Politics

A majority of Baltimore City Council members and Comptroller Bill Henry endorsed sheriff candidate Sam Cogen on Wednesday, upping the ante in the first serious electoral challenge three-decade incumbent John Anderson has faced in years. Nine members of the council — John Bullock, Kristerfer Burnett, Zeke Cohen, Mark Conway, Eric Costello, Ryan Dorsey, Antonio Glover, Odette Ramos and Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer — are backing Cogen, a former deputy under Anderson who is now seeking to unseat him.

Hans Riemer crossed a street in downtown Bethesda lined with newly constructed high-end shopping and dining, surveying a Georgetown Cupcake shop and Kendra Scott Jewelry Store. As a Montgomery County Council member, he feels partly responsible for pioneering the new development that’s added housing and businesses, and attracted customers. He’s proud of the downtown center, complete with painted bike lanes and skyscraping office buildings. It represents what he hopes the county could become under his leadership as Montgomery County Executive — a well-developed community with more downtown centers and affordable housing to provide jobs and attract younger generations.

Maryland state agencies are awash in vacancies, losing seasoned workers and struggling to perform core functions, according to union leaders, members of the General Assembly and Attorney General Brian Frosh. Critics maintain that Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has been at best indifferent to the hollowing out of state government and at worst has precipitated the loss in personnel by failing to offer more competitive salaries and benefits.

The two Democratic primary candidates in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District share more in common than their burning desire to unseat the Republican incumbent. Former Montgomery County delegate Heather Mizeur and career foreign service officer David Harden both say they became motivated to run by their outrage over the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

As early voting for the midterm elections begins Thursday, data from the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections shows more Democrats and fewer Republicans have registered to vote in the county over the last four years while overall voter registration has increased by about 25,000. About 174,000 residents were registered as Democrats as of June 30, an increase of about 8% from the last midterm elections in 2018, when about 161,000 Democrats were registered. Republican voter registration over that same time declined by about 3.5% from above 135,000 in 2018 to about 130,000 in 2022.

The court will help pay the cost of the expert witnesses Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby plans to call in defense against federal perjury and mortgage fraud charges, a judge ruled Tuesday. Mosby’s lawyers have indicated they intend to rely on several experts to build her defense. Defense witnesses may testify about a forensic analysis of her personal and business finances, the federal government’s CARES Act and federal tax liens, according to court documents filed in March.

Carroll County voters can begin casting early ballots this week for the July 19 primary election. Early voting begins Thursday and continues through July 14. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Westminster Senior Center, 125 Stoner Ave., in Westminster; the South Carroll Senior and Community Center, 5928 Mineral Hill Road, Eldersburg; and the North Carroll Senior Center, 2328 Hanover Pike in Hampstead.