Delegate Bill Bronrott
Announces Bid for Reelection to Maryland House
BETHESDA (May 28, 2002) -- State
Delegate William A. Bronrott (D-16, Bethesda) today announced that he is
running for reelection to the Maryland House of Delegates representing the
16th legislative district. District 16 encompasses Bethesda, North
Bethesda, Glen Echo, Cabin John, Friendship Heights, and parts of Chevy
Chase, Potomac and Rockville. Bronrott, who was elected in 1998, is
seeking a second term.
"The past four years of representing this extraordinary community have
been the greatest honor and experience of my life," Bronrott said. "It has
been extremely rewarding to have been successful on many of the issues I
set out to tackle."
As a member of the House Commerce and Government Matters Committee and the
House Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Bronrott has quickly
earned a reputation as the leader on a range of public safety and
transportation issues, including pedestrian safety, child passenger
safety, drunk driving and underage drinking.
Bronrott counts as his top accomplishment the new focus on
pedestrian-traffic safety that has become a top priority in Montgomery
County. "Four years ago, I pledged to put pedestrian safety and walkable
communities on the front burner because crossing the street should not be
a death-defying act," he said.
After taking office in 1999, Bronrott founded the Greater Bethesda-Chevy
Chase Pedestrian Safety Coalition that served as a catalyst for county and
state action. In 2000, County Executive Doug Duncan appointed him to chair
the Montgomery County Blue Ribbon Panel on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety.
Bronrott pointed out that Maryland's population will grow by one million
by 2015. "The question is how we grow," he said. "The principles of Smart
Growth and safe communities should guide us along the way. I am prepared
to go the distance on this quality-of-life concern which is one reason I
am seeking a second term in the Maryland House."
Bronrott also counts among his top accomplishments passage of legislation
to:
* formally establish a Maryland Pedestrian Safety Program,
including a "Safe Routes to Schools" pilot project.
* lower the drunk driving limit to .08 blood-alcohol level.
* create a Child Booster Seat law.
* make fleeing a fatal or life-threatening crash a felony.
* increase the state's share of building sidewalks and bicycle
pathways along state roads to improve local community links to
transit, schools and commercial areas.
* strengthen Maryland's seat belt and teen driving laws.
* allow the immediate suspension of driver's education instructors
or schools found to be in blatant violation of the law or driver's
education curriculum standards.
* preserve Maryland's motorcycle helmet law, and
* make available to the public, at no cost, direct on-line searching
of the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) and the
Maryland Register, and some of Bronrott's efforts have had a
regional focus. He helped spearhead the effort to extend
Metrorail hours of operation to 2:00 a.m. on weekend nights.
Bronrott also brought together
elected officials from Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern
Virginia to support the Million Mom March's call for greater gun safety.
In addition, Bronrott strongly backed bills to combat domestic
violence, protect a woman's right to choose, strengthen protection of
victims' rights, encourage greater environmental protection and energy
efficiency, expand prescription drug coverage, and increase funding for
schools and teachers.
"These past four years have been natural extensions of my work over
the previous 20 years," Bronrott said. From 1979 to 1987, Bronrott was a
top aide to former Montgomery County Congressman Michael D. Barnes (D-8) -
the last Democrat to represent Maryland's eighth congressional district.
Barnes is Honorary Chair of Bronrott's campaign committee. In 1987,
Bronrott founded his own public affairs practice specializing in a range
of public interest issues.
Bronrott said that, if reelected, his top priority would be the pursuit
of his vision of a "world-class balanced transportation system that will
move people and products safely and efficiently throughout our region."
Bronrott supports the Inter-County Connector, Inner Purple Line and a wide
range of transit and other transportation alternatives to single-occupant
vehicles.
Bronrott was recently honored by the Maryland Municipal League and the
Institute of Transportation Engineers of the DC / Maryland region for his
work on pedestrian safety and walkable communities, for which he was also
named "Delegate of the Year" by the Maryland Public Health Association.
Last November, the National Commission Against Drunk Driving named him
"Humanitarian of the Year."
Last week, Bronrott was among 24 Maryland firefighters, police and
emergency medical personnel who received a "Maryland Stars of Life Award"
from the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems. He was
Maryland's only elected official to receive this honor because of his
dedication to injury-prevention and highway safety issues.
In addition to his legislative work, Bronrott serves on the Board of
Advisors of the Charles McC. Mathias National Study Center on Trauma and
EMS, the Board of Directors of the American Trauma Society of Maryland,
and the Board of Directors of the Suicide Prevention Education Awareness
for Kids (SPEAK).
District 16 is also represented by State Senator Brian Frosh (D-Chevy
Chase) and Delegates Marilyn Goldwater and Susan Lee, both Democrats from
Bethesda.
Bronrott, who was born in Washington, D.C., has lived in Montgomery County
nearly his entire life, except for his years at the University of Maryland
at College Park where he earned Bachelors and Masters degrees from the
Department of Communications. He grew up in Silver Spring and graduated
from Montgomery Blair High School.
