Why I am Supporting Cheryl Kagan and Why I Believe She Deserves Your Support to be our Next State Senator

At the District 17 Democrats state senate debate Tuesday night in the Rockville Library, the candidates were asked to describe an issue they cared deeply about but that did not get a lot of attention. Cheryl Kagan described her commitment to be a champion for non-profit organizations in the state legislature.

Talk of economic development often ignores this key element of the economy, despite its importance, especially in our area. Nationally, non-profit organizations–ranging from the Johns Hopkins University to local food pantries like Manna Food–pump over a trillion dollars a year into our economy and employ one in ten workers. In our Metro area, closer to one-sixth of the workforce is employed by non-profits.

Like every other sector of the economy, the non-profit sector has particular issues that must be addressed if it is to grow, thrive and continue to carry out essential functions. But in a stressed economy, nonprofits are called upon even more to meet basic needs, even as they have fewer resources to count on.

Cheryl has a long history in the non-profit world. I have known and worked with her over the years at the national and local levels as she worked with groups promoting public policy like gun control and reproductive choice, and most recently when she was Executive Director of the Carl M. Freeman Foundation, which distributed over a million dollars a year to sustain and enhance valuable non-profits, mostly in Montgomery County.

Cheryl understands the funding, personnel and other needs of non-profits, and has pledged–not only last night, but throughout the campaign–to serve as a liaison between our state government and the non-profit sector if elected. That’s just one more reason why she deserves our support in her campaign to be our next State Senator.

Sima Osdoby

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