Latest news with #MarylandGeneralAssembly
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic socialist in Maryland legislature ready to ‘fight like hell,' says party moving in his direction
BALTIMORE — As self-described 'Democratic socialist' candidates are seeing greater success in races around the country, one Maryland lawmaker who embraces the label believes Democratic Party voters are shifting in his direction. Del. Gabe Acevero, a 34-year-old member of the Democratic Socialists of America, represents Montgomery County in the Maryland General Assembly. He was first elected in 2018 — long before Zohran Mamdani and Omar Fateh gained national attention for winning the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City and an endorsement from the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minneapolis' mayoral race, respectively. As the electorate becomes younger and more progressive, Acevero said that establishment Democrats should 'be cognizant' of what that constituency wants if it plans to win elections. 'If you look at where our base, where our constituency and where America is trending, we have to focus on working-class issues — from housing to socioeconomic, gender, environmental, justice — and we can't just continue to provide lip service as a party,' he said. 'We have to fight like hell, not just for the policies, but for workers and the working class. And that's what I've been committed to in the legislature and will continue to do so.' Del. Matt Morgan, a Republican from St. Mary's County, said he knows Acevero well and considers him 'a nice guy.' He said it's 'undeniable' that the Democratic Party is shifting in Acevero's direction. And, in fact, 'it's already there,' Morgan said. He thinks the push into socialism is ultimately a losing proposition for Maryland voters. 'Socialism has a 100% failure rate. The more it's implemented in Maryland, the more people are going to leave,' Morgan said. Recent elections in New York and Minnesota are perhaps indications that the word 'socialism' does not carry the same negative connotation among voters today — especially among Generation Z and younger millennials born after the Cold War, according to Flavio Hickel, an associate professor of political science at Washington College. These voters, and others who increasingly identify as 'working class,' believe Democrats 'need to offer a more ambitious, aggressive, and left-leaning' policy vision, Hickel told The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday. 'I don't think mainstream Democrats would regard what [Acevero] said as probably all that offensive or problematic,' Hickel said. 'They just might differ in sort of, the tactics — how far, how quick and how aggressively do we pursue progressive change?' A staff member for the Maryland Democratic Party did not immediately respond to The Sun's request for comment on Acevero's claims that Democrats are moving in his direction. What a Democratic socialist wants in Maryland Acevero's campaign platform has often leaned progressive: police and criminal justice reform, a $15-per-hour minimum wage, single-payer Medicare For All, universal basic income, higher taxes for the wealthy, and support for kids aging out of the foster care system. 'I think, at the time, a lot of people were trying to, essentially, discourage Democratic voters in District 39 from voting for me, because [they thought], 'these are like radical socialist policies,'' said Acevero. 'In actuality, what they are are popular policies that working people in our state want to see enacted, and so we ran a — similar to Zohran [Mamdani] — a people-powered campaign.' Like Mamdani, Acevero has been vocal in his support of Palestinians in the Gaza war against Israel during his time in the state legislature. In 2025, he introduced the Not On Our Dime Act, which would have required the Maryland Secretary of State to remove nonprofit organizations from the state's Registry of Charitable Solicitation if they knowingly engage in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity. That bill was heard in the House Judiciary Committee, but not debated on the floor. Acevero also sponsored a joint resolution in 2024 that would have conveyed to Maryland's congressional delegation that the General Assembly supports a long-term ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. The joint resolution was heard in the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, but did not advance further. 'I've been very unapologetic' Acevero told The Sun that Democrats 'weren't particularly fond of' him because, prior to his election in 2018, he was an activist with a penchant for holding politicians in both parties accountable. 'I wasn't the darling of the establishment, and I certainly wasn't embraced by the establishment Democrats in District 39,' he said. 'I unseated a two-term incumbent, and I ran on a working-class, progressive agenda that some folks tried to weaponize … using the whole 'Red Scare Socialism' scare tactic.' Acevero alleges establishment figures later hand-picked a candidate to beat him in the 2022 primary, calling his policies 'pie in the sky' or 'radical.' Still, he won. Though he's rounding out his second term, Acevero still isn't necessarily 'embraced' by other Democrats in the General Assembly. Often when he participates in floor debates, he is jeered and his comments — occasionally incendiary — are often called into question. In 2021, he offered amendments to a package of major police reform bills because he felt the settled policy didn't go far enough. Acevero voted against the Democratic redistricting plan later that year because he says he doesn't believe in gerrymandering. He's publicly critical of criminal justice bills that establish mandatory minimum sentences, of which he said: 'Time and again, civil rights organizations have pointed out … it ties judges' hands, but it also disproportionately impacts, you know, Black and Latino people.' 'I've been very unapologetic about the policies that I advocate for and who I am, because I think it's important,' he said, adding that efforts to 'delegitimize Democratic Socialists and their policies [have] never worked.' -----------------
