Charles Otto
RTo be claimed
Charles J. Otto is a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 38A. He was first elected to the chamber in 2010. Otto is running for re-election in the primary on June 26, 2018. The general election will take place on November 6, 2018.
Otto earned his B.S. in Animal Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1986. His professional experience includes working as a farmer on his family-owned farm, certified crop consultant and sales manager at Farmers and Planters Co. in Salisbury, Maryland.
Member, Maryland Pesticide Reporting and Information Work Group, 2013-present
Member, Nutrient Management Advisory Committee, 2011-present
Chair, Somerset County Delegation, 2011-present
Member, Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, 2011-present
Member, Pesticide Advisory Committee, 2011-present
Former Member, Somerset County Committee, Farm Service Agency, United States Department of Agriculture
Member, Environment and Transportation
Member, Protocol
Member, Subcommittee on Environment
Member, Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Open Space
1. Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life?
- Pro-life
2. Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy?
- No
3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- No
4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes
5. Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes
6. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes
7. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- Yes
8. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- Yes
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Education (higher)
- Slightly Decrease
2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Decrease
3. Environment
- Slightly Decrease
4. Health care
- Slightly Decrease
5. Law enforcement
- Maintain Status
6. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Maintain Status
7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease
8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status
2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease
4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status
5. Property taxes
- Maintain Status
6. Sales taxes
- Slightly Decrease
7. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Maintain Status
8. Income taxes (middle-income families)
- Maintain Status
9. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Maintain Status
10. Other or expanded categories
- Maintain Status
1. Tapping into Maryland's "rainy day" fund
- No
2. Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders
- No
3. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- Yes
4. Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees
- No
5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- Yes
6. Privatizing certain government services
- Yes
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Individual
- Yes
2. Political Action Committee
- Yes
3. Corporate
- Yes
4. Political Party
- Yes
5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- Yes
6. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes
2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes
3. Do you support requiring first-time DUI offenders to install ignition interlock devices?
- No
4. Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized?
- No
5. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- Yes
6. Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges?
- Yes
7. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes
2. Do you support allowing wine to be shipped directly to Maryland residents?
- Yes
3. Do you support the legalization of table games in Maryland?
- No
4. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- Yes
5. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No
6. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes
7. Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes
8. Do you support construction of the Purple Line light rail project?
- No
9. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No
10. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support national education standards?
- No
2. Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams?
- Yes
3. Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers?
- Yes
4. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes
5. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes
6. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Maryland high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- Yes
2. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- Yes
3. Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops?
- Yes
4. Do you support state funding for improvements to Maryland's energy infrastructure?
- Yes
5. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Yes
6. Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change?
- No
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- No
2. Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No
3. Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns?
- Yes
4. Do you support requiring a license for gun possession?
- No
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- No
2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- Yes
3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- Yes
4. Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance?
- No
5. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- Yes
6. Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Maryland?
- No
7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- No
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?
- Yes
2. Should Maryland allow same-sex couples to form civil unions?
- No
3. Do you support state funding for stem cell research?
- No
4. Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research?
- No
5. Do you support the state's use of affirmative action?
- No
6. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Maryland's anti-discrimination laws?
- No
7. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Maryland's anti-discrimination laws?
- No
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- No Answer
Type: bill Chamber: lower
Type: bill Chamber: lower
Type: bill Chamber: lower