Flip the County Coalition, a group of women dedicated to bringing fresh leadership to the Anne Arundel County Council and County Executive offices, is proud to support James Kitchin’s candidacy for District 7’s representative on the County Council. James is a consensus builder who will promote smart growth, improve the educational system, and protect the environment. From Crofton to Edgewater, Harwood to Lothian, and Mayo to North Beach, James is committed to listening to his constituents and representing the entire district. We believe he will represent us and our issues with integrity and passion.
Flip the County  (FTC) emerged from the Huddle movement when women who became politically active after the 2016 election decided to focus on making a difference at the county level. After talking to current county council members, we realized that we needed new leadership at the County Council and County Executive level to ensure that our voices are heard on issues we care about.
Here are the issues we value and how we see James Kitchin advancing those values.
Education: We value quality public education and believe paying our public school teachers a living wage is essential to making the schools in Anne Arundel County strong.
- We support James in his commitment to ensuring the county school budget includes step increases for teachers.
- We want to see restoration of the step increases teachers lost during the recession.
A Voice for the People: We value having a seat at the table and support elected officials who want to listen to and work with their constituents.
- We support James’ commitment to holding regular town hall meetings and surveying all affected stakeholders before making critical decisions that will impact their lives.
- We support James’ position that elections in Anne Arundel County should be publicly financed in order to foster a healthier relationship between our local government and its residents.
Smart Growth & Environment: We value the quality of life and the quality of environment in Anne Arundel County.
- We support James in his desire to address the issues that are negatively impacting the quality of life and environment in this county, including traffic and road congestion, land use and poor water quality.
- We appreciate a county council candidate willing to take on these issues with specific and practical solutions.
Equity for Women & Minorities: We value supporting equity for women and minorities at a local level. Affordable childcare and a living minimum wage impact more women and people of color.
- We appreciate James’ commitment to advocate for a living wage and affordable childcare legislation.
- We also value his advocacy for women and minority candidates to serve on boards, as department heads and on our courts throughout Anne Arundel County.
Social Justice: We value supporting immigrants. Many of us are descended from immigrants who came to this country for a better life. We believe it is in our county’s best interest to work with immigrant communities in positive ways.
- We agree with James’ opposition to the 287g program in our county which deputizes our correctional officers as agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. We share his concern thatthrough this program we are spending county resources on enforcing federal immigration law. It also exposes our county to financial liability for unlawful detention of residents without probable cause that they committed a criminal offense.
- We also agree with James’ concern that, in another immigration control program, we are profiting from their detention. We are deeply opposed and offended by the practice of separating immigrant families at the border and then using our county detention facilities to hold these adult immigrants without their families.
We are proud to support James Kitchin, candidate for District 7’s County Council seat. James is a leader who values social justice, transparency and equity. He will plan for and promote smart growth, educational excellence, and environmental protections.
For more information, contact Claire Miller, ctmsailor@gmail.com, a representative of FTC.
