Happy belated Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Kwanzaa!

It has been a long and supremely challenging year. The hateful, short-sighted, vindictive policies of the Trump Administration have made every day a new nightmare. Where should I begin? Disrespecting our federal employees and summarily firing them; rolling back progress on the Climate Crisis; ignoring the skyrocketing costs of health insurance; refusing to release the full Epstein files; exonerating the criminals who attacked the U.S. Capitol; ridiculing affordability as a “hoax”; granting tax breaks for the super-wealthy; arresting our neighbors without cause; arrogantly adding his name to the Kennedy Center and the U.S. Institute of Peace; undercutting our nonprofit organizations; dismissing decades of scientific research on the need for vaccines to keep us healthy; and countless more examples. [NOTE: Please don’t forget about the free 9-8-8 hotline if you or someone you know is thinking about suicide or having a mental health crisis!]

And now, at last, 2025 is nearly at an end. Throughout the past year, Maryland’s Democratic leadership has fought back with common sense solutions to protect our residents. Although these are hard times, our state remains a beacon of hope as we work across party lines to get things done.

In just three weeks…

At noon on January 14, the General Assembly will reconvene. Once again, I have a varied and common sense policy agenda. Some of the legislation I’m sponsoring will:

• Establish a statewide 3-1-1 service to relieve pressure on our 9-1-1 centers;
• Support our nonprofit sector, so desperately needed now;
• Expand opportunity for unaffiliated voters to participate in Primary Elections;
• Create a revolving loan program for nonprofits to shift to “green energy;”
• Protect consumers from “bait & switch” tactics;
• Require Special Elections to fill legislative vacancies so that it’s the voters who select their representatives– rather than party activists; and
• Much more!

Please stay in touch to learn more about the legislative session– from me and from the three Delegates representing District 17 (Julie Palakovich Carr, Joe Vogel, and Ryan Spiegel). I hope you will plan to join us for a virtual Town Hall on Thursday, January 15, at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom.

You can RSVP here: https://bit.ly/TownHall2026

And, if you’d like to come join us in Annapolis, we’ll be hosting a reception on Monday, January 26 at 6pm. To reserve a place, please RSVP at https://bit.ly/AnnapRecep

Check it out?

For more than five years, I’ve hosted “Kibbitzing with Kagan” and post brief conversations on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple podcasts.

Best,

Cheryl

Cheryl C. Kagan

State Senator

District 17 (Gaithersburg & Rockville)

Vice Chair, Committee on Education, Energy, Environment (& Elections!)

www.CherylKagan.org