ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY COUNCIL
DISTRICT 7
CAILEY LOCKLAIR
Party: Republican
Age: 36
Residence: Edgewater, Anne Arundel County
Occupation: President of the Maryland Retailers Association
Education: A.A., B.A., M.S., Certificate of Security Assessment and Management, Certified Association Executive (2024)
ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY COUNCIL
DISTRICT 7
CAILEY LOCKLAIR
Party: Republican
Age: 36
Residence: Edgewater, Anne Arundel County
Occupation: President of the Maryland Retailers Association
Education: A.A., B.A., M.S., Certificate of Security Assessment and Management, Certified Association Executive (2024)
Previous political experience: I have been advocating and working on policy issues at the state and local levels for the past 16 years. I previously worked at Maryland House of Delegates and was the Deputy Executive Director of the Baltimore Jewish Council. I am now the current President of the Maryland Retailers Association where I work closely with elected leaders to advocate for political issues and legislation important to employees and employers and fight new taxes, fees and regulations.
Why are you running for office?
COVID wreaked havoc on many people's lives - not only medically, but economically. This was made worse in Anne Arundel County by unscientific policy decisions that arbitrarily closed schools, closed business and stopped people from working. People lost their businesses, people lost their jobs and many children are still suffering today. Watching local government make decisions that unfairly benefited some but not others was a wake up call for me, so I decided to get involved and run for office. I have the political experience and proven determination to stop these unconstitutional policies and address the many issues plaguing our community.
What do you see as the most pressing issue the county faces and how would you address it?
The most pressing issues are the fallout from the unscientific and arbitrary decisions by the current administration. We need to let parents participate in their child's education, we need to help formerly shuttered businesses succeed and we need to refund to the taxpayer the almost $300 million dollars in tax increases that were not spent as promised.
Will you invest in projects to unclog the county's crowded roads?
Building new and better roads brings more growth, yet we all want unclogged roads. I want to be very very clear. I do not support additional development in South County. I will be careful to ensure that money spent to "unclog" roads does not lead to poorly planned sprawl and is spent actually fixing road infrastructure. We must stop the cycle of unending growth.
What plans do you have to help the county and its businesses successfully emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic?
I've played a key role during the pandemic and served on Governor Hogan's advisory retail re-opening task force. My organization also distributed over 30,000 PPE items to employers and employees and provided daily information to thousands of businesses so they could remain open. At the same time, the only way to "successfully emerge" is to have a frank discussion on how we got here. Businesses will be slow to re-invest if they know local government can arbitrarily force them out of business. Parents will not utilize public schools if they know their kids are being used as experiments. And our citizens desperately need tax relief. To move forward, local government must come clean and re-earn the trust of the public.
What steps should the county government take to address opioid overdoses and deaths?
I work closely with our local pharmacies on drug take back programs, which helps to get excess opioids off the streets and advocated for legislation to increase access to narcan. I also support increased drug courts that allow Judges to get non-violent opioid users into recovery and I support the County's Safe Stations program which allows non-violent drug users seeking to recover immediate assistance as well.
What role can the county government play to improve education in county schools?
I support our public school teachers. But I do not support the union's attempt to force teachers to socially indoctrinate our children, nor do I support the removal of parents from the process. Forcing gender fluidity for elementary children and labeling elementary students racist is flat out wrong. It must be stopped.
What efforts does the county need to make to address systemic racism in government services?
I will always stand up against injustices and assist the disenfranchised. Government has a duty to treat and serve all citizens equally. However, divisive training or pre-labeling people as racist is counter productive, if not illegal. I reject the notion that certain groups of people are inherently racist or evil.
What steps must the county take to improve public safety?
I value our public safety employees. They put their life and career on the line every single day. I will never vote to defund the police and, in fact, I believe we need to increase staffing and resources for both fire and police. I also support transparency and accountability as well as body cameras. The current administration's lack of law enforcement support has resulted in sky high crime rates - again, this is unacceptable. I will reverse Steuart Pittman's war on law enforcement.
How is climate change impacting the county and what can be done locally to address the effects?
I strongly believe we have a moral duty to care for our environment, however Anne Arundel County alone cannot effect the perpetual cyclical changes in the world climate. But that does not mean I think we should put our heads in the sand and ignore our environment. The most pressing needs we have are air pollution from the Northern Virginia suburbs and storm water runoff that is polluting the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries. I support economically feasible projects that have a proven ability to decrease pollution.
Authority: Friends of Cailey Locklair, Donnie Neuenberger, Treasurer.
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