2022 Elections

First MoCo Early Votes Up! County Races

I’m hearing turnout was exceptionally light today.

The incumbent circuit court judges are leading in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. Marylin Pierre’s latest bid for this office is falling well short.

First county exec results: 41% for Blair, 37% for Elrich, 20% for Riemer. Good news for the Blair campaign.

Current County Council At-Large:
Glass, 19%
Jawando 18%
Albornoz 16%
Sayles 13%
Hucker 11%
Goldberg 11%
Brooks 7%
Gassaway 5%

The fight for the fourth at-large seat looks tight but Sayles off to a nice start and ahead of incumbent Hucker who is trying to jump from a district seat.

District 2: Balcombe way ahead with 46%
District 4: Stewart way ahead with 47%
District 5: Mink leading with 37%, followed by Barries with 28%
District 6: Gonzalez way ahead with 58%
District 7: Luedtke leading with 36% followed by Manger with 25%.

State’s Attorney: Incumbent John McCarthy way ahead with 50% with challengers splitting remainder.
Circuit Court: Bushell turning back Bowser’s latest bid with 60%.
Sheriff: Uy ahead of Bass with 55%.



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2022 Democratic Primary

Races I’ll Be Watching Tonight

Governor

It’s uncommon that all top three races on the ballot are open all at the same time. The gubernatorial primary on both sides of the aisle will be wide open. Three candidates–Peter Franchot, Wes Moore and Tom Perez are seen–seen as having a shot at taking the Democratic nomination according to recent polls.

Beyond seeing who wins, I’ll be curious to see the winning percentage. In 1966, George P. Mahoney took the nomination with just 30.2% of the vote before going on to lose to Spiro Agnew. Ben Jealous won with 39.6% in 2018 before losing to incumbent Larry Hogan.

On the Republican side, Kelly Schulz and Dan Cox are seemingly in a battle not just for the nomination but the soul of the Maryland Republican Party. Del. Cox is a full bore Trumper who supported the January 6 insurrection and sued Hogan over mask mandates. Former Del. Schulz is a Hogan conservative.

Comptroller and Attorney General

Democrats have competitive races for both of these offices, especially for attorney general between Anthony Brown and Katie Curran O’Malley. While Brown has served at Lt. Governor and a Member of Congress, Curran is an experienced prosecutor. The comptroller’s race is a fight between Bowie Mayor Tim Adams and Del. Brooke Lierman.

Congress

There are two interesting primaries this year. In the First District, Heather Mizeur and David Harden are competing for the Democratic nomination. Mizeur is a former delegate and talented pol from Takoma Park who moved to the Eastern Shore after falling short in her gubernatorial bid.

Harden has deep roots in the district. A former career foreign service officer, he was later nominated and confirmed as Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance. Either candidate will face an uphill battle against extremist incumbent Rep. Andy Harris.

Meanwhile, the Republicans have a barn burner over on the other side of the state to take on incumbent Rep. David Trone in the Sixth District. The leading candidates are Matthew Foldi, a 25-year old endorsed by Donald Trump, Jr., Larry Hogan, Kevin McCarthy and Mike Pompeo who refuses to say Biden won the election.

His main opponent is Del. Neil Parrott. He’s best known on this blog as the advocate of the “bathroom bill” but was also endorsed by the Washington Post because he acknowledges Biden is the legitimate president and opposed the violence on January 6th.

State Legislature

I’m staying mainly focused on Montgomery County here where the marquee race for the state senate is between incumbent Jeff Waldstreicher and challenger Max Socol in District 18 for the Democratic nomination.

But I am curious how the fight for the Democratic nomination between former Del. Mary-Dulany James and Del. Mary Ann Lisanti plays out in District 34 in Harford County. James narrowly lost to Republican Bob Casilly by 189 votes in 2018. Former Del. and Assistant Deputy Secretary for Disabilities Christian Miele seems likely to get the Republican nod.

On the Republican side, it will worth watching whether endangered incumbent Sen. Addie Eckardt can fend off a strong challenge from Del. Johnny Mautz over on the Eastern Shore in District 37.

