Category Archives: Endorsements

Endorsements

AFL-CIO Endorsements

MD AFLThese are the recommendations from the AFL-CIO. I have dispensed with my usual attempt to highlight non-incumbents, partly because it is striking how many Democratic incumbents were not endorsed.

The AFL-CIO gave the Senate President a pass in D27. They endorsed Gov. O’Malley’s choice, former Del. Connie DeJuliis, over Sen. Jim Brochin in D42. Well, I guess that’s finally something Miller and Brochin have in common.

In Montgomery County, the AFL-CIO said no to five incumbent delegates: Kathleen Dumais and Aruna Miller in D15, Ariana Kelly in D16, Al Carr and Ana Sol Gutiérrez in D18. They endorsed only two challengers in these same districts: Bennett Rushkoff in D15, and Natali Fani-Gonzalez in D18.

In Prince George’s District 26, the AFL-CIO picked Del. Veronica Turner over incumbent Sen. Anthony Muse. Indeed, they went with Turner’s whole slate. In Charles County District 2, they also said no to two incumbent delegates–C.T. Wilson and Sally Jameson–but endorsed challenger Edith Patterson.

No doubt there is more news in here but that’s what I noticed in a very quick glance.

GOVERNOR/LT. GOVERNOR: Anthony Brown/Ken Ulman
COMPTROLLER: Peter Franchot
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Brian Frosh

CONGRESS
District 1                     No Recommendation
District 2                     Dutch Ruppersberger
District 3                     John Sarbanes
District 4                     Donna Edwards
District 5                     Steny Hoyer
District 6                     John Delaney
District 7                     Elijah Cummings
District 8                     Christopher Van Hollen

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

District 1
Senate: George C. Edwards
House: 1B Kevin Kelly

District 2
House: 2A  Elizabeth Paul, No Recommendation / 2B John Donoghue

District 3
Senate: Ron Young
House: 3A  Carol Krimm, Roger Wilson

District 4
House: Gene Stanton

District 5
Senate: Anita Riley

District 6
Senate: John Olszewski
House: Eric Crizer, Eric Washington, Mike Weir, Jr.

District 8
Senate: Kathy Klausmeier
House: Harry “H.B. ” Bhandari, Eric Bromwell, Renee Smith

District 9
Senate: Ryan Frederick
House: 9A  James Ward Morrow  /  9B  Tom Coale

District 10
Senate: Delores Kelley
House: Robert Johnson, Adrienne A. Jones, Carin Smith

District 11
House: Shelly Hettleman, Dan Morhaim, Dana Stein

District 12
Senate: Edward J. Kasemeyer
House: Terri Hill,  Eric Ebersole, Nick Stewart

District 13
Senate: Guy Guzzone
House: Vanessa Attabearry, Shane Pendergrass, Frank S. Turner

District 14
Senate: Karen Montgomery
House: Anne Kaiser, Eric Luedtke, Craig Zucker

District 15
Senate: Brian Feldman
House: David Fraser-Hidalgo, Bennett Rushkoff

District 16
Senate: Susan Lee
House: Bill Frick

District 17
House: Kumar Barve, Jim Gilchrest, Andrew Platt

District 18
Senate: Richard Madaleno
House: Natali Fani-Gonzalez, Jeff Waldstreicher

District 19
Senate: Roger Manno
House: Bonnie Cullison, Ben Kramer, Marice Morales

District 20
Senate: Jamie Raskin
House: Sheila E. Hixson, Will Jawando , David Moon

District 21
Senate: Jim Rosapepe
House: Ben Barnes, Barbara Frush, Joseline Pena-Melnyk

District 22
Senate: Paul Pinsky
House: Tawanna Gaines, Ann Healey, Alonzo Washington

District 23
Senate: Douglas J.J. Peters
House: 23A Geraldine Valentino-Smith / 23B Marvin Holmes, Joe Vallario

District 24
Senate: Joanne Benson
House: Erek Barron, Carolyn Howard, Michael Vaughn

District 25
Senate: Ulysses Currie
House: Dereck Davis, Larry Greenhill, Sr. , Juanita Miller

