Primary Election Date: 09/14/2010
General Election Date: 11/02/2010

Who Am I?

Delegate Roger Manno is serving in his first term in the Maryland House of Delegates representing Maryland's 19th Legislative District. He is a member of the House Economic Matters Committee and is the the Vice-Chairman of the County Affairs Committee of the Montgomery County Delegation. Roger has also recently been appointed by House Speaker Michael Busch as the House designee on the Maryland Task Force to Implement Holocaust, Genocide, Human Rights & Tolerance Education in which Roger worked to create a Center of Excellence at Towson University. In addition to several serving on the BioTech Caucus, the Educators Caucus, and the Veterans Caucus, he is also the House designee on the (Maryland) Workgroup on Genetic Testing, recently convened to survey health care non-discrimination legislation that he authored (HB1, HB2, HB11, and HB12).

During his first three years in the legislature Roger earned Maryland's highest marks for his work, including: "Hero of Working Families" (receiving the highest legislative rating in the State) by the Progressive Maryland Education Fund (PMEF); "Legislator of the Year" by the Washington D.C. Building and Construction Trades Council (AFL-CIO), on behalf of the Council and 17 affiliated unions; "Champion of Working Families"; and maintains a rare 100% "Lifetime Environmental Rating" by both the Maryland League of Conservation Voters and Environment Maryland -- one of only 5 members of the Maryland House with such a rating.

Early on, Roger's family was plagued with health problems, and without health insurance, like millions of Americans, fell through the cracks of the current fractured health system in America. As a young child, Roger's father, John Manno, a sculptor and carpenter, fell ill and ultimately died due to the lack of health care. John Manno's death left Roger's young mother, Beatrice, with thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills and thinly-veiled threats from bill collectors. During that period, young Roger was also diagnosed with a atrial defect, and Roger's mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Without insurance, Roger was scheduled for emergency open-heart surgery in a public teaching hospital after Roger's mother was told that Roger's heart presented an "interesting case". However, a concerned hospital staff member quietly advised Roger's mother to "take him out of here" before the surgery, which she did. Unsure where to turn, by chance Roger's mother came across a local pediatric cardiologist who learned of the family's recent plight and economic circumstances. That doctor took Roger under his wing and began regular, non-invasive treatment on young Roger, without ever charging Roger's mother.

That experience profoundly shaped Roger's views about the social inequities that often exist in society, and the moral responsibility of those who are in the position to advance positive social change.

Understanding, first-hand, that something was fundamentally flawed with the public health system in America, Roger resigned himself to work for comprehensive health care reform so that no family would have to endure what his own family went through. In 2006, Roger ran for the Maryland General Assembly with the strong endorsement of Congressman John Conyers (the author of HR 676, the National Health Insurance Act), several other members of Congress, and a large coalition of health care reform activists. Through their collective work, Roger finished first in an eight-way Democratic Primary for the 19th Legislative District.

Today, nearly forty years after his father's death, Roger represents some 110,000 people, including thousands of families who have also fallen through the cracks of the health care system. While the primary focus of Roger's work has been to advance health care reforms for those families in Maryland, Roger continues to work tirelessly to advance national health care reform that covers all Americans. He is on the Steering Committee of the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Healthcare (LCGHC), and is a member of Presiden Obama's White House Working Group of State Legislators for Health Reform.

An active legislator, Roger has successfully authored and passed into law several landmark bills, including: the "Genetic Non-Discrimination Act", addressing health care discrimination in obtaining insurance; the "Apprenticeship Opportunities Act", addressing workforce development opportunities; the "Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission labor contract" bill (MC 814-08 / HB 946); the "Homeowners' Tax Fairness In Eminent Domain Proceedings Act" (HB 1159); the Schuler/Manno Workers' Compensation reforms of 2008, the "Maryland Organic Transition Investment Opportinities Act"; and the "Maryland Antitrust Act" (HB 657). Roger is also the author of many other important initiatives, including the "Medicare Prescription Drug Donut Hole Tax Assistance Act" (partnering with Senator Jamie Raskin, preceding a similar state program enacted in 2008), the "Workplace Religious Freedom Act", the "Oil Sands Responsibility Act", the "Small Business Health Insurance Stimulus Act", the "Loan Assistance Repayment Program for Medical Professionals" bill, the "Heroes Housing Initiative", and the "Shift Breaks Worker Relief Act", among many others.