In the delegate races, there are couple that I’m following. Will incumbent Del. Gabe Acevero, cordially disliked by all of the other incumbents who endorsed a challenger, win renomination in District 39? Will appointed incumbent Linda Foley beat well-funded frequent candidate Saqib Ali, who has been in the media lately for abuse allegations?

County Races

Opponents David Blair and Hans Riemer along with outside groups have brought in truly unbelievable sums of cash to defeat incumbent Marc Elrich for the Democratic nomination for county executive. Will they succeed in topping him?

The at-large council race feels like a game of musical chairs. My guess is that Gabe Albornoz, Evan Glass and Will Jawando have the edge for three seats, so who wins the fourth? Incumbent Tom Hucker is trying to jump from district to at-large and represents a very high share of Democratic primary voters. But he faces strong competition from Scott Goldberg and Laurie-Anne Sayles.

In District 4, Friends of White Flint Director Amy Ginsburg has benefited tremendously from large expenditures by the misnamed “Progressives for Progress” developers. But her opponents, Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart and Del. Al Carr, also have strong geographical bases of support for the open seat that spans from White Flint to Takoma Park. There are also strong battles for open council seats in Districts 5, 6 and 7. (I know less about the state of play in those districts, so won’t write more here.)

State’s Attorney John McCarthy faces strong challengers that claim he has not been progressive or innovative enough in approaching police reform. The sitting four circuit court judges also face similar challenges in their effort to retain their seats. (Vote for the incumbents.)

And One Party Race

Last but not least, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee plays a critical role in filling state legislative vacancies. Will Great Abstainer Jennifer Hosey defeat challenger Gloria Aparicio to keep her seat representing District 17? (Vote for Aparicio.)

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2022 Democratic Primary, Marc Elrich

Raskin, Frosh Endorse Elrich

Raskin endorsing Elrich

Earlier today, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8) endorsed Marc Elrich for re-election as county executive. “There are two types of politicians, justice politicians and power politicians. Marc has always been a justice politician.” Raskin also lauded Elrich’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I took a video of the second part of the endorsement:

Video of second part of Raskin’s endorsement

Attorney General Brian Frosh endorsed Elrich on Tuesday:

Marc has led our County through the COVID pandemic with one of the best responses in the nation. That alone would get my vote. But he has done much more:

  • He has created a Climate Action Plan and has started the implementation with new standards for Building Performance. He has increased accountability on polluters.That is why he’s been endorsed by Sunrise Movement Rockville and Food and Water Action.
  • He has funded our K-12 education at higher levels than ever before, while ensuring schools are being built and students are being taught. It’s why he was enthusiastically endorsed by our County teachers.
  • He has been a strong defender of the rights of women to make their own health care decisions, including pushing for a $1 million fund to aid women access abortion resources after the unconscionable Dobbs decision. It’s why he’s been endorsed by Pro-Choice Maryland.
  • He has treated labor as partners instead of as opponents, while still being a great steward of the County’s tax dollars. This year’s budget funded important new programs, all without raising taxes. It’s why he’s been endorsed by the Metro Washington Council of the AFL-CIO and so many of our County’s labor unions.
  • He has made our government and County more equitable by establishing the County’s first Office of Racial Equity & Social Justice. He has made sure that the members of the office are in the room when important decisions are made, and he has made the County a more welcoming place to immigrants. That is one of the many reasons he’s been endorsed by CASA in Action, the Association of Black Democrats, the Latino Democratic Club, the Coalition of Asian Pacific American Democrats of Maryland and more.
  • Marc has made our County safer for so many, while safeguarding the health of our firefighters and public safety officers. It’s why he’s been endorsed by the Montgomery County Career Firefighters and the Montgomery Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association.
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Marc Elrich, planning

All Buzz, No Bite: YIMBY Prank Inadvertently Shows Elrich’s Support for Density and Affordable Housing

Councilmember Andrew Friedson is speaking, County Executive Marc Elrich is three to his right.

