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June 29, 2022

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News Maryland News

Maryland After Roe Is Extinguished

June 25, 2022 by Maryland Matters 5 Comments

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Michelle Siri, a candidate for lieutenant governor, speaks at an abortion rights rally in Wheaton on Friday evening. She is running with John King, standing to her right. Photo by Josh Kurtz.

Everybody saw it coming.

And yet, the Supreme Court decision Friday to strike down Roe v. Wade, the historic 1973 decision guaranteeing abortion rights across the country, may be reordering Maryland politics just 3 1/2 weeks before the state’s primaries.

“It’s going to be a different world,” Del. Ariana Kelly (D-Montgomery), a leading abortion rights advocate in the General Assembly, said in an interview Friday. “Yesterday and tomorrow, totally different worlds.”

Maryland has fairly robust abortion protections, enshrined in state law 30 years ago by a statewide referendum. Abortion rights supporters took to the streets Friday evening in Wheaton, Annapolis and elsewhere, expressing their disgust and horror with the Supreme Court ruling.

But even with Maryland’s status as one of a dozen states that preserve abortion access up to the point of viability (usually 22 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy), abortion rights supporters moved with a new sense of urgency Friday, vowing to elect more pro-choice candidates and to press for even stronger protections in state law, including a state constitutional amendment to preserve abortion rights.

Separately, local leaders began setting policy and funding decisions in response to the court ruling.

Dozens of Democratic officeholders and political candidates issued statements decrying the Supreme Court ruling and vowed to preserve and protect abortion rights in Maryland, cognizant of the likelihood that the number of abortion seekers coming to Maryland will increase dramatically, with close to half of U.S. states set to outlaw the procedure in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.

The Republican reaction in Maryland ranged from overjoyed to circumspect.

With mail-in ballots already arriving at voters’ homes, early voting set to take place between July 7-14, and the primary on July 19, abortion could be uppermost on voters’ minds in the days ahead. Democratic primary voters have a full menu of abortion rights supporters to choose from in the races for statewide office — governor, attorney general and state comptroller. So the choice there may be who is best-equipped to expand abortion protections in the state.

“An overwhelming majority of Democrats support women’s reproductive rights… and there is little daylight if any between any of the Democratic candidates who are currently running for governor on these issues,” said Mileah Kromer, a political science professor at Goucher College and director of the Goucher Poll.

That point was brought home Friday evening, when Democratic gubernatorial contender John King, who has been endorsed by the group Pro-Choice Maryland, and his running mate, Michelle Siri, shared the stage at the Wheaton rally with former Del. Aruna Miller, running mate to another candidate for governor, Wes Moore. Similarly, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich was just a few feet away from one of his Democratic primary challengers, County Councilmember Hans Riemer, and both spoke.

The leading Republican candidates for governor had notably different reactions to the Supreme Court ruling.

Former Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz, the favorite of the GOP establishment, issued a statement promising to preserve the status quo if she is elected.

“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court changes nothing with regard to abortion in Maryland,” she said. “As I have repeatedly said, while I am personally pro-life, the issue is settled law in Maryland and has been for 30 years, since Marylanders voted on it. Despite fear-mongering from others, as governor, I’ll do nothing to change current Maryland law.”

Schulz has largely hewed to the position of her political patron, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), who she is trying to succeed. When Hogan was first campaigning for governor in 2014, he said he was personally opposed to abortion but would not seek to change state law.

But is that line still cogent in the current political environment?

“I think that she’s going to be pushed on the issue more than Hogan was pushed on it during his eight years or during his two elections, just because of the decision today,” Kromer said of Schulz.

Hogan may not have helped Schulz’s cause when he vetoed a bill this year to expand the types of medical practitioners who can perform abortions — which the legislature overrode — and then withheld funding to provide training for those medical professionals. It served as a reminder that even with abortion protections in place, a governor can have an impact on how the laws are administered.

“I think Kelly Schulz’s statement was particularly interesting,” said Alexandra Hughes, former chief of staff to House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) and the late Speaker Michael Busch (D). “Fundamentally, [she] is a political pragmatist. Her problem is, there are a lot of suburban and urban women who are not buying this Susan Collins ‘walk the line’ thing.”

Schulz’s principal GOP primary opponent, Del. Dan Cox (R-Frederick), posted a minute-long video on Facebook praising the Supreme Court decision.

“Thank God, thank President Trump, thank the Supreme Court for doing what is right,” said Cox, who has been endorsed by Trump in the primary. “My wife and I for years and years have been fighting for the unborn. That’s one of the reasons why we’re in politics.”

Cox also took a swipe at Schulz, saying “my opponent wants to enforce taxpayer-funded abortions. She will do nothing to stop illegal actions against these precious babies.”

Democratic fissures

The upcoming primaries may expose certain Democrats who have opposed abortion rights.

Lily Bolourian, executive director of Pro-Choice Maryland, said the organization has in recent days retooled its endorsement policy to only focus on the strongest advocates on abortion rights. And, she said, the group is determined to defeat as many anti-abortion Democrats as possible.

“There is no room in the Democratic Party or in any progressive movements for anti-abortion elected officials. Period,” she told Maryland Matters. “It’s unacceptable, and we intend to continue building power to target any politician who voted against the Abortion [Care] Access Act.”

That’s a reference to Kelly’s legislation expanding the array of medical providers who can perform abortions. When the bill initially passed the House, 89-47, six Democrats voted against it: Dels. Dalya Attar of Baltimore City, Anne Healey of Prince George’s County, Shaneka Henson of Anne Arundel County, Cheryl Landis of Prince George’s, Mary Ann Lisanti of Harford County, and Geraldine Valentino-Smith of Prince George’s.

After Hogan vetoed the bill, the House voted 90-46 to override the veto. Attar, Henson, Landis, Lisanti and Valentino-Smith voted against the override. Healey did not vote. It takes 85 votes to override a gubernatorial veto in the 141-member House of Delegates.

“Democrats who voted against the abortion access bill are going to get pressed about it on the [campaign] trail,” Hughes predicted.

Landis and Valentino-Smith are not seeking election this year. Lisanti is running for state Senate in a competitive primary with former Del. Mary-Dulany James. Henson is one of two Democratic incumbents running in a two-member district, without opposition, so she will be safe in the primary.

It’s unclear whether Attar faces a competitive primary, in a district where Dels. Samuel Rosenberg (D) and Tony Bridges (D) are also seeking reelection. Former Del. Bilal Ali and Chris Ervin, a trucking company owner and civic activist, are also competing in the Democratic primary.

But Pro-Choice Maryland is clearly targeting Healey, who was first elected in 1990. The group has endorsed Ashanti Martinez, a research and policy analyst with CASA, the immigrants’ rights group, and he launched a digital ad earlier this week slamming Healey.

“It’s tough to understand why, in one of our state’s most progressive House districts, Anne Healey, a purported Democrat, is aligning herself with the positions of the far right,” a narrator says in the ad.

Healey could not be reached for comment Friday. But the Women Legislators of Maryland caucus released a series of statements from the caucus leaders, including one from Healey, the immediate past president.

While eight statements were full-throated denunciations of the Supreme Court decision, Healey’s was somewhat more measured.

