Jared Solomon (Maryland politician)

This article is about the Maryland state politician. For Pennsylvanian state politician Jared G. Solomon, see Jared Solomon (Pennsylvania politician).

Jared Solomon
Solomon in 2023
Member of the MarylandHouseofDelegates from the 18th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2019 Servingwith Aaron Kaufman and Emily Shetty

Jared Scott Solomon (born April 3, 1985) is an American politician from the Democratic Party and is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 18.

Early life and career

Solomon was born on April 3, 1985, ^[1] and raised in suburban Philadelphia. ^[2] He attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, history, and economics, and Johns Hopkins University, where he received a Master of Arts in teaching. Solomon also attended one semester at the London School of Economics. ^[1] After graduating, he taught social studies at Northwestern High School until 2009, after which he worked as a project coordinator for the District of Columbia Public Schools. From 2011 to 2013, he worked as a senior policy director for First Focus, afterwards working as a policy advisor to U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr. until 2018, when he resigned to run for the Maryland House of Delegates. In this capacity, Solomon worked on immigration, LGBT, and education policy and was the lead staff negotiator on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. ^[3]

In the legislature

Solomon was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2018, ^{[4] [5]} and sworn in on January 9, 2019. He has been a member of the Appropriations Committee during his entire tenure. He is also a member of the Maryland Transit Caucus and an associate member of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus and Women Legislators of Maryland. ^[1]

During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Solomon ran for delegate to the Democratic National Convention pledged to Pete Buttigieg. ^[6] In the presidential general election, he canvassed for Democratic nominee Joe Biden in North Wales, Pennsylvania. ^[7]

In January 2024, Solomon, along with state senator Shelly Hettleman and 20 other Jewish lawmakers, created the Maryland Jewish Legislative Caucus. ^[8]

Personal life

Solomon is married and has two children. ^[1] He is Jewish. ^{[9] [10]}

Political positions

Environment

During the 2019 legislative session, Solomon introduced a bill providing $30 million to schools for water remediation efforts to reduce lead levels in drinking water to 5 million parts per million, which passed and became law. ^[11] In 2021, he introduced legislation to encourage school systems to adopt renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ^[12] and another requiring schools with lead levels higher than 5 million parts per million to make remedial repairs by summer 2022. ^[13]

Gun policy

In June 2022, following mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, Solomon attended a March for our Lives protest in Wheaton, Maryland, where he called on Congress to pass gun safety legislation. ^[14]

Housing

During the 2023 legislative session and following an apartment fire that killed one, Solomon supported legislation requiring high-rise buildings to install automatic smoke alarms in public corridors. ^[15]

Israel

In November 2023, Solomon was one of 19 Jewish members of the Maryland General Assembly to sign onto a letter condemning a statement released by CASA de Maryland calling for an immediate ceasefire in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. ^{[16] [10]}

Labor

During the 2021 legislative session, Solomon introduced a bill to consolidate the collective bargaining process within the University System of Maryland, which passed and became law after legislators overrode Governor Larry Hogan's veto on it. ^[17] In October 2023, he participated a rally organized by SEIU 32BJ union workers to support collective bargaining efforts between the union and the Washington Service Contractors Association. ^[18]

Social issues

During the 2019 legislative session, Solomon introduced legislation to establish an independent inspector for the Montgomery County Public Schools system, which passed and became law. ^[19]

In July 2022, Solomon attended a rally at the Kensington Library to prevent disruptions to the library's Drag Queen Story Hour event. ^[20] During the 2023 legislative session, he introduced legislation that would require single-occupancy bathrooms to use gender-neutral language. ^[21]

Transportation

Solomon opposes the state's Interstate 270 and Capital Beltway highway widening plan ^[22] and has criticized its use of public–private partnerships and high-occupancy toll lanes to fund it, calling it a "bait-and-switch". ^{[23] [24]} In December 2019, he was one of 80 lawmakers to cosign a letter calling on Governor Larry Hogan to postpone the project's first phase in December 2019. ^[25] During the 2020 legislative session, Solomon introduced legislation to increase the state's financial oversight over public–private partnerships and allow the Maryland General Assembly to remove public–private partnership status from state projects. ^{[26] [27]} The bill was reintroduced in 2021. ^[28] In July 2021, Solomon participated in a rally calling on members of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board to not include the highway expansion projects in its environmental studies, which would prevent the projects from getting the "environmental seal of approval" needed for the state to start construction. ^[29]

In 2020, Solomon introduced a bill that would require the Maryland Department of Transportation to launch a memorandum of understanding process to form a regional rail service with Washington, D.C. and Virginia, which passed but was vetoed by Governor Hogan. During the 2021 legislative session, he introduced legislation to establish a regional rail system integrating commuter rail lines in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. ^[30] The bill was reintroduced in 2022. ^[31]

In December 2023, Solomon expressed dissatisfaction with Governor Wes Moore's proposed $3.3 billion in cuts to the state's transportation fund, saying that the cuts were "a penny wise and a pound foolish". ^{[32] [33]}

Electoral history

Maryland House of Delegates District 18 Democratic primary election, 2018 ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Al Carr (incumbent)	10,201	22.2
	Democratic	Emily Shetty	9,024	19.6
	Democratic	Jared Solomon	8,067	17.5
	Democratic	Leslie Milano	6,510	14.2
	Democratic	Joel Martin Rubin	5,150	11.2
	Democratic	Mila Johns	4,167	9.1
	Democratic	Ron Franks	1,493	3.2
	Democratic	Helga Luest	1,387	3.0

Maryland House of Delegates District 18 election, 2018 ^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Emily Shetty	36,284	30.4
	Democratic	Al Carr (incumbent)	35,988	30.1
	Democratic	Jared Solomon	33,476	28.0
	Republican	Linda Willard	9,836	8.2
	Green	Jon Cook	3,547	3.0
	Write-in		417	0.3

