Meet the candidates running for mayor of Cambridge: LaShon Foster
CAMBRIDGE, Md. – Cambridge voters will choose their next mayor come October. Three candidates are in the race, and this week WMDT is highlighting each individual, in alphabetical order.
LaShon Foster
LaShon Foster has served two four-year terms as a Cambridge Commissioner—first from 2004-08, and then from 2016-20. By day, however, she is a psychotherapist with a passion for compassion.
“I work with a lot of children, and I’ve been a social worker since 1987,” Foster said. “I’ve worked in community organizations, I’ve worked with child and adult protective services, teenage pregnancy—every facet of the human service, I have done some work with.”
Foster says she is extremely proud to call Cambridge home.
“We have a beautiful city here, and we can be a city where not only people want to come and retire, but for generations and generations our children have wanted to grow up here and remain here,” Foster said. “I love the people of Cambridge.”
Housing Equity Needed
Right now, Foster says the biggest challenge facing Cambridge is a lack of safe, affordable housing—as well as the City’s work towards a more positive economic status. She says not having access to one or the other can create a vicious cycle for residents.
“We have individuals here that need jobs that pay a decent wage. It’s hard to pay $2,800 a month for a decent house when you’re only making $17 an hour, and you have a family of two or three,” Foster said.
And while new home construction is starting to boom in the area, Foster says she’s concerned with ensuring current residents have equitable access to housing.
“We are getting some beautiful homes here and we are getting a lot of sales, but with a lot of these sales people are buying from out of town and they’re coming here. We need affordable houses for our people right here,” Foster said.
Investing in the Population
One way to tackle those issues would be to create more local jobs, Foster says, many of which have been lost over the years because of economic downturn.
“There is a lot more that can be taught,” Foster said. “So, rethinking about what we can train our citizens to do here in Cambridge is what’s going to help bridge the gap to close what we’re missing.”
In order for that plan to be successful, Foster says the City needs to invest in preparing individuals to enter the workforce.
“We need a program that will help prepare beyond high school. For individuals that don’t want to go to college, there can be job readiness,” Foster said. “When someone comes here and says, ‘Hey, these are the types of individuals that we’re looking for,’ Cambridge should be able to produce them.”
That preparation, however, needs to also happen at even earlier ages, Foster says. One idea: looking deeper into how grant funding can fuel youth engagement.
“We have a youth population that is beautiful. However, we have unoccupied minds,” Foster said. “We do have programs like the RISE program, but we need more. We need people and we need organizations to continue to commit to the Mace’s Lane school, and maybe more grants for the YMCA.”
Looking Ahead
As voters head to the ballot box, Foster says she knows they have many different issues on their minds. And, she says that she will bring dedication and motivation to finding solutions that work for everyone if elected.
“I want every individual to know that as mayor, I would see to it that their voice is heard, and every individual is valued. We need more transparency,” Foster said. “We all know that united we stand, and together we can achieve anything.”
The Cambridge mayoral election will take place on October 19th.
