Commentary

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s persistence paid off last week with a milestone in his ambitious toll lane plan to expand portions of the Beltway and Interstate 270, two of the most gridlocked highways in one of the nation’s most gridlocked metropolitan areas. After years of study, the Federal Highway Administration approved a massive environmental review, thereby clearing the way for federal funding. Now Mr. Hogan, a Republican, has less than five months in his term to get further approvals. He’ll need it.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has fended off challengers for his job in the Democratic primary, all but guaranteeing him a second term as the top local elected official in Maryland’s most populous locality. He won by a gossamer margin, beating his closest rival, businessman David Blair, by fewer than three dozen votes out of more than 141,000 cast. His victory was hard-fought and legitimate — it took election officials more than a month, including a recount, to tally the ballots.

I broke from my wellness regimen and opened an account on Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social media platform. I did this as a public service, just to follow Dan Cox, the Republican candidate for governor of Maryland who thinks the 2020 presidential election was stolen from the nation’s leading hoarder of top-secret documents. Cox went on Truth Social the other day and posted a meme that said, “Maryland Does Not Need A Woke Governor.”

Even though more than 12 million Marylanders have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination, immunization rates for other communicable illnesses have dropped, leaving particularly vulnerable communities — such as children, college students and seniors — susceptible to a host of preventable illnesses. With Maryland students returning to classrooms this month, this is an important opportunity to ensure that all family members are protected from potentially fatal illnesses, including measles, polio, meningitis and pneumococcal disease.

Black people in Maryland, as is the case around the U.S., are a captured electorate of the Democratic Party. The core of the party, which is dominated by an overwhelmingly white donor class (made up of white corporate and political elites and a multiracial gatekeeper class), has benefited more from Black people’s consistent patronage than Black people have benefited from Democratic Party representation.

The partisan polarization and grandstanding rhetoric that face voters today have become more disabling than ever and are distractions from the real-life issues.  They drive us toward politically expedient, impractical, and untested solutions that drain resources and do not improve our quality of life. In this climate, it is vital that county leaders stay focused on the real challenges we face and offer meaningful solutions.  As a sitting Maryland senator and a candidate for Harford County Executive, here are my thoughts on some of those real challenges and some practical solutions: