In the 2024 General Assembly session, discussion is again underway on changing the roles and responsibilities of local Republican central committees and local Democratic central committees.

The primary focus of these committees has historically been on recruiting and supporting political candidates.

Under current law, local central committees also have a key role to play whenever a vacancy occurs in the General Assembly resulting from “death, disqualification, resignation, refusal to act, or expulsion of a state senator or delegate, or in the case of a senator’s or delegate’s removal from the city or county from which he or she was elected.”

When that occurs, the local central committee or central committees in the legislative district with the same party affiliation as the departed member are charged with making a recommendation to the governor on a replacement. The recommended individual must have the same party affiliation as the departed member. The governor, in turn, “must, in accordance with specified procedures, appoint a person affiliated with the same political party to serve the remainder of the vacating senator’s or delegate’s unexpired term.”

Such appointments are far more common than one might think.

Of the 188 members currently serving in the General Assembly, almost one fourth were not elected by the voters, but were appointed to fill a vacancy and complete an unexpired term.

Even more vacancy appointments may occur in 2024 if incumbent General Assembly members win bids for other offices and resign from their present office.

Reaching consensus in changes to the current vacancy process has been and is elusive. Presently, there are three proposals under active consideration, each with supporters and opponents.

One proposal would allow central committees to fill vacancies but would require public notice of vacancies and information on a central committee’s application and interview process. It would also require central committee interviews and votes to be open to the public and central committee members who apply to fill a vacancy to recuse themselves from the recommendation vote.

Another proposal would also allow central committees to continue to fill vacancies but subject their recommendations to voter ratification under certain circumstances. Recommendations made in the first two years of an unexpired term would be subject to voter approval in the next presidential election. In the second two years of the unexpired term, the appointed individual would have the option of running in the next state election.

A third proposal would replace the current appointment process with special elections. If the vacancy occurs within the first three years of a term, voters in the district would fill that vacancy through special primary and general elections. If the vacancy occurs within the fourth year, central committees would name an initial replacement who would have to run for election in the next primary election. This proposal requires an amendment to the state constitution which needs a three-fifths vote of approval in the House and the Senate then voter approval in a statewide referendum.

Concerns have been raised about this third proposal based on estimated costs incurred by local and state boards of elections to administer multiple special elections.

The General Assembly is currently discussing a proposed 63.1 billion dollar annual state budget. They are also discussing moving forward on an additional 3.8 billion dollars in new state and local funding for public education over the next ten years as mandated by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (the Kirwan Report).

Emily Scarr at the Maryland Public Interest Research Group recently opined that special elections are “the cost of having a democracy. People have [a right] to vote for who represents them. It’s a fundamental thing and if we’re not spending money to ensure that right, what are we doing?”

I agree.

Now is the time to address the outsized role of political central committees and the governor in the process to fill vacancies in the General Assembly.

The way to do that is a new process that maximizes opportunities to let the voters decide.

David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant. He lives in Easton.

Representatives from the Maryland State Department of Education, Maryland Association of Boards of Education and Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland met recently with members of the Ways and Means Committee in the Maryland House of Delegates.

At that meeting, all three advocacy groups expressed their support for fully funding the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, also known as the Kirwan Report.

Along with the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future there is another issue that has had and will have a significant impact on public education in Maryland.

That issue is chronic absenteeism.

The Maryland Department of Education defines chronic absenteeism as missing more than 20 days in a school year, no matter the reason.

WYPR, the public broadcasting corporation’s flagship radio station in Baltimore recently introduced a news report on this issue with the following lead in:

“Chronic absenteeism ‘real concern’ Maryland lawmakers & educators aim to address.”

WYPR cited Maryland Board of Education data indicating that over one-third of Maryland K-12 students missed 10% or more school days last year, with 54.1% of Baltimore City students and 34.7% of Baltimore County students hitting that mark.

The consequences of chronic absenteeism are serious and long lasting.

