Hucker aims to make difference in House

Activist files for District 20 delegate race

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Hucker

‘‘I’d sort of been raised to use my energies to make a difference in people’s lives,” the 39-year-old Silver Spring resident said.

But when he was a sophomore at Boston College, where he was studying medicine, Hucker helped get legislation passed to allow toxic waste sites in the state to be cleaned up in eight years instead of 80, as had originally been planned. And at that point, he said, he realized he could help more people by being an activist than by being a doctor.

Hucker has been an activist for about 10 years, but now he said he’d like to take his energy and commitment to the next level. He is running for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates in District 20.

‘‘I could get more done if I’m actually inside the House rather than outside the House,” Hucker said.

Hucker said his experience as Progressive Maryland’s executive director would serve him well. Through Progressive Maryland, a Silver Spring-based nonprofit organization that supports the lives of working families, he has lobbied legislators to boost spending on public schools, make health insurance more affordable and raise minimum wage. Doing so has helped him meet a number of District 20 constituents, as well as General Assembly members throughout the state, he said.

‘‘Most delegates of ours don’t have relationships in the Senate,” he said. ‘‘I’ve developed relationships in the Senate.”

Tom Hucker House of Delegates, District 20 39, Silver Spring Democrat Experience: Former executive director of Progressive Maryland; member of NAACP; member of the National Organization for Women; member of the Sierra Club Top Issues: Education, environment, affordable health care For more: www.hucker4delegate.com

Additionally, he added, he’s also developed relationships with several members of the House. ‘‘That puts me in a different place,” he said.

As a member of the House, Hucker said he would continue to push for progressive tax reforms to fund education initiatives, and would continue to advocate for the Purple Line, also known as the Bi-County Transitway, and campaign finance reform.

Hucker has been endorsed by several individuals and organizations like NAACP President and U.S. Senate candidate Kweisi Mfume, Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-Dist. 18) of Chevy Chase, school board member and County Council candidate Valerie Ervin, the Montgomery County Education Association and the Maryland State Teachers Association.

Hucker lives with his fiancée in downtown Silver Spring.

District 20 includes Takoma Park and portions of Silver Spring.