Colburn draws second challenger
This morning, Chris Jakubiak began a four-city announcement tour in Salisbury as he seeks to unseat incumbent State Senator Richard Colburn of District 37.
Speaking from prepared remarks in front of a small group of supporters and press, Chris laid out his agenda and detailed his background as business owner and practicioner in the field of urban planning, including work here in Salisbury. Jakubiak revealed he was running because "it's time for a new direction, a new energy, a new commitment, and a new matter-of-fact way of solving problems."
Among his priorities if elected will be advancing economic development, restoring local waterways and Chesapeake Bay, and education. He noted that, "I seek a state government that is lean and effective, pragmatic and affordable."
Saying that 135,000 Marylanders lost jobs last year and the state has a budget deficit of $2 billion, Jakubiak blamed Republican incumbent Senator Richard Colburn for being "as much a part of the institution as anyone else in Annapolis," but will choose to unveil his legislative priorites over the next several months.
Yet in looking at Colburn's voting record, he's one of the more moderate GOP Senators. In the past, he's voted with Democrats on several environmental issues (like the so-called Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act of 2009, 2008 legislation restricting growth in critical areas, and the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007, which banned smoking in restaurants) and has voted for each of Governor O'Malley's three budgets (while he also voted for amendments to reduce the budget, his opposition didn't carry through.)
Afterward, I asked Chris, "You say that Senator Colburn is 'part of the institution' yet he has generally voted against many of the policies you decry. Would there be reason to believe you'd make the 'tough decisions' when the majority hasn't been able to do so?"
Chris thought there was a "disconnect" in state government and that he could "bring a realistic point of view to problem solving." The issues before Annapolis were not simple, but complicated and he would work to be a "consensus builder."
His four-city rounds continue today through Cambridge, Preston, and Easton, including a Cambridge stop at a local high school to speak to a group of young Democrats there.
Jakubiak, of Wye Mills, will square off with 2006 candidate Tim Quinn in the Democratic primary on September 14.