helping to house & care for abused animals in crisis; I’m a designated storm spotter for the National Weather Service; I am an ally and proponent of peer support recovery services for the community that has struggled with substance abuse, trauma, & related circumstances.

Public service is the most important part of my life, and an informed public is close to my heart.

My interest in the state of our communities, and my concern about our ever-growing authoritarian government, does NOT stem from some personal desire to find my way into a representative position with no term limit – in fact, actually, one of my main priorities is to dissolve limitless-term arrangements in public representation. The fact is that YOU deserve representation that HEARS YOU, which will propose & support legislation that directly BENEFITS YOU.

Because the truth is, this isn’t about me – this is about YOU, the Maryland citizen. We have a LOT TO GAIN from enacting the BEST CHANGES in our great state – clear, understandable, transparent changes. Specific action!

I am committed to proposing and supporting legislation that protects & preserves our Baltimore County communities by fighting forced Section 8 expansion into our neighborhoods and by combating illegal immigration in our communities. Property owners have worked their entire lives making homes and creating livelihoods in our communities, and the increase in crime levels threatens our safety, the safety of our most vulnerable neighbors & family members, and diminishes property values. We must work to reclaim our right to privacy and fight warrant-less surveillance in Maryland, too – including fighting the many-times failed red light & speed camera gimmicks, as studies have shown increases in accidents (including dangerous intersection collisions that occur following the installation of speed & red-light cameras), while they have a proven track record of being faulty and often unjustly drain taxpayers of millions of dollars of hard-earned income across the nation annually when citations are issued in error. Like forced Section 8 expansion in our community, the red light & speed light camera program is a prime example of underhanded "backroom deals" at the expense of liberty.

My friends and neighbors, this is not what the American Dream is supposed to be. We must act, and we require strong, like-minded leadership at the forefront of our efforts to preserve our communities.

And let's be honest: all too often, politicians have LET US DOWN for YEARS. Each time they’re elected for representative positions, they claim that they’ll enact “real change,” so much that it’s become cliché – but the truth is, they’re all too often only interested in GROWING BIG GOVERNMENT, REGULATING YOUR INDIVIDUAL CHOICES, and ultimately SPENDING MORE OF YOUR TAX MONEY. The only real difference between too many politicians is WHERE they want to spend YOUR money.

Perhaps one reason “career politicians” tend to be so unpopular is that they’re so easily bought-and-sold. Corporate lobbyists, crony capitalism, and the like – we hear about this all the time.

But I'm NOT bought-and-sold, as are too many of our career politicians. This campaign relies upon YOUR VOICES and MY PRESENCE. My campaign is as transparent and as clean as they come.

The fact is, a vote for Joseph Sandy is a vote for SMALLER GOVERNMENT and GREATER INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, period!

Let's RESTORE AND PRESERVE LIBERTY together, and keep the right principles and conscience at the forefront of our Baltimore communities.

Marylanders deserve the best.

We CAN and MUST enact change.

I am a REAL PROSPECT for REAL REPRESENTATION and REAL CHANGE for Maryland.

Yours in Liberty, 

Joseph D. Sandy
www.ElectJoeSandy.com

By Authority of Friends of Joseph Sandy – Maurice Grace, Treasurer