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After rumblings, Maryland referendum campaigns fall short
Jay Falstad, executive director of the Queen Anne's County Conservation Association, holds a statewide referendum petition form. Falstad was among the farmers leading a referendum campaign against the Renewable Energy Certainty Act, which focuses on solar farm siting. The effort fell short. (Photo by Christine Condon/ Maryland Matters) Though there were some rumblings, no one turned in petitions to challenge actions of the Maryland General Assembly via referendum this year, state elections officials say. At least two laws, both focused on energy policy, were in the crosshairs this year. One group — which registered itself as the Maryland Environment, Labor and Industry Coalition — planned to challenge the Next Generation Energy Act, and focus its campaign on trash incinerators, which will no longer receive a renewable energy subsidy under the law. Another group, led primarily by Maryland farmers, started collecting signatures to challenge the Renewable Energy Certainty Act, which focuses on solar farm siting in the state. But ultimately, neither group submitted signatures before the May 31 deadline, when they needed 20,053. To actually get on the ballot in 2026, groups would have needed to assemble about 60,000 signatures by June 30. The lack of submissions means Maryland will go another year without a statewide referendum on the ballot. The last one was in 2012, when voters petitioned to get same-sex marriage on the ballot, and ultimately the electorate approved it. This year, both groups had pushed for Gov. Wes Moore (D) to veto their bills, but he signed each during his final bill signing session of the year, on May 21. With just 10 days until the deadline, a representative of the MELIC group said a formal signature campaign was unlikely. But the farming community decided to throw the Hail Mary, and collected thousands of signatures in an attempt to hit the cutoff. The solar bill essentially prohibits local governments from establishing zoning rules that preclude large solar fields, and sets uniform statewide standards for solar sites. But farmers are particularly concerned by a provision that caps solar facilities to 5% of 'priority preservation areas,' or agricultural land, in any one county. They argue the ceiling is too high, and could take too much farmland out of production. Many believe that no farmland should be used for solar panels whatsoever. 'While this cap is certainly better than nothing, it still leaves thousands of acres of farmland open to commercial solar development,' wrote Maryland Farm Bureau President Jamie Raley in a recent statement. 'The result of this bill is concerning, but it only strengthens our resolve to keep fighting for Maryland's farmland.' Jay Falstad, a leader of the solar energy petition effort, said that his group amassed just under 20,000 signatures before they ran out of time. They estimated that they would have needed at least 23,000 to meet the state's cutoff, because signatures are frequently tossed out for non-compliance with a strict set of state rules. But Falstad, who is a founder of Farmers Alliance for Rural Maryland, or FARM, said that a State Board of Elections official initially informed him that he'd have until Monday, June 2 — the next business day after the May 31 deadline — to make the submission. Falstad was shellshocked when officials reached out on May 30 to say he'd only have until midnight on the 31st. He's confident he could have reached the cutoff number with a few extra days. 'We would have made the necessary number, had it not been for this accelerated timeline,' said Falstad, who is also the executive director of the Queen Anne's County Conservation Association. 'The momentum was on our side.' Jared DeMarinis, Maryland's state administrator of elections, said that the initial communication, allowing until June 2, was in error. While other state election deadlines, such as business contribution filings, can move to the next business day, the ballot petition filing deadline cannot move, under the state constitution, he said. 'When we found out of a mistake, we made sure that they were aware of it,' DeMarinis said. 'It is in the Maryland constitution, so it's not like it was hidden in any sort of fashion.' Regardless of the outcome, Falstad said he was impressed by the strong response to the petition drive. Organizers received signatures from each Maryland county, he said, although the effort was focused in rural areas on Maryland's Eastern Shore, as well as in Montgomery, Harford and Carroll counties, Falstad said. Falstad himself collected signatures on the Eastern Shore at fairgrounds and ballfields, farm stores and local parks. 'We had people running from their car to the pavilion to sign the petition through rain and thunder,' Falstad said. 'The level of commitment and dedication on the part of people that wanted to sign the petition was inspiring.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maryland Democratic lawmakers describe communications breakdown with Gov. Wes Moore