Maryland Board of Education President Clarence Crawford has observed that ‘chronic absenteeism can adversely impact a child for a lifetime.” He noted research has shown that “chronic absenteeism impacts test scores, grades, and children’s ability to be able to graduate.” He also noted “chronic absenteeism increases the likelihood of engagement with the criminal justice system.”

Especially disheartening in the Maryland Board of Education data that nearly 35% of children in kindergarten statewide are chronically absent.

Sue Fothergill, a senior fellow at Attendance Works (a national nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about the negative impacts of absenteeism), says “In early grades, some of our families think, ‘Well, it’s just kindergarten, or it’s just first grade, children can miss a few days here and there, it’s not that big of a deal.’ The reality though, is that those are the most important formative years, not just for learning to read, but learning social emotional skills, and establishing habits that help those young people throughout their careers. When a child is chronically absent in kindergarten, they are less likely to be proficient in reading by third grade as at that point, teachers often switch to content-focused learning. It becomes much harder to catch a child up and be able to learn how to read as they matriculate through their years, because they’ve missed those formative years.”

Governor Moore and state lawmakers are aware of and have already demonstrated a level of concern and action on this problem.

At a recent “Improving Student Achievement” event in Washington D.C Governor Moore said, “We know that there are real obstacles we still have to address.”

In the State House and the State Senate, legislation has been introduced to establish a task force to study chronic absenteeism in Maryland’s public schools.
The legislation as introduced, requires the task force to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1, 2024.

Going forward, local and state funding levels for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future will continue to generate enormous amounts of dialogue and deliberation at local governments throughout Maryland and in the General Assembly. That is to be expected as the Blueprint is a multi-year initiative that mandates a projected $3.8 billion increase above current levels of local and state funding for public education in Maryland.

A critical element of success in public education requires more than mandated increases of local and state funding.

It requires more than awareness of, concern about, and discussions on the issue of chronic absenteeism.

What is needed is a sense of urgency on action to address chronic absenteeism in every public school in Maryland.

David Reel is a consultant who provides counsel and services on strategy, advocacy, and media on public affairs issues. He lives in Easton.

When the opening day of the 2024 Maryland General Assembly Session was called to order, Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes was the Speaker pro tempore in the House of Delegates, the second highest position for a member of the House Democratic Caucus.

By the time the session adjourned, Delegate Sample Hughes had been replaced from that position.

Leadership changes in the Maryland General Assembly are not unusual.

What makes this disheartening is that Delegate Sample-Hughes, who represents parts of Dorchester County and parts of Wicomico County was the only Eastern Shore legislator with a high leadership position in the House Democratic caucus.

Her replacement as Speaker pro tempore is a Delegate from Baltimore.

Delegate Sample-Hughes earned and deserved much more respect and much better outcomes on this matter. To date she has had a long and distinguished career in public service.

After serving two terms as a member of the Wicomico County Council, she was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.

In the House, she is serving or has served as a member of the Economic Matters Committee, Judiciary Committee, Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, Health and Government Operations Committee, Spending Affordability Committee, Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, and the Rural Health Care Delivery Work Group.

She is also the House of a Delegates representative to the Rural Maryland Council whose mission is to bring together citizens, community-based organizations, federal, state, county, and municipal government officials, as well as representatives of the for-profit and nonprofit sectors to collectively address the needs of rural Maryland communities. The Council provides a venue for members of agriculture and natural resource-based industries, health care facilities, educational institutions, economic and community development organizations, for-profit and nonprofit corporations, and government agencies to cross traditional boundaries, share information, and address in a more holistic way, the special needs and opportunities in rural Maryland.

Responding to this recent turn of events, Delegate Sample – Hughes said her removal was based on her not supporting legislation that was favored by the Democratic leadership in the House of Delegates. She noted her lack of support for that legislation was based on her being respectful of and responsive to the views of her constituents on that legislation. In that regard, she said, “Where we are today, is that I stood by my convictions and stood up for my constituents. The phone calls and the emails that I received last session on three bills that were, you know, top bills in the state, but I still had to vote my district.”

