Challenger to candidate James Appel (R) for seat being vacated by retiring incumbent Jared Littman (D)

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Marc Rodriguez lived the early part of his life in Mexico (his father is Mexican, and his mother is American), but his roots are in Annapolis. Being fluent in Spanish is not a requirement of the alderman from Ward 5, but Rodriguez believes it is a decided asset. The ward, which straddles Forest Drive, is 25% Hispanic.

 

While Rodriguez has never held public office, he has benefitted by working for 18 months as special assistant to current Ward 5 alderman Jared Littmann. In addition to assisting Littmann in working on the budget for two years, Rodriguez helped draft city ordinance O-1-17, Non-Discrimination of Foreign Born Residents, which prohibits city officials from questioning individuals about their immigration status or denying them services or benefits based on immigration status, unless such inquiries are required by law. Rodriguez helped to educate the community about the legislation and worked for its passage.

 

Rodriguez supports the recently passed addition to the Adequate Public Facilities (APF) ordinance, which ensures that proposed developments are assessed for their impact on schools.  Alongside Littmann, he also helped draft the Forest Conservation Act Ordinance, which was passed in 2016. Rodriguez wants to ensure that the city’s Human Relations Commission has minority representation on its board and that funds are allocated to pay for a full-time, instead of half-time, Hispanic community liaison.

 

Rodriguez believes that quality education, controlled development, safety, and a living wage are issues that affect everyone and to which everyone is entitled. While he has a special interest in assisting the Hispanic community, he also feels strongly that improving life for one group of citizens improves life for all.

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Update: Alderman Jared Littmann has responded to this interview, stating that he endorses Marc Rodriguez's candidacy for Ward 5 Alderman.