Scientist scopes out District 3 Senate race

Jan. 27--A research scientist has entered the Senate District 3 race with a focus on family.

Democrat Jennifer Brannan, of Whittier, filed for candidacy Jan. 18.

She said that, if elected, her top priority would be working to establish paid family leave in Maryland, paid for by either a small payroll or employer tax. The General Assembly recently passed a law giving Marylanders 15 days of paid sick leave, but Brannan's proposal would include broader, universal family leave.

"For a small investment, we could gain an economic advantage," Brannan said, adding later, "There's no reason that American families shouldn't have that, and it's clear that it's not going to come from the federal government."

Having family leave would help women stay in the workforce, she said, and thereby increase Maryland's tax base.

The U.S. was the only country surveyed among the 41 members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and European Union that did not offer paid family leave, according to a 2016 study from the OECD. U.S. federal law entitles employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family or medical reasons.

Brannan also said she was evaluating ways to reduce the cost of child care and provide universal prekindergarten education.

"Some things we are just going to have to invest in," she said, adding that investing in children's education can save on social services when they are older. She also said there was a moral imperative to provide early childhood education.

Brannan said she supported the "Fight for $15," a campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, saying that a higher minimum wage would reduce the need for social services. When asked if she thought the measure would hurt Maryland businesses, Brannan said that other parts of the country including Seattle were adopting the higher minimum, and that if someone opens a business they should be prepared to pay their workers a fair wage.

One reason she is running for the District 3 Senate seat, Brannan said, was that she didn't see that focus on families coming from leaders and politicians.

The self-identified progressive will take on Sen. Ron Young (D-District 3) in the primary, she said, because she didn't see him addressing the issues that are important to her.

"I appreciate everything Senator Young has done for Frederick, and I have no beef with that," she said.

Young voted to establish Maryland's paid sick leave policy and has stated his support for a $15 minimum wage.

Brannan considered running for office after the 2016 election. The election of President Donald Trump and the way the Democratic presidential primary season unfolded heightened her interest in politics. In particular, she said she believed that young people generally felt disengaged from the process and didn't feel they had a say in the primary elections.

She shared ideas to encourage civic engagement, including automatic voter registration and open primaries. Brannan said open primaries would lead to more people voting in primaries, which in turn would lead to better candidates. In response to concerns that people from other parties might vote to "sabotage" the other, she said people shouldn't base policy on "lowest common denominator" behavior.

Brannan said that she hoped to be part of a movement to bring new people to the party and focus on progressive issues such as single-payer health care instead of working on incremental changes.

The senior research scientist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases said her scientific training would make her an effective policymaker. She planned to take a data-driven, critical approach to policy, something she said was lacking in the current political environment.

"We've really moved away from evidence-based policymaking," she said, noting some politicians' attacks on climate change science.

The 3rd Senate District includes southwestern portions of Frederick County, including the city of Frederick, Urbana, Point of Rocks and Adamstown.

The 2018 primary election is on June 26, and the general election is on Nov. 6.

Follow Kelsi Loos on Twitter: @KelsiLoos.

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