Politics

Prince George’s County Council member Derrick Leon Davis is resigning from the 6th District council seat, effective April 15. Davis, who has served on the council since 2011, issued a statement Friday saying the time had come to “rest, restore and prepare for the next leg of this journey,” but did not say why he is resigning or what the next step in that journey would entail. In the fall, Davis was at the center of a controversy over a redistricting plan for the county council.

Qualifications for top government officials were at the center of debate on the Senate floor Thursday evening — and in an unusual move, a bill to require additional expertise from future Maryland secretaries of Aging was sent back to committee after lawmakers objected, saying the changes could interfere with Senate’s role in confirming or rejecting nominees.

The Maryland House of Delegates on Thursday rejected a bill that would extend the gas tax holiday. Washington County Republican Delegate Brenda Thiam proposed the amendment which would have extended the holiday into Memorial Day Weekend. Comptroller Peter Franchot on Wednesday also called on lawmakers to extended the gas tax holiday another 60 days. Franchot noted that prices are still high and the holiday has attracted drivers from other states.

Chamyra Upshur said that as a child she didn’t have role models to look up to. Upshur, a second-year law student at the University of Baltimore School of Law, said Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation as the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court will motivate her to work harder. “Everyone deserves representation. And for African Americans, it’s very rare that we see attorneys who look like us, who understand the things that we value and will ask the questions to protect our interests,” said Upshur, who grew up in Milton, Delaware.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) has received the coveted backing of the county’s teachers union in his bid for reelection. The Montgomery County Education Association, which represents about 14,000 educators and specialists in the Maryland county, announced Thursday that it is endorsing Elrich, who is set to face four challengers in the Democratic primary in July.

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.