District 26
Senate: Veronica Turner
House: David Sloan, Kris Valderrama

District 27
House: 27A  James Proctor /  27B  Michael Jackson / 27C Sue Kullen

District 28
Senate: Thomas “Mac” Middleton
House: Edith Patterson

District 29
House: 29B  John Bohanan / 29C  Len Zuza

District 30
House: 30A  Michael Busch, Chuck Ferrar / 30B  Mitchelle Stephenson

District 31
House: 31A  Ned Carey

District 32
Senate: James Ed DeGrange
House: Pamela Beidle, Spencer Dove, Theodore Sophocleus

District 33
House: Henry Green

District 34
Senate: Mary-Dulaney James
House: 34A  Mary Ann Lisanti, Pat Murray / 34B  Cassandra Beverly

District 35
House: 35A  David Rudolph

District 37
House: 37A  Sheree Sample-Hughes

District 38
House: 38B  Norman Conway / 38C  Judy Davis

District 39
Senate: Nancy King
House: Charles Barkley ,  Kirill Reznik,  Shane Robinson

District 40
Senate: Catherine Pugh
House: Frank Conaway, Barbara Robinson, Shawn Tarrant

District 41
Senate: Lisa Gladden
House: Jill Carter, Nathaniel Oaks, Samuel “Sandy” Rosenberg

District 42
Senate: Connie DeJuliis
House: 42A  Stephen Lafferty / 42B  Robert Leonard

District 43 
Senate: Joan Carter Conway
House: Curt Anderson, Maggie McIntosh, Mary Washington

District 44
Senate: Shirley Nathan-Pulliam
House: 44A  Keith Haynes / 44B Aaron Barnett, Charles Sydnor, III

District 45
Senate: Nathaniel McFadden
House: Talmadge Branch, Chery D. Glenn, Cory McCray

District 46
Senate: Bill Ferguson
House: Luke Clippinger, Peter Hammen, Brooke Elizabeth Lierman

District 47
Senate: Victor Ramirez
House: 47A  Jimmy Tarlau / 47B  No Recommendation

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Endorsements, MCEA, MSEA

MSEA Legislative Endorsements

msealogo
Here are the endorsements for the Maryland State Education Association for the General Assembly. As always, I’ve done my best to note non-incumbents in boldface and Republicans with (R). MSEA’s endorsements in Montgomery County (Districts 15-20, 39) are identical to those of MCEA.

District 1
Senate: George Edwards (R)
House: Kevin Kelly (1B), Nick Scarpelli (1C)

District 2
House: Elizabeth Paul (2A)

District 3
Senate: Ron Young
House: Carol Krimm (3A), Karen Lewis Young (3A), Stephen Slater (3B)

District 4
House: Gene Stanton

District 5
House: Haven Shoemaker, Jr. (R)

District 6
Senate: John Olszweski, Jr.
House: Ed Crizer, Eric Washington, Michael Weir

District 7
House: Bob Bowie, Jr., Norman Gifford

District 8
Senate: Kathy Klausmeier
House: Eric Bromwell, Bill Paulshock, Renee Smith

District 9
Senate: Daniel Medinger
House: Trent Kittleman (R-9A), James Morrow (9A), Tom Coale (9B)

District 10
Senate: Delores Kelly
House: Rob Johnson, Adrienne Jones, Carin Smith

District 11
Senate: Robert Zirkin
House: Don Engel, Dan Morhaim, Dana Stein

District 12
Senate: Ed Kasemeyer
House: Brian Bailey, Eric Ebersole, Clarence Lam

District 13
Senate: Guy Guzzone
House: Vanessa Atterbeary, Shane Pendergrass, Frank Turner

District 14
Senate: Karen Montgomery
House: Anne Kaiser, Eric Luedtke, Craig Zucker

District 15
Senate: Brian Feldman
House: Kathleen Dumais, Aruna Miller, Bennet Rushkoff

District 16
Senate: Susan Lee
House: Bill Frick, Hrant Jamgochian, Ariana Kelly

District 17
House: Kumar Barve, Jim Gilchrist, Andrew Platt

District 18
Senate: Rich Madaleno
House: Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutiérrez, Jeff Waldstreicher

District 19
Senate: Roger Manno
House: Bonnie Cullison, Ben Kramer

District 20
Senate: Jamie Raskin
House: Sheila Hixson, David Moon, Will Smith

District 21
Senate: Jim Rosapepe
House: Barbara Frush, Joseline Peña-Melnyk

District 22
Senate: Paul Pinsky
House: Tawanna Gaines, Anne Healey, Alonzo Washington

