Vice President Kamala Harris has been endorsed by President Joe Biden. 2019 Photo by Gage Skidmore with Flickr Creative Commons License
MARYLANDERS REACT TO BIDEN LEAVING RACE; MANY LINE UP BEHIND HARRIS: Maryland Democrats on Sunday quickly praised President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race just weeks before the Democratic National Convention and some immediately backed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s new standard-bearer. “Maryland has had a stalwart ally and tireless friend in President Biden,” said Gov. Wes Moore. He cited Biden’s aid after the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Axios reported, citing sources, that Moore will endorse Harris on Monday. U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer called Biden’s move “one of the greatest acts of patriotism in American history.” Caley Fox Shannon of the Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
- Moore referenced Harris in a statement Sunday in which he thanked Biden and said the administration’s accomplishments could not have happened “without his and Vice President Harris’ leadership and support.” He did not immediately endorse Harris, though, as others were quick to do. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
- Like Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Angela Alsobrooks, a close ally and friend of Harris and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, also quickly threw her support behind the vice president. She said in a statement that “it is paramount that Democrats come together quickly and unite behind a qualified leader.” Hannah Gaskill and Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
- Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) called Biden “a friend, and … a passionate public servant throughout his lifetime, putting the needs of this nation first time and again,” before ticking off a list of Biden’s accomplishments in office. “For all this and more, Joe Biden has earned the right to determine his own future and I respect his decision,” Cardin said. “I thank him for his incredible service with all my heart.” Jacob Fischler and Ashley Murray/Maryland Matters.
- Support in the state for Harris has come from, among others, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, Rep. Jamie Raskin and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who is running on the Democratic ticket to replace Sen. Ben Cardin, and Maryland House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones. The support comes as members of the party around the country are falling in line behind the vice president. Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
- U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Takoma Park)–who in early July wrote to President Joe Biden likening him to a tiring star pitcher who should consider taking himself out of the game–expressed confidence late Sunday that national Democrats will “rally around” Vice President Kamala Harris as Biden’s choice to succeed him. Louis Peck/Mo Co 360.
BLACK WOMEN SAY HARRIS IS THE ONE: Karen Miller, the state’s only Black woman political fund-raiser, has watched with disgust as the talks about President Joe Biden’s replacement have focused on possibilities other than Vice President Kamala Harris. With Biden announcing Sunday he’s ending his reelection campaign and endorsing Harris, Miller predicts a political revolt — with Black women withdrawing their support “en masse” — if the rest of the party does not fall in line. John John Williams/The Baltimore Banner.
REPUBLICAN WOMEN SEEK MORE OPPORTUNITIES: Throughout the Republican National Convention – where the top of the ticket is two men – Republicans said they’d like to see more conservative women running for office. That was being repeated in the Maryland delegation, where a woman, Nicole Beus Harris, is chair of the state party. Maryland Republican women are painfully aware of the success of Emerge Maryland, the Democratic recruiting and training organization that has helped send dozens of women to political office, including state Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D), Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater (D) and state Sen. Sarah K. Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel), who is almost certainly headed to Congress in January. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
OP-ED: PROJECT 2025 A LOOMING THREAT TO DEMOCRACY: I am a firm believer in what might be called traditional American values: rule of law, separation of church and state, and respect for civil service professionals. Never before have I seen those core principles more under threat. … One of Project 2025’s primary targets is federal workers, including about 150,000 Marylanders. Larry Hogan/The Washington Post.
THRIVE ACADEMY SHOWS SOME POSITIVE RESULTS AT VIOLENCE PREVENTION: The idea seems simple: Identify young people most at risk of involvement in gun violence. Then, prevent them from becoming shooters or being shot. The Department of Juvenile Services launched Thrive Academy last September to pair life coaches with those young people, in the hopes of steering them toward a brighter future. Early data show some positive, yet imperfect results. Darcy Costello/The Baltimore Sun.
MARYLAND’s CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS FACE DELAYS: A coal-fired power plant near Baltimore will be operating past its planned retirement date next year, pumping out pollution, while the cheaper clean energy projects that could help replace it are stuck in a queue to connect to the region’s electric grid. That’s the type of snarl a recent federal order aims to reduce by requiring regional grid operators to carry out long-term planning that accounts for states’ needs, including their clean energy targets. But elected officials and advocates in Maryland and the wider region fear their grid operator, PJM Interconnection, is in no hurry to comply. Aman Azhar/Inside Climate News.
