Life Gets Real for Montgomery County Senator

(Annapolis, MD) – I get a lot of emails during the legislative session, but receiving this one from Montgomery County Senator William “Will” C. Smith made me pause.

Silver Spring, MD, February 6, 2019 - State Senator William “Will” C. Smith, Jr., an Officer in the United States Navy Reserve, has received orders from the Pentagon to deploy to Afghanistan in support of Operation Resolute Support. Smith, who serves as the Vice Chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and is Chair of the Senate Veterans Caucus, will report for duty on March 29, 2019. The Senator’s deployment comes toward the end of Maryland’s 439th legislative session.

               

Senator Smith, who is an attorney in private practice with a focus on national security law and employment discrimination, commissioned to be an Intelligence Officer through the Navy Reserve’s Direct Commission Officer Program and has received the National Defense Service Medal; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; two Joint Meritorious Unit Awards; and a Joint Service Achievement Medal.

Senator Smith’s office will remain operational in his absence and his staff will be actively engaged in handling constituent matters for the residents of District 20.

 

The next day I saw Senator Smith and told him. “Things just got real.” He smiled and nodded. The Montgomery County Senator has been on a unique trajectory since his appointment last year to the Senate (he won a full term in November 2018). He is one of Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller’s legislative lieutenants.

His military background endears him to a cross-section of legislators from both parties, and it doesn’t hurt he is the Chair of the Veterans Caucus. Senator Smith is not the first to deploy to a warzone. During his term in the House of Delegates Congressman Anthony Brown was deployed to Iraq.

The Naval Reserve Officers deployment will come before the end of the 2019 session. It has put some pressure on the legislative leadership to consider bring up controversial bill if they need passage.

Senator Smith talks about his deployment, constituents, and legislative agenda in this edition of “Live from the Pit.” (just click)

Charles County Through A Different Lens

(Annapolis, MD) The evolution of Charles County according to Senator Arthur Ellis has been in the works for some time. The county was at one time the heart of tobacco country in Maryland. The jurisdiction is nestled near the Potomac River. Its county seat is Waldorf which splits Route 301 on your way to the Nice Bridge which links Maryland and Virginia.

In our wide ranging conversation during “Live from the Pit” Senator Ellis talks about how federal employees from Washington, DC saw the county. According to him it was seen as an oasis from urban sprawl with affordable homes. It’s less than an hour commute to the nation’s capital. The catalyst for change came after a firebombing of several homes in the Hunters Brook sub-division in December 2004. The assailant and his co-conspirators said, “the arson (was done) in partbecause African-Americans were buying many of the houses” in the county.

Fast forward to the 2018 election results. It brought significant change to Maryland’s southernmost county, Charles County. Senator Ellis who was and is a NAACP activist took out a lieutenant to the powerful President of the Senate, Senator Thomas V. “Mike” Miller. Senator Ellis bested Senator Thomas “Mac” Middleton in the primary, helping lead a wave of freshmen legislators. As I look at the Charles County Delegation now, it has five African-American Delegates and one African-American Senator (Sen. Miller is the only holdover from the past).  I have several books with pictures of past delegations and this looks nothing like it was.

Senator Ellis, a Certified Public Account, is finding his way around the capitol meeting with constituents and colleagues. His district was severely impacted by the recent federal government shutdown. He’s introduced his first piece of legislation to help those who suffered.

We also talk about the solar farm which Georgetown University wants to put in Charles County. I was shocked to learn he lives five miles from the site and he gives his take on whether putting the farm there is the best usage of the land.

Lastly, many legislators don’t come to Annapolis by themselves. I was kind of taken aback when I called to set up this appointment and I got the Senators voice mail. When I arrived at his office, a woman sitting at the desk went to get him. As we set for the interview he told me his secretary was in mandatory training session. So I asked about his intern who greeted me? That’s when he told me, “Charles, that’s my wife.” After apologizing, I introduced myself and she was as gracious a host as I will ever meet.       

Take a listen to the podcast. "Live from the Pit" with Sen. Arthur Ellis.