FRANCHOT LEADS, MOORE, PEREZ MAKE GAINS IN SUN/UB POLL: Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot has established himself as the front-runner of the Democratic field for governor, although former nonprofit organization leader Wes Moore and former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez are gaining ground, according to a new poll for Baltimore Sun Media and the University of Baltimore. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
- Bruised from losing the governor’s mansion in three of the past five elections, the Maryland Democratic Party invited U.S. Sen. Cory Booker to headline their annual gala ahead of a high-stakes primary that has gone largely ignored. The enormous, dynamic field has been battling under the radar of a disengaged electorate for months, raising millions and touting impressive résumés but unable to attract attention. Erin Cox and Ovetta Wiggins/The Washington Post.
- Here’s eight takeaways from the most recent polls, including that 10 weeks ago, Rushern Baker’s campaign was touting an internal poll that showed him in a competitive position. But now he appears to be a second-tier candidate. Bruce DePuyt and Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
LEISURE WORLD DEM FORUM DRAWS SIX GOVERNOR HOPEFULS: Leisure World, the massive senior citizen community in Montgomery County, is a political powerhouse. It takes in three election precincts of its own and voter turnout is always high. So it’s hardly a surprise that Thursday night’s forum for the Democratic candidates for governor sponsored by the Leisure World Democratic Club could prove to be one of the most consequential of the long campaign season. Six candidates took part in the two-hour forum. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
POLITICAL NOTES: PAC PEOPLE: Little is known about the people behind a PAC that is airing a new 30-second ad touting former U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez in the Democratic primary for governor. Both candidates in the Democratic primary for attorney general – Katie O’Malley and Anthony Brown – appear to have taken the campaign to the airwaves — or at least to video, in one case. Both ads call the candidates fighters. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
SUN/UB POLL: LIERMAN UP IN RACE FOR COMPTROLLER: Baltimore state Del. Brooke E. Lierman has an edge over Bowie Mayor Timothy J. Adams in the Democratic primary race to be Maryland’s next comptroller, a new poll of likely voters for Baltimore Sun Media and the University of Baltimore shows. Lierman’s support was 28%, compared with 19% for Adams. Hannah Gaskill/The Baltimore Sun.
COLLEGE ROLLS UP & DOWN IN MARYLAND: Fewer students are signing up for college classes nationwide. But in Maryland, changes in enrollment aren’t as uniform. Enrollment trends vary at individual universities, both public and private, across the state from 2019 to 2021. UMBC and Coppin State University saw declines in enrollment. However Morgan State University defied national patterns and experienced boosts in their student ranks. And at the state’s flagship school, the University of Maryland, College Park, both undergraduate and freshman enrollment continued to increase. Sabrina LeBoeuf/The Baltimore Sun.
MD HOUSE, SENATE DISCONNECTED OVER CANNABIS LEGALIZATION: A House work group on marijuana legalization will hold its first meeting since the legislative session on June 14, Judiciary Chairman Luke Clippinger said Friday at the Maryland State Bar Association’s legal summit. That information came as news to Sen. Brian Feldman, a key champion of cannabis legalization in the Maryland Senate who was serving on the same panel as Clippinger at the MSBA conference. Madeleine O’Neill/The Daily Record.
WITH REDISTRICTING COMES NEW CONSTITUENCY: Owing to redistricting, U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, 76, finds himself for the first time in his two decades representing the 2nd Congressional District seeking votes in much of Carroll County, which is more Republican, more rural and more connected to Western Maryland than any territory he has served before. Ruppersberger is not the only Maryland lawmaker who must reorient himself in advance of the July 19 primary. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
DWINDLING NUMBER OF CITY PROSECUTORS MAY POSE PUBLIC SAFETY THREAT: Interviews in recent weeks with more than two dozen current and former prosecutors with the city State’s Attorney’s Office, the majority of who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution, reveal an office where grueling hours, large caseloads and depleted morale have driven people out. What’s more, some say the lack of staffing could pose a public safety threat as cases mount and prosecutors are unable to prepare for trial. Lee O. Sanderlin and Alex Mann.
WASHINGTON COUNTY JOBLESS RATE FALLS TO 3.2%: Echoing national trends, unemployment rates dove to below 4% in Hagerstown and Washington County in April. Washington County’s jobless rate of 3.2% was its best since May 2019, when the figure also was 3.2%. Mike Lewis/The Hagerstown Herald Mail.
ARUNDEL PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT CHILDREN’S SAFETY: Anne Arundel County parents gathered at Michael E. Busch Library Thursday to share fears about their children’s safety in the wake of a string of mass shootings across the country in recent weeks. Dana Munro/The Capital Gazette.
EMBATTLED PG ED CHAIR HAS NO PLANS TO QUIT: Prince George’s Board of Education Chair Juanita Miller signaled on Friday that she has no plans to resign, despite a direct request a day earlier from the woman who appointed her, County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D). Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
LYNCHING TRUTH PANEL ADDRESSES 1885 MURDER OF BLACK CHILD: Howard Cooper, a 15-year-old Black boy, was dragged from his cell and hung from a sycamore tree outside the Towson jailhouse in Baltimore County by a mob of white men in 1885. His tragic lynching was covered during a public hearing Saturday at the Baltimore County Council Chambers in Towson by the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Ngan Ho/The Baltimore City.
MO CO ROAD DEEMED DANGEROUS FOR BIKE RIDERS: The six-lane Old Georgetown Road in Montgomery County is lined with sidewalks and at one point, a bicyclist was riding north on the same side as the shopping center. There are no bike lanes on this part of the road — and that’s something transportation advocates and elected officials say needs to change in order to avoid another death like that of 18-year-old Enzo Marcel Alvarenga, who was killed Wednesday when his bicycle was struck by a vehicle after leaving the sidewalk. Steve Bohnel/Bethesda Beat.