“Regardless of what the Supreme Court said today, abortion in Maryland remains a private, medical decision,” she said. “The law we have in place makes sure that only the pregnant woman herself has the final say. I voted earlier this year to secure this policy as part of the Maryland Constitution. I would do so again.”

Her statement was in reference to a bill sponsored by House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) this year that would have set up a November referendum to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. The bill passed through the House but stalled in the Senate, to the consternation of many abortion rights supporters in and out of government. (Henson, Landis and Lisanti also voted in favor of the speaker’s bill.)

Healey is running on a ticket with the other incumbents in District 22, including Sen. Paul Pinsky (D), who spoke at the abortion rights rally in Wheaton on Friday evening, and Del. Nicole Williams (D), a vocal abortion rights advocate. But the delegation in that district has traditionally not been as close as lawmakers in many other districts.

The Abortion Care Access Act passed 28-15 in the state Senate this year, and the vote to override Hogan’s veto was 29-15. In both cases, two Prince George’s County Democrats — Sens. Michael Jackson and Ron Watson — voted against the measure.

Jackson, who also represents Calvert County, has nominal opposition in next month’s primary. Watson is in a three-way race against Raaheela Ahmed, a former member of the Prince George’s County Board of Education, and Sylvia Johnson, a business owner, in a district that has traditionally elected some anti-abortion legislators.

Asked Friday if he is concerned that abortion could become a late-breaking or defining issue in his primary, Watson replied, “I’m not worried about it. We have a lot of important issues we have to deal with in this upcoming legislative session.”

It takes 29 votes in the 47-member Senate to override a governor’s veto, so the veto-proof majority is in jeopardy this year. Sen. Obie Patterson (D-Prince George’s), an abortion rights supporter, is retiring, and his likely successor, former Sen. Anthony Muse (D), has opposed most abortion rights measures during his legislative tenure.

Pro-choice Sen. Katie Fry Hester (D-Howard) is considered vulnerable in November, though Democrats tried to firm up the Democratic majority in her district in the latest round of redistricting. Democrats and abortion rights advocates have a pick-up opportunity in Anne Arundel County, where Sen. Ed Reilly (R) is retiring and Democrats are rallying around attorney Dawn Gile, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary.

In the 18th District, where an abortion rights supporter, Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D), is seeking a second term, Pro-Choice Maryland has endorsed his challenger, Max Socol, because of what Bolourian called Waldsteicher’s “failure to lead” on the constitutional amendment that stalled in the Senate this year.

Bolourian said her group has “absolute confidence in Max’s tenacity to push to get the strongest abortion access bills passed. My core message to anti-abortion Democrats is to expect us.”

A special session?

The House has twice launched the idea of a constitutional amendment to codify abortion rights, in 2018 and this year, but both times Senate leaders resisted. Now it is a top priority for several Democrats, including the men running for governor.

Jones reiterated that point in a statement Friday.

“It is a dark day for our country,” she said. “The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will put women’s lives in jeopardy across America. Here in Maryland, access to the full range of reproductive health services will not be limited by this decision. I will continue to put the full weight of my office behind a Maryland constitutional amendment to protect women’s healthcare and reproductive liberty. The recent decisions of the Supreme Court are dragging America backwards. We cannot and will not give up. Now is the time to mobilize for the country we all deserve.”

Earlier this week, Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) issued joint statements condemning Thursday’s Supreme Court decision on a gun rights case, and on calls to hold a special legislative session to discuss a proposed gas tax holiday. But they notably went their own way when it came to reacting to the Roe v. Wade verdict.

Ferguson’s statement said in part: “In the weeks and months to come, women will likely come to Maryland seeking reproductive care in a State that understands the importance of the right to privacy and equality. While many may now question the future of reproductive rights in America, in Maryland, that right will always be protected and enshrined in State law. We will welcome those who seek care in our State.”

Some Democrats and abortion rights advocates are now pressing the presiding officers to schedule a special session to move the constitutional amendment on abortion rights and force Hogan to fund the training this year for abortion providers. That seems unlikely for now — though matters could change.

King and Siri reiterated the call at the rally in Wheaton Friday evening.

“If folks can jump up and down out there and call for a special legislative session for a gas tax holiday, we sure as hell can have one for our bodily autonomy,” said Siri, the head of the Maryland Women’s Law Center and former president of the state’s Planned Parenthood board.

Local government reacts

Within hours of the Supreme Court decision, the Montgomery County government banned county employees from engaging in official travel to any of 25 states deemed likely to roll back access to abortion in the wake of the ruling. 

“By taking action to restrict access to reproductive health care services, the following states have possibly put the health and safety of our employees at risk while on official business,” Chief Administrative Officer Richard S. Madaleno wrote in a memo to county managers. 

“Our County taxpayers expect the County’s resources to uphold County values and Maryland state law,” he added.

Conference or other travel approved prior to the ruling must be canceled in those instances where monetary penalties will not be imposed, Madaleno said. The ban on official travel to anti-abortion states would not apply to members of the County Council, though they would be encouraged to follow the executive branch’s lead, a county spokesman said.

The 2023 National Association of Counties annual convention is scheduled to take place in Texas. 

In an interview, Elrich, the county executive, said Montgomery intends an aggressive effort to woo companies located in states “that are about to move back to the Stone Age.” 

“These tech companies that brought in all these young people to Austin, [Texas], I can’t imagine them being really comfortable there right now,” he said. “We want to encourage those companies to come to a state where everybody’s free.” 

In light of the rise in remote work, Elrich said Montgomery’s campaign will target both out-of-state employers as well as employees.

Several large companies announced after the ruling that they intend to compensate workers who are forced to travel to access abortion services.

The states on Montgomery’s travel ban: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. 

In Baltimore on Friday, Mayor Brandon Scott (D) announced that the city would provide $300,000 in grants to organizations that offer abortion and family planning services.

“It is crucial that we invest in abortion and family planning so that we can welcome women seeking these services with open arms,” Scott said. “We are morally obligated to make Baltimore a safe haven for care-seekers, and we are committed to doing just that.”

Earlier this week, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby (D) and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D) vowed that they would not prosecute women seeking abortions from other states, medical providers, or anyone who assists women who obtain abortions in Maryland.

“They’re doubling down to protect our staff and abortion providers all across Maryland,” said Karen Nelson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Maryland.

Battles ahead

Abortion rights foes in Maryland exulted in the Supreme Court ruling.

“Today we CELEBRATE!” Maryland Right to Life wrote on a Facebook post Friday.

The Maryland Catholic Conference, on Twitter, wrote: “Today’s Supreme Court decision on life is a historic moment in our nation. We renew — and invite all to join — our commitment to support both women and their children.”

Kelly, the state delegate and abortion policy leader, said Marylanders who support reproductive rights should not take Maryland’s current laws for granted. She said she fears that national anti-choice groups will start to focus more on Maryland, both with political advocacy and spending, and in intimidation of abortion providers and women seeking abortions.

“We become a target,” she said. “We are the southernmost state on the East Coast that’s considered a safe haven for abortion.”

Kelly said the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade shows how formidable the anti-abortion forces are.