With a super majority, the Democratic caucus has complete control of the House and has votes to spare on every action during the session including approval of or rejection of legislation. The bottom line is Delegate Sample – Hughes was not needed by the Democratic Caucus to ensure passage of “top bills in the state.”

Following her removal as Speaker pro tempore, Delegate Sample – Hughes observed that the position of Speaker pro tempore has never defined her, and she will continue to do the work that the people of District 37A sent her to Annapolis to do.

All things considered, opening day 2024 in the State House was truly a sad day.

What happened to Delegate Sample – Hughes was far more than her being replaced in a high-level leadership position.

Everyone on the Eastern Shore loses when any member of the Maryland House of Delegates who strives to fulfill their moral obligation to faithfully represent those whom they serve may trigger consequences.

David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant who serves as a trusted advisor on strategy, advocacy, and media matters. He lives in Easton.

A reader who responded to my most recent previous commentary — “Voters Deserve Better from Presidential Candidates Going Forward “, suggested because I serve at a consulting firm that provides counsel and services to Republican candidates, it “seems that my mission is to create false equivalency between the two presidential candidates and obscure the facts.”

What it seems to be to that reader is not what it is.

That reader is using argumentum ad hominem, a rhetorical strategy where one attacks the character, motive, or some other attribute of the person offering an opinion, rather than attacking the substance of the opinion itself.  

In my commentary, I wrote about a previous divisive gubernatorial election in Pennsylvania. I suggested it provides good advice for whomever the candidates will be for president in 2024.

I did not mention the names of any current or future 2024 presidential candidates.

At this point in the 2024 election cycle, I do not know who candidates will be.

I do know this.

I am not an apologist for or zealous supporter of former President Donald Trump or any other Republican candidate.

I am not an apologist for or zealous supporter of President Joe Biden or any other Democratic candidate.

I am not an apologist for or zealous supporter of any third party or independent candidate.

My guiding principle in the political arena has always been never to support or vote for a candidate based solely on party affiliation. My support and votes are based solely on how closely a candidate’s views on public policy issues align with my views on those issues.

My guiding principle when writing guest commentaries is acceptance of the thinking of Frank Luntz who said this about messages — “It’s not what you say or write. You can have the best message in the world, it’s what people hear or read. The person on the receiving end will always understand it through the prism of their own emotions, preconceptions, prejudices, and preexisting beliefs.”

Presently my views on the two most likely major party candidates for President in 2024 are perfectly captured in a recent commentary by syndicated columnist Cal Thomas titled The Evil of Two Lessers.

In it, Thomas includes the following thoughts:

“Some voters in recent elections have complained about being forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. In the 2024 election, it appears we are heading for a worse choice – the evil of two lessers.”

Thomas writes, “Donald Trump continues demeaning and defaming anyone who disagrees with him. He repeats unproven claims that the 2020 election was ‘stolen.’

“A myriad of other inaccurate statements has apparently had a negative influence on President Biden who has joined him in the mud pit. In his recent speech near Valley Forge, America will become like Germany in the ’30s. The very future of democracy is at stake, he [Biden] claimed.”

Thomas goes on to write, “This isn’t Biden’s first trip into the mud. During the 2012 presidential campaign Vice President Biden told a Black audience that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney “would put you all back in chains.”

Thomas ends his commentary about 2024 by asking the question “Where is this corrosive language getting us? Why can’t we have a true debate over the best ways to fix our problems? Claiming your opponent would rule like a Nazi, or that the other is a crook, solves nothing.”

I agree.

David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant who serves as a trusted advisor on strategy, advocacy, and media matters who lives in Easton.

As we proceed full speed into the 2024 presidential election, the levels of bitter, vitriolic, divisive, often misleading, bombastic, and demeaning rhetoric from candidates of both parties continues to escalate.

