A Frederick County lawmaker is defending her vote in favor of the Governor's budget. Delegate Kathy Afzali says this budget isn't perfect, and there are some things she doesn't like. But, she says, she had to weigh the pros and cons and things do need to get funded. "I fought against every increase in fees. I have fought against every tax increase. It's been me and the Republicans holding the line," she says. "But there is a time to fight, there is a time wage war, and there is a time to make peace."

Afzali was one of four Republicans in the House of Delegates to vote in favor of the budget on Friday. The spending plan now heads to the State Senate for its consideration.

Governor Martin O'Malley introduced his budget in January. It totals $38.2-billion.

Afzali says it has funding for local public schools. "There's stuff there for Walkersville Elementary, and there's Glade Elementary School," she says. In addition, Afzali points out, there is funding for a security system at the Maryland School for the Deaf. "Those kids, because they're deaf, if they have an emergency, if there's an intruder, if anything happens, yelling and screaming does not save their life. You have to a very special kind of security system. This system is very expensive. The budget covers it," she says.

Even though she was one of four Republicans to vote for the budget, Afzali says she works for her district, not a political party. "I don't necessarily agree with my party that we always have to vote against the budget. Because we get the benefits from that budget," she says.

Afzali has been taking a lot of criticism, especially on social media, about her vote. But she is firing back. "In terms of this budget, it really wasn't that bad," she says. "Most of the people who are slamming me haven't looked at the darn budget."

Afzali was a guest Monday on WFMD's "Morning News Express" with host Bob Miller.