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Hershey Forms Exploratory Committee, Will Weigh Run for Governor

September 6, 2025 by Maryland Matters 1 Comment

Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey (R-Upper Shore) has formed an exploratory committee to weigh a 2026 bid for governor, citing the need for “balance” in a state that has gone “so far to the left” under Democratic control.

Hershey said he expects to make a decision sometime before the end of the year on whether he’ll challenge incumbent Gov. Wes Moore (D), who is all but guaranteed to be the Democratic nominee.

Hershey has said people had approached him recently about running, including one supporter who asked, “Is this really necessary?” In an interview with Maryland Matters on Thursday, he said it is necessary to provide real competition to Democrats and give voters a choice.

“Without real competition, Maryland loses balance. Without balance, there’s no incentive for moderation. I think that’s the big thing that we look at when we talk about Democrats crossing over and voting for a Republican governor, ” Hershey said.

“Right now, we have moved so far to the left with Gov. Moore and the composition of the state Senate and the House of Delegates that this pendulum needs to come back,” he told Maryland Matters. “We need to see more of a balance in Maryland. I think that’s one of the big things that I’d be able to offer.”

Hershey said his decision to form an exploratory committee crystalized after Ed Hale Sr. announced he would switch parties and run for governor as a Republican. The lifelong Democrat has never sought public office before, and conceded that his change in party affiliation was a recognition that he could not beat Moore in a Democratic primary.

Hershey criticized Hale as a political opportunist, and Hale responded in a radio interview that he had no idea who Hershey was. While Hale has announced his intention to and has created a state campaign account, he has yet to formally file as a candidate.

Democrats said it doesn’t matter who winds up as the GOP nominee, that person will be in for an unpleasant surprise in the general election.

“Stephen Hershey, Ed Hale Sr. and [former Gov.] Larry Hogan all have one thing in common: They’re out-of-touch Republicans who will lose to Wes Moore next year,” Kevin Donohoe, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association, said in a statement. “Maryland Republicans now look like they’re set to have a messy primary filled with lackluster candidates who don’t have the spine to fight Donald Trump’s agenda that is crushing Maryland’s middle class. Good luck!”

Hershey, a senator for about 12 years, said aside from polling, his committee would test the fundraising waters. That would include cash in hand and “commitments from donors” should the exploratory committee turn into a formal campaign.

A late-2025 decision would put Hershey right up against the 2026 legislative session, during which Hershey — like all legislators and constitutional officers, including the governor — is banned from fundraising activities. But Hershey’s eventual running mate may not have those same restrictions.

Hershey could get around the prohibition by giving up his Senate seat — something he said flatly he would not do.

“One of the biggest concerns that I do have is I very much enjoy and appreciate the honor of representing District 36 as a state senator,” he said. “I am not willing to easily give up the opportunity to continue doing that.

“So as I’m looking at the opportunity, or the pathway to see if I would be able to defeat Gov. Moore in a general election, I am weighing that against the potential, the current and potential continued status of being a minority leader and representing our caucus over the next four years as well,” he said Thursday.

Hershey said he had been approached several times during the legislative session about running, but that the “intensity of the calls and messages and conversations have picked up dramatically since Ed Hale made his announcement.”

“So, yes, there is a part of me that is saying that the Republicans need to be represented in the race against Gov. Moore. I think that there is much concern over Ed Hale switching parties at the last minute and deciding to run as a Republican,” Hershey said. “And I said before, Republicans know the difference between conviction and convenience. So, it played a role — it may have just accelerated my decision to move forward with this.”

Hershey said he plans to spend the next 90 days polling and assessing the viability of a statewide campaign. That includes his ability to raise the money needed to challenge Moore, who has a proven ability to raise large sums of cash and is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party.

Hershey’s announcement comes a day after a radio interview in which he teased the possibility of a run for governor.

Prior to 2002, Republicans had not held the governor’s mansion in nearly four decades.

Since 2002, the minority party — registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 2-1 — has won the governor’s seat in three of the last six elections. That includes Larry Hogan, who became the first Republican since Theodore McKeldin, to win consecutive terms as governor.

But those Republican governors won open seats: Unseating an incumbent Democrat seeking reelection has proven difficult.

“There is still an opportunity for a Republican to win, even though this would be a different path that we have taken in the past,” Hershey said. “We have not won against the incumbent governor before, but we have won after eight years of (two) Democratic governors. In both cases a tax-and-spend governor.

“I think what we’re going to find out in polling is that people — families — are hurting now, after four years of Gov. Moore, as they were after eight years of Gov. O’Malley. That’s where we’re thinking we’re going to see a notable difference in the reelection of Gov. Moore, as opposed to just running against an open seat,” he said.

Hershey’s announcement comes as one other top Republican remains on the fence considering his own future. Hogan continues to be talked about as a potential candidate for his former office and at times has stoked the speculation himself.

Hershey said he spoke to Hogan about his intentions early Thursday afternoon.

“The governor [Hogan] is still looking at the race from the perspective that a lot of people are asking him to do this as well,” Hershey said. “We’re both in agreement that this is … the more appropriate step for me to take in forming an exploratory commission.”

by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
September 4, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

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Poll Finds Majority Concerned that Increases in Food Costs are Outpacing Income

September 3, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

More than eight in 10 Marylanders said increases in the cost of food are outpacing their income, according to a poll released Tuesday.

