A Conversation With Aruna Miller

A transportation engineer and mother of three, Aruna Miller has lived in Darnestown for the past seven years and in Montgomery County for 20. She is one of five Democratic candidates for the Maryland House of Delegates for District 15 in Tuesday's primary.

Miller is part of the legislative slate that includes incumbent delegates Kathleen Dumais and Brian Feldman, both of whom are running for reelection in this race. Dumais has served as delegate since 2003 and Feldman since 2002. Miller is also up against David Fraser-Hidalgo, a small business owner and former police officer from Boyds and Lara Wibeto, a small business owner and veteran of the U.S. Army also from Darnestown. Registered Democrats can vote for up to three candidates. The top three vote earners go on to the general election in November.

Editor Jillian Badanes found Miller at the Germantown Community Center where she was talking to early voters. An edited and condensed version of their conversation follows.

North Potomac-Darnestown Patch: Why did you decide to run for House of Delegates?

Aruna Miller: I think Montgomery County is a great place to live, work and raise a family, No. 1. And I've done all three of those things here. I live here. I work for Montgomery County Department of Transportation, and I've raised a family here. All my kids were born here.

No. 2, I think one of the major issues of concerns for residents of District 15 is transportation, if not all of Montgomery County. I am a transportation engineer, and I've worked with the community on behalf of the department on this concern.

For personal reasons, I came to this country as an immigrant when I was 7 years old. I am originally from India. My father came to this country to seek better opportunities for his family and my siblings, and I have benefited so much from the opportunities we've gotten in this country. I feel like I wanted to give back to this country. One way to do this is through public service. I've been a public servant all my life, and I feel like this is just a good way to help people in a greater capacity than I'm doing right now.

Patch: What issues do you think people in this area most care about?

Miller: District 15 goes through an urban area. We get parts of Bethesda and into Potomac and then you get into Germantown, where there are a lot more immigrants. Then you go all through the rural areas of Dickerson, Boyds, Poolesville. So there are a lot of varying interests for our residents, but I think first of all is protecting our environment. The Ag[ricultural] Reserve — that is a major concern for our residents.

I think transportation is a big issue here. We have two major transportation projects here that are on going, which are the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) and the Great Seneca Science quarter. What happens to that area has a big interest and impact on the residents here, not only through zoning and the development that goes but also the transportation that is going to be provided there.

I also think creating jobs is very important for the residents here. We are facing a really grim outlook for the budget this year. I've been knocking on doors, and I'm hearing that's a big issue for residents. What are you going to do with this budget deficit? How are we going to deal with it? 

And finally I think the schools: That's the No. 1 reason people move to this area, and that's the reason our housing value goes up because our schools are so strong. There's been a lot of talk at the legislature to shift some of the teacher pension funds from the state to the local jurisdictions, and I think that's a major concern for some of the residents. Because if that was ever to happen, Montgomery County would be disproportionately impacted. How are you going to make up for that cost? You're going to have to lay off teachers and make classrooms bigger. I'm going to make sure the state continues to pay for these funds. I want to go to Annapolis and make sure that doesn't happen.

Patch: You mentioned the Science Corridor. Many local residents are concerned about how the development will impact them. What is your position on that?

Miller: It's a very visionary idea to have that. You're bringing on in all these biotech jobs. We're going to make it like the economic engine of Montgomery County to have that type of development here. But as you have development, there has to be caution. The first thing that has to be done is you have to get the funding. You have to get the funding for the CCT. You have to make sure the transportation aspect is there before you start building and developing it, because if that isn't there, then everything else is a nonstarter as far as I'm concerned. You have to have other options besides just roadways. You need to have mass transit like CCT. You have to have bicycle lanes. You have to have sidewalks. You have to give people options to get from work to wherever they need to go. So we need to subsidize those options.

Patch: Can you point to any of your past accomplishments that would benefit you in the House of Delegates?

Miller: As a transportation engineer and as an at large member [of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee], I've worked with the legislature for the past 20 years, because many times transportation is an issue that comes up in the legislation. I've dealt with them on a professional level. I've also worked with them in a party capacity as a party leader. I've worked with other leaders of the party that promote core Democratic values….

I'm told that if I do get elected, I would be the first Indian-born female that would get elected in the Maryland assembly. There's a 17 percent Asian population here, so I think I would be able to bring their issues to awareness if elected.

Patch: What does your family think about your campaign?

Miller: I could have never taken on this kind endeavor if it wasn't for my family supporting me. My biggest No. 1 supporter is my husband. He has been pounding the pavement, making phone calls, making sure everything is done. And my kids, this has been such a wonderful opportunity for them — not only for my kids, but also for my mom. My mom isn't a citizen. So this is very exciting for her to see this for the first time…. The running joke in the Democratic party is "Here comes the Miller army." There are six of us that come to every event. I make sure my kids see everything that is going on. It's important for them to do public service, so I make them volunteer as much as possible, and it's been a wonderful learning experience for them.

Patch: What do you and your family enjoy doing in Darnestown?

Miller: We live very close to the C&O Canal, and we live very close to the Seneca Creek Park. On Berryville Road, we have a little greenway with a trail. We go walking on the trail. We go riding to the Potomac River through the trail. There's so much to do just on our street alone. We love to walk our dogs there.