Politics

Though he now faces criticism for it, former President Barack Obama opened dialogue for a larger conversation on misogyny in American politics after calling out Black men who have not come out in full-throated support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. “We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all corners of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running,” Obama, who has endorsed Harris and Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Angela Alsobrooks, said during an appearance in Pittsburgh last week.

Deep-pocketed Maryland Democrats or elected officials who are interested in making the scene may have to find a way to be in two places at once on Wednesday evening — or even more. That’s because the Maryland Democratic Party has scheduled a fundraiser in downtown Baltimore that evening around the same time the Democratic nominee for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Potomac.

Have you noticed ads on social media in support of Question F, the extremely litigated ballot initiative asking Baltimore voters to change the city charter so a private company can demolish the Harborplace pavilions and replace them with big, mixed-use high-rises? Maybe you’ve even seen the ads on this very website? Well, it should not come as a shock that MCB Real Estate, the company seeking to redevelop Harborplace, is connected to the advertisements.

Maryland Democrats plan to push for new ethics rules during the next state legislative session that would require future governors with business interests to put their assets in a blind trust, a long-simmering proposal gaining traction after new reporting about former governor Larry Hogan’s company caused a stir in his Senate campaign.

After years of study, a judicial workgroup is recommending that Maryland do away with contested elections for its 175 circuit court judges, saying the process presents ethical problems and poses a risk to judges’ safety in the current political atmosphere. Instead of standing for reelection every 15 years in a campaign in which they could face challengers, the workgroup said that circuit judges should face voters every 10 years in a retention election, where voters get a simple yes-or-no choice of whether to keep the judge on the bench.

The 6th District includes the northern part of Montgomery County and all of Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett counties. April McClain Delaney, the Democratic nominee running to represent Maryland’s 6th District in Congress, said she would focus on improving road networks as well as “digital highways” across Western Maryland if elected.

The candidates’ forum featuring Democrat April McClain Delaney and Republican Neil Parrott in their race for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District seat started out cordial. Then it devolved into an impassioned argument, with the candidates in each other’s faces, angrily waving fingers Sunday as members of the audience at Hood College in Frederick hooted.