This election cycle reminds me of a very bitter and contentious general election for governor in Pennsylvania.

In that election, the Republican candidate was William Scranton, a former one term Republican member of Congress. The Democratic candidate was Richardson Dilworth, the incumbent mayor of Philadelphia.

Scranton’s political resume was thin. His only experience as a candidate was his successful run for Congress. Despite that, the state GOP was bullish on him after losing to Democratic candidates in two previous gubernatorial elections. They believed Scranton’s success as a volunteer civic leader on economic development issues in a depressed region of a rust belt state would resonate well with voters.

Dilworth on the other hand, had a long history of political success in Philadelphia. He was elected city treasurer, district attorney, and twice as mayor. His success was due in part to Philadelphia being a deep blue city with huge numbers of Democratic votes cast in local and statewide elections.

Dilworth’s electoral success in Philadelphia was also based in part on a simple, but effective campaign strategy. His campaign would purchase time on a local TV station to which he would invite his opponents to a debate. He did so fully expecting his opponents would not participate. They always obliged him. As a result, he had a full hour of viewers to himself, where he reminded them not only of his accomplishments, but also repeatedly mentioned that his opponent chose not to participate in the debate.

As the November gubernatorial election heated up, Dilworth again rented TV time and invited Scranton to join him for a debate. He smugly assumed that Scranton, like all his previous opponents, would be a no show.

Dilworth assumed wrong.

Minutes before airtime Scranton unexpectedly strolled into the TV studio. A surprised and angry Dilworth had a meltdown. It started when Dilworth shouted at Scranton, “What are you doing here?” During the debate, Dilworth peppered Scranton with insults. With thinly disguised contempt he called Scranton a phony, a coward, a Little Lord Fauntleroy, and an Ivy League Dick Nixon. Unruffled, Scranton calmly but forcefully responded with “You sir, are a desperate man.”

All of this was captured on film and was also widely reported by the print media who were there for the debate. Even those who did not see the actual television debate read all about Dilworth’s meltdown.

The debate was an unexpected and game changing negative branding movement for Dilworth’s grace under pressure, civility, and steady leadership credentials.

By contrast, the debate was an unexpected and game changing positive branding moment for Scranton’s grace under pressure, civility, and leadership credentials.

In November, Scranton beat Dilworth with 55% of the total statewide votes. This occurred despite strong support for Dilworth from President Kennedy who had carried Pennsylvania in the preceding statewide presidential election.

This is a lesson for the candidates the Republican Party and the Democratic Party eventually nominate for president in 2024.

American voters have long deserved and rarely seen a presidential election where candidates are not demonizing those who disagree with them and their supporters, by questioning their motives and their intellectual capability to make informed decisions.

Regularly showing grace under pressure, civility, steady leadership, and respect for all views during a long and often grueling campaign is the best way for candidates to earn voter’s support and gain their trust to govern fairly and inclusively if elected.

Now is the time for presidential candidates from both parties to commit to disagree on issues without being extremely disagreeable. Voters deserve nothing less.

David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant who serves as a trusted advisor on strategy, advocacy, and media matters who lives in Easton.

 

An enduring annual tradition for me (and I assume for many others) at the start of a new calendar year is making new year’s resolutions.

Another annual enduring tradition for me (and I assume for many others) is that sometime during the new year, often sooner rather than later, any hopes of accomplishing new year’s resolutions are abandoned. 

When that that happens to me, I tell myself, “Well… maybe next year”. I do that without acknowledging the same outcome will certainly reoccur without doing something new and different.

This year, my top new year’s resolution is to use new and different approaches to convert more new year’s resolutions into accomplishments. 

The approaches in order of importance and execution are:  

Embrace a sense of urgency. 

Develop SMART goals.

Develop and execute tactics to achieve SMART goals.

Document all SMART goals, and tactics in writing. 

Review goal progress regularly.