“We’ve seen what this movement has been able to do,” she said. “They don’t have to expend their energy on states like Mississippi anymore. They can focus on Maryland.”

By Josh Kurtz

Bruce DePuyt and Nene Narh-Mensah contributed to this report. 

Filed Under: Maryland News

Hoping for Republican Gubernatorial Debates? Don’t Hold Your Breath

June 21, 2022 by Maryland Matters 1 Comment

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The four Republicans running for governor live approximately 70 miles apart. But getting them to appear together has proven to be difficult.

The four have appeared simultaneously only once — at an online forum sponsored by Bethesda Monthly and Bethesda Beat on June 8, which also featured Democratic candidates. Given the tortured history, it appears likely that when the July 19 primary rolls around, that event will represent the only time Dan Cox, Robin Ficker, Kelly Schulz and Joe Werner engaged in a true debate.

The lack of GOP debates isn’t for a lack of effort on the part of civic groups, media organizations and other would-be sponsors. Many have tried to draw the candidates together, so that the state’s 986,722 registered Republican voters can take stock of the candidates for themselves, only to fall short.

Two of the candidates — Cox, a state delegate, and Ficker, a former delegate and frequent candidate — have accused Schulz, the former state Commerce secretary, of ducking debates, saying she prefers to avoid unscripted and potentially adversarial settings.

The Schulz campaign has acknowledged that it isn’t keen on debates, but not for the reasons Cox and Ficker have alleged. Rather, they say it’s part of a concerted strategy to avoid propping up Cox, an  attorney endorsed by former President Trump who chartered buses to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, and who tweeted that former vice-president Mike Pence was a “traitor” during the ensuing melee at the Capitol.

“Quite frankly I think she’s been on-stage with him more than she needs to be,” said Schulz spokesman Mike Demkiw on Monday, echoing past criticisms. “He’s a lunatic. He’s a liar. He got a child rapist out of jail.”

Cox declined to respond to voice messages and emails on Monday. But in a phone interview, Ficker, the GOP’s nominee for Montgomery County executive in 2018, who has run for multiple offices over the past four decades, said Schulz doesn’t perform well in candidate forums.

“Kelly is refusing to participate in any debates,” said Ficker. “I don’t think she’s a good debater. I don’t think she can think on her feet. She’s too scripted and they don’t want her to be surprised.”

Ficker said Schulz declined invitations to take part in a Maryland Public Television/WBAL-TV debate, a WBFF-TV (Fox 45) debate, and a Maryland State Bar Association debate. He said she also rejected invitations from the Montgomery County Republican Party and to attend candidate forums in Howard, Carroll and Frederick counties.

“She’s only appeared before one Black group, one time, where she gave an opening statement. She answered one question. And then said she had to leave early and gave a closing statement,” Ficker said. “There’s never been any opportunity to question her.”

Ficker called Schulz’s rationale for refusing to appear alongside Cox “complete nonsense” and “a lie.”

Although he has accused Schulz of ducking debates, Cox’s track record is also mixed. He was a last-minute no-show at a Maryland Municipal League debate in Ocean City last week, a forum for candidates of both parties that Schulz attended. And he declined to tape an interview with MPT, the station reported.

MPT held a Democratic primary debate on June 6 and hoped to do a Republican debate as well. When that didn’t come together, the station decided to record one-on-one interviews with the GOP candidates instead. Those conversations aired on Friday.

Schulz offered a light recital of her stump messages, focusing on gas prices, parental “choice,” public safety and job creation. She answered an abortion access question directly, but she dodged other questions posed by host Jeff Salkin, including whether she is an “anti-Trump” Republican, whether the GOP primary contest “is close” and whether Maryland should impose a limit on the harvest of female crabs.

It was unclear why Cox did not tape a sit-down with the station.

Unlike the Republicans, Democrats have held dozens of forums and debates over the past nine months. Ficker said the GOP’s most plugged-in voters — those who participate in primaries — are the losers. “The candidates know the most difficult questions to ask the other candidates,” he said. “The public deserves to see the differences and deserves to see the reactions.”

Schulz, Cox spar over Jan. 6

The Bethesda Magazine debate — the only one to feature nearly all of the Democratic candidates and all four Republicans — offered the candidates the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues. It also showcased some of the areas in which Schulz, who has the enthusiastic backing of Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), and Cox differ.

The most notable difference centered around the Jan. 6 insurrection.

“January 6 was an insurrection on our Capitol,” she said. “It is a blight on America for what we have been able to see and hear and experience on Jan. 6. But we have moved beyond that.” She said it is important to “rebuild our party” and — in a jab at Cox — said “we do not want to continue to call our vice-presidents traitors.”

Cox replied by calling free speech “a sacred thing in America, and when we have issues before us that need to be examined, I think we need to focus on those.”

“People are concerned and fed up with politicians trying to smear one another,” he added. He declined to say whether he thought the insurrection represented an act of sedition or whether Trump was responsible for the siege.

Schulz strategist warns of Democratic ‘interference’

In a related development, a Schulz adviser warned her supporters on Monday that national Democratic groups — primarily the Democratic Governors Association — may be preparing to “interfere” in Republican primaries. In a memo that was distributed to reporters, strategist Doug Mayer highlighted news reports on DGA efforts to boost “fringe” candidates by labeling them “too conservative.”

While the ads have the feel of attack ads, the reports contend, they have the potential to hurt more moderate candidates — those with a better shot of winning in November — by boosting rivals offering a Trumpier message.

“This idea is nothing new,” wrote Mayer, a former Hogan spokesman, “but it has gained considerable steam and financial support in recent months and we have reason to believe the DGA might try something similar here in Maryland.”

DGA deputy communications director Sam Newton declined to say whether the organization is planning to run pro-Cox ads in Maryland. In a statement, he said “it’s telling that [Schulz’s] campaign is already looking for excuses.”

“Instead of pointing fingers and lashing out at pollsters, she should stop dodging debates and answer for her radical record like pushing a total ban on abortion and trying to strip funding from public schools to fund private schools,” Newton said, referring to Schulz’s support for charter schools and abortion restrictions while serving in the House of Delegates. In the MPT interview, Schulz said “nothing will change” in Maryland on abortion policy if Roe vs Wade is overturned and she pledged robust support for public education.

By Bruce DePuyt

Filed Under: Election 2022

Governor Hogan Announces $28 million State Funding For New Bay Bridge Study

June 11, 2022 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

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Maryland will spend $28 million to study how to improve mobility in the U.S. 50/Route 301 corridor, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. announced on Friday.

The “Tier 2” study will build upon a preliminary review the state concluded earlier this year. That study concluded that the best way to make crossing the Chesapeake Bay easier would be to add a third span near the existing Bay Bridge.

Traffic engineers studied 14 “corridors” that ran the length of the bay before determining that Hogan’s preferred solution — a new crossing east of Annapolis — represented the best approach.

Although Maryland planners have settled on a two-mile wide corridor near the existing spans, Transportation Secretary James F. Ports Jr. stressed that the new study will be open-ended.

The analysis, which is expected to last four years, will look into how many lanes the crossing should be, where it should be built and whether it should be a bridge, a bridge/tunnel or a full tunnel. “We have to look at all these different factors because the federal NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] process does not allow us to predetermine what it might be,” said Ports, a former federal transportation official.

