Message from Ariana

Ariana Kelly

My SlutWalk Speech

In August, a wonderful woman named Samantha Wright who worked for me at NARAL and volunteered tirelessly on my campaign asked me to speak at an event she was organizing in DC. It was sure to draw a huge crowd (and it did!) and get a lot of media attention. She was organizing SlutWalk DC in order to take a stand sexual assault and against victim blaming. I had to stand with her. Some of my political advisors suggested keeping a low profile about this event, because it has been controversial within the feminist community. While I understood their concerns, I just had to go with my gut. 

I am so glad I did. 

My experience speaking at SlutWalk was both liberating and empowering. I was inspired by the other speakers, and the attendees of all ages who have had enough with a culture that blames victims of sexual violence. Since I spoke at the event, I have been tremendously humbled by the people who have reached out to me, and thanked me for speaking up.  

This is what I said: 

I am Ariana Kelly, and I am a state legislator from Maryland. Last year, after more than a decade working in TV news, politics, and on women’s issues at nonprofit organizations, I was elected by the people of my hometown of Bethesda to represent them in Annapolis. 

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April 12th End of Session Update!

Thank you for the privilege of representing you as a District 16 State Delegate to Maryland's General Assembly. I wanted to offer a brief overview of the recently concluded 2011 legislative session. I am proud of the progress we made to advance a strong economy, secure families, and safe and healthy environments. Here's a brief summary of where we stand today: 

The State Budget

While we faced a daunting structural budget deficit of $2 billion at the start of the session, we were able to pass a responsibly balanced budget that protects key services for Marylanders while reducing the structural deficit by 42 percent, and retaining $730 Million in cash reserves. Maryland also maintains its triple-A bond rating despite the recession, making ours only one of eight states with that status. Of particular interest for our district, I passed a bill to secure funding for the Jewish Social Service Agency to enable them to increase their capacity for serving our elderly, disabled, and unemployed community members.

Health Care

As a member of the Health and Government Operations Committee I worked to move forward President Obama's health care reform plan. We passed bi-partisan legislation establishing the framework for Maryland's Health Benefit Exchanges, making us one of the first states to have this program in place. I also sponsored and passed a consumer rights bill that expands the definition of life insurance to allow for a rider to extend coverage during periods of unemployment regardless of ability to pay. In a major victory for women's and children's health, a bill I co-sponsored (introduced by Delegate Heather Mizeur) will expand access to family planning services to women up to 200 percent of the poverty level, preventing as many as 7,980 unintended pregnancies annually. We also defeated 11 anti-abortion pieces of legislation, and successfully defended from attack Maryland's stem cell research fund.  Unfortunately, two key pieces of legislation to help children with autism failed, including my bill to extend habilitative services coverage for young adults up to age 26. We did successfully secure desperately needed funding for developmental disabilities through an increase in the state's alcohol tax.........

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