Mary McGuirt, Patch Staff

Email: marym&#64;patch.com<br>Phone: 443 621 0419<br>Hometown: Lumberton, NC<br>Birthday: May 3

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<br>Mary McGuirt graduated from The School of Journalism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with an emphasis on Broadcast Journalism. She has always had a passion for journalism and was always told growing up that she asked too many questions!

Mary most recently worked as an Associate Producer for ABC News in the Atlanta Bureau. There she kept her frequent flyer miles frequent by traveling to breaking news situations all over the country, including: the 2008 flooding in Iowa, Hurricane Ike in Houston and the 2009 Billings Murder in Pensacola, Fla. Prior to that, she was a Desk Assistant for ABC News in New York.

Mary is a native North Carolinian and a Tarheel Basketball fan! (Sorry Terrapins fans.) New to the area, Mary has always loved Annapolis and is excited to live here with her husband. When she&#39;s not running around town writing stories, taking pictures or shooting video, Mary enjoys spinning class, attempting new creations in the kitchen and trying to learn la bella lingua Italiana.

<br><br>Your Beliefs<br>At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.<br><br><b>Politics </b>

<i>How would you describe your political beliefs?</i>

I try to be open-minded and make my voting decisions based on the issues.

<br><i>Are you registered with a certain party?</i>

I am currently unaffiliated with any parties.<br><br><b>Religion</b><br><i>How religious would you consider yourself? </i>

I grew up in the Presbyterian Church and have always tried to make religion a part of my life. My husband grew up Catholic. We currently attend both Catholic and Protestant services.

<br><br><b>Local Hot-Button Issues</b><br><i>What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?</i>

One of the biggest issues of late in Annapolis has been the city&#39;s Market House and how to make it a vibrant public market that is frequented by locals. Other issues relating to the topic include parking and high rent in downtown Annapolis and the overall revitilization of the City Dock area. Also an issue to watch is the city&#39;s budget.

<br><i>Where do you stand on each of these issues?</i>

I&#39;m still new to the area and want to fully explore and cover each of these issues before formulating any opinions.