Politics

An Edgewater resident and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, filed earlier this month to run next year for the District 7 seat on the Anne Arundel County Board of Education. Jeremy York, who is originally from southern California and works for an education technology company, will seek the seat held by Michelle Corkadel, who has not yet announced whether she is running for reelection.

Voting rights activists and state Democratic Party officials say the way the Maryland Legislature uses appointments to fill vacancies is “undemocratic.” Nearly half of the state lawmakers in Montgomery County and a quarter statewide are not elected when they first get their seats in the General Assembly, according to Common Cause Maryland, a watchdog group that advocates for voting rights and fair elections.

Harford County government helped pay down student loan debt for 61 volunteer first responders with $305,000 sent directly to lending institutions, according to a county news release. Harford’s NEXT GEN Responder Student Loan Relief Program repays student loans up to $5,000 per year to help retain volunteer first responders and recruit the next generation.

The Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee selected Denise Roberts on Thursday to fill a vacant seat in the House of Delegates. The central committee will forward Roberts’ name to Gov. Wes Moore (D), who has up to 15 days to confirm the appointment. Roberts, who worked as communications director for county State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy (D), received 19 of the 26 votes from her fellow county Democrats.

Maryland community associations are finding themselves squeezed by a 2022 law intended to ensure maintenance of condominiums and similar housing, but which is resulting in thousands of dollars in surprise fees and assessments that are leaving some residents struggling to make ends meet. The law in question requires all Maryland housing cooperatives and condominiums, and homeowners associations with more than $10,000 in common area assets, to conduct reserve studies every five years analyzing what portions of shared infrastructure, such as a roof or boiler, might need to be replaced.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) announced Terence Clark as the new acting director for the Department of Corrections on Dec. 14. Clark has nearly 40 years of experience working in Philadelphia prisons, and served as the deputy commissioner of operations at the Philadelphia Department of Prisons for five years. “We are excited to welcome Mr. Terence Clark to serve as our new director of our Department of Corrections,” Alsobrooks said.

“It’s been a pretty productive year,” County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said Friday at the Committee for Montgomery legislative breakfast, a yearly event that is seen by many as the unofficial kickoff to the 2024 General Assembly session. A few hundred gathered at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center to network and hear from state and county leaders about priorities in local and state politics in the new year. Speakers included Elrich, Rep. David Trone (D-Dist. 6), Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D), Sen. Ben Kramer (D-Dist. 19), Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D-Dist. 17) and Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1).

Allegany County officials are expecting to seek bids soon for the construction of the $2.5 million Outdoor Wellness Complex on Willowbrook Road, according to Adam Patterson, county public works director. The project, to be built on 24 acres of land between Allegany College of Maryland and the Cumberland Country Club, was first proposed in 2018. However, Patterson said it was sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic and personnel changes in the agencies involved in the funding package.