District 23
Senate: Doug Peters
House: James Hubbard (23A), Marvin Holmes (23B), Joe Vallario (23B)

District 24
Senate: Joanne Benson
House: Erek Barron, Carolyn Howard, Michael Vaughn

District 25
Senate: Ulysses Currie
House: Angela Angel, Darryl Barnes, Dereck Davis

District 26
Senate: Anthony Muse
House: Tamara Brown, Jay Walker

District 27
Senate: Mike Miller
House: James Proctor (27A), Michael Jackson (27B), Sue Kullen (27C)

District 28
Senate: Thomas Middleton
House: Sally Jameson, Candice Quinn Kelly, C.T. Wilson

District 29
Senate: Roy Dyson
House: John Bohanan (29B), Leonard Zuza (29C)

District 30
Senate: John Astle
House: Michael Busch (30A), Maria Triandos (30A)

District 31
House: Stan Janor

District 32
Senate: James DeGrange
House: Pam Beidle, Spencer Dove, Thedore Sophocleus

District 33
Henry Green

District 35
House: David Rudolph (35A)

District 36
House: Alan McCarthy, Irving Pinder, Robert Thornton, Jr.

District 37
House: Sheree Sample-Hughes (37A), Christopher Adams (R-37B), Keasha Haythe (37B)

District 38
Senate: Jim Mathias
House: Percy Purnell, Jr. (38A), Norman Conway (38B), Judy Davis (38C)

District 39
Senate: Nancy King
House: Charles Barkley, Kirill Reznik, Shane Robinson

District 42
Senate: Jim Brochin
House: Stephen Lafferty (42A), Robert Leonard (42B)

District 43
House: Maggie McIntosh

District 44
Senate: Shirley Nathan-Pulliam
House: Aaron Barnett (44B), Rainier Harvey (44B)

District 45
Senate: Nathaniel McFadden
House: Cory McCray

District 46
House: Pete Hammen

District 47
Senate: Victor Ramirez
House: Jimmy Tarlou (47A), Michael Summers (47A)

 

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Endorsements, equality maryland

EQMD’s Final Endorsements

Here is a list of Equality Maryland’s final endorsements for 2014. I’ve done my best to boldface the non-incumbents but have undoubtedly made a few mistakes here.

Statewide Offices
Governor/Lt. Governor: Anthony Brown/Ken Ulman
Attorney General: Brian Frosh

General Assembly
District 3
House: Carol Krimm (D3A), Karen Young (D3A)
Senate: Ron Young

District 4  
House: Gene Stanton (D4A)

District 5
House: Dorothy Scanlan

District 6
Senate: John Olszewski, Jr.

District 8
House: Eric Bromwell
Senate: Katherine Klausmeier

District 9  
House: Tom Coale (D9B)
Senate: Ryan Frederic

District 10
House: Benjamin Brooks, Robert “Bob” Johnson, Adrienne Jones
Senate: Delores Kelley

District 11
House: Shelly Hettleman, Dan Morhaim, Dana Stein
Senate: Bobby Zirkin

District 12
House: Rebecca Dongarra, Terri Hill, Clarence Lam
Senate: Ed Kasemeyer

District 13
House: Vanessa Atterbeary, Frank Turner
Senate: Guy Guzzone

District 14
House: Anne Kaiser, Eric Luedtke, Craig Zucker
Senate: Karen Montgomery

District 15
House: Kathleen Dumais, David Fraser-Hidalgo, Aruna Miller
Senate: Brian Feldman

District 16
House: Bill Frick, Ariana Kelly, Marc Korman
Senate: Susan Lee

District 17
House: Kumar Barve, Jim Gilchrist, Andrew Platt
Senate: Cheryl Kagan

District 18
House: Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutierrez, Jeff Waldstreicher
Senate: Richard Madaleno

District 19
House: Bonnie Cullison, Benjamin Kramer, Marice Morales
Senate: Roger Manno

District 20
House: (four endorsements for three seats): Sheila Hixson, Will Jawando, David Moon, Will Smith
Senate: Jamie Raskin

District 21
House: Joseline Pena-Melnyk
Senate: James Rosapepe

District 22
House: Tawanna Gaines, Anne Healey, Alonzo Washington
Senate: Paul Pinsky

District 25
House: Stanley Onye

District 26
Senate: Veronica Turner
House: Kris Valderrama

District 28
House: John Coller

District 30
House: Michael E. Busch (D30A), Mitchelle Stephenson (D30B)

