Politics

Maryland’s current and most recent governor separately called for a less vitriolic form of American politics Monday. Neither Gov. Wes Moore (D) nor his Republican predecessor, Larry Hogan, are known for their support of Donald Trump. Both, however, said the failed assassination attempt on the former president and presumed Republican presidential nominee is a “clarion call” to turn down the heated rhetoric that dominates American politics.

The Republican National Convention kicks off Monday in this lakefront city, to renominate former President Donald Trump and his yet-to-be-announced running mate, during an unprecedented moment in U.S. politics. What was meant to be a celebration of Trump and his political allies, with pomp, partisanship and parties, has turned into something else – but no one is exactly sure what.

Maryland officials on both sides of the aisle are expressing support for victims and outrage at the act of political violence after the shooting Saturday that injured former President Donald Trump and left two dead, including the suspected gunman. “I condemn in the strongest possible terms what has happened in Pennsylvania today to President Trump,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), said in a statement. “Political violence is never acceptable. Ever.”

A citizen’s group seeking term limits for the county executive in Montgomery County, Maryland, has submitted more than 20,000 petition signatures — more than twice as many as needed to place the question on the November ballot. Only 10,000 signatures were needed for the question to be placed on the ballot, and the Committee for Better Government turned in 12,130 signatures in June.

Brunswick Mayor Nathan Brown, left, and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan walk in front of a mural in Brunswick during Hogan’s visit to the town on Sunday. Hogan is running as the Republican nominee for the US Senate against the Democratic nominee, Angela Alsobrooks.

Gov. Wes Moore announced Wednesday the launch of a $20 million initiative to address child poverty in Maryland. The Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments and Households, or ENOUGH, initiative will develop solutions to an issue the Moore administration highlighted as critical last session. “By moving in partnership with local leaders and village elders, Maryland is writing a new chapter in our work to end child poverty,” Moore said in a Wednesday news release.

In a new letter, Rep. Kweisi Mfume is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate uncovered coal trains in Baltimore City, saying his residents are tired of breathing in polluted air. This comes after several environmental groups nationwide filed a petition last year asking for more federal regulation of uncovered coal trains. Some neighbors in Curtis Bay tell me the smell and amount of dust in the air can be unbearable at times, causing some people to change their daily activities.

Members of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee picked one of their own Thursday to fill a vacancy in the House of Delegates. The central committee voted to forward the name of Teresa Saavedra Woorman, a 32-year-old aide to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) with a wealth of Annapolis experience, to Gov. Wes Moore (D) for approval. Woorman prevailed over eight other Democrats who had applied for the open House seat in District 16.

Whether the federal government will pay 90% or 100% of the new Francis Scott Key Bridge — a difference that is expected to be roughly $170 million — was at the center of a discussion Wednesday in a U.S. Senate hearing. President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is up for reelection this fall, has pledged full federal support and Maryland’s congressional legislators introduced a bill in April that would completely fund the Baltimore bridge with federal money.