Politics

Ken Ulman knows what it’s like to win elections and he knows what it’s like to lose — and now he’s in charge of helping Maryland Democrats secure victory up and down the ballot. Ulman was overwhelmingly elected chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party by party officials on Saturday, kicking off a new challenge for the former Howard County executive who now is a plugged-in consultant.

Government officials in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore City will consider advancing two separate proposals Monday night that would compel both jurisdictions to implement requirements that could boost the supply of reduced-priced housing in both areas. Though the city’s legislative package differs slightly from the county’s proposal, they share a similar goal: that housing developments exceeding a certain size or value, or already receiving large public subsidies, should allocate at least a portion of the units for people at income levels below the Baltimore-area median — a practice known as inclusionary housing.

A pair of bills before the Baltimore County Council could enshrine the Office of the Inspector General in county law and bolster its subpoena power over noncounty records, but the charter amendments proposed don’t include guarantees for its right to obtain government records.County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. is requesting to put the charter change to referendum in the 2024 election, and reducing to 30 days, from 90 days, the period the IG must wait between requesting nongovernment records and requesting a court force their surrender.

The Frederick County Board of Education on Monday “indefinitely” tabled the question of how much voting power its student member should have, instead focusing on a state bill being drafted. Six of the board’s seven members said they supported granting some type of voting rights to the student member of the board, who is elected by Frederick County Public Schools middle and high schoolers.

After federal prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss one count and part of another, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins asked the court on Friday to drop all of the charges against him in a machine gun conspiracy case. Prosecutors asked on Nov. 9 for one count in the indictment to be dismissed, after Jenkins’ attorneys pointed out a discrepancy between the language in the indictment and the March 2022 letter Jenkins signed, on which the charge is based.

The Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee selected Del. Nick Charles on Monday to fill a vacant seat in the Maryland Senate. The committee will forward Charles’ name to Gov. Wes Moore (D), who has up to 15 days to confirm the appointment. Central Committee Chair Antwan Brown said he will forward Charles’ name to the governor’s office Tuesday. Charles, 40, an Air Force veteran, has served in the House of Delegates for more than four years representing the 25th legislative district, which includes District Heights, Forestville and parts of Upper Marlboro.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on Saturday afternoon announced his intention to seek a second term. The city’s 52nd mayor spoke about how his administration has made progress on several issues in the city, such as violence. “As I stand before you today, we have a 20% reduction in homicides in the city of Baltimore, a 9% reduction in non-fatal shootings, and Baltimore, we are on track for the first time in nine years to be under 300 murders,” Scott said Saturday at the Cahill Recreation Center.

Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has crisscrossed the state in her discussion of issues that she has heard from Marylanders during her campaign so far for United States Senate. She started with health care access on the Eastern Shore, moved to housing affordability in Western Maryland and educational funding in Frederick before providing a point of summation: “Economic opportunity is threaded throughout the state.”

U.S. Rep. David Trone has seen a lot in nearly five years in office. Now running for U.S. Senate, he says he’s heard a lot too — from Marylanders across the state “dissatisfied, unhappy with the political system.” That was the top issue he says he has heard — from Baltimore County to Montgomery County to Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore. Asked how he reconciles his congressional career with the dissatisfaction of the political system as he campaigns for higher office, his answer is simple.