Tag Archives: Luke Clippinger

health care

Democratic Statements on Hogan’s Veto of Earned Sick Leave


Bill Sponsor Del. Luke Clippinger (D-46)
Video Courtesy of Bryan P. Sears, The Daily Record.

Sen. Rich Madaleno:

Today the people of Maryland saw the Hogan Hype Machine at it again.  Hiding behind the empty promise he offered in January, Governor Hogan vetoed real progress for the working families of Maryland.

Sadly, Hogan sat on the sidelines for while Democrats in the legislature did the hard work.  If Governor Hogan truly cared about providing sick leave to more working Marylanders, he would have signed this compromise legislation today.

Republicans in Congress are working to dismantle our healthcare system and Hogan’s actions today denies 750,000 Marylanders the ability to see their doctor or care for a sick family member.  We need a Governor who will stand with working Marylanders.

State Party Chair Kathleen Matthews:

Hard work should pay off, and working Marylanders shouldn’t have to decide between a paycheck and taking care of themselves and their families.

Democrats brought all sides of the table together to extend earned sick leave to more than 700,000 Marylanders.

Instead of heeding the calls of working Marylanders, Governor Larry Hogan dismissed them.

Voters will remember in next year’s election that Governor Larry Hogan put his own agenda ahead of the health of working Marylanders and their families.

 

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transgender rights

Tick Tock and the Parrott Flies Away

fairness_MD_53114_blog263Del. Luke Clippinger, Sen. Rich Madaleno, EqMD’s President Carrie Evans, EqMD’s Advocacy Director Keith Thirion

From a blog post by Marty Rouse of the Human Rights Campaign:

The deadline to submit the first third of the required signatures to the Secretary of State was midnight last night, May 31.
Standing at the Secretary of State’s office in Annapolis at midnight key leaders in the effort to pass the law were overjoyed when no one appeared to submit signatures.  Therefore, the Fairness for All Marylanders Act will go into effect as planned on October 1.
HRC was proud to be a leader in the effort to pass the bill along with Equality Maryland and others.  We also recognize the strong and strategic support from Senator Rich Madaleno and Delegate Luke Clippinger.
P.S. On a personal note it was very special to be standing in Annapolis at midnight with others for whom the fight for LGBT equality is more than just politics; it is personal. Why else would we all be standing outside the Secretary of State’s office at midnight?  For years, it has been my pleasure and honor to get to know Senator Rich Madaleno and Delegate Luke Clippinger.  Their personal commitment to and leadership on marriage and transgender equality has helped make Maryland a national leader on equality.  They are dedicated public servants.
Carrie Evans, Executive Director of Equality Maryland, and a former colleague at HRC, has fought hard and smart for LGBT equality for well over a decade.  Her personal commitment and political savvy has helped make history in Maryland and beyond.  I’m honored to be standing alongside such leaders, no matter the hour.

 

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transgender rights

FAMA Passes the House–Vote Tally

FAMA

Today, the House voted 82-57 to pass the Fairness for All Marylanders Act, the transgender equality bill. This day would not have come without the hard work of many people. The Maryland Coalition for Trans Equality along with Equality Maryland’s Carrie Evans and Keith Thirion worked indefatigably on this issue.

Of course, the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Rich Madaleno and Del. Luke Clippinger, also deserve much credit. While she was not the lead sponsor this year, Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk worked hard for many years on this issue, as did Sen. Jamie Raskin. I know Del. Bonnie Cullison did much to move the bill forward this year as well.

A total of twelve Democrats voted against the bill. No Republicans voted for the bill. Here is the vote tally in the House of Delegates (listed  by district):

YEA (all D): Busch, Clagett, Olszewski, Bromwell, Jones, Nathan-Pulliam, Cardin, Morhaim, Stein, Bobo, DeBoy, Mallone, Guzzone, Pendergrass, F. Turner, Kaiser, Luedtke, Zucker, Dumais, Fraser-Hidalgo, A. Miller, Frick, A. Kelly, Lee, Barve, Gilchrist, Simmons, Carr, Gutiérrez, Waldstreicher, Arora, Cullison, Kramer, Hixson, Hucker, Mizeur, Barnes, Frush, Peña-Melnyk, Gaines, Healy, A. Washington, Holmes, Hubbard, Valentino-Smith, Howard, Swain, Braveboy, Davis, Griffith, V. Turner, Valderrama, Proctor, Vallario, Murphy, Beidle, Love, Cane, Barkley, Reznik, S. Robinson, Conaway, B. Robinson, Tarrant, Carter, Oaks, Rosenberg, Lafferty, Anderson, McIntosh, M. Washington, Haynes, Mitchell, Stukes, Branch, Glenn, Clippinger, Hammen, McHale, Ivey, Niemann, Summers.

