2022 Election — CSES Endorsements

CSES Editorial Board • October 25, 2022

Maryland’s 2022 midterm election is on Nov. 8, less than two weeks away — and early voting begins even sooner. This is a good time to summarize the state of the races and to offer readers of Common Sense for the Eastern Shore our endorsements for the offices that matter to our district. We include hyperlinks to the candidates’ websites to let you, our readers, read what the candidates have to say for themselves.

At the top of the ballot is the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Larry Hogan. The major party candidates for governor and lieutenant governor are Republicans Dan Cox and Gordana Schifanelli and Democrats Wes Moore and Aruna Miller.

Moore, the author of five books, is a Rhodes scholar, a former Army officer who served in Afghanistan, and a former intern at the U.S. State Department. He spent four years as the head of a nonprofit organization fighting the effects of poverty in New York City, raising more than $650 million to fund schools, food pantries, and shelters. Moore also founded a company to produce content for the Oprah Winfrey network as well as PBS, HBO, and NBC. He has been active with several veterans’ rights groups.

Endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Cox has a long record of supporting right-wing extremist positions, including hiring three buses to take Trump supporters to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He tried to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results and called then-Vice President Pence “a traitor” in a tweet he has since attempted to deny. And while he has scrubbed several right-wing positions from his website — including “a natural right to gun ownership” and a promise to audit the 2020 election — there is little doubt that he still supports these positions.

For those of us at Common Sense, the choice is easy: we unequivocally support Wes Moore for governor.

The comptroller of Maryland is the state’s chief financial officer who oversees tax collection and enforces business licenses, among other duties. With the retirement of long-time incumbent Peter Franchot, the Republicans have nominated Barry Glassman and the Democrats Brooke Lierman to fill the office.

A former state delegate and state senator, Glassman served two terms as Harford County’s executive. Endorsed by Hogan, the Maryland Farm Bureau, and the Fraternal Order of Police, he says that as Harford executive, he resisted calls to raise taxes while launching digital programs to improve customer service. And on his campaign website, he describes himself as “a passionate advocate for education, the economy, and public safety.” Lately, questions have been raised about whether Glassman is really the moderate Republican he claims to be.

Lierman is an attorney who specializes in civil rights and disability rights. She has represented District 46 in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2015. She is endorsed by Reps. Steny Hoyer and Jamie Raskin, the Baltimore Sun, the Maryland and D.C. AFL-CIO, and former U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski. She supports legislation to establish a constitutional right to abortion, increased support for Baltimore public schools, and universal pre-K. She received a 100% score from the Maryland League of Conservation Voters. If elected, she would be the first woman to serve as comptroller.

While Glassman has solid experience in government, we think that Lierman’s support for education, a woman’s right to choose, and her impressive voting record on the environment make her Common Sense’s choice for comptroller.

For attorney general, the Republican candidate is Michael Peroutka and the Democratic candidate is Anthony Brown.

Until 2014 when he became a Republican, Peroutka was a member of the Constitutional Party, and was that party’s candidate for president in 2004. A former Anne Arundel County Council member, he is endorsed by gubernatorial candidate Cox and the Maryland Right to Life Political Action Committee. On his website, Peroutka states that the state government used the “health crises” to justify curtailing rights, including the rights to practice religion, to make personal medical decisions, and to run a business. He is on record as wanting to make abortion and same-sex marriage illegal. And he has stated that when the state’s laws conflict with his religious beliefs, he will not enforce them.

Anthony Brown, who served as lieutenant governor for two terms with Gov. Martin O’Malley, has been U.S. congressman for Maryland’s 4th District since 2017. He also served two terms in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Prince George’s County. A retired U.S. Army colonel, he served in the Iraq war and was awarded a Bronze Star. He earned a law degree from Harvard and applied his expertise while in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

Brown’s experience in both state and federal government and his extensive legal experience make him an obvious choice for this important position. Common Sense endorses Brown.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Chris Chafee.

Van Hollen is completing his first term in the Senate, after serving as congressman for Maryland’s 8th District from 2003 to 2017. While in the House, he served as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and later as ranking member of the House Budget Committee. The son of a career foreign service officer, Van Hollen spent much of his early life in Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka before returning to the U.S. to attend Swarthmore College. His committee assignments in the Senate have included the Budget, Appropriations, and Foreign Affairs committees.