A new span would require both federal approval and federal funding, he stressed. Since it’s a federal process, state leaders are unable to say when construction might begin.

Hogan (R) said the decision to allocate money for the study represented “a critical next step, which is necessary in order to move forward so that we can make a new Bay crossing a reality in the years to come.”

He pledged the state will seek input from county governments, environmental regulators and the public.

Local leaders complain that residents who live near Routes 50 and 301 are effectively trapped in their neighborhoods when traffic is bad, particularly during beach season. Emergency vehicles frequently encounter backups. Officials say the situation has grown worse due to telework and is expected to deteriorate further as more homes are built on the Eastern Shore.

Anne Arundel County Council member Amanda Fiedler, who represents the Broadneck Peninsula, said the new study “gives us hope that we won’t be tackling stand-still traffic in our communities and local roads for generations to come.”

Fiedler attended Hogan’s press conference, as did Queen Anne’s County Commission president Jim Moran, who has publicly urged Hogan to fund the Tier 2 study. Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman (D) told reporters he was not invited.

Although Hogan has sought a third span, Fiedler and Moran have convinced county officials from around the state to sign on to a different concept — a new span, with eight or more lanes, that would replace the aging spans motorists rely upon.

By Bruce DePuyt

Filed Under: Eco Portal Lead, News Homepage, News Portal Highlights

Van Hollen “Feeling Better By the Day”

June 9, 2022 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

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Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) works in his Capitol Hill office on Wednesday. Photo by Bruce DePuyt.

When Sen. Chris Van Hollen felt a sharp pain in his neck, then felt light-headed, two minutes into a speech at the Rocky Gap Resort last month, he had to make a quick decision.

Should he tell his audience, which had gathered for the Western Maryland Democratic Summit, that he wasn’t feeling well, and sit down? Or should he ignore his symptoms and “muscle through”?

He decided to continue speaking, propping his arm on the lectern for balance. “It was a pretty good speech, after all,” he recalled with a chuckle.

To those in the crowd, he showed no visible signs of being in distress at the time.

Although he finished his remarks, his condition deteriorated, and that evening Van Hollen was rushed from his home in Kensington to George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. That’s where he received the “scary” diagnosis: The pain he was feeling was due to a neck vein that had burst — a “sub-arachnoid bleed.”

He had suffered a “minor” stroke, doctors said.

Doctors kept him in the hospital for a week, for observation. He then recuperated for a few days at home before returning to work — remotely while the Senate was in recess, then in the office.

A 63-year-old who is seeking a second term in November, Van Hollen (D) is back in the office, looking and sounding no different than before the May 14 episode.

“I feel much better,” he said in an interview in his Capitol Hill office on Wednesday. “Getting better by the day.”

The bleeding in the senator’s neck stopped on its own. Van Hollen said doctors have told him they don’t know what caused the tear, but they believe the likelihood of a recurrence is very small.

“They looked at my entire vascular system and said there is no underlying condition,” he said. “They also don’t know why this happened.”

Dr. Dimitrios Sigounas, a GW cardiologist who treated the senator, expressed optimism about Van Hollen’s prospects for a full recovery.

“This type of a venous bleed has no long-term consequences in terms of a patient’s ability to recover,” he said in an interview. “It has an excellent prognosis, with nearly zero percent risk of recurrence.”

Signounas said he kept Van Hollen in the hospital for a week “to make sure that there wasn’t anything that needed treatment.”

“There should be no long-term effects on cognitive ability or stamina,” the doctor added. “He should make a complete recovery.”

Van Hollen still feels “some residual, periodic neck pain,” for which he takes Tylenol. He is also on blood pressure medication “temporarily.”

“When you have blood in the head in places that it’s not supposed to be, it creates pressure, and it takes time for that to subside,” he said.

Doctors have suggested that Van Hollen ease back to his old routine. He said his wife Katherine is policing his schedule.

“(They said) no yard work,” Van Hollen said. “I said, ‘Okay, that sounds good to me.’”

Van Hollen said he’s received “hundreds and hundreds” of text messages, calls and cards from Senate colleagues, state and local leaders throughout Maryland, and constituents. “I’m grateful for the outpouring of support and well-wishes and love,” he said, his voice cracking.

“I have a fresh appreciation for doctors, nurses and all the health-care providers, really,” he added. “It’s just a first class team at GW.”

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris phoned him during his seven-day hospital stay. “I’ve been there, buddy,” the president said, a reference to the aneurysm he suffered while working in the Capitol decades ago.

Now that he’s back at work, Van Hollen is working with fellow Democrats to advance gun safety legislation. He said his party is also looking to “salvage” elements of the Build Back Better bill, including the provisions that would allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, climate measures, a proposal to expand veterans health care, and an end to certain tax breaks for corporations and the ultra-wealthy.

“Of all the issues that I’ve dealt with here in Congress, [firearms safety] has been the most disappointing in terms of lack of progress,” he said. “At the point where disappointment merges into just anger at the inaction.”

By Bruce DePuyt

Filed Under: Maryland News

Feds Launch Review of Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Project

June 8, 2022 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

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In a sign that offshore wind energy production is moving closer to winning approval in Maryland, the federal government announced this week that it will hold three public meetings on one of two proposed wind turbine projects later this month as part of an upcoming environmental review.

This week, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will publish what’s known as a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the construction and operations plan submitted by US Wind, LLC.

The publication of the notice opens a 30-day public comment period through July 8 as part of the process to help BOEM determine the scope of its environmental review. During the comment period, the agency, which has final say over offshore wind projects in federal waters, will hold three virtual public meetings about the proposed project and the approval process on June 21 at 5 p.m., June 23 at 5 p.m., and June 27 at 1 p.m.

Registration for the virtual public meetings and detailed information about the proposed wind energy facility, including how to comment, can be found on BOEM’s website.

“If approved, this project will represent another step forward to creating a robust offshore wind industry here in the United States, all while creating good-paying, family-supporting jobs,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “We are committed to using the best available science and traditional knowledge to inform our decisions and protect the ocean environment and marine life. We look forward to receiving input from our government partners, ocean users and other stakeholders, which is critical to a successful environmental review process.”

US Wind holds the lease rights to an area 12 to 27 miles off the coast of Ocean City. Under consideration, according to BOEM, is US Wind’s proposal to build and operate an offshore wind project with a total capacity to deliver between 1,100 and 2,000 megawatts of renewable wind energy to the Delmarva Peninsula, which could power as many as 650,000 homes in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia each year.

The project would include the installation of up to 121 turbines, up to four offshore substation platforms, one meteorological tower and up to four offshore export cable corridors, which are planned to connect to a substation at either 3 R’s Beach or Tower Road in Delaware Seashore State Park in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

On social media, US Wind called the federal government’s announcement of an environmental review “a significant milestone.”

“We’re thrilled for this exciting new phase in developing offshore wind projects that work for everyone,” the company said.