The poll conducted for No Kid Hungry found that 96% of those surveyed said child hunger should not exist in the state. More than eight in 10 want elected officials to do more to end child hunger. Ninety-three percent said ending childhood hunger in Maryland should be a shared, bipartisan goal for lawmakers.

“This poll paints a stark picture of how Maryland families are suffering. No one should have to choose between purchasing food and paying your rent, but that’s an all-too-familiar choice our neighbors find themselves having to make,” Ayesha Holmes, No Kid Hungry Maryland director said in a statement. “With impending cuts to SNAP and Medicaid on the way, Maryland families will continue to face a future impacted by hunger and undue worry.”

The poll found that 65% of those surveyed said they had to choose between buying food or paying for gas or a car repair, rent or mortgage, or medical treatment. Within that survey, 71% of families said they had to make that choice, according to the poll. Nearly six in ten people said their mental health has suffered in the last 12 months due to the cost of food, according to the poll.

More than six in 10 said they worry about their ability to buy groceries if they were to be hit with an unexpected expense of $500.

The online survey conducted for No Kid Hungry sampled 1,054 Maryland residents between July 22-29. The margin of error is 4%.

The poll followed the passage of federal legislation that makes permanent tax cuts made in 2017. The cuts are offset, in part, by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Advocates say passage of the bill could deal “a devastating blow” to the 680,000 state residents who currently receive SNAP benefits.

Currently, the state and federal government split administrative costs for SNAP 50/50, while the federal government pays for 100% of the benefit.

That changes next year. States will pay 75% of the administrative fees. The cost to Maryland will approach an estimated $173 million. In 2027, Maryland will pick up 15% of the cost of the benefit on top of administrative costs -— about $240 million.

Nearly 370,000 Maryland residents could lose part or all of their benefits, according to a recent report by the Urban Institute.

The poll found that nearly six in 10 people had a favorable view of the SNAP program. More than 80% said Maryland should continue a summer program to ensure children have access to food when schools are closed.

by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
September 2, 2025

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Poll Finds Majority Concerned That Increases in Food Costs are Outpacing Income

September 3, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

More than eight in 10 Marylanders said increases in the cost of food are outpacing their income, according to a poll released Tuesday.

More than six in 10 said they worry about their ability to buy groceries if they were to be hit with an unexpected expense of $500.

The online survey conducted for No Kid Hungry sampled 1,054 Maryland residents between July 22-29. The margin of error is 4%.

The poll followed passage of federal legislation that makes permanent tax cuts made in 2017. The cuts are offset, in part, by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Advocates say passage of the bill could deal “a devastating blow” to the 680,000 state residents who currently receive SNAP benefits.

Currently, the state and federal government split administrative costs for SNAP 50/50, while the federal government pays for 100% of the benefit.

Nearly 370,000 Maryland resident could lose part or all of their benefits, according to a recent report by the Urban Institute.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

By:Bryan P. Sears–September 2, 20259

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Why Prices are Soaring in the Country’s Largest Grid Region, Explained in 5 Charts

September 2, 2025 by Maryland Matters 2 Comments

The Conowingo Dam in Maryland is a 550-megawatt hydroelectric power station on the Susquehanna River operated by Constellation Energy. It feeds the PJM Interconnection grid serving Pennsylvania and 13 other states. (Photo by Peter Hall/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.

PJM Interconnection, the nonprofit that manages the country’s largest electricity grid region, is barely known by the general public and almost never mentioned by elected officials — except when something bad happens.

Well, something bad has happened. For two years in a row, PJM’s process for ensuring the grid has sufficient power plant capacity has resulted in record high prices, which will get passed on to consumers. The results are tied to rising electricity demand for data centers and a bottleneck in approving grid connections for new projects.

Almost everything about these events is bound up in layers of complexity.

To explain what’s happening, my colleague Rambo Talabong put together some charts and I spoke with energy policy experts. Together, we aim to make this situation understandable.

PJM, based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, oversees the grid and electricity markets in a territory that stretches from New Jersey to Chicago. The organization has roots in a 1920s partnership between utilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“It’s a bunch of utilities who have come together and said, ‘We can provide more reliable, less expensive electric service to customers if we work together and have a mutual aid pact,’” said Abe Silverman, an energy research scholar at Johns Hopkins University who has a background working in utility regulation and the energy industry.

“When a customer in New Jersey can buy power from a power plant in New Jersey, or a power plant in Pennsylvania or a power plant in Ohio, it’s going to be cheaper than if they were just buying from power plants from New Jersey,” Silverman said.

One of the ways PJM manages its system is by holding an auction in which power plant owners compete to see who will offer the lowest prices to be available to the grid at all times.

The result is a “capacity price,” which is the price set to ensure that there are enough resources to meet the region’s needs on the hottest days of summer. The price sets the level of payments to participating power plants, which is an important income source for them in addition to what they make from selling electricity.

Here are the results of the last decade of auctions, and you can see why electricity consumers are feeling the sting.

(Graphic by Rambo Talabong/Inside Climate News)

Last year, the auction produced a result so unusual that this topic, usually reserved for the business press, became general news. The new price, which took effect two months ago, was $269.92 per megawatt-day, an increase from $28.92 per megawatt-day in the previous delivery year.

The most recent auction was last month, yielding an even higher price, $329.17 per megawatt-day. This price will take effect next June.

