Berthiaume enters race for District 17 House seat

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Laura Farthing Berthiaume is ready to apply her legal expertise to state politics and has joined the race to represent District 17 in the House of Delegates.

Berthiaume, a 42-year-old Democrat, believes her experience as an attorney who has been practicing law in Maryland for more than a decade will give her an edge in tackling legislative issues in Annapolis, she said. She also said she can bring a woman’s perspective to the legislature.

‘‘I believe we need more women in Annapolis,” said Berthiaume, who lives in Rockville with her husband and three children.

Berthiaume is a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association, the county chapter of the Women’s Bar Association, and the Maryland, District of Columbia and New York Bars. She is also a member of the Grass Roots Organization for the Well-Being of Senior (GROWS) and the Friends of the Rockville Library.

Her Rockville law practice focuses on elder law — legal issues that affect the senior community.

Berthiaume supports universal health care.

She would like to see a state plan similar to the one in Massachusetts that requires residents to be insured either privately or through an employer, she said. The state would provide a subsidy so that people without coverage could obtain it, she said.

She also supports more funding for schools, especially the Geographic Cost of Education Index (GCEI) under the Thornton plan, she said. The Thornton plan is designed to give more money to school systems with higher costs of living.

It has never been funded ‘‘and Montgomery County school children are suffering as a result,” Berthiaume said.

Laura Farthing Berthiaume House of Delegates, District 17 42, Rockville Democrat Experience: member, Montgomery County and Women’s bar association; member of Maryland, District of Columbia and New York Bars Top Issues: Universal health care, school funding, day care and child care to prepare children for school For more: www.laurafordelegate.com

There’s a tendency in Annapolis to view Montgomery County as a place of wealthy people, she said, ‘‘but we’ve got a growing population that’s very diverse, and we need that funding.”

A third issue Berthiaume connects with education is child care. She wants the state to expand start-up and technical assistance for extended day care and child care, which has a direct impact on whether children are ready to learn when they come into the public school system, she said. For people who cannot afford good child care, too often their children end up spending their days in front of the television and not coming into kindergarten ready to learn, she said.

Transit issues that affect the county are beginning to be addressed with the Intercounty Connector, Berthiaume said. But she also would like to see the Purple Line move forward on an expedited basis, she added.

Berthiaume earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. She also received a Master of Science degree from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.