BALTIMORE — Gov. Wes Moore and Democratic lawmakers left Annapolis this week with a pin in the 2025 session and — more than ever in their time together at the helm of Maryland politics — some hard feelings. In a high-pressure year that featured what many lawmakers are publicly and privately referring to as a 'communications breakdown' between the governor's office and the Maryland General Assembly dominated by Moore's own party, neither side got everything it wanted. For the first time, Moore's entire slate of bills that he introduced and personally fought for didn't cross the finish line. And by the end of the final bill-signing ceremony of the session on Tuesday, Moore had likewise stifled more of his allies' priorities than ever, vetoing two-dozen bills in a way that shocked lawmakers, some of whom said they'd been led to believe the governor backed their efforts. 'It really doesn't make any sense to me,' said Del. Lorig Charkoudian, a Montgomery County Democrat and leading voice on energy issues in the State House, who said she was surprised, disappointed and still confused about Moore's rejection of multiple energy-related bills. Sen. Karen Lewis Young, a Frederick County Democrat who sponsored one of those bills, said she was taken aback when the governor's office called her last Friday. Her top priority this year was legislation to study the energy needs of data centers that are set to pop up in her community. She thought the $500,000 investment would be well worth it. 'The same person who told me it was going to be vetoed told me the governor's office fully supported the bill, and I never heard anything in between to know that there was any problem or issue,' Lewis Young said. 'So yes, I was surprised.' Moore, who has talked about his aspirations for 'partnership' more than almost anything else since his election in 2022, has, like always, focused on the mostly positive aspects of his relationships with the Maryland General Assembly. In a year when he and legislative leaders ultimately agreed on how to resolve a shifting $3.3 billion budget deficit that sparked the toughest funding debates in years, Moore and many lawmakers say the budget conversation alone was evidence of a strong working relationship. An administration official involved in the governor's legislative work who was not authorized to speak publicly also said it was not surprising that some viewed communications as strained — especially as changes from President Donald Trump's administration altered how Moore decided to act on bills even after the session ended on April 7. 'The situation deteriorated so much over the last 60 days of session and then after,' the official said. 'It's just one of these scenarios where it's not going to feel like perfect communication because the situation changed so quickly.' Still, Moore also aimed his disappointments more directly at the legislature than he had in the past, particularly as three of his nine bills failed to pass. Lawmakers 'missed an opportunity' and 'failed' in choosing not to pass his bills aimed at building more housing, attracting businesses and adjusting the state's clean energy strategy, he said in a statement on the last day of the session. In an interview later with The Baltimore Sun, he indicated he was prepared to use more of his own powers as governor as a result. 'There's a lot of power in executive authority, and I feel very confident that I can utilize my constitutional powers to make sure that our state is more competitive,' Moore said, though he declined to specify further what actions that might include. The breakdown, according to elected officials and others involved in State House politics, began at the start of the annual 90-day session in January. Moore and Maryland General Assembly leaders entered their third year together with the budget deficit as their most significant challenge yet. Some Democrats quickly and publicly opposed aspects of Moore's budget proposal, like scaling back the Blueprint for Maryland's Future and funding for disability services. Most of them agreed on the larger framework — which reflected progressive lawmakers' long-held goals to increase taxes on the wealthy and to capture more corporate income tax — and Moore said further adjustments led by legislators aligned with his vision. But the difficulty and time it took to get to that final agreement put a strain on almost everything else. 'In a budget crisis, everything's different. Everything feels edgy,' said Michael Sanderson, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties. 'That does have a ripple effect on everything in town, and on every relationship in town.' Sanderson's organization represents the interests of local officials and has a significant presence in state policymaking. It had a particular stake in one of the governor's bills that didn't pass, known as the Housing for Jobs Act. The bill, in part, aimed to spur more housing development by limiting local governments' abilities to block plans. At a March 4 hearing, a MACo representative expressed frustration with both the policy and the process, saying his team had tried to meet with Moore's office after they found out about the bill in December but were told to wait until the hearing. 