Politics

Maryland Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox has deleted his account on Gab, a social media platform known as an online hub for hate speech and white nationalists, and his campaign website no longer notes his fight against certifying the 2020 presidential election results. Cox deleted more than 1,000 posts in striking his profile from the site, which welcomes users banned from other platforms.

Baltimore leaders have said hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic relief approved last year is a historic opportunity for a city replete with need. Mayor Brandon Scott has set high exceptions for the city’s $641 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, referring to potentially “life-changing” investments, while his office’s stimulus coordinator has pitched the money as a chance “to restore the lost faith in government” and “help change the trajectory of the city.”

A ruling by Maryland’s highest court this week is likely to spur student school board members to seek equal authority with their board peers — and full voting rights. The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that having a student member on the Howard County school board does not “run afoul of the Maryland constitution.” Two parents had challenged the authority of a student member who cast a pivotal vote against opening schools during the pandemic.

For almost seven years, the Barnes Memorial Church in Northeast Baltimore came perilously close to bankruptcy — all because the church owed the city almost $7,000 on its water bill. It took years of navigating the legal system and the city bureaucracy for the church to settle its debts, avoid foreclosure, and secure its financial future. “We had all kinds of inconveniences, all kinds of harrowing experiences, because we did not know the process,” recalled Bishop Mark James, the church pastor.

Ted Carter, Baltimore’s deputy mayor for community and economic development, has been temporarily suspended from work due to a complaint lodged against him, according to sources not authorized to discuss a personnel matter. A member of Mayor Brandon Scott’s executive team, Carter is serving an eight-day suspension. An automatic reply from Carter’s city email states he will be out of the office from Aug. 17 to 29.

Gubernatorial hopeful Wes Moore and other Maryland Democratic candidates on the ballot this fall will get a high-profile boost Thursday as President Joe Biden headlines a rally in Rockville to kick off the party’s general election campaign season. Moore, an author and former nonprofit leader hoping to succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, will speak at the event while his opponent, Republican Del. Dan Cox, teased Wednesday he would make an appearance nearby.

Comptroller Peter Franchot has endorsed Baltimore Del. Brooke E. Lierman in her bid to replace him as the state’s tax collector following November’s General Election. Lierman praised Franchot in a statement Wednesday, saying she’s ”excited to hit the campaign trail … with a message of being an independent voice for Marylanders, ensuring taxpayers receive the best value for our tax dollars, preventing waste and fraud, and unlocking opportunities for every Maryland resident, family, and business.”

Standing in front of an East Baltimore park, across from burned-out rowhouses, top Maryland law enforcement officials, including Gov. Larry Hogan and U.S. Attorney Erek Barron, announced more initiatives to reduce violent crime. Wednesday’s news conference, which included Mayor Brandon Scott, Attorney General Brian Frosh, Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and officials from the FBI, ATF and DEA, was a public announcement about how the law enforcement partners planned to use the $3.5 million Hogan’s office awarded the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office in March.