Regarding embracing a sense of urgency, Professor John Kotter has written, “The single most crucial factor in achieving permanent and meaningful change is a continuous sense of urgency. A true sense of urgency occurs when people acknowledge action on critical issues is needed now, not eventually, not when it fits easily into a schedule. Now means making real progress every single day. Urgent behavior is not driven by a belief that all is well or that everything is a mess but, instead, that the world contains great opportunities and great hazards.” 

Regarding SMART goals, they are to be specific, measurable, audacious, realistic, and time sensitive. On the matter of audacious goals, Peter F. Drucker has written “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” In other words, go big on your goals or go home.

Regarding developing and executing tactics to achieve SMART goals, tactics are the necessary next steps in priority order to achieve each SMART GOAL. Professor Gail Matthews has written that the following questions need to be considered: 

What exact actions do I need to do to achieve my goals and in what order?

What resources do I need?

Who can help me achieve my goals?

What at potential problems should I anticipate?

How can I address them?

Regarding goal progress tracking, Professor Matthews has also written that “seventy six percent of those who wrote down their goals, took actions on them and reviewed weekly progress reports achieved their goals. This result is thirty three percent higher than those participants with unwritten goals.”

Regarding written records components, the following components are essential: 

goal categories, e.g., health, family, personal growth, professional growth, and career. Other essential critical written components in addition to a list of SMART goals are tactics, due dates, current status reports, and notes. 

For best results, custom design your new year’s resolution game plan. The exact number of goal categories, SMART goals, tactics, and projected due dates are for you to decide based on where you are and where you want to be on your life journey. All can be kept privately or be shared confidentially with a trusted and supportive coach. 

Some concluding thoughts on success with new year’s resolutions:

We live in a VUCA world, a world characterized by high levels of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Despite planning, commitment and hard work, some new year’s resolutions may still not be achieved in one year. That is not a reason to abandon them. SMART goals can and always be rolled forward into a following year. 

Happy New Year and all the best on success with your new year’s resolutions for 2024 and in the years ahead. 

David Reel is a consultant who provides counsel and services on strategy, advocacy, and media on public affairs issues. He also provides counsel and services on governance, leadership, and management issues exclusively to not for profit membership organizations. He lives in Easton. 

In her book Stories That Stick, Kindra Hall writes that storytelling is a way for people to differentiate themselves, captivate others, and elevate causes.

Commenting on Stories That Stick, author Mel Allen says “Storytelling is an artform often lost today among snippets, sound bites, and buzzword copy. Which is unfortunate because story is how we are connected with each other since language began.”

Reading Hall’s book and thinking about Robbin’s observations brought back bittersweet memories about one of the best storytellers I have ever known. His name is Tom Gibb, also known as Gibber.

Gibber was an award-winning reporter for The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, a large daily regional newspaper in western Pennsylvania. In a 10-year period, he wrote more than eighteen hundred stories for them, with more than two hundred of them appearing on their front page.

To say his stories ran the range from national events to more routine happenings in everyday life would be a huge understatement.

On Sept. 11, 2001, he wrote stories from rural Pennsylvania on the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, a doomed flight where several heroic passengers thwarted terrorist hijackers who were less than minutes away from crashing the plane into the US Capitol in Washington DC.

He also wrote stories from rural Pennsylvania on the rescue of nine coal miners who were trapped underground in a flooded mine for more 72 hours.

When not telling stories worthy of national attention, Gibber told humorous stories on life in the small towns in Western Pennsylvania. He once told the story of a bulldozer that was stolen and then “chased” by the police. He opened one story with “Should the question arise, the answer is yes, indeed, you can get your arm hopelessly stuck in a prison toilet.”

Ironically, Gobber took up reporting as an afterthought after serving as a political cartoonist for a college newspaper. Following graduation, his political cartoons were syndicated nationally.

Despite award winning success as a political cartoonist, Gibber became a reporter because in his view, “cartooning was not really work.”

Sadly, in the prime of his career at age 49 he had a massive heart attack and died.