'We are willing to move heaven and earth to work with this administration to serve our mutual constituents, but there are substantial gaps that we're going to have to cross,' MACo director of intergovernmental relations Dominic Butchko said at the hearing. Sanderson, in an interview this week, said that framing 'overstated the case about the lack of outreach' and there were elements of a 'communication breakdown' on both sides. Both sides had initial discussions about the bill and higher-level meetings occurred after the hearing, he said. Though the bill was amended and discussed throughout the morning of the last day of the session, it ultimately did not pass. Neither did the DECADE Act, an economic development bill Moore sponsored but that local officials also initially opposed. Another Moore bill, known as ENERGIZE, that would have included nuclear energy in the state's clean energy goals was partially amended into other legislation but largely came up short. While lawmakers say they would have liked more communication about their own bills, some observers also say Moore's team didn't engage enough on his own priorities. 'The governor's team did not do enough to have leadership at the table on these big legislative matters in the off-session, and so the General Assembly was learning about these bills at the same time as the general public,' said someone who works in state politics but declined to be named for fear of impacting their work. 'That obviously rubbed them the wrong way and set a lot of these legislative priorities up for disappointing results.' It wasn't the first time Moore's priorities were slashed. His more-than two-dozen bills across the last two years were often amended — some significantly — even as he talked afterward and sent fundraising emails about 'going twenty-six for twenty-six' and 'batting 1.000.' No such phrasing has creeped into his campaign messaging this year, though he and his team maintain there were wins across the board. 'The State of Maryland achieved something this legislative session that was only possible with close collaboration between the governor and the state legislature — turning a $3 billion deficit into a surplus with $2 billion in strategic cuts while providing a tax cut or no change in income taxes to 94% of Marylanders,' spokesman Carter Elliott IV said in a statement for this story. The bill that sparked the most intense backlash on the list of vetoes was the establishment of a Maryland Reparations Commission. A longtime priority for the Legislative Black Caucus — which describes itself as the largest such group in the country — the commission would have studied whether the state should provide reparations to Marylanders impacted by the state's history of slavery and inequality. Moore, the state's first and the nation's only current Black governor, has often acknowledged that history. He said in his veto letter that he would pursue immediate actions rather than spending 'time for another study.' Legislators say that perspective was misplaced. Reparations, specifically, have never been 'formally examined or studied in Maryland,' said Del. Jheanelle Wilkins, a Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the Legislative Black Caucus. She said in a statement that the study was a key part of more than 40 bills the group has focused on in the last three sessions 'to confront historical injustices and improve the lives of Black Marylanders.' 'We are proud of the progress made and we deeply believe that Black Marylanders deserve even more, including direct redress of historic injustices that make these bills necessary,' Wilkins said. Del. Brian Crosby, a St. Mary's County Democrat who is not in Wilkins' caucus, called Moore's action on the bill 'abhorrent' and 'hypocritical' while comparing him to Trump — a show of criticism that few Democratic officials, if any, have leveled at Moore. 'With so much uncertainty as President Trump tries to act like a dictator and force congress to bend the knee, it's sad that Governor Wes Moore seems to be following the same playbook,' Crosby wrote in a Facebook post. In an interview, Crosby said he's eager for better 'collaboration and partnership.' 'It just kind of feels like there's a lot of people who have worked their tails off, and then out of the blue, when we don't hear anything during the session, there's a veto,' Crosby said. 'A lot of this could be preventable just through communication.' Lewis Young, who sponsored the data center study, similarly said she would 'like to see some significant improvement in communications' from the governor's office. She said she has talked in passing with Moore but has been unable to land a formal meeting with him since he entered office. 'As the only Democratic senator in Western Maryland, I have not been able to sit down and talk to the governor about priorities and concerns,' Lewis Young said. Charkoudian said she was scratching her head about why one of her bills to get local farm-grown food into school meals was vetoed when she put effort into keeping its cost low and setting it up so that part of it would only go into effect when money was available. Another bill she backed, known as the RENEW Act, was the top priority for environmentalists this year. It would have required the state to analyze the possibility of major fossil-fuel-emitting companies paying penalties for their emissions — with the proceeds going toward climate mitigation work. Charkoudian said it was ironic that in a tight budget year, Moore's stated reason for eliminating the study was cost, even though its supporters believe it will have a significant return on investment for the state. 'I have a huge amount of respect for the governor, for the legislative team, for the [Maryland Energy Administration] and the [Maryland Department of the Environment],' Charkoudian said. 'It's a huge mistake. There's no question in my mind.' Climate activists who have largely supported the governor have been reeling from the move. 'Moore gave no warning before doing this,' Chesapeake Climate Action Network executive director Mike Tidwell wrote in a scathing message to his group's supporters this week. 