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Politics

Wes Moore tried to run away from military school. It changed his life instead.
November 3, 2022 -

At midnight, two hours after the mournful sound of taps signaled the end of another grueling day at Valley Forge Military Academy, Wes Moore climbed out of his metal bunk bed, slung a packed bag over his shoulder and crept out of Wheeler Hall. He passed the academy’s elegant old brick buildings and headed toward a thicket of woods — the threshold to freedom, he thought. Yet as he walked deeper into the buffer of trees that separated the campus from the affluent residential neighborhoods of Wayne, Pa., he realized the directions he held in his hand that night in 1991 were useless; he was lost.

Read More: Washington Post
News organizations ask to unseal Mosby’s request for change of venue in federal trial
November 3, 2022 -

A group of Baltimore news organizations is asking a federal judge to unseal Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s request to move her criminal trial out of the city. The Daily Record, The Baltimore Sun and The Baltimore Banner joined a motion arguing that the public has a right to know why Mosby is seeking a change of venue for her federal trial on perjury and mortgage fraud charges.

Read More: The Daily Record
Blane Miller hopes to unify community across party lines in bid for Harford County executive
November 3, 2022 -

Miller is a Navy veteran and also a small business owner – he’s the CEO of BH Miller Group, LLC, a construction/consulting firm based out of Havre de Grace, Miller’s hometown. In the past, Miller has served on the county’s Republican Central Committee, elected in 2002. That same year, he unsuccessfully ran for Harford County Council and Havre de Grace City Council. He ran again for County Council, unsuccessfully, in 2014.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
As Baltimore’s next state’s attorney, Bates will keep police, conviction integrity units
November 2, 2022 -

Ivan Bates ran for Baltimore state’s attorney on a promise to bring change as the city’s top prosecutor. In the Democratic primary, Bates pledged to pursue gun cases more aggressively and said he would resume prosecuting low-level offenses that his opponent, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, eschewed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy worked: Bates, a former defense lawyer and prosecutor, defeated Mosby in the primary and is headed into the general election unopposed. His victory was widely viewed as a rebuke of Mosby, who is under federal indictment and has inspired strong opinions during her two terms. But Bates, who is set to take office in January, also plans to preserve some core elements of his predecessor’s administration.

Read More: The Daily Record
In Black professionals, Wes Moore finds strong support and generous donors
November 2, 2022 -

Dia Simms sees potential in Wes Moore. Maryland’s first Black governor, and, maybe, the country’s second Black president. That’s why the Howard County businesswoman has hosted six fundraisers across the state for the Democrat. “I have supported Wes’ vision and humanity since the day I met him,” said Simms, who is president of the Lebron James-backed tequila Lobos 1707. “Coming from the point of view as a Black professional, a divided nation is bad for business … He’s a problem solver. He has the experience of being on the front line — not figuratively; literally. He brings something we haven’t seen from our politicians.” Maryland’s upwardly mobile Black professionals, like Simms, are organizing like never before to elect Moore, an achievement that two prior Black candidates ― Anthony Brown in 2014 and Ben Jealous in 2018 ― could not accomplish.

Read More: The Baltimore Banner
Republicans seek to retake county executive posts in Anne Arundel, Howard counties
November 2, 2022 -

While Democrats are widely expected to fare well in statewide races this month, contests for the top jobs in two Baltimore suburbs are shaping up to be more contested. In both Anne Arundel and Howard counties, where local seats have flipped between Democrats and Republicans in recent elections, county executive races have pitted Democratic incumbents against GOP challengers. Economic concerns and crime appear to be the dominant issues — the same issues that are driving leads in the polls for Republicans across the country. In Anne Arundel County, Democratic incumbent Steuart Pittman — a South County horse farmer and trainer who was elected county executive in 2018, in his first run for public office — faces Republican challenger Jessica Haire, a one-term County Council member who is married to the chairman of the Maryland Republican Party.

Read More: The Baltimore Banner
Johnny Olszewski has tried to undo inequity in Baltimore County. Challenger Pat McDonough says it’s made things worse.
November 2, 2022 -

For most of his first term in office, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski has focused on correcting historic wrongs that have defined the county’s history: housing discrimination, disparate policing of Black communities and a dearth of resources that have left low-income families, especially non-English speakers, struggling to access social services. Those issues are front-and-center in Olszewski’s reelection bid, buoyed by a national movement to reform longstanding systems that treat people of color inequitably. With half of Baltimore County residents now Black, Asian, Hispanic or Latino, Indigenous or multiracial, according to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the need to become more representative is striking.

Read More: The Baltimore Banner
Montgomery County Council passes antisemitism resolution amid pushback
November 2, 2022 -

The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to pass a resolution to address and combat antisemitism that had been delayed several months because of pushback from community groups over the resolution’s definition of antisemitism. The vote came the same week as Jewish advocates emphasized the need to take a stand against antisemitism following recent derogatory comments about Jews by the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and former president Donald Trump. Council member Andrew Friedson (D-District 1) had introduced the resolution back in July, prompted by an increase in antisemitic incidents in the county and nationally, but despite widespread agreement that the county should denounce antisemitic hate, the vote was postponed after some groups said the definition of antisemitism being used was too broad.

Read More: Washington Post
Maryland Department of the Environment says it needs more staff to do what the law requires
November 2, 2022 -

The Maryland Department of the Environment says that it needs nearly 90 new employees to achieve targets set out in a recent law, which requires the agency to reduce a backlog of expired emissions permits and hold polluters accountable by increasing inspections and penalizing violators. The new law took effect in July and required the MDE to inform legislators by Oct. 1 about its staffing requirements to shore up its enforcement and regulatory performance. Environmentalists say both have plummeted under the administration of Gov. Larry Hogan, a moderate Republican. The agency informed the governor’s office and the General Assembly of its staffing requirements.

Read More: The Baltimore Banner
Wes Moore says he’ll hand control of his investments to a blind trust if elected governor
November 1, 2022 -

If Democrat Wes Moore is elected as Maryland’s next governor — and multiple independent polls indicate he is heavily favored to do so — he’ll have important decisions to make about his personal finances and business investments. Moore has a vast array of investments and business interests and holds positions on the boards of several corporations, all presenting a minefield of potential conflicts of interest should he become the state’s chief executive.

Read More: The Baltimore Banner

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