PLANT TO SERVE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY COMES TO B’MORE: A subsidiary of a Belgian-based company plans to build a cable plant in Baltimore’s Wagner’s Point to serve the offshore wind and power grid industries, creating 120 manufacturing jobs by the end of 2026. Lorraine Mirabella/The Baltimore Sun.
AG BROWN USES NEW CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION IN SUIT AGAINST LANDLORD: The Attorney General’s Office on Friday sued a Wicomico County landlord for sexual discrimination, claiming he coerced women who were tenants and potential renters for sex in exchange for preferential treatment. “In Maryland, that ends today,” Brown said in a statement Friday. “This historic filing puts landlords on notice: You cannot sexually harass your tenants. And if you do, the Office of the Attorney General will take action.” Elijah Pittman/Maryland Matters.
- Eric Sessoms, a landlord who rented units throughout the Eastern Shore is facing a lawsuit for allegedly sexually assaulting tenants. Government lawyers accuse Sessoms of Mount Vernon LLC, of targeting single women with children struggling to make ends meet and on the brink of homelessness. They say he rented units — often in substandard conditions— offering reduced rent in exchange for sex, a pattern constituting gender-based discrimination that violated tenants’ civil rights. Wambui Kamau/WYPR-FM.
- Brown said that upon taking office in 2023, he sought the authority to enforce civil rights laws. Within months, the General Assembly passed legislation granting him the power to pursue such cases and providing funding, beginning with $1 million in fiscal 2024. The civil rights division was launched in January and has begun investigating patterns of violations across the state, said Brown, who called his “justice and equity” agendas a top priority. Steve Thompson/The Washington Post.
A FRIENDSHIP: SEN. McKAY & ARTHUR BREMER: Whispers about Arthur Bremer’s past rippled through the small Western Maryland town soon after he arrived. He was the man who attempted to assassinate presidential candidate George Wallace in Laurel who was served 35 years in prison. But Sen. Mike McKay needed good workers for his local dry cleaning business and Bremer needed a job. It was as simple as that — and few things in Bremer’s life had been simple. Brenna Smith/The Baltimore Banner.
MO CO POLICE USING DRONES AS FIRST RESPONDERS: On a typical night just north of Washington, a dozen drone flights quietly take off as part of a major police trend spreading across the country. And the agency behind them — the Montgomery County Police Department — plans to double its program over the next few months. Dan Morse/The Washington Post.
B’MORE POLICE BOARD CALL FOR OFFICERF’s SUSPENSION: Leaders of Baltimore’s Police Accountability Board called Friday for the suspension of a Baltimore Police detective who pressed his firearm to a restrained man’s temple during an arrest in May, as others weighed in with their own interpretations. The chair of the board, Joshua Harris, said in a statement that it’s unfortunate in a city under a consent decree with the federal government to address unconstitutional policing practices that “we have officers that would act so recklessly.” Darcy Costello/The Baltimore Sun.
EX-ARUNDEL REGISTER OF WILLS GETS SUSPENDED SENTENCE: Former Anne Arundel County Register of Wills Erica Griswold was sentenced Wednesday to two years of supervised probation for keeping and cashing a $6,645 check that had been sent to her office to pay estate taxes. Anne Arundel Circuit Court Judge Stacy McCormack also imposed a term of 18 months in prison, but suspended the sentence, according to a statement from the Office of State Prosecutor. Staff/Maryland Matters.
B’MORE DPW DEFENDS WORKING CONDITIONS AFTER IG’s REPORT: Defending its agency after Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Cumming found no working AC or cold water at a sanitation workers’ job site during last week’s record-setting heat wave, the Department of Public Works has fired back, disputing one of her findings and arguing others lacked context. Fern Shen/Baltimore Brew.
CITY COUNCILMAN WHO SURVIVED 1976 SHOOTING DIES AT 89: Carroll J. “Fitz” Fitzgerald, a former Baltimore City councilman who survived a 1976 shooting rampage at a temporary City Hall office, died July 8 of a pulmonary embolism at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. The Mays Chapel resident was 89. Frederick Rasmussen/The Baltimore Sun.