'He gave disingenuous reasons for his actions afterwards. He defied the will of the Maryland General Assembly while giving comfort, intentionally or not, to the biggest carbon polluters in the world.' Sen. Katie Fry Hester, a Howard County Democrat who sponsored the bill along with four others on Moore's list of 23 vetoes, said she was 'surprised and disappointed.' Moore, for his part, cited cost pressures from the federal government and the increased burden on state agencies for rejecting RENEW and other studies. And the administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly stressed that those reasons made the studies 'not realistic' at a time when the state is continuing to defend against unpredictable moves like the winding down of the U.S. Department of Education and welfare benefits. House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson have been exploring whether to override Moore's vetoes, a process that requires supermajority approval and that Democrats successfully utilized during former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's two terms. Jones and Ferguson have not joined the chorus of pointed criticism since Moore's vetoes. Like Moore, they and their leadership teams have largely tried to strike a conciliatory tone whenever discussing differences between the two branches of government. 'We live in a democracy. We don't have to agree on everything, and his feelings actually aren't hurt when we have policy differences, because we're able to talk,' House Majority Whip Jazz Lewis, a Prince George's Democrat, said on the final day of the session when asked by reporters about the governor's failed bills. 'I really appreciate that he offered a number of novel ideas over the interim and the beginning of session,' Lewis said. 'Some of them we agreed with. Some of them we didn't, but we knew that we were all committed to the same goal. And I think we got there.'
Miami Herald
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Maryland Dems energized by new party leader. GOP says Dems have tough job ahead
BALTIMORE - In the midst of the toughest year that the current slate of Democratic leaders in Maryland has seen so far - from their passing of tax increases and budget cuts during the session, to the recent infighting over policies like studying reparations - the statewide party will swap out its top leader in the coming weeks, setting up a new face to guide Democrats into next year's consequential elections. Ken Ulman, a close ally of Gov. Wes Moore who is less than two years into his role as Maryland Democratic Party chair, will exit his role in mid-June. Both Moore and Ulman said Democrats should tap Steuart Pittman to replace him, likely ensuring Pittman's appointment and giving the Anne Arundel County executive a key role in supporting Moore's reelection campaign, along with a wide range of other state candidates. On the ballot in 2026 will be every statewide elected official - Moore, Attorney General Anthony Brown and Comptroller Brooke Lierman - as well as all 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly and the entire eight-member U.S. House delegation. After expanding their robust margins in the General Assembly and regaining full control of the State House for the first time in eight years in 2022, Democrats will hope to do as well or better, particularly as the party nationally will be looking for President Donald Trump to inspire voters to move against his increasingly unpopular policies. Maryland Republicans, on the other hand, say Democrats' own actions in the state have been unpopular enough to cause voters to look the other way. Maryland Democrats will "have their work cut out for them to defend Gov. Moore and the Annapolis Democrats' tax-and-spend policies," said Maryland Republican Party Chairwoman Nicole Beus Harris. Harris said she doesn't think the Trump presidency changes much with Maryland's voting patterns since the state didn't vote for Trump last year. "I think that Annapolis is going to be where people are voting from next year," she said. Pittman said in an interview that Trump's actions give the Democratic Party a "huge opportunity to grow." "So many people are being hurt by what the federal government - what the Republican Party at the national level - is doing. And so that's our job … to bring more people into the party." Pittman added that "people who voted for Trump voted for a lot of reasons. And most of them didn't know that they were electing somebody who was going to threaten the economic well-being of the state." He will continue to serve as county executive through the end of his term in December 2026. The party chairmanship is an unpaid position. 'The people have the power' Pittman said his experience running for county executive in 2018 and 2022, and as a community organizer prior to that, will make him an effective party chair. "My training was building neighborhood organizations from scratch, and that's always been the way that I've governed and the way that I've thought about politics and government," he said. "The people have the power. They just need to be mobilized to show it." Pittman has directed national campaigns for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and also worked for the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The state party position will be "very important" as Moore's 2026 reelection campaign ramps up, said Roger Hartley, dean of the University of Baltimore College of Public Affairs. If former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan decides to run, "he's probably