This post is part of the Moderately MOCO Candidate Introduction Series. Candidates who did not receive the questionnaire via email or need more information can get access through our contact form. The information in this post was submitted directly by the candidate and does not represent the views of Moderately MOCO or its publication.
Basic Information
Political Party: Democrat
Campaign Website: https://www.ethanformd.com
Social Media Links: social.ethanformd.com
Why Are You Running For Office?
I spent 15 years fixing broken federal systems from the inside. At CMS, the VA, FDA, and the Health Insurance Marketplace, I watched government fall short of truly delivering what people need. As a result, I learned how to navigate bureaucracy, build coalitions, and deliver results in systems where failure had real human costs.
For a long time, that felt like enough. Do good work. Make the systems function better. Trust that the people in elected office would handle the rest.
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Then came Project 2025 and the Trump administration. The Laken Riley Act laying the foundation for ICE’s reign of terror. Federal workers losing jobs overnight with no due process and no plan. A 1,500-bed ICE detention facility fast-tracked in Williamsport. Congress watching it happen and doing nothing.
I have two daughters in Maryland public schools and a third starting soon. I’m a part of two PTAs. I coach youth sports on weekends. This is my community, not a campaign backdrop. I reached a point where I couldn’t keep watching people who were supposed to be leading — supposed to be protecting us — fall short while I sat on the sidelines telling myself someone else would step up.
I decided I could do better and I decided I should try.
What Is The Biggest Issue Facing Voters In This Race?
Healthcare costs are crushing Maryland families. Premiums that eat paychecks. Prescriptions people ration because they can’t afford to fill them. Surprise bills that arrive weeks after a procedure and wipe out savings overnight. The impossible choices between paying for care and paying for everything else.
I’ve spent years working inside the systems that are supposed to fix this. At CMS, I worked on the programs that determine how Medicare and Medicaid function for millions of Americans. At the Health Insurance Marketplace, I saw firsthand how coverage decisions get made — and who gets left out. I know where the leverage points are. I know where the system is structurally rigged against the people it’s supposed to serve. And I know that no amount of tinkering around the edges fixes a system built around profit rather than patients.
That’s why I support Medicare for All. Not as a bumper sticker, but as a policy I understand from the inside — what implementation actually requires, where the resistance will come from, and how to fight for it effectively in Congress. Universal coverage with a single payer, no premiums, no surprise bills, negotiated drug prices. The technology and administrative infrastructure to make it work already exists. What has been missing is the political will.
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MD-06 deserves a representative who understands this system deeply enough to actually change it. That’s what I’m offering.
What Experience Best Prepares You For This Role?
I grew up in one of those households where dinner table conversation pivoted to the topic of the moment. My dad worked for county government and counted elected officials as friends, so experiencing politics from the inside wasn’t unusual. What he taught me was simpler than any policy position: be honest, be transparent, and understand that public service comes with humility.
I carried that into everything that followed. Volunteering on campaigns as a kid. Studying political science in college while working on races and conducting research. Learning how the system worked — and what needed to change — from the margins before I ever got near the center.
Then came 15 years working inside federal agencies. CMS, the VA, FDA, the Health Insurance Marketplace. I wasn’t making policy. I was making the systems work — or trying to. Navigating bureaucracies that resist change by design. Delivering results in environments where failure has real human costs and nobody hands out second chances.
I could say I never planned on running for Congress, but that wouldn’t be truthful. From the time I was a kid sitting at that dinner table, this was the dream. The federal consulting career wasn’t a detour. It was preparation.
In some ways, I’ve been getting ready for this my whole life.
What Would You Like Voters To Know About You Personally?
I am who I am — the good, the bad, and the inbetween. I don’t pretend to be someone different to earn your trust. When you meet me and talk to me, that’s the real me. Not a veneer. Just Ethan.
I do my best to listen, to understand, to learn, and not to judge. I take the responsibility of this role seriously — it’s not about what I want, it’s about what’s best for the people of this district. If I do the wrong thing, I expect to hear about it. If you’re angry, be angry. I don’t claim to be perfect or above reproach. I don’t expect you to either. I take the responsibility of this role seriously — it’s not about what I want, it’s about what’s best for the people of this district. If I do the wrong thing, I expect to hear about it. If you’re angry, be angry. I don’t claim to be perfect or above reproach. I don’t expect you to either.