Sometimes, it seems like people who dislike County Executive Marc Elrich will criticize him for just about anything. Take the Washington Post. The day before it lambasted Elrich on its editorial page for “lavishing taxpayer dollars on his union allies,” it endorsed a slew of incumbent councilmembers who all voted to fund those contracts.

In a bizarre incident on Thursday, however, YIMBYs stole the prize by being so zealous to attack Elrich that they ended up proving the opposite.

In Bethesda, County Executive Marc Elrich and Councilmember Andrew Friedson—two people who disagree on many issues—came together to announce and to celebrate moving forward with a proposal to redevelop Parking Lots 25 and 44, which are located north of the Bethesda Metro Station on Wisconsin Ave.

The concept plan for the project is that it will result in 301 new housing units, including 224 rental units and 47 condo units. Elrich pressed hard for affordable housing and his efforts bore fruit. Among the proposed rental units on Lot 25, 20%, or 45, will be MPDUs, with 34 priced at 70% and 11 at 50% of area median income. In the seven (15%) MPDU condo units on Lot 44, condo fees will be reduced by 70%.

It will result in green space being added to an existing park and the refurbishing of the green space to the community’s benefit. There will be 3500 square feet of community space and potentially retail space. In short, this is a great example of a win-win. Dense housing will replace surface parking lots and we’ll even get more and better green space in the process.

It should have been a kumbaya moment.

But YIMBYs are so desperate to portray Elrich as opposed to housing density and affordable housing that major Real Estate Broker Liz Brent bizarrely brought the Nimbee to the event to protest Elrich even though this is exactly the sort of projects that YIMBYs claim to favor. The Nimbee sign read “Thanks, Marc for voting against this project!” even though Elrich was there to show his support for it.

Instead of highlighting their point, however, it demonstrated that Elrich favors more density in smart growth locations (i.e. near transit) like this one. Much like Councilmember Will Jawando, Elrich used his political power to press for meaningful inclusion of affordable housing.

As we’ve seen in the kerfuffle over the redevelopment of Chevy Chase Library, some self-proclaimed YIMBYs care much more about promoting development that focuses on expensive condos in the name of affordable housing rather than new affordable housing units.

So I guess Elrich owes Brent and Nimbee a big thanks for showing that the trope that Elrich opposes development and affordable housing isn’t true through their protest of a new development with a strong affordable housing component thanks partly to Elrich.

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District 18, Maryland Senate

Fierce Senate Primary: Waldstreicher v. Socol, Part II

Socol’s central barrier to closing the sale with many voters will be the very left-wing stances that caused him to run. Waldstreicher’s record is broadly progressive, so Socol must thread the needle of making Waldstreicher appear too cautious and too conservative but without coming off as too extreme.

A member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Socol has given voters a strong contrast. For starters, Socol has attacked Waldstreicher for being too cozy with the police union and weakening police reforms during a political moment when it was possible to achieve them. He favors civilian-review boards and supports marijuana decriminalization along with “reparations for those communities most harmed by the war on drugs.”

Socol’s call to “get police out of communities” and shift funding to mental health will appeal to some but concern others who want a visible police presence in a time of rising crime. Socol has also aligned himself with Del. Jhenelle Wilkins in support of rent stabilization and rent control.

Socol is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement that is anathema among many voters, even those critical of Israeli policy. Like Peter Beinart, Socol’s views don’t stem from mindlessly following the progressive crowd but long engagement with Israel. Socol has lived in Israel, and worked for years for Jewish organizations.

Though Beinart and Socol are passionately and proudly Jewish, as is Waldstreicher, voters who associate BDS with vocal antisemites and opposition to the existence of Israel as a Jewish State may not care. Younger Jewish voters tend to be less focused on Israel and more open to BDS, but their elders vote at far higher rates.

Socol supporters argue that foreign policy isn’t relevant in a debate for the state Senate. But it is if voters care about it. The General Assembly has considered legislation requiring the state’s pension funds not to invest in companies that boycott Israel, which Socol would oppose. Waldstreicher calls BDS “antisemitic—full stop”, cosponsored an anti-BDS bill in 2017, and supports Gov. Larry Hogan’s anti-BDS executive order.

