Fed up with a legislature that makes decisions behind closed doors in Annapolis, dentist and Silver Spring resident Michael Griffiths decided to step up to the plate by running for District 18 Senator.

Griffiths, a democrat and with a history of health care advocacy, said, if elected, he would make sure citizens are a part of the decision-making process.

"I think we have a good system in place, but we've let it drift into this area where people have undue influence, and politicians don't reach out," he said.

There's no excuse in this Internet age, he said. Griffiths believes politicians should engage their constituents via Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and any other technology available.

A closed decision-making process bothered Griffiths a few years ago with the approval of the Intercounty Connector. He ran for office in 2002 and didn't know at the time the highway was set to be a toll road.

"They said, ‘Surprise, surprise. It's a toll road,' " he said. "Having run, I said, ‘how come this hasn't come up?' I guess it was somewhere in the legislation, hidden."

Griffiths said he has a history of political advocacy. His father worked with the World Health Organization and the United Nations, meaning he was given a world view early, moving between Washington, D.C., Egypt and Sri Lanka. Through his childhood and work as a young staffer for U.S. Sen. Philip Hart, he developed an interest in health care. After going into dentistry, Griffiths started volunteering on the American Dental Association's political action committee and for several national political campaigns.

Among issues he plans to fight for, Griffiths said he wants to put locally grown produce in schools and move the Purple Line closer to the beltway from its Capital Crescent Trail alignment.

"I ran the [Capital] Crescent Trail," he said. "I doubt any of the other candidates have done that, but my daughter took me out and traumatized the hell out of me. Six miles. After running it with her a few times, ... I called and said this trail is not wide enough to do the things you want to do."

Frank McLaughlin, the executive director of the Maryland State Dental Association, has worked with Griffiths when they were both in political affairs at the American Dental Association.

"He's a man of the issues," McLaughlin said. "He doesn't necessarily always follow party lines in a sense; I think he'd be his own person."

-Residence: Silver Spring

-Age: 55

-Party: Democrat

-Education: D.D.S., University of Michigan; master's degree of public health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; pre-med, Michigan State University.

-Work experience: hill staffer for Sen. Philip A. Hart (D-Mich.); also has worked for Veterans Administration Hospital, University of North Carolina.

-Family: wife, Ellen Griffiths; and two adult daughters, Elyse and Erin.

-Top three issues: government transparency; the teachers' pension program liability; and job growth and creation.

-Campaign funds: $13,000

-Previous political experience: Hill staffer for Sen. Philip Hart (D-Mich.); campaign volunteer for Bob Trackler (D-Mich.), President Clinton, Vice President Gore (2000), Senator Kerry

-Other affiliations: Hospital staff and development chair for Prince George's County Hospital and president of Institutional Dental Care in Washington, D.C.

-Website: www.griffiths4senate.com