In the first phase of the lengthy approval process, US Wind was awarded Offshore Renewable Energy Credits (ORECs) by the Maryland Public Service Commission in 2017 for the first 270-megawatt phase of its lease area. Company executives hope to bring that phase, called MarWin, online in 2024. Last December, the PSC awarded ORECs to the second phase of US Wind’s proposal, the 808-megawatt Momentum Wind project, which is targeted to be operational before the end of 2026.

The offshore wind proposals continue to generate controversy in Ocean City, where some elected officials and business leaders fear the sight of wind turbines miles from the shore will be an eyesore and hurt tourism and the real estate market.

But after years of stagnation, offshore wind projects in general are gaining momentum in the U.S. and have become a priority for the Biden administration. And most Maryland officials are increasingly optimistic about their ability to create construction and operations jobs, both on the Eastern Shore and at the Tradepoint Atlantic industrial development in Baltimore County, where turbines are expected to be manufactured and assembled.

If approved, the development and construction phases of the US Wind project could support as many as 2,679 jobs annually over seven years, the federal government estimated. The Biden administration’s goal is to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and create about 80,000 jobs in the industry nationwide.

This is the 10th offshore wind energy construction and operation review initiated by the Interior Department since President Biden took office.

There are already small pilot offshore wind projects operating off the coasts of Rhode Island and Virginia, and larger projects are under construction off Cape Cod in Massachusetts and off the coast of New Jersey. Construction of another project, off the coast of Long Island in New York, has just gotten under way.

Meanwhile, an international offshore wind company, Ørsted, also has won leases from Maryland to build and operate offshore wind farms off the coast of Ocean City, and the company is hoping the federal approval process for those projects takes off soon. The Ørsted proposals, known as Skipjack 1 and Skipjack 2, would be slightly farther from shore than the US Wind developments.

The two companies’ projects have been roughly operating on the same timelines. Like the US Wind projects, Skipjack 1 received approval from the Maryland PSC in 2017, and Skipjack 2 was OK’d last December.

“Ørsted looks forward to building, owning, and operating Skipjack Wind for decades to come, while creating thousands of local offshore wind jobs and delivering clean, domestic energy to nearly 300,000 homes in the region,” Brady Walker, Ørsted’s Mid-Atlantic market manager, said in a statement provided to Maryland Matters on Tuesday.

“Development of Skipjack Wind is fully underway,” Walker said. “In May, Ørsted completed offshore geotechnical and geophysical surveys to provide a comprehensive picture of the sea floor and enable continued development of Skipjack Wind’s proposed offshore cable routes and potential landfall locations. Ørsted continues to have a productive dialogue with BOEM on the project’s permitting schedule and plans to submit Skipjack Wind’s construction and operations plan to BOEM this year.”

Filed Under: Eco Homepage, Eco Portal Lead

Democrats Spar Over Education Funding and Ethics in First Television Debate

June 7, 2022 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

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Eight Democratic candidates for governor — former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, former Clinton administration official Jon Baron, Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot, former Attorney General Douglas Gansler, former Obama administration official Ashwani Jain, former U.S. Education Secretary John King, author and former nonprofit CEO Wes Moore, and former Maryland and U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez — shared the stage at a debate hosted by Maryland Public Television on Monday. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines.

Several of the Democrats running for governor used the first televised debate of the campaign to introduce new attacks on various rivals, clashing over support for Maryland’s ambitious new education funding plan and personal ethics.

The attacks created several tense moments during the hour-long Maryland Public Television debate. While mild by the standards of Capitol Hill or cable news, the accusations marked the most pointed exchanges of the months-long campaign. The barbs flew as voters prepare to receive mail-in ballots ahead of the July 19 primary, with early voting set to begin on July 7.

Author and former non-profit CEO Wes Moore launched a broadside against Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D), accusing the state’s chief tax collector of “pay-for-play” — of using his post to leverage donations. Moments later, Moore’s campaign emailed reporters a list of instances in which companies that received contracts from the Board of Public Works, on which Franchot serves, donated to his campaign shortly before or after key votes.

“The people who will get Peter Franchot’s support often-times are those who pay for it,” Moore charged. “Twelve times that has happened, that he has offered a contract to someone who has donated to his campaign. So when we’re talking about integrity, pay-for-play is not part of that integrity pledge.”

The documents distributed by the Moore camp catalogued more than $60,000 in donations from companies that received more than $2 billion in state contracts.

Maryland’s comptroller serves alongside the state’s governor and treasurer on the contract-approving board. Contracts originate with state agencies, universities, hospitals and other institutions and Moore made no claim that Franchot was steering state business to cronies.

Given the chance to respond, Franchot ignored Moore’s attack. Instead, he cast himself as a fiscal moderate who is socially compassionate. “But I say to people, I’m not a robot,” he said, a bit incongruously. “I’m not going to do exactly what the powerful people in Annapolis want me to do.”

Pressed by reporters after the debate, Franchot said he was “proud” of the contributions his campaign has received.

Moore also found himself on the receiving end of an attack when former U.S. Labor Secretary and DNC chair Tom Perez suggested that Moore’s work as an investment banker undercut his claim of being an ethical “public servant.”

“From 2007 to 2012, I was fighting predatory lenders,” Perez said. “During that same time, Wes was working at Citibank. Citibank was one of many banks that were very bad actors in the foreclosure crisis. I took on big banks and I personally don’t know how working at Citibank is public service.”

Moore responded by complaining that “zero” Wall Street executives went to prison for their role in the collapse of the economy. “That’s not getting stuff done,” Moore chided. Perez noted that he worked in the civil rights division, not the fraud unit.

Moore also accusing Perez of actively seeking support from Black voters despite being the subject of a no-confidence vote by the Congressional Black Caucus. “So the truth is, Tom, when you talk about what it means to hold people accountable and what it means to fight for the little guy, the little guy is the one whose actually been oppressed by you,” Moore said.

Perez countered, saying that one of his “strongest supporters” is “my good friend Keith Ellison,” a former Congressional Black Caucus member. “When I got to be DNC chair, we didn’t have the White House. We didn’t have the Senate and we didn’t have the House,” Perez offered. “Now we have the White House, the Senate and the House.”

Former U.S. Education Secretary John King accused Moore of serving on the board of a “predatory for-profit college that was taking advantage of students.”

Moore said as a board member at American Public Education, which included American Military University, he was not aware of an investigation by the state of Massachusetts for predatory lending practices. The investigation started in 2017 and he left the board at the end of that year.

“The reason and the focus that I had there was in ensuring that our veterans would get access to education,” Moore said.

The school subsequently reached a settlement to pay a $270,000 fine to the state in August 2018.

King said the system he helped the Obama administration set up to cancel debt for students who attended colleges with predatory lending practices, is once again operating under the Biden administration.

Franchot was accused of rewriting history with regard to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a landmark education funding initiative approved by the General Assembly in 2021. During legislative debates, Franchot spoke against the proposal, particularly its multi-billion-dollar price tag, which flowed from recommendations put forward by the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, chaired by former University System of Maryland chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan.

“I support the Kirwan plan. I’m going to implement it,” he said, making no mention of his prior opposition to it. “We’re going to do things like putting the money into where the kids and the teachers can actually benefit from it.” He told reporters after the debate that his early comments reflected concerns about the Blueprint’s cost, concerns he still has.