NAY (all R unless indicated): Beitzel, K. Kelly (D), Myers, Donoghue (D), Parrott, Serafini, Hogan, Hough, Afzali, Elliott, Schulz, Kach, Ready, Stocksdale, Minnick (D), Weir (D), Impallaria, McDonough, Szeliga, Boteler, Cluster, Bates, Krebs, W. Miller, Burns (D), Vaughn (D), Walker (D), Fisher, Jameson (D), Wilson (D), Bohanan (D), O’Donnell, Wood, George, McMillan, Dwyer, Kipke, Schuh, Sophocleus (D), Costa, McConkey, Vitale, Glass, James (D), Rudolph (D), McComas, Norman, Stifler, Arentz, Jacobs, Smigiel, Eckardt, Haddaway-Riccio, Conway (D), McDermott, Otto, Aumann.

NOT VOTING: Frank (R), Harper (D)

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LGBT, transgender rights

FAMA Passes Committee

The Fairness for All Marylanders Act, the bill to promote transgender equality sponsored by Del. Luke Clippinger, has now passed the Health and Government Operations Committee in the House of Delegates. Del. Bonnie Cullison was especially helpful in seeing the bill through the committee.

Next step to final passage is the full House, though it still has to go through the amendment process and a final vote there. Any changes would require compromise with the Senate, which has already passed the legislation.

Voting YEA on the bill were: Hammen, Pendergrass, Bromwell, Cullison, Hubbard, Kelly, Morhaim, Nathan-Pulliam, Oaks, Peña-Melnyk, Reznik, Tarrant, and Turner.

Voting NAY on the bill were: Costa, Donoghue, Elliot, Kach, Kipke, Krebs, McDonough, and Ready.

Delegates Murphy and Frank did not vote.

All of the yes voters were cast by Democrats and all but one of the no votes were from Republicans. Del. John Donoghue (D-2, Washington) was the only Democrat to vote no.

Note: An earlier version reported Frank voted yes. My intel was off.

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District 46, Montgomery County

Lierman Has Inside Track in D46

D46

Compared to other Baltimore City districts, redistricting left District 46 unscathed and it still encompasses the neighborhoods surrounding the harbor. Like all of Baltimore City, District 46 is Democratic turf. No Republican has bothered to file for the legislature, so the Democratic primary is the election.

Sen. Bill Ferguson demolished incumbent Sen. George Della with 59% of the vote in the 2010 Democratic primary. An impressive accomplishment, as Della had served since 1990 and is the son of a previous Senate President from the district with the same name. Coasting to his second term with only nominal opposition and $121K in his campaign account, Ferguson is just 30 years old. For these reasons alone, he has to be one to watch.

The two incumbent delegates seeking reelection, Del. Luke Clippinger ($52K) and Del. Peter Hammen ($121K), should also be safe. Hammen is the senior member of the delegation, having served since 1994. He is also the most powerful, as he holds the Chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee. Clippinger is an assistant state’s attorney in Anne Arundel and unsurprisingly serves on the Judiciary Committee. He was a real leader in the fight for marriage equality.

Attorney Brooke Lierman, who graduated from Walt Whitman HS in Montgomery County, is the favorite for the open seat for several reasons. First, she is the daughter of former Democratic Party Chair Terry Lierman (and sister of Kyle Lierman, who ran in D16 in 2010). Relatedly, she has $104K in her campaign account and the ability to raise more. My guess is also relatedly, Ferguson, Clippinger, and Hammen have formed a slate with her. Finally, it doesn’t hurt that she is reported to be very nice.

Lierman is not a total lock for the seat. Bill Romani ran for delegate in 2010 and came in a respectable fourth. Romani has good name recognition and will probably raise enough money to run a respectable campaign–he now has $33K in the bank. But all that respect probably won’t be enough to overcome Lierman’s money and the slate, though expect him to do his best to surprise.

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