Politics

A Baltimore City councilman is taking aim at the citation docket program, introducing legislation for quarterly reporting to the council after what he said were “ethical and fiscal flags” raised at a budget hearing earlier this year. Councilman Kristerfer Burnett, a Democrat representing West Baltimore, has been critical in the past of the docket, a program begun by Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, also a Democrat, to manage low-level criminal offenses such as loitering, drinking in public and drug possession.

Gov. Wes Moore on Monday joined the chorus of Democrats in Maryland and across the country endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the party’s presidential ticket after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election a day earlier. Moore also said he has “no interest” in leaving his role to serve as her running mate, as some political analysts had speculated.

Karen Miller has watched with disgust as the talks about President Joe Biden’s replacement have focused on possibilities other than Vice President Kamala Harris. With Biden announcing Sunday he’s ending his reelection campaign and endorsing Harris, Miller predicts a political revolt — with Black women withdrawing their support “en masse” — if the rest of the party does not fall in line.

A Maryland woman is advocating for a bill aimed at increasing the number of live organ donors. Lindsay Gutierrez, originally from Oklahoma, served in security forces for the U.S. Air Force from 2010 to 2016. After tours alongside her husband in both England and Georgia, she was transferred to Maryland to work with the Department of Defense. She currently lives in Ellicott City.

Baltimore Councilwoman Odette Ramos said she might consider a “different” approach in the future following a dustup over a list of demands she sent to Johns Hopkins University, but the councilwoman maintained that her actions were for the good of her constituents. The letter in question was sent to the university in April amid discussions between the school and the councilwoman about a proposed Data Science and AI Institute.

Now that President Joe Biden has dropped his reelection bid, what happens to the Maryland ballot? According to the Maryland State Board of Elections’ 2024 calendar, the ballots have yet to be certified and displayed on the board’s website. That deadline comes on Sept. 3. The deadline for a registered voter to seek judicial review of ballot printing errors is Sept. 4. The deadline for a registered voter to seek judicial review of content and arrangement of the ballot is Sept. 5.

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, an influential member of Maryland’s Congressional delegation and a national Democratic voice, has asked President Joe Biden in a letter to weigh his future carefully, writing that the nation’s future is on the line. He’s the highest-ranking Maryland Democrat to suggest that stepping down could be a consideration for Biden, whose campaign has struggled in recent weeks.

Critical days ahead, President Joe Biden is facing the stark reality that many Democrats at the highest levels want him to consider how stepping aside from the 2024 election to make way for a new nominee atop the ticket could be the party’s best chance of preventing widespread losses in November. Isolated as he battles a COVID infection at his beach house in Delaware, Biden’s already small circle of confidants before his debate fumbling has downsized further.