Perez chided Franchot for his apparent reversal. “Budgets are moral documents,” he said. “They reflect the views of an individual and the values of a community.”

The candidates make their case to voters

With the primary now just seven weeks away and polls showing that large numbers of likely voters in both parties remain undecided, the candidates also used the debate to appeal directly to the electorate.

While they have debated numerous times across Maryland, the MPT forum provided an unusual opportunity for voters to see the candidates without leaving home.

Former prosecutor and state Attorney General Doug Gansler sought to distinguish himself as “the only pro-business, pro-law enforcement candidate” in the field.

“This election is about crime and criminal justice,” he said. He claimed to be the only candidate with relevant experience, and he reiterated his pledge to hire 1,000 new police officers and to restore security personnel to every Maryland school.

Perez stressed his experience in local government, as state labor secretary and in the Obama cabinet, and he touted his endorsement from the Washington Post.

Franchot said he would have “zero tolerance for repeat violent offenders” and would work to keep them “off the streets.” He called for a reinstitution of “community policing.” He also pledged to open community health clinics within a short walk or drive for every Marylander.

Moore, a best-selling author whose father died when he was young, played up his military experience, his private sector work and his efforts to fight poverty through a national non-profit.

King, who focused on progressive policy positions throughout the debate, said he would be the “education governor” for the state of Maryland and had a proven track record of expanding educational opportunities.

He was responding to a question about how to address learning loss because of the COVID-19 pandemic as the broadcast abruptly ended, having run out of time. On air, King said he would mobilize a statewide tutoring corps to help kids catch up. After the cameras stopped rolling, he also said he would dramatically expand access to mental health counseling for young people. That, King said, would require a greater infusion of state funding, which he would achieve through corporate tax reform

“We need a governor who’s willing to invest more resources in our highest need schools,” King said. “…The other candidates have been afraid to talk about revenue … I think we can get there through asking large corporations and multi-millionaires to pay their fair share.”

Former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III said his administration would be marked by a commitment to “talking truth to power.” He lamented more than 2,000 “mostly young Black men in Baltimore City” have been “slaughtered” over the last eight years. “Let’s be honest. Nobody says anything. Nobody gives a damn because they’re Black.” He played up his experience in Prince George’s where crime fell during his tenure.

Entrepreneur Jon Baron said Maryland must re-evaluate the practice of funding programs without regard for whether they work. He said the state must be more systematic about putting tax dollars into programs that have been proven to get results.

Former Obama administration official Ashwani Jain took aim at “extreme sentences” for children and the use of for-profit prisons. He advocated for improved rehabilitation services, free public transit and enhanced workforce development.

In the crowded Democratic field, perennial candidate Ralph Jaffe and former college lecturer and founder of the Bread and Roses socialist party Jerome Segal, were excluded from the stage.

According to a Baltimore Sun/University of Baltimore poll — the first independent survey of the campaign season — released Sunday, Jain garnered support from 2% of those polled and Baron, Jaffe and Segal attracted support from 1%.

Segal said he was considering legal action against the station; Maryland Public Television said Monday he would be invited to discuss his candidacy on a show soon.

The debate was moderated by Maryland Public Television anchor Jeff Salkin. Three journalists asked questions to the candidates, WBAL-TV news anchor Deborah Weiner, AFRO-American Newspapers news editor Alexis Taylor, and radio host Clarence Mitchell IV.

The debate will air today from 7 to 8 p.m. on MPT-HD, WBAL-TV, and WBAL-AM. It will also be available to watch at mpt.org/livestream and the MPT YouTube channel.

By Bruce DePuyt.  Danielle E. Gaines and Nene Narh-Mensah contributed to this report.

Filed Under: Election 2022

EPA Names Director for Its Chesapeake Bay Program

June 3, 2022 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

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A veteran government scientist and meteorologist is poised to become director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program, which oversees federal and regional Bay environmental monitoring and cleanup efforts.

The EPA announced Thursday that Dr. Kandis Boyd will take over as director of the program on Monday. She’ll be the first person of color to hold a leadership position on government Chesapeake Bay policy — and the first permanent head of that EPA office in over a year.

Dr. Kandis Boyd, the new director of EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program.

“I’m thrilled to have Kandis join our leadership team as we are stepping up restoration efforts for the Bay in the face of emerging challenges,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz — a former state and local environmental official in Maryland. “Her experience as a strategic leader in the sciences and success engaging diverse communities and youth will help take the Bay effort to a new level as we focus on climate change and vulnerable communities.”

According to the EPA, Boyd has nearly 30 years of experience leading, teaching, advising and mentoring students and early career enthusiasts in environmental and atmospheric science. The first African-American woman to receive an undergraduate degree in Meteorology from Iowa State University, Boyd served most recently as strategic advisor for the Office of Equity and Civil Rights at the National Science Foundation (NSF). That position included serving as the first deputy division director of the NSF Division of Grants and Agreements, where she provided oversight and direction for 35 staffers, a $5 billion budget, and more than 12,000 new grants a year.

Boyd spent most of her career at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). During Hurricane Katrina, she delivered around-the-clock on-site meteorological forecasts during the 2005 landfall of that hurricane. She served as the designated federal officer for the third National Climate Assessment Development Advisory Committee, co-chaired the first NOAA Environmental Modeling Strategic Plan, served as an adviser for NOAA’s $2 billion satellite portfolio, and was both acting director and deputy director of the NOAA Weather Program Office.

EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program coordinates activities and implements strategies for meeting the restoration goals of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which covers 64,000 square miles across New York, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

“I’m extremely humbled and excited to work with a forward-focused team of specialists and experts to advance the ongoing work of EPA and the Chesapeake Bay partners,” Boyd said. “I’m ready to dive in and get to work on the most pressing matters before us.”

The last permanent head of the Chesapeake Bay program was Dana Aunkst, who served from December 2018 to March 2021. Aunkst was a longtime official with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection before taking the EPA job. He served at a time when the Trump administration was regularly trying to cut Bay cleanup programs and was sued by states like Maryland for not doing enough to hold other states accountable for their pollution reduction commitments.

Hillary Falk, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which has been a plaintiff in some of those lawsuits, praised Boyd’s selection.

“Many challenges remain, time is running short, and climate change threatens to reverse the progress we’ve made,” she said. “The good news is we also have unprecedented new funding for the Chesapeake Bay Program and federal farm conservation programs that can help us make up ground quickly. Dr. Boyd has the leadership skills to help coordinate the efforts of the multiple federal agencies that play a significant role in Bay restoration, the knowledge to ensure we are guided by the best science, and the personal commitment to ensure that vulnerable communities are not left behind.”

By Josh Kurtz

Filed Under: Eco Homepage, Eco Portal Lead

Moore Getting Oprah Treatment, Schulz Sticks to the Script, and Gansler Lays Out Crime Plan

June 1, 2022 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

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The one and only Oprah Winfrey will interview Democratic gubernatorial contender Wes Moore during a virtual political fundraiser for Moore’s campaign in June. Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images for Global Citizen.

Democratic candidate for governor Wes Moore likes to say he’s showing “Moore-mentum” as he racks up endorsements from key political leaders and interest groups.

