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Politics

Del. Karen Lewis Young Announces Run for Her Husband’s Senate Seat
June 28, 2021 -

Frederick Del. Karen Lewis Young (D) announced this week that she will run for the District 3 Senate seat currently held by her husband, Sen. Ronald N. Young (D). Lewis Young has represented a portion of the district, which includes the city of Frederick, in the House of Delegates since 2015. Before that, she served one term on the Frederick Board of Aldermen. “I get tremendous satisfaction out of helping people, helping people overcome some of the challenges and hardships in their life,” Lewis Young said.

Read More: Maryland Matters
100 US dollar banknote money
Maryland leaders have used emergency authority to spend nearly $1.5 billion on pandemic supplies and services
June 25, 2021 -

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration has leaned heavily on emergency government spending powers to purchase nearly $1.5 billion in services and supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, covering the cost of everything from gloves to consultants. It’s an unprecedented reliance on such powers that often save time but also bypass normal government spending rules that ensure competitive bids and public oversight.

Read More: Baltimore Sun
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Maryland says it needs to cut transit, highway projects to offset lost private investment in toll lanes plan
June 24, 2021 -

A week after losing a key vote on a state plan to add toll lanes to the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270, Maryland transportation officials said they must cut other road and transit projects to offset $6 billion in private investment that would be lost with the highway-widening proposal. The letter dated Monday from the Maryland Department of Transportation to the region’s Transportation Planning Board prompted one local official — and a key toll lanes critic — to accuse Gov. Larry Hogan (R) of “arm-twisting” to try to win back support for his highway plan.

Read More: Washington Post
Anne Arundel County Council members wants Chesapeake Bay Bridge crossing study to start over
June 22, 2021 -

After back-to-back weekends of traffic flowing from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge onto Anne Arundel County roadways, the County Council wants an almost completed federal study on how to alleviate the backups to start over. The council passed a resolution on Monday in opposition to the completion of the $5 million study conducted to find a solution to the traffic congestion on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Read More: Capital Gazette
Face-to-Face Fundraising Returns, With a Heavy Dose of Democratic Gubernatorial Campaigning
June 21, 2021 -

One of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the absence of large-scale political events in Maryland for a year and a half. No schmoozing. No glad-handing. No speechifying. But that changed dramatically and emphatically on Thursday night, when seven of the eight Democratic candidates for governor gathered together in the open air outside Olney Theater in Montgomery County and spoke, one by one, to a crowd of politicians, party activists, donors and State House lobbyists.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Election Reforms Will Make Voting More Accessible In Maryland, Advocates Say
June 16, 2021 -

Election reform had momentum heading into Maryland’s 2021 legislative session after voters overwhelmingly embraced absentee ballots, early voting and ballot drop-off boxes during the state’s highly unconventional 2020 election cycle. A slew of ambitious reforms were introduced — including an unsuccessful push to make mail-in voting the default option and attempts to reform the State Board of Elections — but only a few made it to the finish line and the most consequential bills became law without a signature from Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R).

Read More: Maryland Matters
‘It’s Really Frustrating’ USPS Mail Delivery Issues Remain Throughout Baltimore
June 16, 2021 -

The lack of mail service has been an ongoing problem for many for over a year now. “It’s really frustrating, bills are late because we’re not even receiving them. I just don’t know what to do at this point,” said Brittne Bryan, Dundalk resident. Some Dundalk residents said they are just now receiving their mail postmarked in April and have now resorted to making daily trips to the post office to see what’s the hold-up.

Read More: WJZ-TV
Ferguson’s Chief of Staff Jake Weissmann to Step Down; Sally Robb to Replace Him
June 14, 2021 -

Yaakov “Jake” Weissmann, who served two Maryland Senate presidents as their chief of staff, plans to step down at the end of July. Weissmann will be replaced by Sally Robb, who is currently the deputy chief of staff to Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City). Robb will be the first Black woman to serve as the top staffer for a Maryland Senate president.

Read More: Maryland Matters
Gov. Hogan says it’s time to get back to work. To laid-off employees, it’s not that simple.
June 11, 2021 -

Outside the Baltimore Convention Center, a small group of laid-off hotel workers chanted, “Keep the benefits going” and held signs asking, “Where is the work?” Across the street, a bold “WE’RE HIRING” sign was on display at a struggling restaurant. The workers were protesting Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s decision to end enhanced federal jobless benefits in early July, two months before President Biden and Congress intended. Hogan and many other GOP governors say the bigger unemployment checks are keeping people from filling vacant jobs, making it more difficult for the economy to rebound.

Read More: Washington Post
Ep. 11: What Comes Next? with Delegate Bonnie Cullison
June 10, 2021 -

We’ve heard from some of the architects of the biggest stories in Annapolis this year and asked them what they’ve accomplished during a period when Marylanders have needed them most. On episode 11 of The Lobby, we’re picking up where we left off with Senator Craig Zucker (MD-14) and Quinton Askew of Maryland 2-1-1. We’ll talk with Delegate Bonnie Cullison (MD-19) about the successes of the 2021 session, the work of groups like NAMI Maryland and RALI Maryland to combat the increase in substance misuse and mental illness during COVID, using reverse auctions to save the state money on prescription medicines without sacrificing coverage, and what The Thomas Bloom Raskin Act means for Marylanders, as well as her long-time efforts to increase school-based health centers.

Hear what makes Delegate Cullison the long-reigning stalwart of level-headed bipartisanship in Annapolis, and the history that lead her to where she is.

Session never really ends, we hope to see you soon in the Lobby.

Read More: Center Maryland

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