Commentary

In a rare display of like-minded thinking across the aisle, politicians on both the left and right are calling for cuts or suspensions to their state’s gas tax or the federal government’s. It’s happening in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and right here in Maryland. In fact, this week our state is set to become among the first in the country to officially pause collection of its gas tax for 30 days in the wake of rising prices at the pump.

Our democracy works best when everyone has a voice and everyone is represented. Voting for our local, state and federal representatives is fundamental to this vision, and is step one in a civically-engaged electorate and responsive government. But today, Maryland’s system for filling empty legislative seats is simply un-democratic. Currently, approximately one in five Maryland state legislators were initially appointed rather than elected by the voters — appointed by a small group of political insiders to fill seats left empty by retirements, deaths or other reasons.

Character counts, especially in a city’s chief prosecutor. Nothing makes that clearer than the controversial decision by Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to try Keith Davis Jr. for the fifth time on the same charge of murdering a Pimlico security guard, despite two prior mistrials and two overturned convictions in the weak case against Mr. Davis. The recent attempt by her office to get the trial, scheduled for May, moved out of the city only adds to the questionable nature of her decision.

In Maryland, we urgently need a Climate Corps, an ongoing employment program to hire local people to mitigate the effects of climate change on our communities. As a high schooler, I am acutely aware of how climate change will limit my future choices in life. I have been fighting for such a corps, as one of the leaders of Sunrise Movement Baltimore, since it was proposed on a national scale in 2021. In a letter to the editor last year, I wrote about how a Climate Corps program would benefit young people like me.

Zoning reform and building more housing are important strategies for turning around the region’s housing crisis. But while building is necessary for an affordable future, it’s not sufficient. Renter protections also play a key role in halting displacement and fostering housing stability. As Maryland’s General Assembly enters its final 30 days in session for 2022, more than two dozen bills have been proposed that would help renter households. Some of these bills mirror recommendations from the American Bar Association’s recent call for reform of residential eviction procedures.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is being described as the end of the post-Cold War era. This isn’t quite accurate. Since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, we’ve seen three different eras. Each of them lasted about a decade. There were the End of History years of the 1990s, when Washington thought the main task of foreign policy was to usher the world into a more democratic, free-market, rules-based order.