Ben Smilowitz
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Ben Smilowitz (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Maryland's 6th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022.
Smilowitz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Ben Smilowitz was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He earned a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 2003 and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 2010. His career experience includes working as the founder and executive director of the Disaster Accountability Project and SmartResponse.org.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Maryland's 6th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Maryland District 6
Incumbent David Trone defeated Neil Parrott in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 6 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Trone (D) | 54.7 | 140,295 |
 | Neil Parrott (R)  | 45.2 | 115,771 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 332 | ||
| Total votes: 256,398 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- David August (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 6
Incumbent David Trone defeated Ben Smilowitz and George Gluck in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 6 on July 19, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Trone | 79.0 | 44,370 |
 | Ben Smilowitz | 16.0 | 8,995 | |
 | George Gluck | 5.0 | 2,789 | |
| Total votes: 56,154 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Heba Zayas (D)
- Carleah Summers (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 6
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 6 on July 19, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Neil Parrott | 62.6 | 31,665 |
 | Matthew Foldi | 14.8 | 7,497 | |
 | Mariela Roca | 7.6 | 3,858 | |
 | Colt Black | 7.5 | 3,789 | |
 | Jonathan Jenkins | 6.7 | 3,406 | |
 | Robert Poissonnier | 0.8 | 400 | |
| Total votes: 50,615 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ben Smilowitz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smilowitz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Ben Smilowitz is a social entrepreneur and has championed social justice and progressive causes for over 25 years.
Ben founded the nonprofit Disaster Accountability Project in 2007, after Hurricane Katrina, to improve effectiveness, transparency, and accountability in disaster relief and humanitarian aid.
Under Ben's leadership, the organization enhanced emergency and public health planning and disability rights, improved the transparency of donations after disasters, advocated for disaster survivors impacted by mismanaged recovery programs, created the SmartResponse.org platform to improve the effectiveness of post-disaster philanthropy, and, most recently, advocated for improved access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing equipment during COVID-19.
Ben has worked with hundreds of local and community level organizations on the front line of climate disasters and COVID-19 and understands the importance of localized, culturally competent, accessible, and inclusive responses.
Previously, Ben worked for Ashoka's Youth Venture and Campaign for America's Future and served on the boards of the National 4-H Council, Connecticut Voices for Children, ACLU of Connecticut, and Connecticut's Network to Abolish the Death Penalty. Ben is an Echoing Green Fellow and remains active in the public interest legal community.
Ben lives in Rockville, Maryland with his wife Holly, two sons, and their rescue puppy.
- Climate: I will provide needed leadership to address the climate crisis on both prevention and adaptation. Since Hurricane Katrina, I have led the nation’s leading independent watchdog of disaster relief and humanitarian aid. Continued inaction will cost our nation unnecessary loss of life and debt spending. We should look for opportunities to create green jobs across MD-6, increase our nation’s energy independence, and increase investments in advancing zero carbon energy production. Congress simply lacks the initiative to lead our nation through multiple, simultaneous disasters and we’re not doing enough to address our Climate Crisis.
- Democracy & Civil Rights: I will work to protect and strengthen the civil rights and freedoms that we cherish so deeply. Voting rights, disability rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and women’s reproductive rights are under attack, and Congressional leadership is urgent and essential. Accountability reforms in policing and prosecution are necessary to reduce abuses of power and address systemic racism. Furthermore, I will work to reverse Citizens United to get money out of politics and strengthen voting rights to ensure one-person-one-vote. Congress should end political gerrymandering and enact comprehensive campaign finance reform to prevent the most wealthy and corporations from buying and unduly influencing elections.
- Healthcare: We should strive for a healthier MD-6 and nation. I support expanding access to affordable and quality healthcare. I support Medicare for All. We must get prescription drug costs under control and increase access to mental health care. Quality of care shouldn’t be reduced for residents of MD-6 living in more rural locations. I will provide leadership to address the deadly disparities and inequities in healthcare that led to preventable deaths during the pandemic. Because I run a small nonprofit and my wife is self-employed, our family purchases our own healthcare and we spend over $1,300/month for a family of four. Quality healthcare is still out of reach for too many Americans and only Congress can do something about it.
I am passionate about citizen engagement and making our district, country, and world a better place. Citizens must be actively engaged for our system of “checks and balances” to work.
The people of MD-6 need leadership in Congress that will make their opinions a priority, which has been sorely lacking. The diversity of the district needs a member of Congress who will be accessible and committed to working with local communities and create a space for ideas, innovations, and solutions that address our nation’s greatest challenges.
I pledge to work closely with non-profits, civic leaders, and subject matter experts from across MD-6 to advance their work. In addition, we’ll have a model Youth Advisory Council, and I commit to working with young people across MD-6 to strengthen our Democracy.
Most Americans still agree that a core function of government is to help people during their most difficult times. As a nation, we spend billions funding agencies with critical life-saving and life-sustaining responsibilities, and they should work. After each disaster, there are after-action and “lessons learned” reports that focus on opportunities for improvement. Congress needs representatives who demand accountability and transparency.
Our government can do better, and we should elect leaders who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work for the people. 2022 will be an election defined by bringing competent, community-based leadership to Washington.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 31, 2022