On his website, Chaffee focuses on inflation, which he blames on the Biden administration’s covid and omnibus spending bills. He also calls attention to the opioid crisis, which he says is at an unprecedented peak under Biden. “We need to secure our borders, defend and honor our law enforcement, follow and enforce our constitution, protect the second amendment, stop using our children as political pawns,” he says on the website. He is endorsed by Maryland Right to Life and is opposed to abortion rights.

Sen. Van Hollen is an active and effective voice for Maryland, and Common Sense has no hesitation in endorsing him for a second term.

In the First District U.S. Congressional race, incumbent Republican Andrew P. Harris is challenged by Democrat Heather Mizeur.

As the only Maryland Republican in Congress, Harris has held the First District seat since 2011. Over that time, he has consistently been one of the most conservative members of the House. He currently serves on the Appropriations Committee. He was a consistent supporter of Trump’s agenda, agreeing with the former president’s positions on 92% of his votes. Not surprisingly, he voted against impeaching Trump, and was among a handful of Republican congressmen at a meeting in December 2020 where a strategy for overturning the election was concocted. For a detailed list of the votes that earned him his nickname of “Dr. No,” see our August 16 story in Common Sense.

Mizeur has many years of experience in government, having worked as a congressional staffer in her early 20s and serving in the Maryland House of Delegates representing Takoma Park, where she lived before moving to the Eastern Shore and starting an organic farm. She puts the focus on growing the economy in the district, drawing on its strengths in agriculture and commercial fishing while working to attract manufacturing and other high-tech business. She makes a case for herself as a consensus builder and has made it a point to meet with Republicans to answer their questions and share her vision for the District.

This is another easy choice. Common Sense enthusiastically endorses Heather Mizeur for Congress.

Endorsements by Common Sense for the Eastern Shore:

For Governor – Wes Moore (D)

For Comptroller – Brooke Lierman (D)

For Attorney General – Anthony Brown (D)

For U.S. Senate – Chris Van Hollen (D)

For First District Representative – Heather Mizeur (D)

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Megan Outten Launches Campaign for Wicomico County Council, District 7

By Friends of Megan Outten • July 29, 2025

Megan Outten, a lifelong Wicomico County resident and former Salisbury City Councilwoman, officially announced her candidacy recently for Wicomico County Council, District 7. At 33, Outten brings the energy of a new generation combined with a proven record of public service and results-driven leadership. “I’m running because Wicomico deserves better,” Outten said. “Too often, our communities are expected to do more with less. We’re facing underfunded schools, limited economic opportunities, and years of neglected infrastructure. I believe Wicomico deserves leadership that listens, plans ahead, and delivers real, measurable results.” A Record of Action and A Vision for the Future On Salisbury’s City Council, Outten earned a reputation for her proactive, hands-on approach — working directly with residents to close infrastructure gaps, support first responders, and ensure everyday voices were heard. Now she’s bringing that same focus to the County Council, with priorities centered on affordability, public safety, and stronger, more resilient communities. Key Priorities for District 7: Fully fund public schools so every child has the opportunity to succeed. Fix aging infrastructure and county services through proactive investment. Keep Wicomico affordable with smarter planning and pathways to homeownership. Support first responders and safer neighborhoods through better tools, training, and prevention. Expand resources for seniors, youth, and underserved communities. Outten’s platform is rooted in real data and shaped by direct community engagement. With Wicomico now the fastest-growing school system on Maryland’s Eastern Shore — and 85% of students relying on extra resources — she points to the county’s lagging investment as a key area for action. “Strong schools lead to strong jobs, thriving industries, and healthier communities,” Outten said. “Our schools and infrastructure are at a tipping point. We need leadership that stops reacting after things break — and starts investing before they do.” A Commitment to Home and Service Born and raised in Wicomico, Megan Outten sees this campaign as a continuation of her lifelong service to her community. Her vision reflects what she’s hearing from neighbors across the county: a demand for fairness, opportunity, and accountability in local government. “Wicomico is my home; it’s where I grew up, built my life, and where I want to raise my family,” Outten said. “Our county is full of potential. We just need leaders who will listen, work hard, and get things done. That’s what I’ve always done, and that’s exactly what I’ll continue to do on the County Council.” Outten will be meeting with residents across District 7 in the months ahead and unveiling more details of her platform. For more information or to get involved, contact info@meganoutten.com

“Turtles All The Way Down”

