Father of NH junior Vanessa Lane and sophomore Daniel Lane has taken a stand in Maryland politics. Erik Lane, one of the track and field coaches, has recently decided to run for Congress in the 2018 primary election to be held on June 26. Lane has several ideas he feels are very important for the future and plans to carry them out if elected.

    Lane is a farm owner in Harford County, Maryland, where he lives with his wife and two children. Lane reported that his family is very supportive and even though they “thought he was crazy at first,” they have been there for him every step of the way. Daniel claims that he is going to “make a big change with what’s going on with jobs and people who don’t have big corporations.” His older sister, Vanessa, said that she thinks that although it was “unexpected” for him to run, she thinks he’s going to do a great job of “helping the people.”

     After raising his children, he recognized the importance for a government official to make decisions based on the impact they will leave for the future generations of tomorrow. Lane described that although it is difficult for some to see, our government officials are making decisions with “harmful effects” that they won’t be around to see the results of. Lane claims that it is important that we elect new officials to “step in and get the house in order for the challenges ahead.”

    Lane has made it very clear on what he plans to accomplish if he becomes our elected official. He plans to rebalance education initiatives to have more students ready to join the workforce coming out of high school through skill certificate programs and vocational training. Lane also plans to improve health care reform. He feels that new legislation could help improve care and lower cost.

   Lane predicts several economic problems down the pike and hopes to expose them prematurely to lessen the impact they will have on citizens. As a conservative Democrat, Lane offers neutral ideas that can be understood from both sides of the political spectrum.

 The aspiring politician believes he will be able to speak for those in our community since he is a North Harford graduate himself. He feels that he has a firm understanding in our values as a community and plans to take those with him in his potential future political career. Lane was able to attend high-end universities, providing him with the education to become an entrepreneur, government agency worker and to work under some of the “high flying titans of industry.” These experiences have provided Lane with the experience he feels he needs to apply to the government today.

     Lane entered the race for Congress in mid-February, thus creating a challenge for himself. Having entered late in the game, Lane is faced with a lot of work still ahead but he is firm in his beliefs that he can manage the stress and put up a good fight. For students wanting to connect, there is a website at www.eriklane.us and an Instagram page at @studentsforlane.