the one Republican that would be a strong challenger to Governor Moore," Hartley added. Do state parties matter? State parties play a major role in fundraising, and also with coordinating and representing party organizations across the state, Hartley said. At the same time, state parties may not be "as important as they used to be in the '50s, '60s and '70s," he said. "The governor's campaign will have a lot of interaction with Steuart Pittman, but … [the governor's] reelection campaign, his fundraiser, his organization is going to be more important than the statewide party organization," Hartley said. Doug Mayer, a Republican strategist who formerly served as Hogan's communications director, said he thinks state parties - both Republican and Democrat - "are largely useless" and "largely irrelevant relics of another century." He added that politics is "driven by the top of the ticket." "That's the biggest deal. What the party can do is raise money and not screw things up," he said. "When you're the Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, the position is largely ceremonial." Harris, the Republican Party chair, said state parties can "definitely have influence on elections." "Politics isn't just what's going on in Annapolis or D.C. It is very much what is going on even more locally," she said. Ulman "left big shoes to fill" Ulman didn't respond to a request for comment from The Baltimore Sun. He said in an MD Dems email that serving as chair of the Democratic Party "has been one of the great professional honors of my life." Ulman highlighted Democratic victories under his leadership, including U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks' defeat of Hogan last year, and Democrats maintaining a 7-1 advantage in the congressional delegation. Alsobrooks said she's thankful to Ulman for partnering on her campaign. "Chair Ken Ulman's leadership across our state has helped Maryland Democrats grow and thrive," Alsobrooks said in an emailed statement to The Sun. "Together, we celebrated a resounding victory last fall. He has left big shoes to fill." She added, "But I know County Executive Steuart Pittman will fill those shoes with grit, determination, and a focus on mission. His work as a community organizer is such an incredible asset to our Party." Henry Snurr, the outgoing president of the Young Democrats of Maryland, said that Ulman always made sure that younger party members had a voice and was "instrumental" in ensuring that Maryland met its youth target for Democratic National Committee chairs in 2024. "Ken has been an amazing chair for young people," Snurr said. Support for Pittman to lead the party Snurr, who also sits on the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee, praised Pittman as a good potential candidate to lead the party moving forward. Anne Arundel County is one of Maryland's battleground counties. Snurr said having Pittman lead the party could be instrumental for counties like Anne Arundel at the ballot box. "I think County Executive Pittman is a great pick, because, not only does he know how to get progressive things done, but he knows how to fight aggressive campaigns," and tha'ts what the party needs right now, he said. Charlene Dukes, first vice chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, told The Sun she wasn't interested in being chair of the party and said she believes Pittman is "a person with whom I can partner with as closely as I did with Ken Ulman." "I believe that my skill sets and experiences will allow me to continue some work that we've begun there," she said. "I don't want to walk away from that and not pay attention at the really local level with regard to some of the things that we know we have to be ready for as we face elections in 2026." Central committee members from each county will cast votes for the next party chair on June 21 in Prince George's County. ---------- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maryland Dems energized by new party leader. GOP says Dems have tough job ahead
BALTIMORE — In the midst of the toughest year that the current slate of Democratic leaders in Maryland has seen so far — from their passing of tax increases and budget cuts during the session, to the recent infighting over policies like studying reparations — the statewide party will swap out its top leader in the coming weeks, setting up a new face to guide Democrats into next year's consequential elections. Ken Ulman, a close ally of Gov. Wes Moore who is less than two years into his role as Maryland Democratic Party chair, will exit his role in mid-June. Both Moore and Ulman said Democrats should tap Steuart Pittman to replace him, likely ensuring Pittman's appointment and giving the Anne Arundel County executive a key role in supporting Moore's reelection campaign, along with a wide range of other state candidates. On the ballot in 2026 will be every statewide elected official — Moore, Attorney General Anthony Brown and Comptroller Brooke Lierman — as well as all 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly and the entire eight-member U.S. House delegation. After expanding their robust margins in the General Assembly and regaining full control of the State House for the first time in eight years in 2022, Democrats will hope to do as well or better, particularly as the party nationally will be looking for President Donald Trump to inspire voters to move against his increasingly unpopular policies. Maryland Republicans, on the other hand, say Democrats' own actions in the state have been unpopular enough to cause voters to look the other way. Maryland Democrats will 'have their work cut out for them to defend Gov. Moore and the Annapolis Democrats' tax-and-spend policies,' said Maryland Republican Party Chairwoman Nicole Beus Harris. Harris said she doesn't think the Trump presidency changes much with Maryland's voting patterns since the state didn't vote for Trump last year. 