Young Democrats of Maryland Featured Content

Intern's Goodbye Post

Lauren Turek ydmintern@gmail.com — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:27:38 PST

Hey everyone!

Well, I can’t believe it’s finally here--the last day of my summer internship. The summer went by way too quickly! When I first applied for this internship in April, I didn’t really know what to expect, since I’d never had an internship before. What would it be like working in an office for the first time in the middle of the 2010 election season?

Well, I can now answer that--it was amazing!

Interning with the Young Democrats of Maryland and working simultaneously for the Maryland Democratic Party allowed me to do some really interesting and exciting things. While other interns were fetching coffee and getting their boss’ dry cleaning, I got a first-hand look at the world of politics. I never used to think about all of the work that goes into elections, but now I understand how many different pieces make up a single person’s campaign.

Through my internship, I got to experience many different aspects of the political world. For Young Dems, I was able to use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter to connect with other people and spread the word about upcoming events. Speaking of events, I was able to plan a big crab feast for one of YD’s campaign invasions, which was super fun, and it gave me a glimpse at what event planners do. I also got to use my creativity to make flyers for upcoming events, and I learned so much about website maintenance, which is such an important skill in today’s workplace.

In addition to interning for Young Dems, I also worked simultaneously for the Maryland Democratic Party. Through MDP, I felt more informed about politics than ever before in my life. I read dozens of news articles each day about party candidates and elected officials, researched issues and claims made by candidates, and helped out at numerous events. The highlight of these events, I must say, was the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake. Just imagine thousands of people, grabbing as much free seafood they could possibly want, along with corn, fries, ice-cream, and tons of other treats. We were there to support Governor O’Malley and other Democratic politicians, and let me tell you, political campaigning never tasted so good!

My advice to anyone thinking about getting an internship: do it! Interning is a great first step into any career you're hoping to pursue. Obviously, internships look great on a resume, but there are lots of other benefits that I didn’t think about when I first got my internship. In college, there aren’t summer assignments to make sure your academic performance doesn’t slip over the few months you’re not in school. Doing all of the research and writing that goes along with an internship really helped me perfect these skills. Now, I’m not intimidated to jump right into my classes at the end of August that will be filled with readings and 10-page papers. Also, I’m sure my parents were very appreciative of my internship, since it forced me to stay on schedule and not sleep in every day! Plus, I traveled all over Maryland, seeing cities and counties that I had never thought to visit in my 19 years living here. And finally, my internship was so much fun! I met so many wonderful and different people that I never would have met without this job, and I’m going to miss them all so much.

Thanks to Erin and Jake for being such great supervisors with Young Democrats, and everyone at the Maryland Democratic Party. It was a great summer, and I know it will be a great November for Democrats!

All the best,

Lauren

Post from the New Intern

Lauren Turek ydmintern@gmail.com — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:45:59 PST

Hey everyone! My name is Lauren Turek and I’m going to be the new intern for the Young Democrats of Maryland this summer! I’m from Severna Park and I just finished up my first year at George Washington University. I’ve always been outspoken about my opinions, which probably contributed to my love of politics from an early age. But really, I love politics because I think that those people who work for our government have the ability to truly affect people’s lives for the better. I want to be a part of that.

I hope that working for Young Dems will give me the ability to learn so much more about politics, and hopefully I’ll be able to really interact with the young people of our Democratic Party and hear what they have to say.

I’m so excited to start my internship here. Let’s make this a great summer!