District 31
House: Robert Haynes (D31A)

District 32
House: Spencer Dove

District 34
House: Cassandra Beverly (D34B)

District 39
House: Charles Barkley, Kirill Reznik, Shane Robinson
Senate: Nancy King

District 40
House: Barbara Robinson

District 41
House: Samuel “Sandy” Rosenberg

District 42
House: Stephen Lafferty

District 43
House: Curt Anderson, Maggie McIntosh, Mary Washington

District 44
House: Keiffer Mitchell (D44A), Charles Sydnor, III (D44B)

District 45
House: Cory McCray
Senate: Nathaniel McFadden

District 46
House: Luke Clippinger, Peter Hammen, Brooke Lierman
Senate: Bill Ferguson

District 47
House: Will Campos (D47B), Diana Fennell (D47A), Michael Summers (D47A)
Senate: Victor Ramirez, D47

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Casa de Maryland, Endorsements, George Leventhal, Montgomery County Council, Nancy Floreen

Leventhal Slams CASA

casa logo

The Washington Post reports that dealing with negative impacts of the Purple Line on low-income people is CASA’s biggest priority and the lack of concern with these issues cost incumbent Councilmembers George Leventhal and Nancy Floreen the organization’s support:

CASA ‘s biggest priority in Montgomery at the moment is the Purple Line’s potential threat to affordable housing and minority-owned small businesses in communities such as Long Branch. In CASA’s assessment, they weren’t there with them. . . .

CASA and other groups are worried that gentrification, triggered by escalating real estate values along the route, will price Latinos out of the community.

“George’s perception is that any discussion of equity around the Purple Line undermines its chances of going forward,” Propeack said.

George responded less than tactfully:

“My impression is that they’re trying to insult me,” Leventhal said. He added: “I do think CASA sometimes loses sight of the fact that the primary beneficiaries of the Purple Line will be Latinos. It will be of enormous benefit to workers who will have greater access to jobs. I guess they think transit is bad for communities.”

This quote exhibits George’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. He is fervent in his causes and makes cogent arguments for them. At the same time, he often acts in ways that express disdain for people who disagree with him and build barriers rather than friends. This case is especially telling because of his past very close relationship with CASA and his genuine, strong support for Latinos.

Nancy also made a statement to the reporter:

Floreen said she couldn’t say what happened.

“I have no idea. These are folks with their own agenda. They’re all advocates for something or other.”

Whether you agree with her or not, Nancy is opinionated, informed, and smart as a whip. But when I read this, it sounded like the least sensible quote ever from Nancy Floreen. Of course, they have an agenda. They’re an interest group.

However, interviews are long and quotes are short, so I gave Nancy a call. Her assessment has more sang-froid than George’s:

It’s their assessment of the politics of the situation. I’ve always supported them and their interests in the past and will continue to do so in the future whether or not they endorse me.

Essentially, they’re an interest group with their own goals they will do what they will do. A smart response as it leaves doors open, doesn’t alienate, or give the story more traction.

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Casa de Maryland, Endorsements

CASA Issues Endorsements

casa logo
CASA has been kind enough to share their complete list of endorsements around the State. An increasingly successful and powerful group, CASA advocates for Latino and immigrant rights. In 2012, CASA played a central role in the passage of the Maryland DREAM Act by the General Assembly and then it being upheld by a wide margin in the referendum that followed.

I have attempted, as usual, to highlight all of the non-incumbents in boldface. (It’s easy to make a mistake so let me know if I did.) The order of offices is federal then statewide offices. Next are endorsements for the General Assembly and county offices, which are organized by county.

You can also find the full official lists here in English and Spanish.
Puede encontrar las listas completas aquí en inglés y español.

U.S. CONGRESS
District 2       C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger III
District 3       John P. Sarbanes
District 4       Donna F. Edwards
District 5       Steny Hoyer
District 6       John K. Delaney
District 7       Elijah Cummings
District 8       Christopher Van Hollen, Jr.