In short, voters in District 18 have a real choice.

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Judicial Elections

Important: Remember to Vote for the Sitting Judges

Unlike the federal judiciary, Maryland has a process for selecting judges that greatly depoliticizes the process and ensures that judges are well qualified. Governors must select judges from a short list of applicants vetted and recommended by judicial nominating commissions. This greatly reduces polarization in the judiciary.

Circuit Court judges appear well down on the ballot, and it is easy for this race to get lost among the many officials we elect. But I strongly encourage you to mark your ballot for all four of the sitting judges: Carlos Acosta, Theresa Chernosky, Kathleen Dumais and Rachel McGuckian.

It is especially urgent that you do so because one of the challengers, Marylin Pierre, is a perennial candidate who would be a very poor choice. In 2020, her opponents were granted a temporary restraining order against her and her campaign surrogates.

Earlier that year, Pierre showed a basic misunderstanding of the judicial process when she tweeted “Lock em up’and then the burden of proof is on them to prove that they are not guilty of ‘contributory negligence an involuntary manslaughter “ [sic].

Bizarrely, this self-styled progressive candidate has also donated to Republicans and promised she would be a “’law and order’ judge who would be tough on bail” at the Montgomery County Republican Convention in 2018.

Now, the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland has filed a petition for disciplinary or remedial action against Marylin Pierre in the Court of Appeals. The petition documents how Pierre:

knowingly and intentionally misrepresented her experience, including how often she appear in court, the number and type of cases she handled, the number of cases she tried to verdict or judgement, and the number of jury trials she handled.

The complaint further shows that Pierre failed to disclose information about her 1996 detention by the Sheriff’s office for failure to attend a show cause hearing in a case against her. She was released several hours later after posting $500.00 bond. While she mentioned the incident in her 2012 questionnaire, she omitted it in responding to a direct question that should have elicited the information in seven questionnaires she filed after 2012.

I have posted the full complaint below but you can also find it by clicking here.

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District 18, Maryland Senate

Fierce Senate Primary: Waldstreicher v. Socol, Part I

The race between incumbent Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher and challenger Max Socol is one of the marquee races in Montgomery County this year. Waldstreicher was first elected to the House in 2006 and after three terms moved up to the Senate in 2018. Toppling an incumbent isn’t easy, but Socol sure is making him work for it.

Socol’s central argument is that Waldstreicher is too conservative and not enough of a fighter for progressive causes for District 18. Enough seem to agree to fuel Socol’s challenge, including former Sen. Sharon Grosfeld and former Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez, who served with Jeff in the House for three terms and endorsed Socol.

This race first caught my eye when a crew of local activists whose backing I would have thought Waldstreicher nailed down years ago announced their support for his opponent. Some held fundraisers or meet-and-greets in their homes for him in past elections. So why is Waldstreicher facing this strong challenge?

Essentially, some see Waldstreicher as a cautious politician rather than a progressive champion or formidable tactician in the manner of former Sens. Chris Van Hollen, Sharon Grosfeld or Rich Madaleno. In the House, Waldstreicher developed a reputation as a chameleon and unreliable among his colleagues. Though tough fights are the ones in which you make tight friends and allies, he was reluctant to take positions on divisive issues.

Sources I respect tell me that Waldstreicher has grown in the Senate. He has become a strong ally of Senate President Bill Ferguson, including taking some tough votes, and his colleagues regard him well enough. He is currently the Vice Chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee. When I have seen him on the dais, he has struck me as intelligent and engaged.

Still, some politically active constituents remain frustrated that Waldstreicher won’t engage with people he perceives as critical or insufficiently supportive. He avoids most forums, especially those with his opponent. Make no mistake, Waldstreicher remains an extremely hard-working campaigner who knocks on doors relentlessly. No one should underestimate his focus and determination.

