2022 Voter Guide: Nicholaus R. Kipke, candidate for Maryland House District 31

Why are you running for office?

I care about the community I represent and believe I am in the best position to continue serving and advocating for the district.

What is the most pressing issue in your district?

The increasing cost of living is the greatest threat to the quality of life for people in the area. This is due to inflation created by bad federal policies, high state and local taxes, and the increasing sprawl from the DC metro region which is driving up housing costs in the area.

How will you help your constituents deal with inflation?

I'll continue to vote against all tax increases and advocate for more meaningful tax relief and spending restraint in our state budget.

What do you see as the top transportation priority in your district, and how would you address it?

Many of our state and neighborhood roads need to be resurfaced and thanks to legislation that passed this session we will see a large influx of cash to do that in 2022 and 2023.

What should schools do differently during the next pandemic to help students, families and teachers?

Obviously, at the beginning of Covid when things were so uncertain it made sense to keep everyone at home for a short period of time. However, when it became clear that schools could safely open they should have as that was in the best interest of students. Many private schools figured out how to open back up quickly while public school students were forced to stay home and attend school virtually. In the future, we need to prioritize keeping students in the classroom for academic, social, and mental health reasons.

How equitably do police officers treat people of color?

Broadly, I believe law enforcement officers do an incredible job and deserve our respect for putting their lives on the line everyday to protect and serve our citizens. I support MORE FUNDING for the police so that they can be the best at the tough work they do and have the training and resources they need to do their jobs effectively. I reject efforts to defund the police and I reject the anti-police rhetoric coming from the political left. Like anything, law enforcement can be better, including on issues of race, but that only happens with the right staffing levels, robust training, and support from political leaders. All Marylanders deserve to be treated the same, regardless of their skin color, and have their rights honored by law enforcement. I know that law enforcement is going through all of the necessary steps to make that happen.

What would you do to make sure Maryland's voting system is secure and accurate?

I cosponsored legislation that passed which brought back the individual paper ballots that are auditable. Getting away from the touch screen system that we used to use and which were used around the country in the recent presidential election is crucial as they are too vulnerable to hacking and not auditable. I also authorized legislation that passed which forces boards of elections to preserve important documents for the purpose of auditing and possible prosecution of election fraud. Election fraud does occur and we must do everything possible to audit our system constantly to prevent even a single vote being cast that is illegal, including systematic forensic audits.

What are the right goals and deadlines for Maryland to reduce carbon emissions and develop renewable energy sources?

Maryland and the nation should embrace nuclear energy as the best path forward for robust and reliable electricity. Other sources of energy are good but we need reliable energy and in my opinion nuclear is the best at achieving that in a low cost and environmentally friendly way.

What's Maryland's best use of federal COVID relief money?

Since the covid relief money is a factor in inflation and the national debt, I believe it should be added to the rainy day fund and used for one time investments that benefit future generations.