A vote that would have prevented Krystal Oriadha, the body’s first pregnant member, from voting virtually ignited a debate both personal and political.
Oriadha said in an interview that she had been advocating for the legislation since the early stages of her pregnancy when she was trying to understand rules around parental leave as the first pregnant person to serve on the council.
Oriadha has been at the forefront of many left-leaning bills in the county such as rent stabilization and universal basic income, delivering “This was an intentional, deliberate attempt to disenfranchise the [120,000] voters in District 7, by taking away access to voting from council member Oriadha in Prince George’s County,” Burroughs said at the news conference. “Deliberately denying someone access to vote because you’re afraid of the outcome of the vote sounds a whole lot like Trump tactics.