Maryland Assemblyman Sam Arora Will Not Run for Reelection

Sam Arora, a Democratic representative in the Maryland House of Delegates, has decided not to not run for reelection in 2014. His term ends January 2015.

“I have heard from so many supporters in recent months, and I am grateful for their overwhelming encouragement urging me to continue serving District 19,” Arora said in an e-mail sent out to supporters Nov. 1.

“As I listened, I also weighed the caliber of effort I expect of myself when representing our community in the General Assembly, the demands of helping to lead a rapidly expanding family business in a challenging economy and how to care for my family well during this season of life.”

“When my term of office concludes in January 2015, I plan to return full time to my work in the private sector,” he said.

The 32-year-old Arora told the Washington Post Nov. 1 that his chances of winning reelection did not weigh heavily in his decision.

“While, candidly, you can never take reelection for granted, my decision was based upon whether I could govern well, be a good leader, be a good husband and father — and do it all at the same time,” Arora told the newspaper in an e-mail.

Arora had been criticized by lesbian and gay civil rights groups in Maryland for supporting legal marriage for gays and lesbians during his successful campaign for the Assembly in 2010, and then voting against a bill, later signed into law, that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in the state.

In his e-mail to supporters, Arora highlighted his record in the legislature, including “streamlining the mortgage refinance process to protect thousands of homeowners from foreclosure; enacting a provision I authored to close a special interest tax loophole that was siphoning tens of millions of dollars from our state; safeguarding Marylanders from financial abuse; protecting our first responders; and cracking down on illegally trafficked guns.”

Arora is vice president for business development at the Arora Group, a Montgomery County business providing health care services to military veterans and active-duty personnel and their families.

The Indian American legislator is a former member on the staffs of Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., and former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton.

The 19th District includes all or parts of Silver Spring, Olney, Wheaton, Aspen Hill, Laytonville, Gaithersburg, Kemp Mill, Four Corners and Arora’s home town of Layhill.

Read more at http://www.indiawest.com