August 27, 2021

Credit: The Garrett County Republican

FROSTBURG — The Garrett County Democratic Club recently held its annual Roosevelt/Kennedy Dinner in Frostburg at the Hen House Restaurant. The theme for the event was “The Year of the Woman.”

U.S. Rep. David Trone, D-Md., the dinner’s keynote speaker, praised Garrett County Democrats for honoring the history of women’s suffrage and fighting for more women leaders in politics.

It was a close working relationship with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, he said, that helped him win him an appointment to the Appropriations Committee, the most powerful committee in the House.

“I spend all of my time trying to use that position to benefit my constituents in Western Maryland,” he said.

The child tax credit passed in 2021, said Trone, was the most “transformational piece of legislation” since the New Deal. The tax credit will benefit 130,500 children in Maryland and bring 6,400 children out of poverty.

Trone said he was proud to work closely with Board of Garrett County Commissioners Chairman President Paul Edwards on a number of issues, including increasing broadband reach in the county.

“Bipartisanship is what I do,” said Trone, who detailed how he has worked with Republican members of Congress to introduce legislation dealing with addiction and mental health.

“This year, drug overdose deaths have reached a new record with an estimated 93,000 overdose deaths across the country and a 45.9% increase in Western Maryland,” Trone said.

“Just this past month, President Biden signed my bill, the DUMP Opioids Act, into law to allow people to safely dispose of their unused opioids at VA Centers across the country. I will continue working in Congress for more resources to support prevention, treatment, and recovery to end this epidemic once and for all.

“I thank Garrett County Democrats for helping support legislation that is changing the lives of people in Western Maryland for the better,” Trone said.

“As always, we thank Congressman Trone for his support for our rural communities in Maryland and his abiding philosophy that Democratic values are American values,” said Charlene Pullias, president of the Garrett County Democratic Club.

Maryland Democratic Party Chairwoman Yvette Lewis addressed the group and reminded everyone of the many local women upon whose shoulders the work for women’s equality rests.

“Chair Lewis is an inspiration to every Democrat in Maryland. She embodies the principles and values we hold dear and encourages all of us to be good Democrats, to always do the right thing and work to win,” Pullias said.

Among the women Lewis honored was Doris Goldsborough. Democratic Club members annually nominate a Democrat in honor of Goldsborough, who has made a difference in Garrett County while exemplifying the values and principles of the Democratic Party. The 2020-21 winner of the Doris Goldsborough Award is Patrick Hunt, who was the first Garrett Countian in 120 years named to the Electoral College 2020. He currently serves as vice chairman of the Garrett County Democratic Central Committee and chairman of the club’s membership committee.