Del. Mary-Dulany James on First Week at Session

From the Office of :
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Dear Friends:

I am excited to inform you of this week’s opening of the 430th session of the Maryland General Assembly!

This session, as with other sessions, is rife with challenges. But instead of shrinking from these challenges, we will take them on. There are many families in Maryland that are counting on us to do what’s right for the state, and to help alleviate some of the pressure they feel because of the recession. Though the last few years have been hard, there are shimmers of light that foretell the improvements that we will see.

Many people found themselves unemployed as a result of the Great Recession. While we continue to plow forward and grow our economy, we have also made great strides in combating the problem—43 percent of the jobs lost during the recession have been recovered so far, 27,000 since the beginning of the last session. This is great news and will surely be improved upon in the near future.

Continuing as a national leader, The Old Line State had its schools ranked the best in the country for  the fourth year in a row! We have our hardworking educators and administrators to thank for this accomplishment. Education is an invaluable investment, especially when considering the economy—while the general unemployment rate in Maryland is 6.8 percent, the unemployment rates among college  graduates and high school graduates are 5 percent and 10 perent, respectively. But among those who have neither a high school nor college degree, the rate is 15 percent. Education, therefore, is crucial in keeping our unemployment level low.

While we have come far, we still have a long way to go. I look forward to contributing to solutions that will hopefully move our great state forward. I cannot thank you enough for your support and giving me the honor of representing you in the General Assembly. I hope to keep in close touch, and to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Please feel free to contact me if there is anything that I can do to represent you better.

Very Truly Yours,
Mary-Dulany James