STATEWIDE
Governor/Lt. Governor: Anthony Brown/Ken Ulman
Attorney General: Brian Frosh
Comptroller: Peter Franchot

BALTIMORE COUNTY

General Assembly
District 10
House: Benjamin Brooks, Adrienne A. Jones, Carin Smith

District 11
House: Shelly Hettleman, Dana M. Stein, Don Engel

District 12 (also Howard County)
House: Eric Ebersole, Rebecca P. Dongarra, Clarence Lam

District 42
Senate: Connie DeJuliis

County Council
District 4: Kenneth N. Oliver

BALTIMORE CITY

General Assembly
District 45
Senate: Nathaniel J. McFadden
House: Cory V. McCray, Cheryl Glenn, Talmadge Branch

District 46
Senate: Bill Ferguson
House: Bill Romani, Brooke Lierman, Luke Clippinger

HOWARD COUNTY

General Assembly
District 12 (also Baltimore County)
House: Eric Ebersole, Rebecca P. Dongarra, Clarence Lam

District 13
Senate: Guy Guzzone
House: Fred Turner, Vanessa Atterbeary, Shane Pendergrass

County Sheriff: John A. Newnan

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

District 14
Senate: Karen Montgomery
House: Anne R. Kaiser, Eric Luedtke, Craig J. Zucker

District 15
Senate: Brian Feldman
House: Kathleen Dumais, David Fraser-Hidalgo, Aruna Miller

District 16
Senate: Susan Lee
House: Bill Frick, Ariana Kelly, Hrant Jamgochian

District 17
Senate: Cheryl Kagan
House: Kumar P. Barve, Jim Gilchrist, Andrew Platt

District 18
Senate: Richard Madaleno
House (four endorsed for three seats): Al Carr, Natali Fani-Gonzalez, Jeff Waldstreicher, Ana Sol Gutierrez

District 19
Senate: Roger Manno
House: Ben Kramer, Marice I. Morales, Bonnie Cullison

District 20
Senate: Jamie Raskin
House: Sheila Hixson, Will Jawando, David Moon

District 39
Senate: Nancy King
House: Charles Barkley, Kirill Reznik, Shane Robinson

County Executive: Ike Leggett

County Council
At- Large: Beth Daly, Marc Elrich, Hans Riemer
District 1: Roger Berliner
District 2: Craig Rice
District 3: Ryan Spiegel
District 4: Nancy Navarro
District 5: Tom Hucker

Board of Education
At-Large: Shebra Evans
District 1: Judy Docca
District 3: Patricia O’Neill
District 5: Michael Durso

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

District 21
Senate: Jim Rosapepe
House: Barbara Frush, Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Ben Barnes

District 22
Senate: Paul G. Pinsky
House: Tawanna P. Gaines, Anne Healey, Alonzo T. Washington

District 23
Senate: Douglas J. J. Peters
House: Geraldine Valentino-Smith (23A), Marvin E. Holmes (23B), Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (23B)

District 24
Senate: Joanne C. Benson
House: Carolyn J. B. Howard, Darren M. Swain, Michael L. Vaughn

District 25
Senate: Ulysses Currie
House: Angela Angel, Darryl Barnes, Dereck Davis

District 26
Senate: Anthony C. Muse
House: David Sloan, Kris Valderrama, Jay Walker

District 47
Senate: Victor Ramirez
House: Michael Summers (47A), Jimmy Tarlau (47A), Will Campos (47B)

Countywide
County Executive: Rushern Baker
County Sheriff: Melvin C. High
State’s Attorney: Angela Alsobrooks

County Council
District 1: Mary A. Lehman
District 2: Deni Taveras
District 3: Danielle Glaros
District 4: Vince Canales
District 5: Andrea Fletcher Harrison
District 6: Derrick Leon Davis
District 7: Kito James
District 8: Obie Patterson
District 9: Mel Franklin

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Endorsements, reproductive freedom

NARAL Pro-Choice Final Endorsements

NARAL_logoI’m listing them by legislative district with non-incumbents highlighted in boldface. The one Republican endorsee in District 15 has an (R) after his name.

NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland is also issuing qualified non-endorsees with their 100% Pro-Choice rating. This may devalue their endorsement, as voters will likely be oblivious to seeing one versus the other. Some incumbents who received the endorsement are less than thrilled by this tack by NARAL.

You can revisit the controversy over the non-endorsement of Natali Fani-Gonzalez for delegate in District 18 here and here.

