State Roundup: Frosh confirms he won’t run for AG office again; Biden in Baltimore

State Roundup: Frosh confirms he won’t run for AG office again; Biden in Baltimore

Gov. Martin O'Malley swears in Brian Frosh for his first term as attorney general in January 2015. Frosh did not seek re-election and is retiring after this term.

FROSH ANNOUNCEMENT LEAVES ONE MORE OPEN SEAT: Attorney General Brian Frosh Thursday announced that he will leave office at the expiration of his current term in Jan. 2023, Bryan Renbaum reports for Maryland Reporter. He’s planning to spend the next 15 months leaning in and “make the most of every single moment.”

  • Frosh told WTOP deciding not to seek reelection was a difficult decision, Jack Moore reports. “I still love the job,” he said. “I still think I’m doing a good job. But I don’t want to stay past my sell-by-date.”
  • Trump spent much of his six years in office successfully suing the Trump administration over various issues, including preserving the Affordable Care Act, challenging President Donald Trump’s travel ban and opposing his rollback of environmental regulations, Ovetta Wiggins reports for the Post.
  • Bryan Sears breaks down what the decision means for the Maryland political landscape. Rarely, if ever, has the state had all three statewide constitutional offices — governor, attorney general and comptroller — open without an incumbent seeking re-election, he writes for The Daily Record.
  • His tenure included the highly visible cases against the Trump administration, but also efforts to reform the state’s bail process, keep people who can’t afford traffic fines driving without a license suspension, and standing up for nursing home residents after a company was accused of “dumping” vulnerable patients, Bruce DePuyt writes for Maryland Matters.

BIDEN VISITS BMORE: President Joe Biden Thursday evening sought to galvanize support for his administration’s ambitious and expansive social spending proposals at a town hall event that was held at the Center Stage theatre in downtown Baltimore, Bryan Renbaum reports for Maryland Reporter. The event comes as the president is being forced to consider reducing the price tag of his signature infrastructure bill from $3.5 trillion to somewhere in the neighborhood of about $1.5 trillion due to opposition from some of the members of his own party.

  • It was Biden’s first visit to Baltimore since taking office, and aimed to boost support for his Build Back Better plan, WBAL NewsRadio reports.
  • Biden’s visit included no talk of gun violence, a major problem in Baltimore, Pamela Wood, Emily Opilo and McKenna Oxenden note in a list of key takeaways from the event.

SPORTS BETTING START SLOW: Sports betting in Maryland is off to a slow start with two casino licenses approved Thursday, David Collins reports for WBAL TV. As many as 60 licenses are available for online and mobile sports betting, but none have been approved yet as the commission overseeing it is still drafting regulations.

BUSINESS LEADER SUPPORTS PAID FAMILY LEAVE LAW: Busboys and Poets restaurant group CEO Andy Shallal tells the Baltimore Business Journal that paid family leave legislation would benefit workers who want to stay healthy and balance their time on the job with their personal lives and family responsibilities.

MARY’S TRANSGENDER STUDENTS SIT IN: A group of transgender students held a sit-in at St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s administration building lobby on Wednesday, Oct. 13, to voice their list of demands which include calling for the firing of three administrators, Caleb Soptelean reports for Southern Maryland News.

WESTERN MD ASKS TO JOIN WVA: Western Maryland lawmakers are ready to find out if West Virginia is almost heaven, Tamela Baker reports for the Hagerstown Herald-Mail. Lawmakers from the three counties of Washington, Allegany and Garrett have written to Western Virginia leaders to find out if they could be added to that state.

  • Western Maryland state lawmakers sent letters to officials in West Virginia, requesting that they be added to the state of West Virginia, Pamela Wood and Bryn Stole report for the Sun. They cited differing political ideology, being part of the Pittsburgh media coverage area, and divergent economic interests from Maryland.

SURVEY SHOWS ATTITUDE ABOUT COVID DIFFERS BY POLITICS: A survey from early October of 489 Anne Arundel County residents found a partisan divide, with 27% of Republicans who said they don’t think the coronavirus is much of a problem anymore, Dana Munro reports for the Capital Gazette. Meanwhile, nearly half of Democrats think it will take another year or two to overcome the pandemic in Maryland.

About The Author

Meg Tully

megctully@gmail.com
http://MarylandReporter.com

Contributing Editor Meg Tully has been covering Maryland politics for more than five years. She has worked for The Frederick News-Post, where she reported during the General Assembly session in Annapolis. She has also worked for The (Hanover) Evening Sun and interned at Baltimore Magazine. Meg has won awards from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association for her state and county writing, and a Keystone Press Award for feature writing from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. She is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If you have additional questions or comments contact Meg at: megctully@gmail.com

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