Democrats � We�re FAR from an Aging Party

Erin Schurmann eschurma@gmail.com — Tue, 11 May 2010 23:20:22 PST

Josh Kurtz’s article, “Wanted – Fresh Blood,” in Center Maryland yesterday missed the mark in a huge way. His portrayal is a skewed view of the Democratic political landscape for Maryland in 2010 as he discussed only statewide races, and paid no attention to the local levels of government where the bulk of campaigning is happening this year. Young Democrats from across the state who will again appear on 2010 ballots have filled Annapolis over the last four years. To name a few: Senator Lisa Gladden and Delegate Shawn Tarrant in Baltimore City; Delegate Johnny Olsewski & Delegate Todd Schuler in Baltimore County; Delegate Aisha Braveboy, Delegate Justin Ross, Delegate Ben Barnes, & Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk in Prince George’s County; and, Senator Rob Garagiola, Delegate Bill Frick, Delegate Kirill Reznik, Delegate Craig Rice, Delegate Jim Gilchrist, Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher, and Delegate Heather Mizeur in Montgomery County, all of whom are young Democrats influencing positive change for Maryland constituents, as well as building excellent reputations as legislators. Howard County Executive Ken Ulman is another young Democrat in Maryland politics who has proven to be an effective, innovative leader and is setting examples for best practices for other counties throughout the state. Additionally, Democrats have a plethora of young candidates running for higher office with an excellent shot at winning including, but not limited to: Judd Legum in District 30; Craig Zucker, and Eric Luedtke in District 14; Nicole Williams in District 23A; Sam Arora in District 19; Luke Clippinger in District 46; David Kosak in District 42; and, Brian Bailey in Baltimore County Councilmanic District 1.

If Mr. Kurtz is implying that Democrats do not have grassroots support among young people, he should look no further than the Young Democrats of Maryland. With the help of this organization and the local chapters it embodies, young people are mobilizing throughout the state, running for office, and launching campaigns for their mentors, colleagues, and friends. Additionally, many of the more senior elected officials in Maryland will see an influx in youth support through the Young Democrats due to their consistent and commendable efforts to foster younger members of the party and to provide them with the resources and skills needed to run for higher office and become the effective legislators of the future. For evidence, one need look no further than the rooms filled with Young Democrats at the fundraisers that are filling the weekly calendars, whether they be for Governor O’Malley, Senator Mikulski, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, or for our younger colleagues running for office for the first time.

Those referring to the Maryland Democratic Party as “aging” are failing to recognize that, just as the older members of the party are continuing on their path of excellence, the younger members of the party are aging and maturing into the their roles as campaign managers, newly recognizable local leaders, newly filed candidates and freshly burgeoning elected officials climbing to a higher office. We believe that Mr. Kurtz, in failing to look at the entire picture, has made a snap judgment as he overlooked that the party is simply not wasting a recognizable amount of energy rebuilding the younger generation; instead, through the Young Democrats of Maryland the state party has been seamlessly reloading an abundance of young talent for years.

Jake Weissmann & Erin Schurmann

Healthy Healthcare

Melanie Share melanieshare@gmail.com — Thu, 06 May 2010 09:50:06 PST

When we celebrated the passage of historic health care reform earlier this year, there were many much-needed new laws to celebrate. Allowing young adults to stay on their families' health insurance plans longer, stopping insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, reigning in costs - these are all essential policies that will help families across the country. While there's been much discussion of these aspects of reform, I want to go a little more in depth about one of my favorite provisions of the bill: menu labeling! That's right, thanks to health care reform, fast food chains (with more than 20 locations) will soon be required to post how many calories are in each item right on the menu! While this may seem like a minor policy change, I think it is a key step in re-framing how Americans think about fast food.

Now before anyone thinks I am up on a high horse here, I will admit to indulging (more than) occasionally. But you better believe when I go for that frosty (I was going to say Big Mac, but being a vegetarian, I don't actually go for that), I know what I'm getting myself into (or, more accurately, getting into myself). But just because I have a bizarre interest in looking up nutritional information (and a job where I sit in front of a computer 9 hours a day, often with a few minutes to spare for menu stalking), doesn't mean that most people can or will research their meals ahead of time. Let's face it, if you're working long days and coming home to a family that needs to be fed, looking up how many grams of saturated fat are in the meals you're eating isn't at the top of your to do list.

