June 27, 2024

Dear Friend:

Happy summer! School is done, pools are open, and the sun is blazing! Please stay safe in the heat. Children, the elderly, overweight individuals, and those taking certain medications may be more susceptible to dehydration. Please review these warning signs of heat-related health issues. On particularly hot days, Montgomery County’s Ride-On parks cooling buses at Metro and transit stations. Please call 3-1-1 if you need more information about government and nonprofit resources.

With the first Presidential debate tonight, we’re all pretty focused on November’s critically important election. You may be interested to know that I was recently featured in a video on the topics of election security and disinformation. Check out the full “State of Play” series produced by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

A few weeks ago, I joined a small, bipartisan group of legislators from across the country outside of Kansas City for an elections-focused gathering convened by NCSL. I’m pictured here with the joint election directors– one Democrat, one Republican– in Clay County, Missouri following our educational tour of their voting systems and processes.

One of the key issues in this year’s election will be reproductive choice. Two years ago, the Supreme Court handed down its controversial Dobbs decision, which eroded abortion rights that had been in place since 1973. In November, Maryland voters will have the opportunity to enshrine reproductive freedom in our State’s Constitution. Rachel Robin on my staff attended a pro-choice rally with Vice President Kamala Harris.

To be partisan for a moment, I want to be clear about the enormous difference on abortion rights between Democratic nominee Angela Alsobrooks and Republican (Trump-endorsed) nominee Larry Hogan. Just because Hogan calls himself a moderate does NOT mean that he is one! He vetoed our abortion bill, vetoed our gun safety bill, vetoed our 10-year Blueprint for Maryland’s public schools, and even vetoed one of my common sense election bills. He’ll pander to the Right Wing AND could be the one vote that returns the Senate majority back to the Republicans.

The Fourth of July is right around the corner, but I also want to acknowledge that freedom from slavery was not known to all Americans until June 19, 1865– now commemorated as “Juneteenth” every year.

Mattie J.T. Stepanek was a beautiful soul who died from a degenerative genetic condition at almost 14 years old. In his honor, his mother Jeni has organized Peace Day celebrations on his birthday for the past ten years. On Sunday, July 14 from 11am-2pm, head to at Mattie’s Park in Rockville’s King Farm for music, food, and fun family activities. Learn more about Jeni’s mission at MattieOnline.com.

For too many years, I have been speaking out on the importance of changing the name of the MD State FireMEN’s Association. Three of Maryland’s county fire departments are headed by women chiefs. Last week, it finally happened: MSFA now stands for the MD State FireFIGHTERs Association. To celebrate, my staff and I took a picture with the stickers I had designed and printed several years ago. Props to the MSFA leadership– their website is already updated!

Stay safe and cool out there…

Best,

Cheryl

Cheryl C. Kagan

State Senator, District 17

(Gaithersburg & Rockville)

www.CherylKagan.org

PS: As Pride Month is wrapping up, let’s pledge to treat our neighbors with compassion and respect– every month of the year!