CAMBRIDGE - Angela Alsobrooks, Democratic candidate for the Maryland Senate seat of retiring Ben Cardin in November, stopped in Cambridge July 17 at an event organized by the Dorchester County Democratic Party, Sarah Gavian, Chairperson.
Alsobrooks, Prince George’s County Executive, is running against Republican candidate former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.
The event at Pine Street Community Market, 711 Pine Street, was part of a day- long Eastern Shore tour to greet voters in Worcester and Dorchester Counties.
Ed Beasley, owner of the market, the first new construction on Pine Street in 50 years, was happy to offer his space for the community meet and greet.
Noting the state’s assistance in helping with funding for the market, Beasley was glad to help serve as a meeting point for someone seeking state office. But he was also inspired to help out for another reason.
“If she wins, she’ll make history,” Beasley said.
If elected, Alsobrooks will be the first Black female senator from Maryland. In 2018, she became the first woman to hold the position of Prince George’s County Executive and the first Black woman elected to the office of County Executive in Maryland history.
Arriving after stops at the United Association of Mid-Atlantic Pipe Trades annual summer convention and a clothing and community assistance drive at Ocean Pines Public Library, Alsobrooks took time outside to visit first with youngsters from neighboring historic Bethel AME Church.
Alsobrooks shared that she enjoyed returning to the Bethel Church community, recalling a visit during the primary campaign when she worshiped there.
Making her way inside the Market packed with supporters and youngsters from the Cambridge Empowerment Center who stopped by to enjoy a cup of ice cream, provided free by Beasley to all throughout the event.
As longtime local DJ Willie Beasley, Ed Beasley’s cousin, spun tunes, Alsobrooks mingled with those gathered before addressing the crowd and thanking them for coming.
Saying she was “proud” to run and “thrilled beyond words” to be able to travel from one end of the state to the other,
Noting not only the presence of the Mayor of Cambridge but the many children, Alsobrooks announced that “this election is about the future of our state, and our country,” calling it “one of the most important elections of our lifetime.”
“This election isn’t about whether or not you like Larry Hogan,” Alsobrooks said, noting that she had worked well with her Senate seat opponent, the former Governor, while serving as Prince George’s County Executive.
“This is about who will hold the 51st vote in the upcoming Senate,” she said, on issues including Supreme Court appointments, noting the impact of not only the overturn of Roe vs. Wade, but recent impactful decisions regarding presidential immunity and the Chevron doctrine regarding government administrative agency’s independent interpretations.
Noting that she was the mother of a 19-year-old daughter, Alsobrooks decried seeing her daughter’s generation have to again fight for rights their mothers and grandmothers had worked to achieve in areas of abortion access and IVF fertility programs. She also noted recent Republican representative votes against access to contraception as another area of concern.
Hard fought rights for members of the LGBTQ community were also potentially at risk, Alsobrooks said.
Urging people to not only vote but to volunteer to work with her campaign, she stressed that the election outcome was vital for protecting jobs and opportunities for all, ensuring that large companies pay their fair share of taxes, affordable healthcare for elders, Social Security, and ensuring all children with the best education possible, without respect to zip code.
Adding that her values were “framed by my family,” Alsobrooks shared the story of her grandmother Sarah, who worked as a housekeeper raising a large family, including her father, in a N.E. Washington, DC apartment.
“She had a great desire to support her family by getting a job with the federal government, which, back then, required a typing test," Alsobrooks said.
Unable to afford a typewriter to practice on, Alsobrooks’ grandmother devised her own makeshift keyboard using paper and marker. She got the job.
“I am Sarah’s legacy,” Alsobrooks said. “We all want the same things for our families. I came from a very working-class family; my mother was a receptionist, my father a circulation worker with the Washington Post, who in later years as his wife’s caregiver, struggled financially to have enough money to pay for her care,” she said.
“I pledge to you, anytime they see me in the Senate, they’re also going to see you,” she said.
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