Since a megawatt-day (which is 24 megawatt-hours) is a unit that most people don’t use or understand, it’s easier to put these results in terms of how many billions of dollars power plant owners stand to receive in aggregate. The change from two years ago is dizzying, going from a low of $2.2 billion to the most recent result of $16.1 billion.

Governors across PJM territory have voiced their displeasure. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said, “What PJM has laid out is a slap in the face.”

Why did costs go up so much? There are many reasons, but the main one is that electricity demand is soaring, largely due to the development of data centers. The upward curve in PJM’s long-term forecast is in contrast to the prior decade-plus of flat growth.

“Supply and demand,” said Daniel Lockwood, a PJM spokesman, when asked about the reasons for rising costs. “Unprecedented and continuing growth in demand from the proliferation of high-demand data centers in the region.”

Silverman from Johns Hopkins agreed that this is, by far, the leading factor.

When demand is flat, old and inefficient power plants often struggle to compete, leading plant owners to close the plants that are losing money or barely profitable. Since 2000, PJM has seen a shift as coal-fired power plants reached the end of their lives and were replaced by natural gas plants and some renewables.

The retirement of old coal plants was good for the environment, but the rapid loss of those plants has helped to intensify the supply crunch that’s now happening.

But plant retirements are only part of the picture.

One of the reasons PJM is struggling to secure enough power plant capacity is the organization’s challenges in connecting new plants to the grid.

PJM has an online queue in which owners of prospective power plants get in line to gain approval to hook up to interstate power lines. Ideally, this would be a fast process, but the queue has turned into a quagmire of long waits, meaning the grid isn’t getting some of the new power plants that would otherwise be ready.

Most of the affected projects are solar arrays, the results of a solar boom across much of PJM territory.

Some caveats: Some of the projects in the queue are highly speculative and unlikely to get built, so the numbers can be misleading. Also, some projects are held back by more than just PJM, with challenges getting local permits and other factors.

As of June, there were 63 gigawatts of projects waiting in PJM’s interconnection process that should be completed by the end of 2026, according to Lockwood, the PJM spokesman. He noted that there are 46 gigawatts of projects that have agreements to plug into the grid today, but some aren’t being built because of factors beyond PJM’s control, such as siting, permitting and financing.

Clean energy and consumer advocates have said PJM often acts as an obstacle to reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

“The power grid operator’s policy decisions too often favor outdated, expensive power plants and needlessly block low-cost clean energy resources and battery projects from connecting to the grid and bringing down prices,” said Sarah Moskowitz, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois, in a statement. “This extended price spike was preventable.”

Here are some of the wait times broken down by technology.

So, how much is a household’s electricity bill rising because of all this?

I asked several of the largest utilities in PJM for specifics. Their answers had wide variations, which helps to show differences in rate structures, state regulations and other factors that affect how and when the PJM charges reach consumers.

PSEG, the largest utility in New Jersey, notified customers in February of an impending 17 percent rate increase that was largely due to the rise in PJM charges. As of June, a household using 650 kilowatt-hours per month now paid $183, which was $27 more than before.

ComEd, which serves the Chicago area, has increased its residential bills by roughly 10 percent because of the surge in PJM charges that took effect in June. A typical household, which uses 609 kilowatt-hours per month, is paying $117, which is $11 more than before.

Dominion, which is the largest utility in Virginia and also has PJM customers in North Carolina, said its customers were largely insulated from PJM costs because the company gets most of its electricity from power plants that it owns. This is different from most large utilities in PJM, which do not directly own power plants and use market-based systems to obtain electricity for customers.

The total monthly cost for PJM capacity, even after the increase, would be less than $2 per month, according to a Dominion spokesman.

Just like PJM’s capacity prices have gone up, they can come back down. But for that to happen, some of the market fundamentals will need to change. I don’t expect that to happen any time soon.

So you’re probably going to keep hearing about PJM in the context of explanations for high electricity prices.

Inside Clean Energy is ICN’s weekly bulletin of news and analysis about the energy transition. Send news tips and questions to [email protected].

Maryland Matter
By: Dan Gearino and Rambo Talabong – September 1, 2025 8:27 am

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Hale Cites Pragmatism as He Switches Party Affiliation to Run For Governor

August 21, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

Ed Hale Sr., a Baltimore businessman, sports team owner and longtime Democrat, ended speculation about his party affiliation and declared Wednesday that he will run for governor as a Republican.

Hale described himself as a moderate, but said his party switch was rooted in political pragmatism more than ideology.

“There’s no way I could win running against Wes Moore with that machine he’s got,” Hale said of the incumbent Democratic governor. “He takes all the money and oxygen out of the room. I can’t do it. I’m a pragmatist and I’m a moderate person. That’s just the way I am.”

Hale made the announcement — one that was expected — in an east Baltimore waterfront park that he once owned and sold to the city. It came after he hired Annapolis pollster Patrick Gonzales to look at a head-to-head race between himself and Moore.

“I don’t believe I had a chance, based on the polling that was done, to beat him,” Hale said of Moore. “I had a chance, but it was not as good as it would be running as a Republican.”

Hale said later that the poll only looked at him against Moore and did not include other Republicans who have filed or announced for governor, or who are the subject of speculation.

Hale, 78, is well-known in the business community but is an unpolished political candidate.

“So, the big thing here is, I like building things.  I like making things. I like hiring people. That’s the way it is,” Hale said. “ What we have right now are these career politicians with smiling faces that really, really don’t give a sh-t. You all know it. I do. I care.”

