Thi-i-s close: Advocates keep pushing for the Equal Rights Amendment

The Maryland primary election is set for May 14, with early voting beginning May 2 and mail-in voting already in progress. There are seven Republican candidates for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, all hoping to be the GOP candidate in the general election on November 5. For nearly a year, the Republican primary was considered basically an open race, with the winner anyone’s guess. Then in February, Maryland’s former governor, Larry Hogan, entered the race and immediately became the front runner and — in many commentators’ opinion — the presumptive winner. This puts Maryland’s entire senate race in a new light. Until Hogan entered the GOP primary, Maryland was considered a safe state for the Democrats. Recent polls now predict a close race in November between Hogan and either of the two leading Democratic candidates. Maryland’s senate race is important because the senate is almost evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Given the Democrats’ one-seat majority, the loss or gain of even one by either party will affect control of the senate. To help voters decide who best represents their views, this article looks at Hogan’s biography and his record as governor, including abortion and reproductive rights, education, voting rights, gun violence, and transportation. Hogan’s Biography Born in Washington D.C., Hogan attended Catholic high schools in Maryland and Florida and in 1978 was awarded his bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida State University. His early career was in real estate after he founded his brokerage firm, the Hogan Companies. His political experience includes serving as secretary of appointments from 2003 to 2007 for then-Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R). Hogan was elected governor in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. In 2019-20, he chaired the National Governors’ Association. Hogan on the Issues Hogan is considered a moderate, pro-business Republican, generally in line with traditional GOP positions and policies. He does not support former President Donald Trump and has said publicly that President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. As governor, Hogan’s stance on various issues can best be seen in his many vetoes of bills passed by the Maryland General Assembly; most were overridden. His veto record suggests that Hogan may not be as moderate as his reputation and distance from Trump imply. Hogan vetoed the bill to gradually raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 over several years. He also vetoed an earned sick leave bill to allow workers five paid sick days per year. Another of his vetoes was against legislation to establish a paid family and medical leave insurance program. All three were overridden by the General Assembly and became law during Hogan’s term of office. Hogan has consistently opposed abortion and reproductive rights and services. He vetoed a bill to increase the availability of reproductive services and the number of trained providers. This veto came just before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and the General Assembly overrode this veto. In a related action, Hogan refused to release $3.5 million in appropriated funds to train abortion and reproductive health providers. He also vetoed the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future . Proposed by the Kirwan Commission, t his educational reform proposed a 10-year plan to “expand pre-kindergarten programs and increase funding for schools with high concentrations of poverty, increase pay and career opportunities for teachers, create new career pathways for high schoolers who don’t plan to attend college, and establish an accountability board.” This veto was overridden. In 2018, a mass-shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis by a gunman using a shotgun ended with five people dead and two others wounded. In response, the General Assembly passed a bill requiring background checks before the sale or transfer of shotguns and rifles. Hogan vetoed it. Hogan vetoed a bill to give voters the chance to sign their mail-in ballots if they had forgotten to do so. In 2015, Hogan vetoed a bill, also over-ridden, to restore the voting rights of ex-prisoners on probation or parole. On other issues, Hogan canceled the Red Line light rail project in Baltimore City which would have expanded public transit into new areas. He vetoed a bill to prevent the eviction of tenants who have pending applications for rental assistance in response to covid-related economic hardship. He also vetoed funding for the Prescription Drug Affordability Board , that would have helped lower medical costs for all Marylanders. In addition to Hogan, the other Republican primary senatorial candidates (with links to candidate information on Ballotpedia) are: Moe Barakat Chris Chaffee Robin Ficker Lorie Friend John Myrick Laban Seyoum Maryland Primary Election Basic Information The Maryland Board of Elections has information here along with links to find your polling place, request an absentee/mail-in ballot, track your ballot, and sign up to be an election judge. Here’s the schedule for the Maryland primary election: In-person voting: May 2 — Early voting begins, 7 am-8 pm May 9 — Early voting ends, 7 am-8 pm May 14 — Primary