State Delegate Johnny Mautz (District 37B) is the first to acknowledge that his top priority in Annapolis as a freshman legislator has been to listen and learn. As someone who has spent most of his life running the successful Carpenter Street Saloon in St. Michaels, Mautz understands that there is a steep learning curve involved in becoming a lawmaker. And he has used the last two years in office to study the complex and nuanced world of state politics by quietly and deliberately deferring to more senior legislators on process and protocol.
But that was before the State of Maryland planned to move forward on oyster restoration in the Tred Avon River sanctuary in August. Mautz found himself being the only “nay” vote of Oyster Advisory Commission’s approval to move forward with Harris Creek, Tred Avon River, and Choptank projects where its majority had been swayed by the recently released findings in the Oyster Restoration Review Report,
In his first Spy interview, Delegate Mautz discusses in detail his rationale for doing so, his position on oyster restoration, and his own commitment to bringing the oyster back to the Chesapeake Bay.
This video is approximately fifteen minutes in length
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