Following his reporting on the coal mine rescue, Gibber was set to accept his third Sigma Delta Chi Award from The Society of Professional Journalists. This award recognizes excellence in journalism. His untimely death occurred shortly before an event where he was to receive it. It was the last formal recognition he received as a storyteller.

I sometimes wonder how he would have reacted to the Post Gazette’s reporting his death to their readers. They wrote, “We’ve lost a person of depth and a journalist of range. We and his family are the poorer, but so, too, is everybody who reads the Post-Gazette day by day. They also wrote “People in the newsroom wondered where he found all those stories, where he found time to write them and how he wrote them so well.”

My thought is he would have been flattered, but not overly impressed.
Gibber was never interested in fame, fortune, awards, or recognition.

About his storytelling, Gibber once said, “In the end the biggest honor is, if a bit of a story is quoted over a breakfast table, becomes fodder at a lunch counter, or stays with a reader – maybe emotionally, maybe as news they need – after the papers been tucked into the recycling bin.”

RIP my friend. You will always be remembered by those who knew you and those who read your stories as an extremely gifted storyteller who produced stories that stick.

David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant who serves as a trust advisor on strategy, advocacy, and media matters who lives in Easton.

 

 

 

 

In my most recent commentary, I suggested two issues were almost certain to be the focus of great attention in the 2024 Maryland General Assembly session: funding for transportation and funding for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future also known as the Blueprint Law or the Kirwan Plan.

Based on the latest news reports, I have scaled back my previous suggestion.

On the issue of Kirwan, the executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) has stated MACo’s position as, “The goal is not to go back and legislate the Blueprint law, but to inform lawmakers and the public of the continuing challenges to funding the Blueprint on a local level.”

 On the issue of transportation funding, recommendations in Maryland’s Commission on Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs (TRAIN) interim report include registration fees for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, higher registration fees on all vehicles and higher toll rates for out of state EZ Pass holders.

State Senator Guy Guzzone, the Chair of the Senate Budget and Finance Committee responded by saying “It is unrealistic for the legislature to return in January to bridge the chasm in the transportation budget. There are some significant hurdles. Lawmakers will discuss all options in the coming session before ruling anything out.” 

State Senator Steve Hershey, Senate Republican Floor Leader, responded with expressing concerns about charging higher tolls for out-of-state EZ Pass holders drivers. He said: “We have seen other states not be able to do the same thing, to put forth a recommendation that will probably be challenged in court as a means of trying to solve this problem, I don’t think that was appropriate.”

Any sense of urgency on decisions on transportation funding options is lessened by the fact that the final TRAIN Commission report is not due until January 2025.

There is one other high-profile issue that may be the focus of attention next year: revisions to the Juvenile Justice Reform and Child Interrogation Protection Act. 

Changes to this law are a deep interest to a wide range of elected and appointed county officials in Maryland. So much so, changes were the topic at two sessions at the recent Maryland Association of Counties winter meeting. 

Changes to this law are also a deep interest of The Maryland Fraternal Order of Police, The Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, and The Maryland Sheriff’s Association. 

Last, but not least, the Republican caucus in Maryland’s House of Delegates and a Democratic State Senator is working with two Republican State Senators in proposing legislation on this issue. 

Despite that level of deep interest, key State Senators are saying … not so fast.

State Senator Jill Carter has said, “Before we look at any potential revisions, or before we look at any tweaks, we need to ensure that everybody understands the law and is interpreting it accurately. I think that if there was one flaw, it was the lack of education to all of the agencies throughout the state as to how they would perform under the law, and that has bred confusion.” 

State Senator Will Smith, Chair of the Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee, said recently, he does not believe lawmakers will repeal the act. He does believe lawmakers will make some “tweaks”. He did not say when. 

