Bob Long (politician)

Robert B. Long is an American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the sixth district since 2015.

Early life and career

Long was born in Baltimore, Maryland on January 11, 1957. He was raised by a single mother. Long attended Essex Community College and the Community College of Baltimore County before becoming a GRI-designated realtor for Covenant Realty. He is also a former union truck driver.

Long is a member of the Maryland Association of Realtors, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, the Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group, and the National Rifle Association of America. He first ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in 2010, but was defeated by incumbents Johnny Olszewski, Joseph J. Minnick, and Michael H. Weir Jr. in the general election.

Long is married and has four children.

In the legislature

Long was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates alongside Republicans Robin Grammer Jr. and Richard W. Metzgar in the 2014 Maryland House of Delegates election, during which the three ran on a platform involving economic issues. He was sworn in on January 14, 2015, and has served as a member of the Ways and Means Committee during his entire tenure. Long keeps a brick from the former Sparrows Point steel mill on his desk as a reminder "of where we've been and where we have to go".

Political positions

Education

During the 2019 legislative session, Long introduced a bill that would fine parents $1,000 if their child gets into trouble at school four times. In 2023, he introduced the Parent and Guardian Accountability Act, which would require parents to participate in counseling with their student after repeating a notice of repeated disruptive behavior during school hours.

Environment

In August 2022, Long signed onto a letter asking Governor Larry Hogan to keep the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant under the Maryland Environmental Service's control, expressing concerns that the plant would "resort back to mismanagement" if given back to the city of Baltimore.

Fiscal issues

During the 2018 legislative session, Long supported legislation to provide $8.5 billion in tax incentives to Amazon to build their second headquarters in Montgomery County, hoping that Amazon locating in Maryland would bring jobs to his district.

In 2020, Long expressed concerns with a bill to impose a six percent tax on "luxury services" and lobbied to have "marina services" removed from the luxury services defined in the bill.

National politics

In November 2016, Long condemned a tape recording of a vulgar discussion Donald Trump had on ''Access Hollywood'' in 2005 about groping and trying to have sex with women, calling it "disgusting and inappropriate". He supported Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election, expressing optimism that he would bring manufacturing jobs back to his district as president.

Social issues

During the 2021 legislative session, Long introduced legislation that would extend state hate crime protections to first responders.

In 2023, during debate on a bill to establish the state's recreational marijuana industry, Long introduced an amendment that would prevent occupants of a motor vehicle from smoking cannabis near a minor. The amendment was rejected in a 40-97 vote.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Robert B.
1957 births
Living people
21st-century American legislators
Republican Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates
21st-century Maryland politicians