While Hale was blunt about his reasons for switching, Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) was equally blunt, casting doubt on Hale’s affiliation switch and portraying him as a political opportunist.

“We’ve built a Republican movement in Maryland that stands for more than just opposition to the far left — it stands for authentic leadership and a clear governing philosophy,” Hershey said in a statement. “Our voters expect more than opportunism — they expect commitment.”

Hershey noted that Hale has “spent decades” supporting Democrats.

In remarks to reporters, Hale noted his relationships with former Baltimore mayor and Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer, a Democrat. He also spoke about raising money for Democrats including Dutch Ruppersberger, the former Baltimore County executive and congressman, and former Sens. Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski.

“I did it because they were going to win and if you don’t do that, you’re just not very pragmatic or prudent,” Hale said.

But he noted he also voted for Republicans, including former Govs. Larry Hogan and Robert Ehrlich.

“It’s just the way that I am. I want to vote for the winner,” he said.

Hale grew up in Baltimore. He said his record “stands for itself” more than political affiliation.

“If you want to talk about labels, I’m the wrong person,” he said. “You’re born in Baltimore — I’m from east Baltimore not too far from here — and you’re automatically a Democrat. But I stopped thinking about party affiliation except when I voted.”

He described his Democratic affiliation as a business tool.

“If you’re building anything, you have to go with the party that’s in place, so you have someone to call to get a permit,” Hale said. “I can sugarcoat it any way you want, but that’s the tool.”

Hershey, in his statement, questioned Hale’s commitment to core Republican principles.

“We’ll be scrutinizing Ed’s record closely to ensure he genuinely embraces our values, not simply our party label,” Hershey’s statement said.

Hale may also find himself at odds with Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump.

“Now, I am not a Donald Trump guy. I’m going to make that very clear,” Hale said, but added that he would try to work with the president, who is very unpopular in Maryland.

Hale said he would not “poke” Trump as Moore and other Democrats have done.

“You have to have some pragmatism and common sense … so that you know that you’re going to be doing the right thing to make jobs in the state of Maryland,” he said.

Hale laid out a platform of opposing taxes and fees and accused Democrats of misrepresentation as some, including Moore, claimed to have cut taxes.

“I want to attack … what we all know is a problem,” Hale said. “I think we have dishonest people telling us things that are just not true, making us try to try to make us believe that these things are true, that the taxes are not going up. That fees are not going up. We all know it’s not true.”

He said he backs nuclear power as a way to lower energy costs in the state and hinted at a tough-on-crime position, calling for juveniles as young as 14 to be jailed and for parents to be held responsible.

“I think we should lower the date that they could go to jail — the age — down to 14,” Hale said. “If that’s the one stealing the cars and doing that, put them in jail. Find the parents and get judgments against the parents, too. That will begin the parenting.”

Hale joins a growing field of Republicans who have formally filed or announced for governor.

Freshman Del. Christopher Bouchat (R-Frederick and Carroll) said he will run for governor rather than re-election to the House. Carroll County farmer Kurt Wedekind has also said he will seek the Republican nomination. Neither Bouchat nor Wedekind have formally filed their candidacy.

And then there is the ongoing speculation about Hogan mulling a possible return to office. The former two-term governor has used social media to stoke that speculation.

Hale himself raised the possibility of another Republican former governor – Ehrlich — attempting a comeback.

“If Larry Hogan wants to run, if Bob Ehrlich wants to run — I’ve heard that, too – have at it. Let’s have a contest,” he said.

Hale’s announcement Wednesday does not make him a formal candidate. He must change his party registration, something the Talbot County resident said he could do as early as Wednesday.

Hale must also register his campaign committee with the Maryland State Board of Elections, as well as financial disclosure forms. Hale said some of that may also be done as early as Wednesday afternoon.

He cannot file his formal candidacy with the state board until he chooses a running mate.

by Bryan P. Sears, Maryland Matters
August 21, 2025

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State Education Leaders to Local Education Officials: Follow State Law

August 15, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

Maryland State Superintendent Carey Wright, left, speaks during a back-to-school news conference Wednesday as State Board of Education President Joshua Michael listens. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

With the 2025-26 school year starting next week in some counties, Maryland’s two top education leaders had a message for local school officials: Follow state law.

The calm, but stern warning came Wednesday during a back-to-school news conference in Baltimore with State Superintendent Carey Wright and state Board of Education President Joshua Michael. Neither named specific school districts, but when reporters asked about administrative and policy changes related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Calvert and Somerset counties, they did not hesitate to answer.

“In Maryland we have a state public education system. Local school board leaders who lead local school systems are actually state officials,” Michael said. “They have authority within the state system that Dr. Wright leads to really bring that local context into schools and ensure that the management day to day and the policy set for local school system are done well.

“But at the end of the day, it’s a Maryland public education system. It is not a specific county,” he said.

That was echoed by Wright, who said she meets monthly with local superintendents, when topics include changes to federal government policies on DEI, immigration and other topics.

“As Dr. Michael said, every district is so different, and the local politics are very different, but the state law is not different per district,” she said. “So that’s where we want to make sure that everybody is very clear on what the state law has to say about any issue.”

The Calvert County school board voted in June to remove an anti-racism resolution from its student code of conduct that began with a statement of outrage over the 2020 deaths of “George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, as well as countless other African Americans who have lost their lives as a result of racism and police brutality that persist in our country.”