election day, 7 am-8 pm Absentee/Mail-in voting: Any registered voter may request an absentee/mail-in ballot. Voter registration deadline — for new voters or to add/change party affiliation: In-person: May 14 Absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline: In-person: May 14 By mail: Received by May 7 Online: May 7 Absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline: In-person: May 14 By mail: Received by May 14 More Information “United States Senate Election in Maryland, 2024,” Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics. https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_election_in_Maryland,_2024 “Maryland just passed one of the most aggressive climate laws in the US,” Jeff St. John , April 12, 2022, Canary Media . https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/policy-regulation/maryland-just-passed-one-of-the-most-aggressive-climate-laws-in-the-us “Commentary: A look at Larry Hogan’s record on key issues,” Larry Ottinger, Feb. 26, 2024, Maryland Matters . https://www.marylandmatters.org/2024/02/26/commentary-a-look-at-larry-hogans-record-on-key-issues/ “Larry Hogan Is Running for Senate as a Moderate. His Vetoes Tell a Different Story,” Eric Cortellessa, Feb, 14, 2024, Time.com . https://time.com/6694872/larry-hogan-maryland-senators-abortion/ “Hogan slams Maryland Senate's proposed Climate law, calling it a tax bill,” Ryan Dickstein, Mar. 10, 2022; WMAR2news . https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/hogan-slams-maryland-senates-proposed-climate-law-calling-it-a-tax-bill Jane Jewell is a writer, editor, photographer, and teacher. She has worked in news, publishing, and as the director of a national writer's group. She lives in Chestertown with her husband Peter Heck, a ginger cat named Riley, and a lot of books.

On the ballot for Maryland’s primary election on May 14, in addition to the usual offices — U.S. president, U.S. senator, District 1 representative, possibly the local school board — are the candidates for delegates to your party’s national convention. Who are these people? What are their responsibilities if elected? Convention delegates — usually local political leaders or party activists — are chosen at the state level, and each state has its own procedure for choosing them, subject to rules set by the national parties. We’ll look at the Maryland ballot, specifically District 1 — which includes the Eastern Shore — then at some of the variations nationwide. On the District 1 primary ballot, each party has a slate of delegates. The Democrats have six delegate slots and nine candidates; six are pledged to President Joe Biden and three are uncommitted. The Republican ballot has three delegate slots and six candidates, three each for Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. The Republicans also have three slots for alternate delegates, with six candidates — again equally divided between Trump and Haley supporters. An additional wrinkle at the Democratic convention is the inclusion of “superdelegates” — typically elected officials or high-ranking party officials, who are chosen by the national party and make up about 16% of the total. They aren’t bound to a single candidate. Party rules adopted in 2020 bar superdelegates from voting on the first ballot unless one candidate is deemed to have an insurmountable lead. This rule gives the regularly elected delegates a chance to choose a candidate, based on the state primaries and party caucuses — which take the place of primaries in 13 states — if the voting appears close. The GOP has not adopted the superdelegate model, but each state has three “automatic delegates,” who are members of that state’s Republican National Committee, including the state chairman. The two parties have different systems to decide how many delegates the primary candidates receive. The Democrats allocate delegates proportionally to the candidates’ totals in the primary or caucus; a candidate must receive at least 15% of a state’s vote to be allocated a delegate. This rule applies to all Democratic primaries. The Republicans’ system varies from state to state; some allocate delegates winner-take-all and others use a proportional method like the Democrats. What does a delegate’s support of a specific candidate mean? In several states, delegates are required by law to support their candidate for a specified number of ballots. In states where that is not a requirement — Maryland is one — the Democratic party strongly encourages delegates to vote for the candidate to whom they’re pledged, at least on the first ballot. Republican delegates are “bound” — in which case they are required by the party to vote for the winner of their state’s primary — or unbound and free to vote for anyone. The automatic delegates from every state are bound. At the conventions this summer, the delegates will nominate their party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, unless the nominees have already been selected by primary and caucus results prior to the convention; in that case, the actual vote will be a formality. The last time the choice of nominee took more than one ballot was 1952 for the Democrats. The candidate for vice president is typically chosen by the presidential candidate before the convention and is voted on by acclamation. Delegates are different from Electoral College electors, who are appointed after the general election in November. The electors may or may not have served as delegates; it’s a completely different step in the election process. If everything is decided at the primary/caucus level, what then, you may ask, is the point of the national conventions? Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper just to pick a candidate based on the primaries? Yes, but that overlooks the significant publicity splash from the conventions, which receive major media and press coverage. The convention is often the first chance for voters to see and hear the candidates, especially if they are not incumbents. And speeches and raucous celebrations on the convention floor generate enthusiasm, which the parties hope will spread to the general public. A convention also showcases other political figures, some of whom may go on to run for major office. Barack Obama’s keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention is widely cited as the point at which he emerged into the national consciousness, setting the stage for his successful presidential campaigns. In addition to selecting candidates for president and vice president, conventions adopt a party’s platform, which often reflects the priorities of the leading candidate, especially in the case of an incumbent. On the other hand, the platform can provoke considerable internal wrangling — at the 1996 Republican convention, for example, moderates unsuccessfully fought against a “Human Life Amendment” plank. In 2020, to avoid debates over policy that might split the party, the Republicans offered no platform at all beyond support for Donald Trump. When you vote for convention delegates, you’re sending the winners to one of the nation’s most visible political events. The smoke-filled rooms may be gone, but the days of stirring speeches, energetic demonstrations in support of candidates, and national media exposure of the party’s personalities and principles are still with us. And delegates still have an important role to play in the formation of policy priorities. In short, convention delegates are in for an experience of a lifetime. After all, it’s not every day they get to be on the main stage of history. Peter Heck is a Chestertown-based writer and editor, who spent 10 years at the Kent County News and three more with the Chestertown Spy. He is the author of 10 novels and co-author of four plays, a book reviewer for Asimov’s and Kirkus Reviews, and an incorrigible guitarist. 

School board elections are getting more attention than ever. Although voters may be aware of each candidate’s party affiliation, elections for boards of education in Maryland are officially non-partisan. The number of members on a county board varies from county to county, but if the number of candidates is more than two times the number of vacancies on the board, the candidates appear on the primary ballot. In some counties — Dorchester and Talbot, for example — school board members are elected from districts. In others — for example, Kent — they run at-large. A county school board’s responsibilities include hiring and evaluating the school system’s superintendent, developing the system’s annual budget, and approving school policies. School boards also consider citizens’ concerns. Boards are not, however, responsible for day-to-day operations of the system. Those are the superintendent’s, who hires staff, measures student performance, and responds to problems such as the covid pandemic. Dorchester and Talbot are the only Eastern Shore counties with school board candidates on their ballots in this year’s primary. Voters in District 1 of Dorchester will vote for one of the following: Brandy Dawson Cumberland Michael D. Diaz, Sr. Lucas A. Thorpe Information about the candidates, including contact information, can be found at the League of Women Voters’ VOTE411 website . The League posed questions to the candidates. One of the questions was: What strategies would you support to attract and retain effective teachers and administrators? Thorpe responded, “To enhance teacher diversity, I advocate for diverse recruiting initiatives and scholarships for aspiring educators from our school system. Revamping the Teacher Academy Program at DCTC will provide hands-on experience. By investing in these strategies, we ensure a rich and inclusive pool of educators, fostering a dynamic learning environment.” Cumberland responded: “Aside from a competitive benefit package, we need safe schools for our teachers. This is a tremendous concern presently in our schools. Additionally, teachers and administrators must be supported by their superiors and board.” Diaz did not respond. Voters in District 5 of Dorchester will vote for one of the following: Jerome J. Harris Michael Hartford Christopher M. Wheedleton, incumbent Information about the candidates, including contact information, can be found at the League of Women Voters’ VOTE411 website . To the question of what strategies he would support to attract and retain effective teachers and administrators, Wheedleton responded, “I have been working to support competitive compensation packages, professional development opportunities, and mentorship programs to attract and retain effective teachers and administrators. A positive work environment with opportunities for career advancement and leadership roles further enhances