ANNAPOLIS — Voters in House of Delegates District 29C will choose between Democrat Shaara Watts and incumbent Republican Del. Todd B. Morgan in the Nov. 3 general election.
District 29C is a single-member district that takes in parts of Calvert and St. Mary’s counties, according to the Maryland Manual. Watts is listed on the general election ballot from Calvert County, and Morgan from St. Mary’s County.
Watts answered the candidate questionnaire in the Local News Network General Assembly Voter Guide, produced by Capital News Service and the University of Maryland’s Merrill College of Journalism. Morgan is listed in the guide as not having answered the survey. The guide was published April 14, during the primary season, so the answers below reflect that time.
Shaara Watts (D)
Watts, who will be 65 on Election Day, is a consultant and property manager for Heron Point LLC. She has a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from the University of Maryland.
Why she is running: Watts said she wants to draw attention to the condition of the district’s water resources. She said there is not enough effective planning for the day the aquifers run dry, which she believes is approaching at the current rate of use.
State budget: Asked whether she supports Gov. Wes Moore’s mix of approaches to the projected $4 billion structural deficit or would prefer deeper spending cuts to avoid tax increases, Watts did not directly answer. She said she favors a flat tax for everyone and a state sales tax increase of 1 to 2 percentage points.
Energy costs: On the 44% rise in residential energy rates since 2020, Watts said data centers, which she put at 41 in Maryland, should have minimal impact on local resources and should be required to pay toward grid infrastructure and local improvements that offset their impact.
Housing: She said the state’s permitting system needs to be examined and that modular housing should be considered.
Jobs: Asked whether the DECADE Act of 2026 will boost job creation enough, Watts said technology initiatives like those in the act do not employ ordinary workers, and that the state should encourage small local businesses to hire.
Immigration enforcement: On the ban on local law enforcement partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Watts said federal enforcement should remain a federal job, and that setting local police against residents runs counter to the idea of protecting them.
A leader she admires: Watts named Ukraine’s president, citing his composure under extremely difficult conditions.
She did not answer the guide’s final question about other issues the state should address.
Todd B. Morgan (R)
Morgan did not answer the voter guide questionnaire, so his positions on the questions above are not included here. The following comes from his official biography in the Maryland Manual.
Morgan has represented District 29C since January 2023. He serves on the House Environment and Transportation Committee and its subcommittees on environment, local government and bi-county agencies, and motor vehicles and transportation. He also serves on the Oyster Advisory Commission and has chaired the St. Mary’s County House Delegation since 2023.
Before joining the legislature, Morgan served three terms as a St. Mary’s County commissioner from District 4, from December 2010 to December 2022. During that time he served on the county Board of Health and chaired the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland in 2015, 2019 and 2022. He was president of the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance from 2004 to 2010.
Professionally, Morgan has worked as a program management consultant with Science Applications International Corporation since 2003, after nearly two decades with Eagan, McAllister Associates.
More voter guides
The Chronicle is publishing guides for each Southern Maryland legislative race. Earlier guides covered House District 29A, District 27B, District 27C and District 28.
Capital News Service provided the questionnaires used in this guide.
Candidates who did not respond to the questionnaire: Todd B. Morgan (R).
