Candidates for 6th Congressional District come face-to-face at Frostburg forum

Democratic incumbent Rep. David Trone, D-6th, and his Republican challenger state Del. Neil Parrott, R-Washingon came face-to-face on the campus of Frostburg University on Monday evening for a forum, which while largely civil, highlighted significant differences between the candidates.

In his opening statement, Trone, who was elected to the 6th Congressional District job in 2018, touted his bipartisanship before critiquing Parrott’s stance on abortion and response to HIV, and the Republican responded to his opponent’s claim.

“You heard my opponent say, ‘He’s the most bipartisan guy in the world,’ and then he couldn’t but help attack me before we even got started,” Parrott said. He then alluded to Trone’s voting record, which mirrors House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, stating: “That’s not bipartisan. That’s as partisan as you can possibly get.”

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The candidates then responded to student questions on topics, including and ranging from abortion, to education, to police, and transportation, asked by two student representatives of Frostburg and two representing Allegany College of Maryland, in front of the crowd of about 170.

The crowd included dozens of nonstudent supporters of both candidates. Both candidates did not shy away from returning to the topics of their choice throughout the evening.

From transportation to the border?

The evening’s first question about public transportation in Western Maryland played to a specialty of Parrott, a traffic engineer by trade.

Parrott responded by referencing the widening of U.S. 219, dedicated to retiring state Sen. George Edwards, Allegany/Garrett/Washington, by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan earlier this month, as well as what he deemed “private solutions” like Uber and Lyft.

He then transitioned from transportation to the southern border of the United States, a frequent talking point throughout the evening.

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Trone said approximately $70 million in funding for U.S. 219 came from a bill he included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year, not Hogan in Annapolis.

“The bill came 100 percent from Washington,” Trone said. The road runs North-South in Garrett County, Maryland’s western most jurisdiction.

Opioids and the border

Perhaps the evening’s most heated exchange came during a discussion of the opioid epidemic, causing the moderator, Elesha Ruminiski, chair of the university’s communications studies department to reference the “mindfulness practice” that she does with students to restore calm.

The exchange began with Parrott, who tied the opioid epidemic to the U.S. Southern border.

“The very first thing you want to do if the bathtub is overflowing with water is turn off the faucet,” Parrott said. He then called to secure borders, and blamed Trone and partisan politics for not addressing the opioid problem at the border.

“Shame on you for saying we don’t do a good job on fentanyl,” Trone said. “We lead Congress on fentanyl.”

Trone referenced co-chairing the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking with Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who he deemed an “extremist.” He said the commission, including Cotton, found that stopping demand for the drug needed to be the focus.

Parrott returned to the “turn off the faucet” theme in his closing remarks.

Education and the border?

When a student questioner asked Trone what he would do to make sure students in the 6th Congressional District had the same access to educational resources as students in high-income counties, he returned to a familiar topic of the evening — the border.

“Let’s finish up on one more thing,” Trone said. “The product (fentanyl) comes over the border by vehicle.”

He cited the difficulty in stopping the drug trafficking when such a high percentage of fentanyl comes from vehicles.

He then transitioned to education, referencing the low statewide test scores released this month, which he called “terrible.” Providing internet access and improving mental health were two areas Trone said would improve student learning.

Parrott started his response to the question about education by reading a sign from a national park on the Southern border that said smuggling may be encountered in the area. He then made the transition to education by saying parents need to be given more choice in their children’s education and attributed the low test scores to school closures during the pandemic.

Candidates concluded by shaking hands

Despite some verbal sparring and some question redirection by the candidates, at least one educator walked away from the forum happy with the opportunity for civic dialogue.

“I’m pleased mostly that we had the ability to have both candidates here,” said Frostburg University President Ronald Nowaczyk. “In today’s society, I think it’s really important for (our students) to get involved.”

Frostburg student David Mandl, 21, was one of the dozens of students on hand for the forum. One action of the candidates, in particular, stood out to the college student who follows national politics.

“It was commendable they both shook hands at the end of the forum,” he said. “They were relatively civil, which I thought was a good thing.”

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Frostburg forum hosts 6th Congressional District candidates