Now, he is getting a boost from one of America’s biggest celebrities: Oprah Winfrey is coming to town, virtually, to help Moore raise money.

Winfrey, according to the Moore campaign, will interview the candidate “about leadership and the challenges families in Maryland are facing” on the evening of June 14. Ticket prices for the virtual conversation start at $250.

“When I first interviewed Wes Moore in 2010, I was impressed by his sense of integrity and leadership qualities,” Winfrey said in a statement provided by the campaign. “I look forward to our conversation and hearing more about his vision for the people of Maryland.”

Winfrey has interviewed Moore on a few occasions since he broke into public consciousness with his 2010 bestseller, “The Other Wes Moore,” and he also hosted a show on The Oprah Winfrey Network. Winfrey is certainly responsible for spreading the word about Moore’s up-from-the-bootstraps personal journey.

But as CNN reported when it took a hard look at Moore’s biography earlier this spring, Winfrey may have contributed to the impression that Moore grew up on the rough-and-tumble streets of Baltimore City, which was not the case.

A campaign appearance with Winfrey could be a double-edged sword for Moore: It will undoubtedly create buzz, add to a sense of momentum, and reinforce the unspoken argument by Moore fans that he is the closest thing to Barack Obama that Maryland politics has produced (and Obama was aided by a well-timed Oprah endorsement when he was first running for president in 2008). On the other hand, it’s a celebrity lending her celebrity to a candidate with an air of celebrity already.

“I’m grateful for Oprah’s friendship and I’m grateful for her lifetime of leadership,” Moore said. “I’m excited to come together with her for this important conversation about the leadership required to face head on the challenges that families in Maryland face, the role of governors, and the path forward.”

Schulz sees a winner in crimefighting

Former Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz, a Republican candidate for governor, leaned into two of her top campaign themes on Tuesday — crimefighting and the record of her top GOP primary opponent, Del. Dan Cox.

The Schulz campaign launched a 30-second digital ad Tuesday spotlighting a case Cox handled in 2020 and 2021 as a defense attorney representing an Eastern Shore man who was jailed on charges that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl. It then seeks to contrast Cox’s legal work with the views of his running mate, attorney Gordana Schifanelli.

“Dan Cox fought to get a client charged with child rape out of jail because of COVID,” a female narrator says at the top of the ad. “But his running mate wants the death penalty.”

The ad goes on to show footage of a TV appearance Schifanelli made.

“I am for death penalty for violent criminals who go and rape 5-year-olds,” she says in the clip.

Cox’s client, the ad continues, is considered “a Tier 3 sex offender…and now he lives less than half a mile from a school.”

The ad concludes: “Republicans — even his own running mate — can’t trust Dan Cox.”

Also on Tuesday, the Schulz campaign announced the formation of a group called the Law Enforcement for Kelly Coalition.

The announcement was accompanied by a minute-long video featuring seven Republican sheriffs from around the state — Craig Robertson of Allegany County, Jim Fredericks of Anne Arundel County, Mike Evans of Calvert County, Jim DeWees of Carroll County, Jeff Gahler of Harford County, Gary Hoffman of Queen Anne’s County, and Tim Cameron of St. Mary’s County — who form the law enforcement coalition’s steering committee. Five of the seven are featured in their uniforms in the ad.

“We need someone who is going to support law enforcement and be tough on crime, and Kelly Schulz is just the lady who is going to get the job done,” Gahler says in the ad. Several say Schulz will have their backs if she’s elected governor.

“For me it is simple, as governor I will treat members of law enforcement like heroes and criminals like criminals,” Schulz said in a statement.

Gansler offers plan to fight crime in Baltimore and beyond

Former state Attorney General Doug Gansler said on Tuesday that if he is elected governor, he would fund the hiring of 1,000 new police officers to patrol communities across Maryland.

Gansler, a Montgomery County Democrat who served two terms as state’s attorney there, also pledged to install 10,000 new street lights in Baltimore, a city he said is experiencing a crime “crisis.”

Speaking to reporters outside city hall, Gansler noted that Baltimore routinely averages more than 300 homicides a year — a staggering number for a city of fewer than 600,000 people. 

“People sit at a red light wondering whether they are going to be the next victim of a carjacking or not,” he said. “And there is no other person running right now who has a scintilla of experience in criminal justice.”

One of ten Democrats running in the July 19 primary, Gansler said he would replicate many of the policies he implemented during 16 years as attorney general and state’s attorney. He said he would re-establish the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, create drug courts and domestic violence courts in all 24 jurisdictions, and work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure that all gun crimes get referred to federal court, where convictions trigger mandatory minimum sentences. 

“We want to make sure that we actually have somebody who understands the problem [and] wants to be laser-focused on solving the problems,” he said. “We want to drive crime down while bringing justice up.” 

Baltimore City State’s Attorney candidate Thiru Vignarajah (D) praised Gansler and his running mate, former Hyattsville Mayor Candace Hollingsworth. “If you are running for governor and you are not talking about crime in Baltimore, you do not appreciate the magnitude of the task before you,” Vignarajah told reporters. 

A former deputy state attorney general, Vignarajah is attempting to unseat Marilyn Mosby (D), the city’s embattled prosecutor. Earlier this year he won the backing of Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R).

Beth Hawks, a shop owner in Baltimore, criticized city leaders for their response to the crime spike. “We are helping build a better Baltimore, but we get nothing,” she said. “Our businesses are really struggling.” 

As he has in the past, Gansler praised a rival, former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D), who has also made a crime in Baltimore a cornerstone of his gubernatorial bid. “I deeply respect County Executive Baker’s desire to also address crime in Baltimore City and his ideas.” 

By Josh Kurtz and Bruce DePuyt

Filed Under: Election 2022

Lack of Polling Has Voters, Media, Gubernatorial Debate Planners Flying Blind

May 23, 2022 by Maryland Matters 1 Comment

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An early voting station at Southeast Anchor Branch Library in Baltimore during the fall of 2020. Early voting in this year’s primary begins July 7. But who’s ahead in the gubernatorial races? Photo by Elizabeth Shwe.

Maryland voters will begin casting mail-in ballots early next month and the primary is less than 60 days away. But there is a nagging question that just about everyone in Maryland politics is asking: What’s going on in the race for governor?

The lack of independent polling has left journalists, debate planners and — most importantly — voters in the dark about the Democratic and Republican primary contests that will shape the general election in November.

A handful of candidates have released internal polls, but those are generally greeted with skepticism, even when they are conducted by highly respected partisan pollsters. Large news organizations, the traditional bankrollers of public opinion surveys, have yet to provide any, and there is no guarantee they will.

The hunger for a credible reading of the electorate is Topic A among people who follow politics here.

“(It) would be nice to see a poll on this race that isn’t by one of the candidates’ pollsters,” said Michael Ricci, a spokesman for Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), who will leave office in January, because of term limits.

Josh Tulkin, executive director of the Maryland Sierra Club, took to social media this week to prod news organizations toward action.

“There is a real lack of non-partisan polls that aren’t driven by the campaigns,” Tulkin said in an interview. “The fact that we’re spending so much time trying to figure out the meaning of the freaking Western Maryland straw poll shows just how desperate people are for some indicators about the bigger picture.”