The board also voted to remove the resolution from the school system’s website and social media platforms, reasoning that the previous board in June 2020 did not vote to add the resolution to the student code. That was done by staff without board directive, board President Jana Post said during the meeting this June.

On Thursday, the five-member board took less than 3 minutes to vote to repeal the school system’s antiracism policy, last revised in February 2024.

“I would like to be sure and make it clear that we have a discrimination policy in place that covers all forms of illegal discrimination,” Post said. “So having a separate antiracism policy is redundant. It sends the message that we are elevating one form of discrimination over all other forms of discrimination.”

In an email Wednesday, Post said the board’s “only comment is that we support the safety of all students and groups any discrimination, as outlined in our current discrimination policy and procedure.”

Last week’s decision will be posted for 30 days for public comment — and Calvert County resident Birgit Sharp has some comments she plans to share.

Sharp, a member of local community group CANDLE (Community Action Network for Democracy Liberties and Equality), and others protested prior to the board’s vote last week.

“It’s really scary to me that this happened,” Sharp said Wednesday. “This is a school [system] with not a lot of people of color. To not have the extra protections … put in there is scary.”

One next step, Sharp said, will be mobilizing residents who may want to run for school board in next year’s election.

Three current board members – Melissa Goshorn, Paul Harrison and Joseph Marchio – won in 2024 with the backing of Project 1776 PAC, a group that pushes for conservative education policies and parental rights in schools.

State Stepped In

Project 1776 also helped Mary Beth Bozman and Matthew Lankford get elected last year to the Somerset County Board of Education. Lankford serves as school board chair.

For the past several months, the board pushed to cut $1 million for librarians from the budget and to remove alleged DEI policies, as first reported by The Baltimore Banner.

But when the school board sought to get rid of Somerset County Public Schools Superintendent Ava Tasker-Mitchell, who is Black, Wright stepped in.

The board tried to get rid of Tasker-Mitchell in June and sought to appoint David Bromwell, who is white and a former superintendent in Dorchester County, as interim superintendent.

The state reinstated Tasker-Mitchell for 60 days, which ended Aug. 5. But in an Aug. 4 letter to Lankford, Wright denied his request to have Tasker-Mitchell “vacate the [Somerset County] property on Aug. 6.”

The state board passed an emergency regulation that went into effect July 23 that allowed Wright to extend Tasker-Mitchell’s reinstatement until Jan. 19 or until a hearing occurs. The regulation was approved by the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review.

“It is my expectation that Dr. Tasker-Mitchell will report to work on August 6, 2025, and be allowed to exercise her lawful duties as county superintendent,” Wright wrote.

Wright’s letter also warned the school board that violating state law could result in funding being withheld, and noted that “the State Board is authorized to initiate removal of board members for willful neglect of duty.”

Tasker-Mitchell’s picture remains on the school system’s website. A representative with Somerset schools did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

by William J. Ford, Maryland Matters
August 14, 2025

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Wind Wars: Ocean City Challenges Maryland Permit in Two Different Venues

August 9, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

Ocean City is pursuing every avenue in its ongoing fight to block an offshore wind farm — including one avenue that didn’t appear to exist until a month ago.

That’s when the Environmental Protection Agency told the state that it erred when it said appeals of the air quality permit it granted for the US Wind project could only be challenged in court. The proper venue is the agency’s Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), said the EPA, which ordered the state to rewrite its notice.

State officials refused and have challenged the EPA claim, as has US Wind, the developer behind the Ocean City project. Local environmental attorneys said the move appears to be an attempt by Trump’s EPA to “figure out ways to undercut what the Biden administration did,” by muddying the waters about how an appeal should proceed.

Ocean City’s attorneys “felt that the correct location was the EPA environmental appeals board” and filed its appeal there, said City Manager Terry McGean in a statement. But it filed in Worcester County Circuit Court, too, just in case.

“In order to make sure our appeal was not thrown out based on a procedural issue, we filed in both places. Apparently the EPA agreed with us,” McGean wrote.

It’s the latest twist in a long-running battle over the project, which calls for construction of 121 wind turbines about 10 miles off the Delmarva coast. When complete, the project could generate 2,200 megawatts of energy, enough to power up to 718,000 homes, according to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The project has the backing of the Moore administration and the administration of former President Joe Biden (D), which granted a key federal permit for it. But it has long been opposed by some leaders in tourism-dependent Ocean City, who fear the distant turbine towers will harm the view from the beach. Wind projects have another opponent in President Donald Trump (R).

The EPA appeals board recently took action against a different offshore wind project. In March, the appeals board revoked a Clean Air Act permit issued for New Jersey’s Atlantic Shores wind project during the Biden administration. The board sent the permit back to EPA for a new decision in light of a Trump executive order that paused new wind permitting and leasing, and required federal agencies to reevaluate their policies.

But, critically, that permit was issued by EPA’s Region 2 — not a state agency.

Local environmental attorneys called EPA’s arguments about the Maryland permit unconventional. Typically, a challenge to an air pollution permit issued by MDE would be filed in court in the county where the project is proposed, they said.

“I am a bit baffled by EPA’s assertion,” said Jon Mueller, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Maryland’s Francis King Carey School of Law, who said the administration may simply be looking for a way to block a Biden-era project.

“I’ve never seen it say you’ve got to go through the EAB before — unless there was some clear statutory requirement,” Mueller said.

