PRIMARY VOTERS GUIDE: The Local News Network at the University of Maryland sent a questionnaire to all 235 General Assembly candidates running in this year’s primaries to get their views. The results are compiled below. Candidates who do not face a competitive primary were not sent the questionnaire. Maryland’s primary will be held on June 23, and early voting begins June 11. Read the Local News Network’s stories about the issues in Maryland’s General Assembly primaries.
THREE DEMS FOR ANNE ARUNDEL EXECUTIVE: Pete Smith, James Kitchin and Allison Piackard are running to incumbent Democrat Steuart Pittman, who is term-limited. The winner of the Democratic primary election will advance to the general election in November, where they’ll face Dave Crawford, a volunteer fire chief who’s running unopposed in the Republican Primary. WBAL’s Tommie Clark profiles the candidates.
HOT WEATHER, HOTTER OPINIONS ON FIRST DAY OF EARLY VOTING: Competitive, and costly, races for 5th and 6th District seats in Congress appear to be front of mind for voters. William J. Ford and Mayah Nachman/Maryland Matters
ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST HoCo EXEC CANDIDATE: A complaint filed with the Howard County Ethics Commission alleges that County Council member Deb Jung misused her public office for private political gain in turning scrutiny of The Source community center project into material to benefit her campaign for county executive. Brian Kim, managing member of Columbia Concepts – Flier LLC, the venture involved in building The Source community center in Columbia, filed the complaint Tuesday. The complaint alleges that Jung’s conduct using county office prestige, County Council processes, official platforms, nonpublic county information and the county seal to bring credibility to campaign allegations violates the county’s Public Ethics Law. “They’re trying to undermine my campaign because I’m running to end the pay-to-play politics that have dominated Howard County for too long,” said Jung. Kiersten Hacker/Baltimore Sun
ICE ARRESTS 2 ADULTS AT BALT. PRESECHOOL: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested two adults on the campus of a public Baltimore school Thursday, school and city officials confirmed. JT Moodee Lockman/WJZ
- The action was apparently the first time ICE took people into custody on school property in the city. Maya Lora, Liz Bowie, Shayla Colon/Baltimore Banner
WHOLE STATE IN DROUGHT WATCH: The Maryland Department of the Environment has placed all of Maryland under either a drought watch or warning, and the recent rainfall isn’t helping that much. This is Maryland’s fourth year of a drought cycle, and up until May, average monthly rainfall has consistently been one inch short of the state’s usual four-inch standard. Sarah Petrowich/WYPR
AUDITS REVEAL $1.2B IN QUESTIONABLE SPENDING: Maryland’s state government is hemorrhaging taxpayer money, with recent audits uncovering more than $1.2 billion in questionable spending, improper payments and financial irregularities.That figure, detailed across multiple state agencies, has ignited a debate in the state capital over a systemic inability to fix long-standing financial failures. As the same problems appear in audit report after audit report, lawmakers and taxpayer advocates are now demanding to know whether the state is capable of doing more than just identifying the problems. Tessa Bentulan, Spotlight/Baltimore Sun
RASKIN, LEGGETT WON’T ENDORSE FOR MOCO EXEC: Two of Montgomery County’s most influential public figures—U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin and former County Executive Ike Leggett—said Wednesday they will not be issuing late endorsements in this year’s contentious Democratic primary for county executive. “I have no plans to endorse,” Raskin told Bethesda Today in a telephone interview Wednesday after laudatory statements he issued to each of three leading Democratic contenders had been posted on social media—leading to initial confusion about whether the five-term member of Congress had decided to support a particular candidate. In a separate interview Wednesday, Leggett—who has not endorsed in the county executive race since leaving that post in 2018 after three terms—also told Bethesda Today he would remain neutral, despite being urged to weigh in and considering whether to do so. Lou Peck/Bethesda Today
GOP DENOUNCES ‘UNETHICAL CAMPAIGN TACTICS’ IN CAROLINE CO.: A competitive race to be Caroline County’s next clerk of the Circuit Court took a turn early this week after some residents received documents in the mail, which the Caroline County Republican Central Committee has denounced as “dirty political tricks.” Peggy Gallagher, Margie Hannawald and Stephanie Ramsey, all Republicans, are running for Caroline County clerk of the Circuit Court in the upcoming primary election. Current Clerk Terry Lord is retiring. There are no Democrats running for the seat. Ahmad Garnett/Easton Star-Democrat
APRIL FREEZE STUNTS LOCAL WINE SEASON: The late-season freeze was one of the worst in Maryland history, said Sara Kidd, the agriculture educator for the University of Maryland Extension Frederick County office. It has impacted this season’s growth of tree fruit, strawberries, Christmas trees, and most severely, grapes. At this point in the season, grape vines are going through their third round of growth, leafy but fruitless. Normally, vines would have grown to reach the top of their trellises, but they haven’t reached even half that height yet. Katelynn Winebrenner/Frederick News-Post
MORE CONTROVERSY OVER AFSCME ELECTION: Allegations of unfair election practices surface at another AFSCME Council 3 local Confusion and conflict over the upcoming election at Local 6368, a new unit representing Maryland Department of Transportation supervisors, are similar to the turbulent election at Local 44 representing Baltimore sanitation workers. Mark Reuter/Baltimore Brew
