Olszewski, City Councilman Among Invited State Of The Union Guests

Baltimore County Executive John Olszewski Jr. and a Baltimore City councilman are among the invited guests of Maryland's congressional delegation at Tuesday's State of the Union address.

Councilman Kristerfer Burnett was invited for his leadership on "good government reform," according to Rep. John Sarbanes' office. In particular, his office cited Burnett's successful sponsorship of a charter amendment last yearto allow public financing of local election campaigns.

Sen. Ben Cardin invited Olszewski, a former state delegate who was sworn into his first term in December.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen invited Lila Johnson, a Hagerstown woman who has worked as a contractor custodian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for more than 20 years. Johnson, who is raising two great-grandchildren, will not receive back pay for hours lost during the lengthy partial government shutdown due to her status as a contract employee. Van Hollen met Johnson at a roundtable he hosted to gauge the shutdown's impact on contractors, his office said.

Van Hollen is the lead Senate sponsor of legislation to ensure that low- to mid-wage federal contract employees receive back pay missed during the shutdown. The House version is sponsored by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump invited Tom Wibberley, the father of Navy Seaman Craig Wibberley, a Williamsport native killed in the 2000 terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole.

Phil Yacuboski contributed to this report.