OCEAN CITY — Ocean City resident and career volunteer Judy Davis this week announced she was throwing her hat in the ring for the newly created House District 38C, adding another candidate to what is shaping up to be a highly contested race.
Davis, a Baltimore native, has lived in Ocean City for 40 years and has been a tireless civic volunteer and advocate ever since. She earned her undergraduate degree from Salisbury University and a Masters from UMES before embarking on a 22-year career as an early childhood teacher and special education teacher on the Lower Shore. For the last 40 years, she has supplemented her professional teaching career with volunteer work as a children’s advocate and volunteer in numerous civic organizations.
“It’s a natural extension of my career as a volunteer and advocate,” she said. “I do feel I have the experience and the time to represent this district. I am very excited about the opportunity.”
District 38C was created during the 2012 legislative redistricting process following the last U.S. Census in 2010. It is an entirely new district carved out of the old combination of Districts 38A and 38B. It encompasses much of northern Worcester County including Ocean City, West Ocean City, Ocean Pines and a considerable amount of Worcester east of Route 113.
“It’s a very unique opportunity because 38C is a new district,” she said. “It’s also a very diverse district with a variety of issues, from the tourism industry and business around the resort area to the poultry and agriculture industries and from the public schools and education to senior citizen issues. Ocean Pines has the largest population of seniors over the age of 65 and there are a lot of issues related to that. As a career educator, I’m very interested and well versed in issues related to the schools and we have some of the best here ….”
When she officially files, Davis, a Democrat, will join a growing list of candidates for House District 38C. Already, Ocean City resident and long-time public servant at the state and federal level Mary Beth Carozza has thrown her hat in the ring, as has Democratic challenger Mike Hindi of Ocean Pines.
Next Saturday, Nov. 16, Davis will formally announce her campaign with a kick-off event at St. Paul’s by the Sea Episcopal Church on 3rd Street in Ocean City. The event is open to the public.