In a previous statement to Maryland Matters, an EPA spokesperson criticized Maryland for not complying with its directive to reissue the air permit with instructions for appellants to go to the Environmental Appeals Board.

“They don’t seem to care about complying with legal requirements,” an EPA spokesperson said about MDE.

The appeals board is a three-judge panel that reviews permitting disputes involving federal statutes like the Clean Air Act. Members are appointed by the EPA administrator, to consider appeals on their behalf, but the board is “impartial” and “independent from all other agency components” outside the office of the administrator, according to its website.

The EAB is still considering whether it has jurisdiction to review the MDE-issued air permit for the Ocean City project. In an order issued Monday, the board required the EPA’s general counsel to chime in by Aug. 18.

Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey, regional EPA administrator for the mid-Atlantic, told Maryland on July 7 that it needed to defer to the EAB. That same day, Ocean City filed its appeal with the EAB, making arguments similar argument to Trump’s EPA.

The city’s attorney, Nancie Marzulla, wrote that EPA delegated authority to MDE to issue the Clean Air Act permit, but the federal agency “retains oversight” over the permit, in part because it covers a project on the outer continental shelf, a “federal enclave,” Marzulla wrote.

Both of Ocean City’s filings — in court and before the appeals board — challenge MDE’s construction permit on several grounds, arguing that MDE failed to consider alternatives for the offshore wind project, issued the permit late and relied on uncertain emissions estimates for construction vessels, among other faults.

US Wind believes that the town’s appeal is “less about air quality and more about the very existence of the Project,” wrote Toyja E. Kelley, Sr., an attorney for the company, in a filing before the appeals board. “Be that as it may, Petitioners have a right to challenge the MDE Permit, but only in the forum legally authorized to hear them out: a Maryland Circuit Court.”

Liz Burdock, president and CEO of Oceantic Network, a trade group supporting offshore wind development, agreed with US Wind, saying in a statement that she has “full confidence” in Maryland’s permit — and the state’s appeals process.

MDE “issued the permit for US Wind after a lengthy, well-documented, science-based approach that followed years of precedent and included US EPA Region 3 every step of the way,” Burdock wrote.

In its filing with the EPA board, the Baltimore-based wind developer contended that MDE followed the rules when it issued the air permit. It also argued that the air emissions tied to the project will occur “almost exclusively” during the construction and commissioning phase, thanks to engines aboard construction vessels and diesel generators on the offshore substations before they are connected to the electrical grid.

The turbines themselves “will generate no air emissions,” US Wind wrote, “and in fact will displace electricity that would otherwise be generated by fossil fuel powered sources that have historically created significantly more air emissions.”

In its filing with the appeals board, MDE wrote that EAB lacks jurisdiction based on past precedent, and Ocean City’s petition misconstrues federal law. It warned that an “improvident grant of jurisdiction could result in conflicting judicial rulings given the Petitioners concurrent filing currently proceeding in the Maryland courts.”

Phil Federico, a Maryland environmental attorney who handles class action suits related to groundwater and air pollution, said he also found it strange that EPA was arguing the wind permit should go to its appeals board.

“It’s a novel argument,” Federico said. “And I think they’re relying heavily on the fact that the Clean Air Act permits the EPA to delegate authority to the state to issue Clean Air Act permits.”

Federico said it seems as though the federal agency, having already delegated authority to Maryland to enact Clean Air Act permits on the outer continental shelf, is now moving the goalposts.

“If you’re going to delegate this authority to MDE, and they do issue a Clean Air Act permit consistent with the EPA standards, then I don’t see the problem,” Federico said. “My guess is this is probably — to some degree — being impacted by political preference.”

In its filing, MDE also argued that many of Ocean City’s contentions were not brought forward during the public comment period, making them ineligible subjects for an appeal.

The state still countered each deficiency cited by Ocean City, arguing that it was allowed to rely on previous alternative analyses conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior, that its vessel emissions estimates were sound and that the permit underwent ample public comment.

Responding to the contention that the appeals board should overturn the permit because it was issued after a statutory deadline, MDE argued that would be an “absurd” remedy, since the deadline was set to protect permit applicants from a never-ending review process.

“A contrary ruling would allow an agency to avoid ever having to make a decision,” reads MDE’s filing.

by Christine Condon, Maryland Matters
August 8, 2025

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‘Mess With Texas’: Plane banner brings Texas redistricting fight to Annapolis

August 5, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

A small plane circled the Maryland State House throughout Monday morning and afternoon, trailing a banner with a call to action: “MESS WITH TEXAS.”

It was an apparent reference to the redistricting fight in Texas, where state Republicans are pushing for a rare mid-decade redistricting plan that would flip five U.S. House seats currently held by Democrats before next year’s elections. Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state to prevent a scheduled vote Monday on the redistricting bill, while Democrats in other states are considering responding in kind if Texas goes through with its plan.

Maryland is among those states.

“What’s happening is ruinous, really, to there being any sort of state parity or ground rules,” said Del. David Moon (D-Montgomery) of the proposed Texas redistricting. “Ultimately, it just helps take accountability away from elected officials.”

Moon — who said he saw some of the on-the-lam Texas House Democrats in Boston at the National Conference of State Legislatures convention Monday — said last month that he plans to introduce a bill that would automatically trigger a Maryland redistricting if any other state redistricted “outside of the regular decennial census period.”