'I think that Annapolis is going to be where people are voting from next year,' she said. Pittman said in an interview that Trump's actions give the Democratic Party a 'huge opportunity to grow.' 'So many people are being hurt by what the federal government — what the Republican Party at the national level — is doing. And so that's our job … to bring more people into the party.' Pittman added that 'people who voted for Trump voted for a lot of reasons. And most of them didn't know that they were electing somebody who was going to threaten the economic well-being of the state.' He will continue to serve as county executive through the end of his term in December 2026. The party chairmanship is an unpaid position. Pittman said his experience running for county executive in 2018 and 2022, and as a community organizer prior to that, will make him an effective party chair. 'My training was building neighborhood organizations from scratch, and that's always been the way that I've governed and the way that I've thought about politics and government,' he said. 'The people have the power. They just need to be mobilized to show it.' Pittman has directed national campaigns for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and also worked for the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The state party position will be 'very important' as Moore's 2026 reelection campaign ramps up, said Roger Hartley, dean of the University of Baltimore College of Public Affairs. If former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan decides to run, 'he's probably the one Republican that would be a strong challenger to Governor Moore,' Hartley added. State parties play a major role in fundraising, and also with coordinating and representing party organizations across the state, Hartley said. At the same time, state parties may not be 'as important as they used to be in the '50s, '60s and '70s,' he said. 'The governor's campaign will have a lot of interaction with Steuart Pittman, but … [the governor's] reelection campaign, his fundraiser, his organization is going to be more important than the statewide party organization,' Hartley said. Doug Mayer, a Republican strategist who formerly served as Hogan's communications director, said he thinks state parties — both Republican and Democrat — 'are largely useless' and 'largely irrelevant relics of another century.' He added that politics is 'driven by the top of the ticket.' 'That's the biggest deal. What the party can do is raise money and not screw things up,' he said. 'When you're the Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, the position is largely ceremonial.' Harris, the Republican Party chair, said state parties can 'definitely have influence on elections.' 'Politics isn't just what's going on in Annapolis or D.C. It is very much what is going on even more locally,' she said. Ulman didn't respond to a request for comment from The Baltimore Sun. He said in an MD Dems email that serving as chair of the Democratic Party 'has been one of the great professional honors of my life.' Ulman highlighted Democratic victories under his leadership, including U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks' defeat of Hogan last year, and Democrats maintaining a 7-1 advantage in the congressional delegation. Alsobrooks said she's thankful to Ulman for partnering on her campaign. 'Chair Ken Ulman's leadership across our state has helped Maryland Democrats grow and thrive,' Alsobrooks said in an emailed statement to The Sun. 'Together, we celebrated a resounding victory last fall. He has left big shoes to fill.' She added, 'But I know County Executive Steuart Pittman will fill those shoes with grit, determination, and a focus on mission. His work as a community organizer is such an incredible asset to our Party.' Henry Snurr, the outgoing president of the Young Democrats of Maryland, said that Ulman always made sure that younger party members had a voice and was 'instrumental' in ensuring that Maryland met its youth target for Democratic National Committee chairs in 2024. 'Ken has been an amazing chair for young people,' Snurr said. Snurr, who also sits on the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee, praised Pittman as a good potential candidate to lead the party moving forward. Anne Arundel County is one of Maryland's battleground counties. Snurr said having Pittman lead the party could be instrumental for counties like Anne Arundel at the ballot box. 'I think County Executive Pittman is a great pick, because, not only does he know how to get progressive things done, but he knows how to fight aggressive campaigns,' and tha'ts what the party needs right now, he said. Charlene Dukes, first vice chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, told The Sun she wasn't interested in being chair of the party and said she believes Pittman is 'a person with whom I can partner with as closely as I did with Ken Ulman.' 'I believe that my skill sets and experiences will allow me to continue some work that we've begun there,' she said. 'I don't want to walk away from that and not pay attention at the really local level with regard to some of the things that we know we have to be ready for as we face elections in 2026.' Central committee members from each county will cast votes for the next party chair on June 21 in Prince George's County. ----------
