Parrott runs for 'common sense' economic policy in contentious congressional race

Oct. 29—Editor's note: The Frederick News-Post is profiling candidates in Frederick County's state legislative races and for Maryland's 6th Congressional District in the Nov. 8 general election. For profiles of candidates for county offices and other election coverage, go to fredericknewspost.com/news/continuing_coverage/election_coverage.

Del. Neil Parrott is running for the U.S. House of Representatives to advocate for "common sense" fiscal policies that he believes will boost manufacturing jobs and help ward off an economic depression that he fears Democratic decision-making is causing.

Parrott, a transportation engineer who has served in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2010, cited inflation as a significant factor in his decision to run to represent District 6 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Federal Reserve is currently working to bring down the highest inflation in four decades. Consumer prices in September were up by 8.2% from last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index report published Oct. 13.

"The Biden-Pelosi-Trone agenda is really hurting middle class families, people who are on fixed income," Parrott said, referring to his opponent in the general election, U.S. Rep. David Trone. "I believe we can do better."

It's been a contentious election season since Trone and Parrott won their respective election races in July, with Trone receiving 17,943 votes and Parrott getting 10,452.

Backed by nearly $13 million, Trone has bought advertisements that label his opponent as an "extremist" who is anti-LGBTQ rights, women's rights and an ineffective legislator.

Earlier this month, Parrott hosted a press conference where he accused Trone of misleading voters in a campaign video about his previous position that people who are HIV-positive should get tattoos to mark their status and be treated for the disease.

Parrott, who proposed the tattoo idea in a 2005 letter to the editor of The Herald-Mail in Hagerstown, said he publicly recanted it 12 years ago.

Two years ago, the last time Trone and Parrott competed to represent Maryland's 6th Congressional District, Trone beat Parrott by almost 20 percentage points.

But the district looks different now. After the 2020 redistricting cycle, it covers a much larger swath of Frederick County.

"It's very competitive this time around," Parrott said.

During the most recent legislative session, Parrott introduced 10 bills, one of which passed.

HB222 — which requires drivers who are traveling slower than the general speed of traffic on highways in rural areas to drive in the right-hand lane, if practical — took effect this month.

According to a data analysis conducted by the Capital News Service on the 2019 Maryland legislative session, Parrot was among the "least successful" lawmakers in the state that year — none of the 16 bills he introduced became law.

But the number of bills a lawmaker is able to pass is "not a measurement at all" of their success, Parrott said.

"You're there to do the people's work," he said. "A lot of times, that involves trying to stop bills that are going to be harmful to your community that you represent, and do it in any way that you can."

There are other reasons to propose a bill, besides being sure that it will become law, Parrott said. Sometimes, it's to make a point.

He pointed to a piece of legislation he introduced in 2019, which would have given counties the authority to establish a minimum wage.

Lawmakers had been discussing raising the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour — which they voted to do later that session — and Parrott said he wanted legislators to consider allowing counties to choose their own rates.

"Unfortunately, counties like mine were hurt — and are hurt — by this bill," he said, referring to Washington County. "Every single year, it gets worse."

Earlier this year, in July, Parrott wrote on Twitter that although Joe Biden is president, he believes "there were irregularities that could have changed the election."

"Fact: I would have voted against certifying the election results in [Pennsylvania] and [Arizona]," he wrote. "Send back to states to review."

When asked by The Frederick News-Post whether he believes Trump lost the 2020 election, Parrott replied affirmatively.

"Well, he did," he said. "It's pretty obvious who's president right now. Just look at the economy. I mean, it's a real disaster."

"That's one reason I'm running," he said. "We cannot afford another two years of the way this country is going. We have to make sure that Congress changes right now."

To learn about county, state and federal candi dates in the general election, go to the News-Post's voters guide at tinyurl.com/generalelectionguide.