District 3
House: Nicholas Bouquet (3A)

District 8
Senate: Kathy Klausmeier

District 9
Senate: Ryan Frederic
House: Tom Coale (9B)

District 10
Senate: Delores Kelley
House: Adrienne Jones, Robert Johnson

District 11
House: Dan Morhaim, Dana Stein

District 12
Senate: Ed Kasemeyer
House: Terri Hill, Clarence Lam, Adam Sachs

District 13
Senate: Guy Guzzone
House: Sane Pendergrass, Frank Turner

District 14
Senate: Karen Montgomery
House: Anne Kaiser, Eric Luedtke, Craig Zucker

District 15
Senate: Brian Feldman
House: Kathleen Dumais, Aruna Miller, David Fraser-Hidalgo, Ed Edmunson (R)

District 16
Senate: Susan Lee
House: Ariana Kelly, Bill Frick, Marc Korman

District 17
Senate: Cheryl Kagan
House: Kumar Barve, Jim Gilchrist, Andrew Platt

District 18
Senate: Rich Madaleno
House: Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutiérrez, Jeff Waldstreicher

District 19
Senate: Roger Manno
House: Bonnie Cullison, Ben Kramer, Marice Morales

District 20
Senate: Jamie Raskin
House: Sheila Hixson, David Moon, Jonathan Shurberg

District 21
House: Barbara Frush, Joseline Peña-Melnyk

District 22
Senate: Paul Pinsky
House: Tawanna Gaines

District 25
Senate: Ulysses Currie
House: Angela Angel, Stanley Onye

District 27
House: Sue Kullen (27C)

District 30
Senate: John Astle
House: Mike Busch (30A)

District 39
Senate: Nancy King
House: Charles Barkley, Kirill Reznik, Shane Robinson

District 40
House: Marvin “Doc” Cheatham

District 41
House: Sandy Rosenberg

District 42
Senate: Jim Brochin
House: Steve Lafferty (42A)

District 43
House: Maggie McIntosh, Mary Washington

District 46
Senate: Bill Ferguson
House: Pete Hammen, Luke Clippinger, Brooke Lierman

District 47
Senate: Victor Ramirez
House: James Tarlau (47A)

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Endorsements, MCEA, MCGEO, Montgomery County Council

SEIU Endorses Council Candidates

SEIU Local 500 has released their endorsements for Montgomery County Council Districts 1, 2, 3 and 4:

1: Roger Berliner
2: Craig Rice
3: Ryan Spiegel
4: Nancy Navarro (unopposed)

The most interesting endorsements are in Districts 1 and 3.

In District 3 (Rockville-Gaithersburg), Ryan Spiegel now has the endorsement of two major school system unions: MCEA and SEIU. Two nice endorsements in a hotly contested race with several high-quality candidates for this open seat.

In District 1, Roger Berliner has to be relieved to have received SEIU’s endorsement in his tough contest against Duchy Trachtenberg. So far, MCEA has not endorsed in that race.

The District 1 race could be shaping up as a proxy fight between the school system and county government employee unions. The latter have been mighty unhappy with the current Council and believe that the former have done comparatively well.

Roger Berliner looks among the more vulnerable Council incumbents. Duchy Trachtenberg is not labor’s ideal vehicle given her history but she is the only option if the government employee unions want to take out Berliner and exercise some muscle. Recently, Trachtenberg hired Robert Stewart, the just retired executive director of MCGEO, as her campaign manager.

High-income District 1–it includes Potomac, Bethesda and Chevy Chase–seems an unlikely locale for a labor proxy fight but stranger things have happened. Their divisions could also provide opportunities for other groups to have more influence.

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Endorsements, equality maryland

Equality Maryland Endorses Brian Frosh

From Equality Maryland’s press release:

“Brian Frosh has been a firm ally and leader on LGBT issues in the General Assembly. He has the maturity, experience and commitment to be an effective advocate for the LGBT communities of Maryland as our next Attorney General,” said Equality Maryland Executive Director Carrie Evans.

Evans added, “During the just-completed General Assembly session, Equality Maryland worked closely with Senator Frosh on passage of SB 212, the Fairness for All Marylanders Act. He worked with Senate leaders and advocates to shepherd the bill through the Senate. His leadership was instrumental in achieving the 8-3 vote for the bill in the Judicial Proceedings Committee which he chairs.”

“Equality Maryland members were already aware of Brian Frosh’s record of support on our issues.  During his interview with us he spoke convincingly about his commitment to fairness and how his own convictions were shaped by the example of his father, who supported civil rights for African Americans as a member of the Montgomery County Council more than 50 years ago,” said Equality Maryland PAC Chair Tim Williams.