A staunch advocate for the rights of special needs children, the elderly, and differently-abled individuals, Roger allocated Legislative Scholarship funds to create the $120,000 "Delegate Roger Manno Scholarship Fund for Students with Pervasive Developmental Disorders and Other Special Needs".

A former Board Member of Committee for Montgomery, Vice President of the Kemp Mill Civic Association, and the Congressional Blue Ribbon Task Force on Gun Violence, Roger currently serves on the regional Board of B'nai B'rith and on the executive board of ROOT (Reaching Out to Others Together), a national organization mobilizing communities and committed to advocacy and intervention on behalf of homicide victims and their families.

Prior to being sworn into the House of Delegates, Roger served as a Legislative Director and Legislative Counsel / Senior Counsel in the United States Congress. In that capacity Roger drafted and helped draft numerous legislative initiatives, including: legislation ensuring thorough health care screenings for all U.S. troops; several post-9/11 Homeland Security bills and amendments strengthening security and civil rights; and alternative U.S. Budgets sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. Roger was also an organizer of the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference, where he has helped coordinate several issue forums on African American Veterans, and U.S. Intelligence. Additionally, as a staff member handling International Relations issues and Foreign Operations Appropriations, in 2005 Roger traveled to Israel with a congressional staff delegation to monitor Israel's "Disengagement" from Israel's West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In 2004 Roger was appointed to Montgomery County’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission by the Montgomery County Executive, and was reappointed. Commissioner Manno helped oversee the county criminal justice and law enforcement agencies, and advised the County Executive on criminal justice policy.

Roger earned his law degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center, and was Chair of the Democratic Law Caucus. In addition, Roger earned a Masters in Intellectual Property Law, an area of the law dealing with prescription drug patents and obtaining prescription drugs from Canada, Mexico, and other countries.

Growing up, Roger's family worked for public service and social justice. Roger's mother, Beatrice Scheinbaum, worked for the Public Advocate of the State of New Jersey, while his step-father, John Pettinato, continues to serve as Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Youth Council and works as a public school teacher and principal in New York City.

Roger's labor roots run deep, as several of his relatives were organizers in the labor movement. For example, his great grandfather helped form a small garment union which was later rolled into the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), while another relative helped form the New York Kosher Butchers Union after hiring only union workers in his own shop.

Prior to law school Roger worked in public schools with academically, emotionally, and socially challenged special-needs students. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hunter College with a degree in Political Science / Black & Puerto Rican Studies, and was an active member of the Hunter Senate. As a student Senator, Roger was outspoken against administration cuts to higher education and onerous admission requirements. Roger also served as an intern in the White House (Clinton Administration), the New York State Supreme Court, and the New York State Senate.

He's married to his childhood sweetheart, Marjorie Anne Miller. Roger and Marjorie live in the Silver Spring area bordering Olney and Sandy Spring.

Why Am I Running?

I am running for State Senate to continue working collaboratively to advance progress and major reforms in health care, worker protections, and environmental stewardship. In addition, I am running to continue fighting to advance reforms that improve transparancy in government and the legislative process, and increase accountability of elected officials in order to advance the public interest.

Hold Me Accountable!

1. Health Care
2. Worker Protections and Workforce Development
3. Environmental Stewardship

My DFA values:

Both morally and philosophically, progressive values, whether they relate to health care, electoral reform, environmental reforms or otherwise, are all about priorities. I believe deeply that we all have a responsibility to ensure that vulnerable people have the safety net that they need to live healthy and happy lives, while also having access to the tools and level playing field that only government can provide. These values, and health care reform in particular, are investments in people and the human infrastructure necessary to advance this nation. In most cases, and certainly with regard to health care reform, many progressive reforms that I advocate arefiscally sound, and will save enough money to close the gaps and disparities that exist in the State of Maryland, and throughout the various states. They do so by protecting and empowering average working people and small businesses who are the foundations and economic engines in this nation.

My Campaign is People-Powered!

My 2006 campaign for the General Assembly was build on strong grass-roots support, resulting in our campaign receiving the highest number of votes in both the House and Senate primaries in 19th Legislative District. My leadership over the last 4 years in public office has built on the grass-roots supporters and movement for change that we mobilized in 2005 and 2006, and we will continue to mobilize progressive activists and others who hold a public trust and who believe in strong, responsive leadership and accountability of our elected officials.