Typically, states redraw their congressional district boundaries every 10 years, when decennial Census numbers come out, so for Texas to do it mid-decade would be “ruinous,” Moon said. If the once-per-decade norm is broken by one state, it can affect all other states, said Moon, the House majority leader.

“If one of the 50 states decides to break from the norm and redistrict whenever they want, that’s just not a sustainable system — unless every other state also exercises that same right,” Moon said. “Ideally, once everyone has the same power, nobody exercises it, because it’s destabilizing the Congress itself to have the prospect of redistricting happen every election cycle.”

Maryland is one of the Democratic-led states considering such a response to Texas. More planes trailing “Mess with Texas” banners, backed by “an anonymous group of self-described democracy advocates,” according to Politico, had plans to fly over state capitols Monday in New York, Maine, New Jersey, Illinois and California.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the effort. Employees at two aerial advertising companies, FlySigns.com and Aerial Advertising Outdoor Maryland, were unable to confirm whether the planes had been rented from them.

A “MESS WITH TEXAS” banner was spotted Monday over Albany, according to posts on Facebook and Reddit, where New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) stood with five Texas Democratic lawmakers and said New York was looking into how it could mount a mid-decade redistrictinf if Texas does.

Maryland House Minority Leader Del. Jason Buckel (R-Allegany) said he is also against mid-decade redistricting. But Texas is growing much faster than Maryland — potentially fast enough to merit one or two additional congressional districts compared to 2020, he said.

Texas is a much larger state with more minority seats than Maryland, Buckel said, so even if it redistricts, there will still be Texas seats available to Democrats. In Maryland, only one of the state’s eight congressional seats is held by a Republican.

“Under what Del. Moon is proposing, he wants to potentially gerrymander a map that would have absolutely zero Republican representation in the state,” Buckel said. “That’s just kind of absurd, and I don’t think there’s a way for them to do it.”

Maryland Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery) wrote in a post on X that he will co-sponsor Moon’s bill if it moves forward.

Vogel said he doesn’t support partisan gerrymandering, and he hopes that Texas backs away from its effort. But if Texas engages in partisan mid-decade redistricting, then Maryland will engage back, Vogel said.

“I’m by no means excited about this. First, because I do not generally support partisan gerrymandering, and second, because I think that this could result in a nationwide battle around redistricting in a way that I think further polarizes our country,” Vogel said. “But, again back to this point: Texas is starting it. Texas lawmakers are starting it.”

Moon called the current once-per-decade redistricting norm “basically a treaty among the states,” but said that treaty requires cooperation by all 50 states, which can’t be done if Texas redistricts now.

“This era of unilateral disarmament is over,” Moon said.

by Lauren Lifke, Maryland Matters
August 5, 2025

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Lawmakers Must Be Allowed Immigration Detention Visits, US House Dems’ Suit Says

August 2, 2025 by Maryland Matters 2 Comments

WASHINGTON — A dozen Democratic members of Congress filed a lawsuit Wednesday charging that the Trump administration is blocking lawmakers from conducting congressional oversight of federal immigration detention centers.

The suit in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia argues that the Department of Homeland Security’s new policy to limit or block lawmakers from visiting immigrant detention facilities is unlawful. The members cite an appropriations law in effect since 2019 that grants a lawmaker the ability to conduct oversight of such centers without prior approval from the department or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“This oversight informs potential legislation on the subject of immigration detention, ensures that administration officials are carrying out their responsibilities consistent with federal law, and ensures that funds appropriated to DHS and ICE are being used appropriately on the ground,” according to the suit.

DHS did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.

As the Trump administration aims to carry out mass deportations, one of the few tools Democrats, who are in the minority in both chambers of Congress, have is oversight of immigration detention centers.

It’s already led to clashes between Democratic lawmakers and immigration officers after New Jersey Democrats protested the reopening of a detention center.

The lawmakers said that since June, they have tried to obtain information about conditions at DHS facilities “for the purpose of conducting real-time oversight of that facility” and each “of those attempted oversight visits has been blocked by” DHS.

For example, Colorado’s Jason Crow, who is part of the suit, said this month he was denied entry to an ICE facility to conduct oversight.

“As part of its campaign of mass deportation, the Trump-Vance administration has stretched the U.S. immigration detention system far beyond its capacity,” the suit said.

The suit cites the deaths of 11 people while in immigration custody in the past five months and the unlawful detainment of U.S. citizens, often without access to legal counsel.

“More people are being held by the United States in immigration detention than ever before, with many facilities housing more individuals than they were built to contain,” according to the suit. “Reports of mistreatment have been widespread and have included disturbing details of overcrowding, food shortages, lack of adequate medical care, and unsanitary conditions.”

The suit is being led by the advocacy group Democracy Forward, which is representing the House lawmakers, most of whom are in leadership roles or top Democrats on committees, such as Bennie Thompson of Mississippi on Homeland Security, Jamie Raskin of Maryland on Judiciary and Robert Garcia of California on Oversight and Government Reform.

The other Democrats include Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman of New York; J. Luis Correa, Jimmy Gomez, Raul Ruiz and Norma Torres of California; Crow and Joe Neguse of Colorado; and Veronica Escobar of Texas.

by Ariana Figueroa, Maryland Matters
August 2, 2025

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Maryland Records Most Flash Flood Warnings Since 2020. Here’s why. — Maryland Matters

August 1, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

Gov. Wes Moore (D) inspects damage at a library in Westernport on May 15, 2025, in the wake of flooding in Western Maryland in the previous week. (Photo by Patrick Siebert/Governor’s office)

Severe thunderstorms across Maryland on Thursday brought torrential rainfall reaching up to 6 inches in some areas, causing thousands to lose power and requiring several water rescues in Harford County after multiple cars were trapped by rising water.