State Senate President Bill Ferguson has also said “The legislature may make some tweaks.” But in terms of timing, he says “We have to find a way to fix the system [the juvenile justice system]. Changing the law is a piece of that equation, but if we don’t have executive coordination that’s going to help fix the problem, it doesn’t matter what laws are on the books right now.” In what could be read as a shot across the bow to the Moore administration, President Ferguson said, “There should be a greater sense of urgency from the executive branch to intervene to ensure kids move through the juvenile justice system.”

While anything can happen on any issue at any time until midnight on the last day of any General Assembly Session, I now suggest that when all is said and done in the 2024 session on the issues of juvenile justice, transportation funding and Kirwan funding, much may be said, but very little, if anything, will be done.  

David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant who serves as a trusted advisor on strategy, advocacy, and media matters.

On January 10, 2024, the Maryland General Assembly will convene for a 90-day session. As always, there will be a lot of issues before them, but two are almost certain to be the focus of intense attention. Those Issues are transportation funding and education funding.

Regarding transportation funding, the Moore administration recently announced plans to cut $3.3 billion in state funding for transportation. The current plan cuts approximately $1 billion from MDOT’s operating budget and approximately $2 billion from MDOT’s capital budget. Under the current plan state monies to counties for local road repair funding will be cut by $400 million. At a Maryland Association of Counties conference last week, Governor Moore said the state is now “forced to reckon with structural [budget] challenges that have plagued our state for years.” Moore also said, “I don’t have all the answers right now.”

Answers are in the works. Maryland’s Transportation Revenue and Infrastructure Needs Commission (TRAIN Commission) is reviewing, evaluating and preparing recommendations on the following: current funding sources and the structure of the Maryland Transportation Trust Fund, transportation funding in other states, short- and long-term transportation funding needs, options for public-private partnerships, changes in transportation technology and trends, practices for prioritizing transportation project funding, options for regional transportation authorities, options for sustainable long term transportation funding, and practices to improve project delivery. The TRAIN Commission is required to submit an interim report to the Governor and Maryland General Assembly by January 1, 2024, and a final report by January 1, 2025.

Regarding education funding, the focus will be on next steps on Maryland’s multiyear Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, also known as Kirwan.

The General Assembly approved Kirwan three years ago. It mandates $30 billion additional tax dollars into public education statewide over the first 10 years. $4 billion additional dollars every year, after that. The additional dollars are to be used in part to increase teacher salaries, expand pre-kindergarten, and bolster career and technology training. Since passage no long-term full funding sources have been agreed upon. As a result, Kirwan mandates have been and continue to be a hot issue across the state. In rural Carroll County, the president of the Board of Education has said her school district is still struggling to deal with Kirwan’s costs. After learning Baltimore City will need $79 million more than anticipated to fund Kirwan mandates, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Kirwan was “a gut punch”.

Such comments have not gone unnoticed by legislative leaders in Annapolis.

Before the 2023 legislative session ended, Senate President Bill Ferguson was asked in a media interview if lawmakers are open to changing the Kirwan Plan’s funding formula. Ferguson said, “We’re always back every year. I think we’re always open to making sure if the facts and data are there, we will address it,”

It will be most interesting to see if and how changes in transportation funding and education funding will become a reality in the 2024 General Assembly with a Democratic Governor and Democratic super majorities in the General Assembly.

No doubt the governor and legislative leaders are well aware of a recent report to the General Assembly’s joint Spending Affordability Committee. That report was done and presented by budget analysts from the nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services. Those analysts said the fiscal 2025 budget will start with a $418 million deficit. They also said the state’s five -year budget forecast includes hundreds of millions in structural deficits that balloon to $2 billion by fiscal 2029. These are budget deficit levels not seen since the great recession.

Dr. Daraius Irani, chief economist for the Regional Economic Studies Institute at Towson University said recently “I would argue that one thing we really have to think about: Do we cut [spending], do we raise taxes, or do we grow the population? I’d like to grow the population.”

