Anthony Lyon

Anthony Lyon graduated from Hudson High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Hiram College in 2021. His career experience includes working as a political consultant.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Hey there, I’m Anthony Lyon. Politics has mattered to me since I was in middle school because I knew then how profoundly it affects our lives.

I was raised in a Republican family and have Democratic friends and colleagues. The experiences I had and the people I met growing up changed my perspective on politics. I’m a campaign organizer by trade, having spent more time knocking doors than any other professional activity. The thousands of face-to-face conversations I’ve had with voters since 2018 have convinced me that we all have more in common than the loudest voices would have us believe. Having worked for candidates and causes of both parties, I can safely say that the loudest, most divisive voices control them, and that’s not for me. I’m an independent at heart, and if our system didn’t so heavily favor the two major parties, that’s how I’d be running. But, in order to stand a chance, I had to run with a party, and the one that represents me more and can deliver more for our community in Annapolis is the Democratic Party.

I’m running for Delegate because I’m fed up with our division and believe that my background will help me build the bridges in Annapolis that are needed to deliver more resources to District 34B (Bel Air and Abingdon) and all of Harford County.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

MORE RESOURCES: Harford County is too often overlooked by our state government. Each session, our state delegates go up to bat for bond bills to reinvest tax dollars in their districts. Many of our schools are past their sell by date and our roads and infrastructure are strained by irresponsible growth. As your Delegate, I will fight for the resources and capital funding we deserve in Annapolis to improve and support our schools, roads, first responders, green spaces, and more.LOWER COST OF LIVING: Maryland has one of the highest costs of living in the country, which is causing young professionals and retirees alike to leave our state. I feel it too every time I grocery shop, fuel up, pay my rent, and check my paystub. Our General Assembly must do more to reign in energy prices and its own reckless spending that’s led to an increase in taxes and fees. A housing shortage is also driving prices through the roof. Without overriding local control, our legislators need to bring construction costs down through cutting red tape and overregulation.RESTORE CIVILITY: I’m running to turn the temperature of our politics down because polarization is taking away from actual results. Stamping out the divisiveness starts with improving how we talk about the “other side” and making genuine attempts at finding common ground through face-to-face conversation. From my organizing experience and background in both major parties, I know that this is possible, and it’s made me a leader who emphasizes what we share instead of how we’re different. Substantively, I support allowing independents to vote in our primaries to moderate the candidates nominated from the two major parties and scaling back the money in politics that pours fuel on the fire.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally passionate about reducing political polarization through election reform and about preparing our workforce and students for the ways that AI is already changing our economy. For election reform, I support open primaries to allow independents to vote in our primaries, which could result in less extreme major party nominees. I also support lowering the cap on campaign contributions to reduce the influence of money on candidates and elected officials.

My experience growing up in the Rust Belt has me worried that AI will change our economy and workforce as much — if not more — than offshoring. Maryland must be proactive to prevent the widespread job loss that upended families and communities in my native Ohio.