But when we talk about preventative care in this country, the impact of what we put in our bodies is huge and often neglected. By choosing a diet of fattening and sugary foods, we not only do harm to ourselves, we cost the rest of the country money. A 2009 Centers for Disease Control study found that the indirect cost of obesity to the US "is as high as $147 billion annually." (Source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/09/fact.check.obesity/index.html). Some people have gone so far as to link obesity to national security (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/04/too-fat-to-fight/39303/). Now I want to be clear that when I talk about the harms of unhealthy lifestyles, I am not just talking about obesity. I'm sure we all know thin people who eat unhealthy foods (and larger people who are healthy). Measures like blood pressure and cholesterol can be way more important than what size jeans you wear.

At any rate, making healthy choices about what we eat has a huge impact on our health care system as a whole. By posting clearly the calorie count of all menu items, consumers will be much more informed about the choices we're making. I personally think labeling should go beyond calories (things like sodium, fat content, etc can also be important), but I understand the logistics of putting all that up on the menu would be difficult. Helping people make healthy choices for themselves is a huge step forward for our country. Perhaps more importantly, teaching children about healthy choices (and providing those options at schools) empowers the next generation with tools that I dare say our generation was not provided. Sure, we all had to learn the old food pyramid in health class every year (bread at the bottom? I don't think so!), but we also were fed tater tots and greasy pizza for lunch every day. One glance at an episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (highly recommend) will give you an idea of just how out of whack our current system is. French fries count as a vegetable and the FDA requires two bread products per meal! Luckily, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 will update our standards, and hopefully bring more nutritious foods to our schools. For a sometimes entertaining, sometimes depressing look at our current school lunches, check out this blog I stumbled upon (when doing some research for this post): http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/.

There are tons more nutrition related issues I could go on about (FDA potentially limiting sodium, tax on sugared soda, all kinds of good policies), but I think I'll save them for another day. In the mean time, keep an eye out for some healthy changes in fast food restaurants around you! For more information on menu labeling, check out this article from the Washington Post: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/03/menu_labeling_coming_next_year.html .

Erin's Advocacy Crushes: The Hottest Lobbyist of 2010

Erin Schurmann eschurma@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:56:50 PST

It�s that time of year again. As the Maryland General Assembly begins to wrap up a busy legislative session and Sine Die approaches, I approach a yummy lobbyist and ruthlessly mack on him (or her). What can I say - it�s a good time to be a girl in politics. So who was the Hottest Lobbyist of 2010 you ask? Mr. Pete Baron, the Legislative Director of the SEIU of MD/DC, took home this year�s award. Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the interview below. And Pete? The answer is yes. Yes, you do need my vote. First six rounds of martinis are on me.

Why do you work for the SEIU? Our members are the nurses that care for our sick; the bus drivers that get our kids to school safely; operators that answer our 911 calls; the child care providers that care for our children; the security guards that protect our office buildings and maintenance folks who keep them safe and clean and many more, but you get the point - that we all deserve a fair shake. For over a generation now the policies of our government have been systematically squeezing the middle class, and SEIU is doing something about that by fighting to make the American Dream achievable for all people. Our members are hard working Americans who deserve an honest day�s pay for an honest day�s work � Oh, all that and to make Glenn Beck cry.

Describe your perfect piece of legislation in the Maryland General Assembly. This is a tough one; there isn�t just one piece, there are many things that need to be done to make Maryland work for families such as, better wage and hour protections, health care and civil rights for all. But, I would say a top priority of mine is to get Obama to bring back Arrested Development.

Describe your perfect date. Is there a picket line nearby?

What is your biggest obstacle in governmental relations? Bad shoes, I started the session with older shoes and January was tough.

Are you single? Do I need your vote?

What�s your favorite part of your job? The purple, I look great in purple.

Since we�re in the midst of the biggest economic recession in memory and facing record unemployment, how has this impacted lobbying strategy and priorities for the SEIU and unions in general? As many of us know from our own experience or that of someone we know whenever the economy suffers the lower wage workers are the hardest hit, even in good economic times they are the most likely to be hanging by a thread � So while we need to find ways to do more with less, the current economic climate only highlights the need for us to do more to protect the American family.

A good way to take your mind of this hard work is with martinis. Interested in a drink? Do I need your vote?

At Sine Die, what do you hope will have been accomplished during this legislative session? Arrested Development is back on the air.