retention. Prioritizing work-life balance and listening to needs and challenges are integral strategies to ensure long-term commitment and satisfaction among educators and administrators.” To the same question Hartford replied, “I encourage broadening our teachers’ trainings and listening to their concerns firsthand. The more they learn, the better off our children will be.” Harris did not respond to the League’s questions. Voters in District 2 in Talbot County are asked to choose one of the following: Candace N. Henry, incumbent Connie Loveland Ann C. O’Connor Detailed information on the candidates can be found at the VOTE411 website . The same question concerning teacher retention was posed to these candidates by the League of Women Voters. Henry responded: “ To attract and retain effective teachers and administrators, a multifaceted approach is necessary. We must incorporate strategies aimed at creating an appealing/supportive work environment, competitive compensation, professional development opportunities, ongoing support for new teachers and administrators, advancement and leadership opportunities, prioritizing work-life balance, and recognizing/appreciating the value of educators and leaders.” Loveland’s response: “ I feel this is a subject that will require quite a bit of research. We need to make sure our teachers feel supported and appreciated. Talbot County needs to regain the reputation of the County where everyone wants to work. The County where long-time teachers want to stay. Effective recruitment and high retention rates are key. Happy teachers are the best tool to recruit new teachers.” O’Connor said: “Ask the teachers! The teachers are in the classroom and know firsthand what is needed to succeed. They know what is working and what isn’t as far as subject matter and discipline, Utilizing the talents of our teachers in placing them in certain positions/grades would have to be researched and developed. Offering support in the classroom with aides, ample planning time, reduced class sizes, and of course, compensation are all things that would be on the top of my list.” I encourage readers to seek information about all school board candidates. The current atmosphere in the nation of book banning and attempts by a minority of citizens to gain control over curriculum and educational policy makes it imperative for us as citizens to pay attention to school board races. A native of Wicomico County, George Shivers holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland and taught in the Foreign Language Dept. of Washington College for 38 years before retiring in 2007. He is also very interested in the history and culture of the Eastern Shore, African American history in particular.

Funding cuts and staffing shortages at the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) over the past decade have coincided with a decline in the state’s ecological health. MDE’s water-related enforcement actions and identification of major polluters plummeted during former Gov. Larry Hogan’s time in office. During this same period, water quality standards in the Chesapeake Bay declined significantly, falling to the same levels as those observed in the early 1990s, according to data from Chesapeake Progress. Over two decades, MDE lost one out of every seven employees and those positions went unfilled as environmental challenges increased. “What we saw in 2021 and in prior years was just a really dramatic cut-off (in resources) and Hogan’s initiatives to make sure that state agencies weren’t fully enforcing the law,” Katlynn Schmitt, a senior analyst at the Center for Progressive Reform, told Capital News Service . She is one of the authors of the 2022 Chesapeake Accountability Project scorecard — an evaluation of “water-related enforcement trends over the last two decades,” according to its website . Ben Grumbles, Secretary of the Environment under Hogan from 2015 until March 2022, disputed allegations of lax water quality enforcement. “The administration absolutely put an emphasis on compliance and enforcement,” he said. “We imposed and recovered many record setting penalties. We also had to deal with covid — we were not able to have on-site inspections because they put our employees at risk.” “When you get much below 1% (funding), that's when you start to see a lot of pollution problems. It kind of sends a signal to polluters that you're not going to get caught,” said Doug Myers, Maryland senior scientist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. More than 18 million people live within the Chesapeake watershed and over 3,600 species of plants and animals call the bay home. The bay is an integral part of the regional economy, providing upwards of 500 million pounds of seafood each year. However, commercial fishery stocks in the region have plummeted in recent years. The Chesapeake Bay is America’s largest estuary , and its watershed encompasses six states and the District of Columbia. Among these, Maryland provided its environmental protection agency with one of the lowest funding levels in 2020. Only West Virginia allocated a smaller percentage of its general fund to its environmental department. 

Some 70 years after they entered widespread chemical use, the federal government is finally regulating the so-called “forever chemicals” found in everything from nonstick cookware to menstrual products.