I join with Dr. Irani on liking the “grow the population” option. I do so only if growing the population includes sustained efforts by government decision- makers at all levels to enact legislation and regulations that help grow the population of employers, employees, and retirees to move to or stay in Maryland. Otherwise, Maryland will follow the path of California and New York, two formerly vibrant states who are in a downward spiral based on huge budget deficits and residents leaving in record numbers.

David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant who serves as a trusted advisor on strategy, advocacy, and media matters who lives in Easton.

Success in the political world can and often does start with candidates using winning local elections as a launchpad for future elections to a higher office. 

Sometimes the future election is for a much higher office.

A case in point is Angela Alsobrooks who is running in the 2024 Democratic primary to succeed Ben Cardin in the U.S Senate. Alsobrooks is currently serving her second term as the Prince George’s County Executive. Prior to that, Alsobrooks was elected twice to serve as Prince George’s County States Attorney. 

Maryland Governors who started at the local level include Martin O’Malley (Baltimore City Council and Mayor), William Donald Schaefer (Baltimore City Council and Mayor), Parris Glendening (Prince George’s County Council and County Executive), and Spiro Agnew (Baltimore County Executive). Prior to his spectacular fall from power, Agnew was also elected twice as Vice President

Just as winning local elections can serve as a launching pad for runs for higher office, losing local elections can derail once promising political careers.

This has especially been the case for three Republican candidates in relatively recent high profile local elections in Maryland. All three were once widely viewed as political “rising stars.”

A former Republican Anne Arundel County Executive, former Republican Howard County Executive, and a former Republican City of Annapolis Mayor lost their reelection races to Democratic challengers. Those challengers not only defeated the Republican incumbents, but each also went on to easy wins in their own bids for a second term. Following his loss in the Annapolis mayoral race, the Republican lost again in a race for a seat on the Anne Arundel County Council. 

All these former “rising stars” are not likely viable candidates for any elective office in Maryland going forward.

Closer to home In Talbot County, the number of Republican candidates elected to the five-member County Council has dropped from five in 2014 to three in 2022.

Last month, Republicans did get some encouraging news from local election results in Wicomico County, Prince George’s County, and Harford County. 

In Salisbury, (the largest city on the Eastern Shore and Wicomico County Seat), Republican Randy Taylor was elected mayor. Post-election, one media outlet noted Taylor is the first Republican ever to be elected as Mayor of Salisbury. Taylor’s winning campaign messages included a focus on transparency, fiscal responsibility, and public safety. 

In Bowie, (the largest municipality in deep blue Prince George’s County and the fifth most populous municipality in the state), Councilwoman Roxy Ndebumadu was re-elected. Four years ago, Ndebumadu was the youngest woman ever elected to the Bowie City Council and has served as the only Republican official in Bowie. This year, Ndebumadu’s winning re-election messages included a focus on transparency, fiscal responsibility, public safety, restructuring city operations to create greater efficiencies, and engaging in strategic partnerships, rather than raising taxes to address police recruitment challenges.

In Bel Air, (the Harford County Seat), Republican candidates won all three town council seats. The Republican’s campaign messages focused on more government accountability, more attention to public input on issues, and more transparency. 

All these recent Republican wins are relatively modest, but important going forward. They could help Maryland Republicans in rebuilding a severely depleted “bench” of potential candidates for future elections for higher offices in Maryland. That said, a GOP rebuilding effort still faces an uphill battle in a deep blue state. 

Ken Ulman, a former Howard County Council member and County Executive and new Maryland Democratic Party Chair recently announced his goals. “Democrats need to have strategies for outreach and success in all 24 jurisdictions [in Maryland], even rural counties that Democrats may have written off in the past.”  

A slightly modified call to action message is a good one for Republicans as well. Republicans need to have strategies for outreach and success in all 24 jurisdictions [in Maryland] even urban and suburban counties that Republicans may have written off in the past. 

Who will do that best and who succeeds to what extent remains to be seen.

David Reel is a public affairs/public relations consultant who serves as a trusted advisor on strategy, advocacy, and media matters who lives in Easton.