Maryland House of Delegates District 18 election, 2022 ^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Emily Shetty (incumbent)	32,621	31.0
	Democratic	Aaron Kaufman	30,860	29.3
	Democratic	Jared Solomon (incumbent)	30,711	29.2
	Republican	George M. Cecala	7,390	7.0
	Green	Jon Foreman	3,422	3.3
	Write-in		292	0.3

References

1. "Jared Solomon, Maryland State Delegate". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
2. Nathanson, Joe (October 1, 2021). "The path forward is not an easy one for SCMAGLEV". Maryland Daily Record . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
3. Gangitano, Alex (September 28, 2017). "Frustrated Democratic Staffer Leaves Capitol Hill to Run for Office". Roll Call . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
4. Peck, Louis (June 27, 2018). "Waldstreicher Bests Beyer To Win Madaleno's Senate Seat in Heated District 18 Race". MoCo360 . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
5. Peck, Louis (November 7, 2018). "Montgomery County's Annapolis Delegation To Remain Solely in Democratic Hands". MoCo360 . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
6. Peck, Louis (January 26, 2020). "Thirteen state lawmakers from Montgomery seek Democratic convention delegate slots". MoCo360 . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
7. Shwe, Elizabeth (November 5, 2020). "Among Those Glued To Pennsylvania Vote Tally? Maryland Lawmakers Who Canvassed There". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
8. Wood, Pamela (January 16, 2024). "Maryland lawmakers create Jewish caucus in Annapolis". Baltimore Banner . Retrieved January 16, 2024.
9. Rodgers, Bethany (March 1, 2017). "Local Residents Advocate for 'Bagels Not Bombs' in Response to Threats Against Jewish School". MoCo360 . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
10. Feiler, Alan (November 15, 2023). "Jewish Lawmakers Condemn CASA de Maryland's Posts about Israel-Hamas War". Baltimore Jewish Living. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
11. Broadwater, Luke (April 12, 2019). "Legislation to rid Maryland schools of lead-contaminated water passed in General Assembly in weakened form". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
12. Shwe, Elizabeth (February 18, 2021). "To Address Climate Change, Schools Encouraged to Go Green". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
13. Shwe, Elizabeth (February 25, 2021). "In Environmental Justice Push, Lawmakers Look to Decrease Harmful Toxins and Reform Government Responses". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
14. Hernández, Michael (June 12, 2022). "Local Leaders, Activists Rally in Wheaton Against Gun Violence". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
15. Shahzad, Maryam (March 7, 2023). "Councilmembers, Elrich Strongly Support Legislation Named After Woman Killed in Apartment Fire". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
16. Gaines, Danielle E.; Kurtz, Josh (November 16, 2023). "Foundation pulls CASA funding as lawmakers seek formal apology". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 24, 2023.
17. Shwe, Elizabeth (June 18, 2021). "The Pandemic Inspired Passage of Unionization Bills, But Vetoes Mean Fight Continues". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
18. Pollak, Suzanne (October 6, 2023). "Office Cleaners Rally in Bethesda for a 'Fair Contract'". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
19. Bohnel, Steve; Peetz, Caitlynn (May 26, 2021). "Education advocates want independent investigation of how police treated 5-year-old boy". MoCo360 . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
20. Pollak, Suzanne (July 25, 2022). "Uninterrupted, Drag Queen Story Hour in Kensington 'Went Off Beautifully'". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
21. Lora, Maya (March 8, 2023). "Here are seven bills to watch in Maryland focused on the LGBTQ+ population". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
22. Bohnel, Steve (August 11, 2021). "I-270/I-495 widening project clears hurdles at Board of Public Works". MoCo360 . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
23. DePuyt, Bruce (October 28, 2020). "Labyrinth of Pipelines and Cables Could Face Major Disruption by Highway Plan - And Who Would Foot the Bill?". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
24. Schere, Dan (November 2, 2021). "Differing voices heard on I-270, I-495 expansion plan". MoCo360 . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
25. DePuyt, Bruce (December 3, 2019). "Board Expected to Delay High Stakes Vote on Changes to Hogan Highway Plan". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
26. DePuyt, Bruce (March 4, 2020). "Bills Taking Aim at Hogan Highway Plan May Move in House". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
27. DePuyt, Bruce (March 6, 2020). "MDOT Signals Stop on Bills it Labels Hurdles to Express Toll Lanes". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
28. Leckrone, Bennett (March 22, 2021). "As House Pushes Through Dozens of Bills, Lawmakers Temporarily Fall Down a Deep Well". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
29. Pollak, Suzanne (July 20, 2021). "Politicians, Activists Rally Against Road Widening Before Crucial Vote Wednesday". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
30. Gordon, Wyatt (January 27, 2021). "Regional Rail Vision Aims to Stitch Md., Va. and D.C. Closer Together". Maryland Matters . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
31. Alonso, Johanna (February 16, 2022). "Legislation would expand MARC, encourage nearby development". Maryland Daily Record . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
32. Gaskill, Hannah; Janesch, Sam (December 5, 2023). "Planned cuts, construction pause to address Maryland's $3.3B transportation shortfall spark concerns". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
33. Hogan, Jack (December 4, 2023). "Md. lawmakers question Moore's proposed transportation cuts". Maryland Daily Record . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
34. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. July 31, 2018.
35. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018.
36. "Official 2022 Gubernatorial General Election Results for House of Delegates". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 7, 2022.

External links

• "Jared Solomon for Delegate" . Retrieved December 26, 2023.
• "Members - Delegate Jared Solomon". mgaleg.maryland.gov. Maryland General Assembly . Retrieved December 26, 2023.