Max Socol has raised a credible amount of money, even if he lags well behind Waldstreicher and also faces opposition from the Senate Democratic Caucus. Highly personable, he comes across as authentic and someone who genuinely cares. Socol now works as a political and community organizer. He’s organized a strong campaign with many volunteers and even managed to pick off some support from interest groups.

Most notably, perhaps, Socol won the support of Pro-Choice Maryland, a real surprise against an incumbent who has strongly emphasized his involvement and solid support for pro-choice causes in this and previous campaigns. He also has the support of CASA in Action—useful in a district with many Latino voters—and Progressive Maryland. Of course, Waldstreicher still has the bulk of endorsements, including the powerful county unions complete with the Apple ballot.

So bottom line, how should you vote? Hold on for Part 2, which highlights issue differences that may help you make that decision.

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Peter Franchot

Major Franchot Supporter’s Racist Post

Holding candidates responsible for every supporter’s actions is generally an unwise notion. But for someone as prominent in Peter Franchot’s political life as Md. Washington Minority Companies Association President Wayne Frazier, Sr. , I’ll make an exception. Frazier put up this offensive post:

Suffice it to say that the people of Baltimore City are not animals.

Frazier commented that the post was “not meant to be funny, but impactful!” and “It is what we become.” SMH.

Wes Moore’s team has pounced, demanding the Franchot denounce this post by Frazier, who is scheduled to host an event for Franchot tomorrow. While Moore got on it first, I’m confident that Tom Perez, Doug Gansler and other candidates aren’t fans either.

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County Government, maps, redistricting

New County Council District Maps

This post is a collection of the new councilmanic district maps from around Maryland. It is an updated version of one of the most popular posts on Seventh State with the 2010s maps. I have done my best to make sure that they are the new rather the old districts. I have been unable to locate the new Baltimore City, Garrett County, and Talbot County Council maps.

If you know where I can find them or if any of the maps here are incorrect, please let me know. It’s often hard to be completely sure which proposed maps have been adopted. Additionally, some of the new maps are exceedingly similar to the old ones. My hope is to put up a complete and corrected post in the future.

The maps here are organized by the type of electoral system used by the county starting with (1) elected at-large with district residency requirements followed by (2) elected entirely from districts, and (3) elected by a mixture of districts and at-large. Counties are listed alphabetically within each category.

Allegany, Caroline, Kent and Washington Counties elect their entire county commissions at large.

ALL ELECTED AT-LARGE WITH A RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

Calvert County: Five commissioners with two with no residency requirement and three from districts.

Charles County: Five commissioners. There is no residency requirement for the commission president with four additional commissioners elected from districts.

Cecil County: Five commissioners with staggered terms.

Any changes from the previous map appear very small.

Garrett: Three commissioners. No map available.

Queen Anne’s: Five commissioners. There is no residency requirement for one commissioner with four additional commissioners elected from districts.

St. Mary’s: Five commissioners. There is no residency requirement for the commission president with four additional commissioners elected from districts.

Talbot: Five councilmembers. No map available.

ALL ELECTED FROM DISTRICTS

Anne Arundel: Seven councilmembers.

Baltimore County: Seven councilmembers.

This map was the subject of voting rights litigation over the county’s failure to create a second majority-black district.

Carroll County: five commissioners.

Dorchester County: five councilmembers.

The changes from the previous map, if any, appear small.

Howard County: five councilmembers.

Prince George’s: nine councilmembers.

Somerset County: five commissioners.

Worcester County: seven commissioners.

Any changes appear very small. Please let me know if this is not the current map for the county.

MIXED

Baltimore City: 15 councilmembers with 14 elected from districts and the council president at-large. No map available.

Frederick County: five councilmembers elected from districts and two elected at-large.

Harford County: six councilmembers elected from districts and the council president elected at-large.

Montgomery County: seven councilmembers elected from districts and four elected at-large.

This map adds two new districts over the previous version, increasing the size of the council from nine to eleven.

Wicomico County: five councilmembers elected from districts and two elected at-large.

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Maryland Politics Watch