Politics

Candidates for governor came to the Eastern Shore Wednesday to crack crabs and talk about their vision for the state’s economic future. Republican Del. Dan Cox and Democrat Wes Moore made the election-year pilgrimage to Somerset County and the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake with roughly six weeks left until Election Day. Each brought ideas of how to best help Somerset County.

Baltimore City is seeking developers for a slew of buildings and lots across the city, including its first call for urban farming proposals. This month, more than a dozen requests for proposals were released by the city’s Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD), Baltimore Development Corp. (BDC) and the Department of Planning. They include former school buildings, blocks of vacant rowhomes and empty lots where dilapidated buildings were recently razed. Two of the property parcels have been put forward as RFPs several times over the past decade, with one that had an approved applicant in 2019 that ultimately fell through.

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland will have new leadership when the 2023 General Assembly session begins in January. Two of its longstanding leaders — Del. Darryl Barnes (D-Prince George’s), the chair, and Del. Benjamin Brooks (D-Baltimore County), the treasurer — submitted letters to their caucus colleagues Monday saying they will resign their leadership posts in December. Both have served in the House of Delegates since 2015. Barnes, who’s chaired the caucus for an unusually long tenure of 5½ years, will step down Dec. 5, which he said will allow the caucus to choose a new leader before the legislation session convenes Jan. 11.

Seventeen candidates who applied for a position on the Prince George’s County police accountability board offered similar attributes Tuesday, which they say are needed for service: integrity, experience and love for community. Each was allowed to speak for three minutes during a County Council virtual information session; they range from community leaders, a retired sociology faculty member from the University of Maryland in College Park, and a paralegal. One of the main goals, according to county legislation, will be for the board and an administrative charging committee to “reflect the racial, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation and cultural diversity of the county…and include members with a range of professional or lived experiences.”

Maryland Transportation Secretary James F. Ports Jr. and other Maryland Department of Transportation officials met with Harford County leaders Monday to discuss MDOT’s draft for the six-year Maryland Consolidated Transportation Report for fiscal years 2023 through 2028. The draft of the report – which in a news release Ports called the “largest six-year capital transportation budget ever” – spends $19.9 billion to “replace and repair aging infrastructure, expand transit opportunities, support Maryland’s economic recovery and preserve and expand the state’s transportation network,” according to a MDOT news release.