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Politics

White House circa 2012.
Biden kicks off student loan relief application season
October 18, 2022 -

President Joe Biden on Monday officially kicked off the application process for his student debt cancellation program and announced that 8 million borrowers had already applied for loan relief during the federal government’s soft launch period over the weekend. He encouraged the tens of millions eligible for potential relief to visit studentaid.gov and touted the application form that the president said would take less than five minutes to complete. An early, “beta launch” version of the online form released late Friday handled the early stream of applications “without a glitch or any difficulty,” Biden said.

Read More: The Daily Record
Wes Moore promises at Baltimore gubernatorial community forum to prioritize housing, jobs; Dan Cox decides not to attend
October 17, 2022 -

More than a thousand Baltimore and Prince George’s County faith and community leaders filled the James Weldon Johnson Auditorium at Coppin State University on Sunday to hear Maryland’s gubernatorial candidates respond to their calls for state investments in housing, jobs and health care. But despite an agenda listing time slots for both Democratic nominee for governor Wes Moore and Republican Del. Dan Cox, Moore was the only candidate onstage at the action organized by Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development and its sister organization, Prince George’s Leadership Action Network. Event organizers said Cox withdrew from the event Friday, after saying in July and in early October that he would participate.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Banner political notes: Mayor’s spokesman shifted to DPW, Hogan doesn’t like Cox’s chances
October 17, 2022 -

A top city aide who was pulled from the Department of Public Works to turn around Mayor Brandon Scott’s communications office has rejoined the DPW, several weeks after the administration was fiercely criticized for public outreach around an E. coli contamination in city water. Scott’s former communications director James Bentley is once again the DPW’s director of communications. A Labor Day weekend E. coli scare left much of West Baltimore and Baltimore County under a boil-water advisory for days last month. But frustration over the incident from both residents and elected officials has focused on the DPW’s delayed and confusing public outreach as much as at the contamination itself.

Read More: The Baltimore Banner
Democrat Heather Mizeur again out-raises Rep. Andy Harris in congressional race; Harris gives $6,000 to Dan Cox campaign
October 17, 2022 -

Democratic congressional challenger Heather Mizeur again reported raising more campaign money than Republican Rep. Andy Harris in Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Harford County congressional district, but the incumbent, who is seeking a seventh term, held more in reserve as their first debate approached. Mizeur, who does not accept corporate political action committee contributions, reported raising more than $542,000 in the three months ending Sept. 30 — more than any recent challengers to Harris had accumulated during the same period. Harris, an anesthesiologist and supporter of former President Donald Trump who is the only Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, has routinely topped 60% of the vote in his previous reelection campaigns.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
Black activists and political leaders mobilizing to make cannabis legal in Maryland
October 17, 2022 -

Kevin Ford Jr. works to educate Marylanders on how the cannabis industry can bring positive changes to Black and brown communities, whose families have historically been harmed by inequities in marijuana prosecutions. Ford serves as executive director of Uplift Action Fund Inc., a super PAC that recently began a get out the vote campaign urging support for the statewide ballot question that would legalize recreational cannabis use. His organization seeks $30,000 to spread the word through social media, digital ads and other forms of communication. According to a recent campaign finance filing, the PAC has raised $3,600 so far. Ford is among many Marylanders who use cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Read More: The Baltimore Banner
Construction
Md. launches $15M program to jump-start construction hiring
October 17, 2022 -

State officials are hoping to jump-start construction hiring in advance of a wave of federal funding for infrastructure projects. Gov. Larry Hogan said Friday that the state’s new $15 million Jobs that Build program comes on the heels of a federal infrastructure bill that will pay for projects around the country. State officials said they are concerned worker shortages could delay those projects in Maryland. “But as is the case with just about every industry right now, contractors are facing unprecedented challenges in finding enough skilled workers,” said Hogan. “These problems are made worse by historic inflation and persistent supply chain issues. This is not a field that offers the kind of remote work and flexibility that is becoming more commonplace after COVID.” Hogan compared the program to an earlier announcement in which he lifted the requirement for four-year college degrees for some state jobs.

Read More: The Daily Record
Seasoned Maryland politicians race for comptroller seat
October 14, 2022 -

After a primary season fraught with upsets that landed far-right fringe candidates on the general election ballot, the contest for state comptroller this November seems refreshingly ordinary. Baltimore City Democrat Del. Brooke Lierman and Republican and Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, two experienced politicians grounded in each of their respective party’s traditional ideals, will face off in November for one of the most powerful jobs in the state. Both candidates’ proposals to enhance the comptroller’s office are generally in concert. They say they’ll plan to update the office’s technology, provide quality customer service, and increase spending transparency and access to government contracts. However, there’s nuance in the way each says they’ll approach the job and how they see their divergent political ideologies influencing their decisions.

Read More: The Baltimore Banner
Hogan stars in just one TV ad for Maryland Republicans this year
October 14, 2022 -

After shunning the Trump-aligned top of the GOP ticket in Maryland, popular and outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan plans to appear in just one scripted television ad boosting Republican candidates in the state he led for eight years, political advisers said Thursday. In a spot appearing this weekend on broadcast and digital platforms, Hogan (R) banters with comptroller candidate Barry Glassman, talking about the role of moderates in a Democrat-dominated state and driving a convertible — in the middle of the road. Hogan has refused to endorse the far-right Republican nominees for governor and attorney general, even saying gubernatorial hopeful Del. Dan Cox (R-Frederick) “is not, in my opinion, mentally stable.”

Read More: Washington Post
Baltimore County school board contests reflect national divide over what can be discussed in the classroom
October 14, 2022 -

With the Baltimore County school board facing a nearly complete makeover this fall, the Nov. 8 elections will go a long way toward determining whether the board continues on its current course or makes a sharp turn to the right. There are four contested races on the fall ballot, while three candidates are running unopposed. Meanwhile, the terms of four appointed members on the 11-member board are expiring later this year; their replacements will be appointed by the next governor, likely in January. The four contested races are playing out similarly to school board races across the country.

Read More: The Baltimore Banner
Maryland Department of Transportation promises $1.4M for improvements projects to ease traffic on Anne Arundel roads
October 14, 2022 -

The Maryland Department of Transportation is expected to give $1.4 million in funding for road improvement projects aimed at unclogging sections of three high-traffic state highways in Anne Arundel County. A project to add a lane to Ritchie Highway — a section of Route 2 in Arnold running between U.S. Route 50 and Arnold Road — is scheduled to receive $800,000 from MDOT and $200,000 from the county in 2023, the second installment of the design cost. Earlier this year, the department contributed $800,000 and the county devoted $200,000 to the project, which includes a new sidewalk and a connection to the B&A Trail.

Read More: Baltimore Sun

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