Candidate Profile: Lisa Burnam Runs For County Council, District 9

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Candidates in the Democratic and Republican parties will be competing on Tuesday in their respective primaries to see who will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Patch has asked each of the candidates running in select races to fill out a questionnaire, sharing facts about themselves and why voters should choose them to represent their party in November.

Let's start with your name.

Lisa Burnam

What email should be used to contact your campaign?

lisa@lisaforpg.com

Does your campaign have a website?

https://www.LisaForPG.com

What city or town do you live in?
Accokeek

What office are you seeking?
County Council, District 9

What is your party affiliation?
Democrat

Please share with us with your education.
B.A., Graphic Communications, University of Maryland Global Campus

What is your occupation?

Director of Social and Digital Media

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.
I am with two children, a girl (5) and a boy (18 months), and my husband and I are caregiving for my disabled mother.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?
No

How old will you be as of Election Day?
39

Why are you seeking this office?

Lisa is running to represent District 9 on the Prince George's County Council. She believes urgent action is needed to solve the county's environmental and decades-old structural problems. Lisa is committed to making our communities resilient and achieving housing justice, especially for seniors and people with disabilities. She wants to fully fund our schools, lower child care costs, overhaul our transportation infrastructure, make polluters pay medical bills, create a county health care plan, and fight for quality jobs and family-supporting wages.

She will work to increase fiscal oversight in county projects, government transparency, and resident participation to ensure that the development of south county reflects the vision of those who live here. Lisa's plans include municipally-owned enterprises to raise revenue in the county without adding future tax burdens on residents. Lisa was raised in a working-class household and will represent working-class interests on the council.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is \_\_\_, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Overdevelopment and poor planning in south county

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I have over 15 years of experience working in actual public policy organizations across a range of issues that would inform all of my pro-working class policy ideas. The network backing me isn't comprised of special interests in real estate lobbies, they are democratic socialists and experts who craft economic, health, and housing policy that makes communities better for working-class people.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?
He is fully lacking accountability. He violated the public trust by trying to ram through a gerrymandered map; ignores issues raised by residents in less affluent parts of the District and only engages with constituents near where he lives, and caters to developers.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Raising the minimum wage, county-backed healthcare, municipally-owned childcare centers and broadband, creating social housing to address the shortage of affordable homes to buy and rent, implementing the climate action plan while also developing a participatory budgeting system.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

This is the first time I am running for a local office. While I've never had the responsibility of making legislation affecting so many, my years of community activism and commitment to fighting for social justice issues despite adversity give me confidence in my ability to handle this role.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?
Just do the work. Don't think about how hard it is and don't worry about the results. Keep focused until it is done.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?
I am not a politician seeking to climb a career ladder. I am a community member invested in seeing a positive, transformative change in my county.