Politics

The former head of the Baltimore County NAACP is running for County Council in a district that was at the center of the county’s redistricting conflict. Tony Fugett of Owings Mills filed paperwork Thursday to seek election in District 2, now represented by Councilman Izzy Patoka. Both are Democrats. Fugett is a plaintiff in a redistricting lawsuit in which civil rights groups and county voters backed by the ACLU of Maryland say County Council district maps initially drawn last year would unlawfully dilute Black residents’ votes.

The Prince George’s County school board is dysfunctional, observers say. It has a history of disagreement, and recent conflicts there have stymied decisions for the schools system of 131,000 students: Board meetings have been canceled, three members have resigned in the past three months and business leaders in the county have rallied in demand of intervention from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R). The reason, Prince George’s officials and community members believe, is the school board’s hybrid nature. It is made up of nine elected members and four appointed ones, which include the chair and vice chair, and the two blocs are often opposed.

In a clear swipe at his successor, Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Rushern L. Baker III said on Wednesday that Prince George’s County is losing ground in its efforts to fight violent crime. Flanked by five members of the county council who have endorsed his campaign, the former two-term executive said Prince George’s is less safe than it was when he left office in 2018.

The Senate is expected to confirm Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday, securing her place as the first Black woman on the high court and giving President Joe Biden a bipartisan endorsement for his historic pick. Three Republican senators have said they will support Jackson, who would replace Justice Stephen Breyer when he retires this summer. While the vote will be far from the overwhelming bipartisan confirmations for Breyer and other justices in decades past, it will still be a significant bipartisan accomplishment for Biden in the narrow 50-50 Senate after GOP senators aggressively worked to paint Jackson as too liberal and soft on crime.

To encourage the Washington Commanders to stay in Maryland, the Maryland House approved a $400 million plan to develop the area around FedEx Field, but it does not include money for a new stadium for the NFL team. The House voted 121-10 for the bill, which now goes to the Senate with less than a week to go in the state’s legislative session. The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn Monday at midnight.

In an interview with WBAL NewsRadio Wednesday, Maryland Republican Congressman Andy Harris defended his vote against a nonbinding resolution to support NATO, noting it unfairly criticized the governments of Hungary and Poland, who are NATO Members. The House on Tuesday evening passed a nonbinding resolution reaffirming its “unequivocal support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as an alliance founded on democratic principles.”

A proposal to change the city of Frederick’s salary structure could make the city more competitive in attracting new workers, according to the city’s mayor. But some of the city’s aldermen are concerned that one part of the restructuring plan could perpetuate historical discrimination in the city’s hiring policies.