It’s an insider’s lament, for sure, repeated by people who follow and think about Maryland elections all the time. But there are also implications for average voters who may only be focusing on the July 19 primaries now — or may not do so for another several weeks.

This story is based on interviews with more than a dozen current and former elected officials, strategists from both parties, interest group leaders, journalists and debate planners, many of whom requested anonymity to discuss their views candidly.

Among them there was a strong consensus that the desire for an accurate snapshot of the electorate goes well beyond mere curiosity.

Of immediate importance, they said, is that debate organizers need to know who to include and who to leave off the stage. Decades of ratings data confirm that large debates are unwieldy and attract few viewers.

This year, 10 Democrats and four Republicans are running for governor. To justify winnowing the field at public events, organizers need independent surveys.

Interest groups that offer endorsements — like the Sierra Club and many others — often want to know who is competitive before they make decisions. Choosing someone showing support in the low single digits is almost certainly pointless.

The same thought-process holds true for many donors.

News organizations — particularly time-starved broadcasters — that want to compare the candidates’ stances on issues are effectively prevented from doing so when the sheer size of the contests is overwhelming.

And lastly, voters also benefit from public opinion surveys. While many voters never consider the horse-race aspect of a race, many would prefer to vote for a top-tier candidate, to maximize the perceived weight of their vote.

“If polling consistently shows that a candidate is not doing well and has no hope of doing well, then there’s always that possibility that — come Election Day — the folks who were going to vote for that person just stay home or they decide to vote for someone else,” said Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

“Unless some polling comes in, folks are going to be going into the voting booth with no clue of who’s in the lead.”

As a general rule, larger news outlets have the financial wherewithal to conduct polls, while smaller ones do not.

Steve Raabe, the owner of OpinionWorks, a firm that has conducted the Baltimore Sun/WYPR-FM/University of Baltimore survey over the past few election cycles, said he has no current plans to do a primary poll, but he stressed that that could change.

In an email, Washington Post Local Editor Mike Semel said the paper plans “two polls for the general [election] in late summer and the fall.”

Pollsters Mileah Kromer, who runs the Goucher College poll, and Patrick Gonzales, who owns a survey research and communications firm in Arnold, said they have no plans to conduct surveys in advance of July 19.

Actions offer possible clues about the races

While there are no independent surveys in public view, many campaigns have the resources to conduct research. The campaigns’ subsequent actions offer intriguing clues about these unpublished polls.

This is particularly true in the closely watched GOP primary for governor, which pits a longtime member of Hogan’s cabinet, former Commerce secretary Kelly Schulz, against Del. Dan Cox, an adherent of former President Trump.

Schulz recently announced a “high six-figure” media buy that includes a spot harshly critical of Cox.

“They have made the choice that they’re going to draw attention to him and tell people that he’s crazy,” said Eberly. “I don’t know that you do that unless you have internal numbers causing you concern.”

(A Democratic Governors Association poll in February found that rank-and-file GOP voters would be more likely to back Cox once they find out he has the former president’s backing. Some Schulz backers scoffed at that survey, though her ad buy suggests it may have been on target.)

Campaign polls on the Democratic side, taken together, suggest that Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot has been the consistent frontrunner, with many voters still undecided. Franchot appears to be holding the lead with support around 20% of those polled, with former non-profit CEO Wes Moore, former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III and former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez best positioned to overtake him.

After he endorsed Moore late last month, U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D) told Maryland Matters that Moore was the most electable.

“I happen to believe that the electability of Wes Moore exceeds all the others, and I think his chances in the general election are excellent,” said Hoyer, who has lost only one race since 1966. “So that entered into my calculation.”

Former Gov. Parris Glendening (D), also a Moore supporter, noted in an interview that Hoyer can tap premiere polling data any time he wants to.

“He has the resources and the access to so many different people who are doing all kinds of background polling, [so he has] a pretty good feel of what is happening,” Glendening said.

Supporters of other candidates won’t buy that argument, of course. But until voters make their voices heard, the true lay of the land is anyone’s guess.

By Bruce DePuyt

Filed Under: Election 2022

Rep. Harris Hit For Speech to CPAC Conference in Hungary

May 21, 2022 by Maryland Matters 7 Comments

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First District congressional candidate Heather Mizeur (D) rebuked incumbent Rep. Andy Harris (R) on Friday for speaking to a conservative conference taking place in Hungary. In a statement, she accused him of being an embarrassment and a “failed” representative who clings to “radical” views.

CPAC Hungary, a three-day event in Budapest, features Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán and Fox talk show host Tucker Carlson, both of whom have embraced race-conscious immigration and abortion policies that are gaining traction on the right.

Harris criticized abortion-rights supporters during his speech but he made no mention of “replacement theory,” which holds, among other things, that more restrictive abortion laws would help the U.S. replenish its supply of white babies.

The six-term lawmaker, the only Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, did warn of the threats posed by “woke political correctness,” Marxism and socialism.

“History has taught our countries that these ideologies have failed in every age and destroyed every nation that they have entered,” he said. “Our countries are each engaged in a renewed fight to remove these corrosive elements from our way of life, our classrooms, corporate boardrooms, entertainment events and even the media.”

Harris said that children are “coming under increasing attack by left-leaning educational and political indoctrination,” and he applauded Hungary for “strategically” avoiding war, inflation and “cultural, moral and even intellectual decline.”

Harris’ six-minute speech, which included a heavy-metal guitar track, was delivered remotely. The lawmaker is co-chair of the Hungarian-American Congressional Caucus.

Although journalists were denied entry to the conference, the gathering generated headlines when CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp appeared to embrace the idea that immigration threatens to “replace” white people in the U.S.

“If you say there is a population problem in a country, but you’re killing millions of your own people through legalized abortion every year, if that were to be reduced, some of that problem is solved,” Schlapp said, according to vice.com. “You have millions of people who can take many of these jobs. How come no one brings that up? If you’re worried about this quote-unquote replacement, why don’t we start there? Start with allowing our own people to live.”

Orban has emerged as a hero to many American conservatives, who have been exposed to him largely through Carlson. A recent New York Times analysis concluded that Carlson’s show “may be the most racist show in the history of cable news — and also, by some measures, the most successful.”

Several other Republican figures are speaking at the conference, including other members of Congress, and Mark Meadows, President Trump’s last chief of staff.

In her statement, Mizeur sought to tie Harris to Orban, calling him “Harris’s political idol.” She also sought to tie the Harris to the massacre at a Western New York supermarket, noting that Carlson’s show “was cited by the killer who opened fired in a supermarket in a predominantly black area in Buffalo last week.”

Two calls to Harris’s new spokeswoman, Anna Adamian, were not returned as of Friday afternoon.

Mizeur and David Harden are competing in the July 19 Democratic primary for the right to run against Harris in November.

“Andy Harris is a dangerous extremist. His votes are not within the mainstream views of the First District. He is radical and hypocritical,” Mizeur concluded. “He claims to support Ukraine but is speaking today in Hungary with Tucker Carlson to lavish praise on Putin’s greatest European ally. None of this is acceptable.”

By Bruce DePuyt

Filed Under: Maryland News

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