B’MORE OFFICIALS HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR GOV. MOORE: As Gov. Larry Hogan and Wes Moore prepare to swap places in the governor’s mansion, Baltimore officials and political analysts are gearing up for a leader they think will seek greater partnership with a city left in the lurch the past eight years. “With Wes, we can actually have a true partner,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said, pointing to a slew of Hogan’s decisions he said were harmful to Baltimore. Emily Sullivan/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE’s WIN WAS HISTORIC, BY THE NUMBERS: By the time voting ended in Maryland’s election this month, it had been clear for weeks Democrat Wes Moore would likely come away with a historic victory. The full scope of that win is just now coming into focus. While mail-in and provisional ballots are still being tallied in some counties, Moore is on track to win by a landslide of at least 31 percentage points, the largest margin since Democrat William Donald Schaefer won 82% of the vote in 1986 for the first of his two terms as governor. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
- Precinct-level results are available on an interactive map here. Nick Thieme/The Baltimore Banner.
TRANSITION EFFORTS EXPAND: Lt. Gov.-elect Aruna Miller (D), the head of the transition team for Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D), announced Thursday that the transition effort is expanding. The transition team is adding two new steering committee members and has also identified the people who will lead the Transition Policy Committee. The co-chairs will lead nine policy committees with a total of 208 members. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
- Moore on Friday named three deputy chiefs of staff and an assistant chief of staff. Appointed as deputy chiefs of staff: Jonny Dorsey, Shaina Hernandez and Lucinda Ware. Andy Parker will serve as assistant chief of staff. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
FITZWATER OVERCOMES HOUGH FOR FREDERICK EXEC: Jessica Fitzwater, a Democrat, has been elected Frederick County executive, according to unofficial election results from the Frederick County Board of Elections on Friday. Fitzwater, who has represented the east side of Frederick on the County Council since 2014, defeated Maryland state Sen. Michael Hough, a Republican who has represented Frederick and Carroll counties since 2015. Jack Hogan/The Frederick News Post.
- The good vibrations just kept coming for Maryland Democrats Friday, as final tallies of mail-in ballots showed them winning two hotly-contested state Senate elections and the race for Frederick County executive, among others. The final results also saw a Democratic sweep of all countywide offices in purple Anne Arundel County, along with the end of the 40-year Kittleman dynasty in Howard County. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
EDUCATION BLUEPRINT PRIORITIZES COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: Wolfe Street Academy Principal Mark Gaither runs a community school. It’s at the core of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Act, the multi-billion-dollar public education reform plan, enacted in 2021. The new law prioritizes pockets of poverty, giving schools services they need to thrive. Gaither says academic success depends on considering the whole family and problems like nutrition, health, and unemployment, food and housing insecurity. Rosanne Skirble/Maryland Matters.
HOGAN HIGHWAY PROJECT DELAY COULD IMPERIL IT: A new delay in contracts to widen portions of the Capital Beltway, Interstate 270 and the American Legion Bridge likely spells the end of a signature project as envisioned by Gov. Larry Hogan. The Maryland Department of Transportation announced Thursday the 10-month extension for Accelerate Maryland Partners to prepare a proposal. Bryan Sears/The Daily Record.
OPINION: HOGAN SHOULD RUN FOR REP. HARRIS’s SEAT: If Gov. Larry Hogan genuinely wants to play a role in taking down the far right in the GOP, he would consider challenging Congressman Andy Harris in Maryland’s 1st District. Harris is a key piece in the fringe far-right Freedom Caucus, which has pushed the GOP to the extreme and has fueled the MAGA movement in our state. Johnathan ‘JJ’ Smith/Maryland Matters.
ELECTIONS WORKERS STILL COUNTING THROUGH FRIDAY: Maryland election officials in several large counties blew past Friday’s normal deadline for certifying last week’s election results, digging out from an onslaught of mail-in votes as some races remained undecided 10 days after Election Day. Headed into Thursday morning, more than 115,000 mail-in ballots — roughly 1 in 5 — had not been tallied statewide, according to the most recent data from the Maryland Board of Elections. Erin Cox/The Washington Post.
STADIUM AUTHORITY CONTRIBUTED $300,000 IN TAX DOLLARS TO RAVENS: For special events such as he Navy-Notre Dame game held at Ravens Stadium, the stadium’s owner, the Maryland Stadium Authority, and the Ravens, who operate it, split the profit or loss from the event. The stadium authority also receives amusement tax from ticket sales — with 80% of that (8% of the total ticket cost) going to the stadium authority. The stadium authority contributed $300,000 of those tax dollars to the Ravens, according to figures obtained through a Public Information Act request. Hayes Gardner/The Baltimore Sun.
VICTIMS GROUP APPLAUDS FROSH ON MAKING CHURCH REPORT PUBLIC: A group representing Marylanders sexually abused by priests applauded Attorney General Brian Frosh’s bid to make public a new report that catalogues the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore’s efforts to protect abusers. Bruce DePuyt/Maryland Matters.
- David Lorenz, director of the Maryland Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said, “I am concerned that they (the archdiocese) have kind of inched their way a little toward blocking it. Maybe I’m reading more into it than I should, but I don’t trust these guys.” Tim Prudente and Liz Bowie/The Baltimore Banner.
JHU REVIVES POLICE PLANS DESPITE CRIME DROP: Johns Hopkins University revived plans for a campus police force earlier this year and announced that it still intends to hire 100 officers to patrol its Baltimore properties, even though the surge in campus crime that prompted the original plan has receded. And there’s also little evidence that Hopkins has been swayed by a flood of critical community feedback as it seeks to complete an operating agreement with the city police department, one of the final steps before the school can hire officers of its own, as soon as next year. Jessica Calefati and Nick Thieme/The Baltimore Banner.
OPINION: DELEGATE-ELECT SHARES GRATITUDE AND FORGIVENESS: As I approach the end of my term as Carroll County Commissioner and prepare for a move to the Maryland House of Delegates, it is my desire to share my gratitude to many and offer forgiveness to others. Politics is a messy business and many stay out of the profession for very good reasons. … It has been an absolute honor and learning experience to serve the last four years as county commissioner with my four colleagues and staff, regardless of the contentious debates and political ferment that come with making new policies. Eric Bouchat/The Carroll County Times.
CITY INCLUSIONARY HOUSING ORDINANCES ISN’T WORKING: Seemingly everyone at the Baltimore City Council meeting Thursday night could agree on one thing: the city’s existing inclusionary housing ordinance isn’t working. Passed in 2007, the law requires developers of market-rate housing to set aside affordable units for people with lower incomes, but it has led to the creation of only 37 affordable units. Instead, developers have paid into an offset fund or sought waivers. Emily Opilo/The Baltimore Sun.
MOSBY SEEKS TO MOVE FEDERAL TRIAL: Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby wants her federal trial moved to the Greenbelt Division of the District of Maryland to combat negative pretrial publicity, according to newly unsealed court records. Mosby first asked for a change of venue last month in a sealed filing. Subsequent filings by Mosby’s defense team and the government were unsealed Friday following an order from U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby. Madeleine O’Neill/The Daily Record.