Earlier in the month, dozens of others had to be rescued from trapped cars in Montgomery and Fairfax counties after torrential rainfall in the Washington, D.C., area on July 19.

And in mid-May, flooding caused by days of heavy rain led to millions of dollars in damage and emergency response costs to several Western Maryland communities.

As the heat and humidity have increased in Maryland, so too has the number of flash floods. The state has had at least 51 flash flood warnings so far this year, its most since 2020, according to the National Weather Service. Maryland had 45 warnings throughout all of 2024.

Chris Strong, the warning coordination meteorologist for the NWS Baltimore-Washington office, attributed the increase to the abnormally hot and humid conditions, especially over the past six weeks. Flash floods typically occur in the early summer months from about June to August, he said.

“We haven’t had a lot of extreme heat days where it’s been over 100 degrees, but we’ve had a lot of very warm days, and, more importantly for the flash flooding, a lot of very humid days,” Strong said.

James Hyde, manager of the Maryland Mesonet, a growing network of weather-monitoring stations across the state run through the University of Maryland, College Park, said there is a higher amount of precipitable water in the atmosphere, which he described as “if you took all the water in the air above your head” and squished it down into a cup and then measured the amount.

Normally, Hyde said, precipitable water ranges from about 1.3 to 1.4 inches during this time of year. But during the thunderstorms this summer, the amount has ranged from 1.8 to 2.3 inches, which is up to a 75% increase.

Water is one of the most powerful forces there is. In terms of direct fatalities, nothing’s a bigger weather killer than flooding is. So anytime there’s flash flood warnings in particular for your area, people’s awareness should be heightened as to what the water is doing around them.

– Chris Strong, warning coordination meteorologist, National Weather Service

The combination of high humidity and temperatures in the lower atmosphere and weak wind flow in the upper atmosphere has led to slow-moving thunderstorms producing heavy rainfall — the perfect recipe for flash flooding, Hyde said.

“They tend to sit and dump rain,” he said. “That’s when you start to get the flash flooding scenarios. The soils quickly become saturated, it goes into surface runoff, etc.”

First came drought

The increase in flooding this summer comes after a roughly two-year long period of drought in Maryland, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s restoration specialist Rob Schnabel.

A year ago, about two-thirds of the state was classified as abnormally dry, while almost a quarter was in severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. On Thursday, only 3% of the state’s land was classified as abnormally dry.

Schnabel said that as the climate changes, the state is seeing these periods of drought followed by large, sudden rainfalls.

“Once the soil is really dried out, and kind of baked somewhat with the heat temperatures, it actually has less ability for water to infiltrate into the ground,” he said. “Healthy soil is 25% air, 25% water and then the rest is solid material. But once you bake the ground and lose that water vapor in the ground, you lose that sponge effect.”

When there are these kinds of heavy rainfalls after two years of drought, he said, some of the soil “might as well be pavement.”

Another key issue, Schnabel added, is Maryland’s lack of stormwater management as continued urban development leads to more impervious surfaces, like parking lots or roadways, which can’t soak up water and instead create more runoff.

To combat the issue, communities can utilize multiple strategies such as planting more trees, which can absorb up to 13,000 gallons of water a year each, or creating rain gardens in natural drainage areas in parking lots, he said.

“We really need to focus more on water volume,” he said. “What happens on the land is going to determine the whole success of the Chesapeake Bay cleanup. So we need to do a better job of addressing water up on the land prior to it coming into our stream systems and into the bay.”

More floods, more collaboration

The increased flooding has caused damage to several communities across the state so far this year, including many in Western Maryland.

From May 12 to 14, “extreme rainfall” triggered significant flooding which inundated several communities in Garrett and Allegany counties. According to official estimates, the floods caused $15.8 million in emergency response costs and damage to local infrastructure — including 200 homes.

Last month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the state’s request for emergency assistance funds. Speaking to reporters in Westernport on Sunday, Gov. Wes Moore (D) called the denial a “political decision” by President Donald Trump (R), and criticized it as petty, partisan and punishing.

But as the state faces more and more floods, Hyde said he has “never seen more collaboration” among weather analysts, state emergency management officials and those who run the warning systems.

“People behind the scenes are watching this and paying attention,” he said. “The Mesonet takes observations every three seconds, and we’re transmitting that data every minute.”

One strategy counties are employing to combat the danger of flash flooding, Strong said, is to purchase properties that are at particular risk for flash floods so there’s less exposure to the public when one occurs.

And as the state’s weather monitoring systems improve, Strong said the goal is to increase the time between when a warning is issued and when actual flooding occurs. Currently, he said the average is about an hour before a flood occurs that a warning is sent out.

He emphasized the danger that flash floods pose, particularly for low-lying areas where water drains to.

“Water is one of the most powerful forces there is,” he said. “In terms of direct fatalities, nothing’s a bigger weather killer than flooding is. So anytime there’s flash flood warnings in particular for your area, people’s awareness should be heightened as to what the water is doing around them.”

By: Sam Gauntt – August 1, 2025 5:30 am, Maryland Matters

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First came drought

More floods, more collaboration