“Senator Frosh has more than 35 years of experience as a practicing attorney and has served in the General Assembly for 27 years.  He understands the duties of the Attorney General and articulates a clear vision for how this office can continue to move Maryland forward on fairness or equality,” said Equality Maryland, Inc. Board Chair Stephanie Bernstein, adding, “We strongly urge the LGBT community and its allies to support Senator Frosh in his bid to be Maryland’s next Attorney General.”

To find out more information about Senator Frosh and his campaign, click here.

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Endorsements, Progressive Neighbors

Not So Progressive Neighbors

PNWebanner

Last Friday, I explained how Progressive Neighbors just isn’t attracting the love from incumbent Democrats. A majority of incumbent legislators didn’t even return their candidate questionnaire.

They aren’t the only ones.

Anthony Brown and Ken Ulman didn’t fill one out either. The MO of this campaign has been to seek aggressively virtually every endorsement around the State, so their decision to decline to seek that of Progressive Neighbors speaks volumes.

Surely, the lack of interest from the man who may be the State’s first African-American governor must have caused some navel gazing in this progressive organization even if the policies of Heather Mizeur and Delman Coates better fit their profile.

Brown-Ulman are not the only ones who appear to have made a calculated decision to give PN a pass. Is anyone really surprised that Council President Craig Rice did not bother to fill out the questionnaire when his 2010 opponent–a perfectly nice woman in my experience–sits on the Steering Committee that votes on endorsements?

One major reason for the antipathy expressed by many for Progressive Neighbors’ endorsement process is that 5 of the 19 members of their Steering Committee are running for either the state legislature or the county council. Boards often have a member seeking office but I’ve never heard of five at once.

Not only that but the PN endorsement questionnaires were unbelievably sent out by one of these candidates–even to her opponent. Progressive Neighbors views this as a minor hiccup that was corrected less than a week later after it was pointed out. But it is far more than an oopsy daisy.

Portions of the questionnaire attack corporate cronyism and call for public financing. How can people so concerned about inappropriate influence on politics think it was a good idea for a candidate to send a questionnaire to her opponent?

PN’s endorsement questionnaire goes on at great length about transparency:

Progress has been made in improving transparency in the General Assembly over the past four years, with greater access to online tools for the public, the posting online of committee votes, and increased audio and video coverage of legislative deliberations. Much still remains to be done, however, including posting of subcommittee votes, committee amendments and votes, and the institution of a system to allow constituents to sign up to testify online the day before a committee hearing so they don’t have to spend all day in Annapolis waiting to testify. Do you support these improvements, and do you have others you’d like to offer? Are you willing to support special elections to fill legislative vacancies? Do you support stripping the party central committees of the power of appointment, which ultimately lies with the Governor?

But the structure of the organization and its endorsement process is less open than might appear at first glance. The PN Steering Committee is elected by . . . the Steering Committee. The same committee–the one with five members running for office–also controls the endorsement process.

In this process, PN doesn’t model the open behavior it would like to see in the General Assembly:

The Steering Committee may choose to have a secret ballot on certain concerns and some meetings may be closed. Steering Committee members will be encouraged to keep individual Steering Committee members’ votes in confidence.

Surprisingly, the Steering Committee did not endorse two of their own members. In News of the Weird, Jonathan Shurberg and Will Smith were progressive enough to serve on the Steering Committee but not to be endorsed. I imagine that PN would argue that it somehow proves the integrity of their process but it is also just odd since both are credible, progressive candidates.

Other choices seem as bizarre. In District 18, Del. Ana Sol Gutiérrez has long been a stalwart staunch progressive. How on earth can she, the first Latina elected to public office in Montgomery County who passionately favors left-wing policies to reduce economic inequality, not be progressive enough?

On the other hand, the organization endorsed both Steering Committee Member Terrill North and Del. Tom Hucker for the open District 5 County Council seat. Apparently, PN decided to give Hucker, generally viewed as a solid left winger, a pass on his recent vote against indexation of the minimum wage in the House (Gutiérrez along with Mizeur and Ivey voted yea) despite having pressed that the County adopt this stand.

Progressive Neighbors has a nice sounding name and provides another decal that endorsed candidates can stick on their literature. Beyond that, especially outside of District 20, they cannot provide anything meaningful with the endorsement. As one liberal legislator explained to me, “Nobody fills out their questionnaire because they demand extreme positions and offer nothing of value.”

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