Political Notes: Prince George’s primary results final, New Dems back Mizeur, top Hogan staffer defects to Treasurer

After three days of manually recounting ballots in the Democratic primary for a House of Delegates seat in Prince George’s County, the top three vote-getters didn’t change. The county’s Board of Elections unanimously certified the recount results Monday afternoon. Jocelyn Collins, a regional government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, had filed a petition for a recount after she trailed Kym Taylor, a former legislative aide, by 19 votes after the July 19 primary.

$8 million in state funding to help witnesses in Baltimore isn’t being spent

Eight million dollars in state funding to help relocate witnesses and victims of crime in Baltimore over the past three years hasn’t been spent due to a bureaucratic standstill between the governor’s office and city prosecutors. The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office, which receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state annually, in 2019 sought and received additional funding to assist victims and witnesses from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services. The $2 million would more than double its existing budget for victims and witnesses, and was to be re-upped each year after being spent down.

Baltimore Deputy Mayor Ted Carter resigns following suspension

Baltimore’s deputy mayor for community and economic development, who recently was suspended from his position, has resigned effective immediately. Ted Carter, a member of Mayor Brandon Scott’s executive team since early 2021, submitted his resignation Monday. Carter had been suspended for eight days due to a complaint lodged against him, according to sources not authorized to discuss a personnel matter.

Larry Hogan says ‘no question’ of signs of authoritarianism in Republican Party

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, bashed his own party, saying there is “no question” there are signs of authoritarianism in the GOP after President Joe Biden described the “Make America Great Again” movement as akin to “semi-fascism.” Hogan broke with other members of his party to criticize the GOP, saying there are obvious signs of growing authoritarianism — in stark contrast to other Republican figures’ denouncement of Biden’s recent comments.

Former Montgomery County economic development chief takes new job with Larry Hogan’s administration

Ben Wu, Montgomery County’s recently departed economic development chief, has announced he’s returning to Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration in a newly created role. In an announcement Wu planned to send to colleagues, he announced he started a new job this week to wrap up several of Hogan’s economic development initiatives in the waning years of the latter’s tenure.

Two lawmakers demand answers from state environmental regulators. The Hogan administration says they’ll have to wait

Two Maryland legislators say they are angry and frustrated by the failure of the state’s Department of the Environment to comply with new legislation requiring the agency to hold polluters accountable by increasing staff, strengthening enforcement and improving oversight. The Democratic lawmakers, state Sen. Paul Pinsky of Prince George’s County and state Rep. Sara Love of Montgomery County said the bill, which became a law on July 1, also required MDE to clear its chronic backlog of expired wastewater treatment permits, increase inspections of wastewater facilities flagged for violations and penalize polluters.

Marc Elrich squeaked by to win nomination. What will he do next?

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, who squeaked past businessman David Blair to win the Democratic primary in Maryland’s most populous county after a recount, had one main takeaway from his razor-thin victory: He has to do a better job communicating. Elrich, who clinched the nomination this week by 32 votes, in an interview Friday pledged to redouble efforts waylaid by the pandemic in key areas such as affordable housing, transit and health equity. He blamed the close race with Blair on negative ads and on voters not being fully aware of some of the actions he’s taken over the past four years.

After brief delay, feds give key approval to Hogan plan to widen parts of Capital Beltway, I-270

One of Gov. Larry Hogan’s top policy priorities — a plan to relieve traffic snarls along the Capital Beltway and I-270 — got the green light Thursday from a key federal agency. “This is a major milestone for the most important transportation project for the National Capital Region in the last 50 years. With the Biden administration’s final approval, we are ready to move forward with this transformative project,” the term-limited executive said in a statement. The Federal Highway Administration issued its “record of decision,” the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act process that spanned more than four years, less than a month after federal officials told the state of Maryland that final action on the $7.6 billion project had been deferred indefinitely.

Political Notes: Raskin’s going for Oversight gavel, candidates for governor and comptroller gain endorsements, and more

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) made it official on Friday and confirmed that he’s seeking to become chair of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Raskin sent a letter to colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus asking for support of his bid to lead the powerful panel, where he is currently chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Multiple Democrats are jockeying to become the top Democrat on the panel after current chair, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York), was defeated in her primary election earlier this week. “I am grateful to Carolyn Maloney for her leadership of the Committee during the most thoroughgoing assault on American democratic institutions in more than a century,” Raskin wrote in the letter.

38. #PodcastRow at MACO2022 with Senator Frank Kelly Jr.

In episode 38 of The Lobby, Damian comes to you from the biggest lobby in Maryland, the MACo Summer Conference in beautiful Ocean City. This is part 5 of a multi-part series with leaders from around Maryland at the biggest gathering of elected officials and insiders in the state.

For part 5, Damian joins the legendary Senator Frank Kelly on a very special day to discuss his philosophy of surrendering to win. Join us for a retelling of how Senator Kelly met his wife, battled alcoholism, and made his mark on the Maryland medical system. Then, stick around for a look at his family’s next generation, and their passion for lacrosse.

Come back tomorrow for part 6 with Dan Reed, Regional Policy Director of Greater Greater Washington.

We hope to see you soon in The Lobby.