Charm City Indivisible is thrilled to announce our endorsement of Delegate Melissa Wells for reelection to the Maryland House of Delegates for District 40.

Since her election in 2018, Delegate Wells has been a steadfast voice for working people, tenants, formerly incarcerated Marylanders, and the communities most impacted by inequality. As Chair of the Baltimore City Delegation, she brings her commitment to equity to bear on statewide policy, ensuring that Baltimore’s most impacted communities aren’t left behind as the state makes decisions that shape our city. Her legislative record is comprehensive and deeply rooted in a clear vision: dismantling the systems that create barriers to dignity and opportunity. She is a legislator who doesn’t just talk about equity—she builds it into everything she does, and we are so excited to help send her back to Annapolis next year!

Thinking Big, Acting Now

Something that impressed us deeply during our interview with Delegate Wells was how clearly her values animate her entire legislative agenda. When asked about the animating principle behind her legislative agenda—what connects her criminal justice bills, her housing work, her labor focus, and her environmental justice legislation—she immediately identified equity and opportunity as her animating principle. This focus carried through our entire conversation, as we unpacked what that meant to her. We found Delegate Wells to be a systemic thinker, someone who understands that housing insecurity, criminal justice contact, pollution exposure, and lack of transit access don’t exist in isolation—they’re interconnected barriers that compound each other. She builds her legislative agenda around that insight.

But equally important is this: Delegate Wells understands that we don’t have to wait for systemic transformation to improve people’s lives right now. She is a strong believer in harm reduction and practical reforms as essential strategies for creating dignity in the present moment while we work toward larger systemic change. When talking about healthcare, for example, she told us that while of course she believes in universal coverage, she’s also focused on the concrete things she can do to help people right now, by making sure public transit works well enough to take people to their doctors, for example, or that insurance plans cover testing for cardiovascular conditions that disproportionately impact Black people. Delegate Wells knows that we don’t need to choose between sweeping changes and smaller ones, because both have a role to play in building the society that we need and deserve.

The same logic applies across her work. Rent increase caps and eviction diversion programs won’t fully solve our housing crisis, but they’ll prevent displacement of real families right now while we fight for deeper housing reform. Her labor work on apprenticeships and prevailing wage won’t create total economic justice, but it’ll create family-supporting jobs for workers in this moment while we work toward broader changes. We deeply respect this clear-eyed strategic thinking about how to improve people’s lives at every level, knowing that seemingly small changes matter enormously to the person who keeps their apartment, who avoids a criminal record, who earns a living wage—and that they help build toward the systemic change we ultimately need.

Embedded in Community

What struck us most throughout our interview with Delegate Wells is that she doesn’t legislate at her community—she legislates from it, with a majority of the legislation she introduces coming from direct conversations with and feedback from people in District 40. She doesn’t arrive at the State House with a predetermined agenda and then ask constituents to support it; she goes to her district, listens, and brings those conversations back to Annapolis. When she talks about District 40, you can feel the real affection and intimate knowledge. She speaks lovingly of the green spaces, the arts and culture, the distinct character of neighborhoods and even individual block parties. Her work is rooted in real relationships and real understanding of what her constituents actually need.

Because she positions herself as embedded in community, not separate from it, she approaches her partnerships differently. When we asked if she had questions for us, for example, she didn’t ask about our endorsement process or what we could do for her campaign. Instead, she asked about us—our organization, our priorities, what we want to work on, how we see our role in the broader movement. She was thinking about partnership and shared work, not about boosting her own campaign. That’s what it looks like when a legislator sees herself as part of community rather than above it.

And being embedded in community naturally requires humility. Delegate Wells freely acknowledged when there were areas in which she wasn’t as deeply informed and framed those gaps explicitly as opportunities for growth and improvement—not weaknesses to be covered up, but chances to deepen her thinking in conversation with people who know more. That kind of intellectual humility is rare in elected officials, and it’s exactly what we need: leaders who know what they know, are clear about what they’re still learning, and remain genuinely open to input from the communities they serve.

A Record That Matches Her Principles

Delegate Wells’ legislative record is substantial and deeply aligned with her equity framework. She is strongest where she’s most passionate—and it shows.

On criminal justice, she has championed automatic expungement for acquittals and dismissals, led the transfer of the Baltimore Police Department from the State to Baltimore City, and fought to eliminate the court-mandated fines and fees that trap low-income residents in the system. She’s also co-sponsored legislation on police accountability, reentry supports, and gender-responsive services for incarcerated women. This isn’t a collection of one-off bills; it’s a coherent approach to dismantling mass incarceration and giving people a real second chance.

On housing, she has consistently fought for tenant protections through eviction prevention programs, rent increase protections, and real estate transparency legislation. Most notably, she introduced a law in effect today requiring 90-day notice for rent increases, directly protecting vulnerable renters in a city experiencing rapid displacement. This work grows directly from her affordable housing background and her understanding of how housing insecurity destabilizes entire lives and communities.

On labor, her excellent work is no surprise; in addition to representing her District 40 constituents, Delegate Wells also works at the Baltimore-DC Building Trades Union. In the MGA, she has championed apprenticeships, prevailing wage protections, union rights, and family-supporting wages. This is where her day job and her legislative work align: she knows intimately how safe, reliable, and fairly-paid work shapes people’s ability to build stable lives, and she legislates accordingly.

Beyond these signature areas, Delegate Wells has also built a strong progressive record on civil rights, environmental justice, education, immigration, and healthcare equity. She is a reliable, thoughtful, progressive legislator who understands our city and is genuinely committed to equity and community. In a moment when we all need to stand up for working people, tenants, immigrants, and those harmed by our criminal justice system, Delegate Wells has proven she will show up and fight alongside us.

How to Support Delegate Wells

Delegate Melissa Wells is running for reelection because District 40 and Baltimore City need her leadership. If you agree, here’s what you can do:

• Visit her website to learn more and get involved
• Donate to support her reelection campaign
• Tell your neighbors why you’re voting for Delegate Wells and encourage them to join you
• Vote for Melissa Wells! Check your registration and find your polling place. You can request a mail-in ballot and vote early from June 11 to 18, or vote on Election Day, June 23.

Delegate Wells has earned our endorsement through her work, her values, and her genuine commitment to building a more equitable Baltimore. We’re voting for her, and we hope you will too.

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A note on our endorsement process:

Our endorsement process begins with a thorough questionnaire, which we make available to all declared candidates in a race. Completed questionnaires are evaluated, and candidates who score well are invited to an interview with our endorsement committee. In some cases, a sitting officeholder with a strong legislative record may qualify for a streamlined track: in place of the questionnaire, our committee prepares a review of the candidate’s record to ground the interview. Because this path could otherwise advantage incumbents, we hold those candidates to a higher qualifying standard, not a lower one. After all interviews are complete, we deliberate and announce our endorsement of the candidate who most aligns with our values.

Charm City Indivisible evaluates all candidates using the following criteria: alignment with our values, thoughtful policy positions, demonstrated commitment to constituent engagement, and a track record and/or clear vision of fighting for working people over wealthy interests. We apply these standards equally to all candidates we evaluate. We believe voters deserve to understand not just who we endorse, but how and why we made that decision.