By John Christie • July 29, 2025

Way back in 1935, the Supreme Court determined that independent agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) do not violate the Constitution’s separation of powers. Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935). Congress provided that the CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, would operate as an independent agency — a multi-member, bipartisan commission whose members serve staggered terms and could be removed only “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause.” Rejecting a claim that the removal restriction interferes with the “executive power,” the Humphrey’s Court held that Congress has the authority to “forbid their [members’] removal except for cause” when creating such “quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial” bodies. As a result, these agencies have operated as independent agencies for many decades under many different presidencies. Shortly after assuming office in his second term, Donald Trump began to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of several of these agencies. The lower courts determined to reinstate the discharged members pending the ultimate outcome of the litigation, relying on Humphrey’s , resulting in yet another emergency appeal to the Supreme Court by the administration. In the first such case, a majority of the Court allowed President Trump to discharge the Democratic members of the NLRB and the MSPB while the litigation over the legality of the discharges continued. Trump v. Wilcox (May 22, 2025). The majority claimed that they do not now decide whether Humphrey’s should be overruled because “that question is better left for resolution after full briefing and argument.” However, hinting that these agency members have “considerable” executive power and suggesting that “the Government” faces greater “risk of harm” from an order allowing a removed officer to continue exercising the executive power than a wrongfully removed officer faces from being unable to perform her statutory duty,” the majority gave the President the green light to proceed. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, dissented, asserting that Humphrey’s remains good law until overturned and forecloses both the President’s firings and the Court’s decision to award emergency relief.” Our emergency docket, while fit for some things, should not be used to “overrule or revise existing law.” Moreover, the dissenters contend that the majority’s effort to explain their decision “hardly rises to the occasion.” Maybe by saying that the Commissioners exercise “considerable” executive power, the majority is suggesting that Humphrey’s is no longer good law but if that is what the majority means, then it has foretold a “massive change” in the law and done so on the emergency docket, “with little time, scant briefing, and no argument.” And, the “greater risk of harm” in fact is that Congress provided for these discharged members to serve their full terms, protected from a President’s desire to substitute his political allies. More recently, in the latest shadow docket ruling in the administration’s favor, the same majority of the Court again permitted President Trump to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of another independent agency, this time the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Trump v. Boyle (July 23, 2025). The same three justices dissented, once more objecting to the use of the Court’s emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency as established by Congress. The CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, was designed to operate as “a classic independent agency.” In Congress’s view, that structure would better enable the CPSC to achieve its mission — ensuring the safety of consumer products, from toys to appliances — than would a single-party agency under the full control of a single President. “By allowing the President to remove Commissioners for no reason other than their party affiliation, the majority has negated Congress’s choice of agency bipartisanship and independence.” The dissenters also assert that the majority’s sole professed basis for the more recent order in Boyle was its prior order in Wilcox . But in their opinion, Wilcox itself was minimally explained. So, the dissenters claim, the majority rejects the design of Congress for a whole class of agencies by “layering nothing on nothing.” “Next time, though, the majority will have two (if still under-reasoned) orders to cite. Truly, this is ‘turtles all the way down.’” Rapanos v. United States (2006). * ***** *In Rapanos , in a footnote to his plurality opinion, former Supreme Court Justice Scalia explained that this allusion is to a classic story told in different forms and attributed to various authors. His favorite version: An Eastern guru affirms that the earth is supported on the back of a tiger. When asked what supports the tiger, he says it stands upon an elephant; and when asked what supports the elephant, he says it is a giant turtle. When asked, finally, what supports the giant turtle, he is briefly taken aback, but quickly replies "Ah, after that it is turtles all the way down." John Christie was for many years a senior partner in a large Washington, D.C. law firm. He specialized in anti-trust litigation and developed a keen interest in the U.S. Supreme Court about which he lectures and writes.

“Andy Harris Just Made the Most Dangerous Vote of His Career”

By Shore Progress, Progessive Maryland, Progressive Harford Co • July 15, 2025

Marylanders will not forget this vote.

How Many Will Be Kicked Off Medicaid in MD-01 Because of Andy Harris?

By Jan Plotczyk • July 9, 2025

More than 30,000 of our neighbors in Maryland’s first congressional district will lose their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid because of provisions in the GOP’s heartless tax cut and spending bill passed last week.

Six Reasons Why the House Budget Bill Will Hurt Rural America

By Michael Chameides, Barn Raiser • May 21, 2025

Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.

Who Will SNAP Cuts Affect in Maryland? On the Eastern Shore?

By Catlin Nchako, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities • May 21, 2025

The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.