[Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, July 21, Baltimore County Public Schools also made the official decision to continue online learning through January 2021.]

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Baltimore City Public Schools will open the 2020-2021 school year virtually, delaying the start of a planned hybrid in-person option until later this fall, school system CEO Sonja Santelises announced in a public letter today addressed to parents, students, and others.

“The past four months have been unlike anything we have experienced before in Baltimore City Public Schools,” Santelises wrote in her letter. “We closed school buildings to slow the spread of a global pandemic, and the heavy use of online learning and video contact with teachers forced each of us to adjust in ways we never dreamed. I am grateful for all your support and willingness to fight alongside us to make sure each student has an opportunity to continue their learning.”

Baltimore City follows similar decisions made by public schools in Howard, Harford, and Prince George’s counties last week amid once-again rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Maryland. Students in those counties will continue distance learning at least through January 2021.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools also announced Monday afternoon that they will be providing online-only instruction during for the first semester of the 2020-2021 calendar.

Meanwhile, Baltimore County and Carroll County public schools are still considering reopening schedules. Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Darryl Williams told The Baltimore Sun last week that he is leaning toward remote learning with a phased-in return for the 2020-2021 academic year. “We’re looking at safety first as a driving factor,” Williams said.

The agenda for Baltimore County’s Tuesday Board of Education meeting includes discussion on the school district’s scheduled reopening plan for the fall.

Santelises, who said Baltimore City Public Schools will provide an update on further plans by Oct. 16., also proposed a calendar change to the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners that the first day of school be moved back Sept. 8, following the Labor Day weekend, to allow additional time for professional learning for staff.

“City Schools strongly believes some form of in-person learning is critical for a student’s academic success, mental health, and emotional well-being,” Santelises said. “However, we do not want to rush to act based on your recent feedback, as well as health trends in our community and nationally. This moment is a vital time, and preparation for students and families is important.”

To date, Maryland, which has the 10th highest per capita death rate in the country, has lost 3,252 citizens to the novel coronavirus—as well as at least another 130 “probable” fatalities. After cases and deaths shot up dramatically this spring before peaking and ultimately falling after stay-at-home-orders were enacted, Maryland’s positive cases have begun climbing again after reopening plans were phased-in.

According to the most recent modeling, the death toll in Maryland is expected to top 4,200 citizens by Nov. 1.

In a thread on Twitter Monday, Gov. Larry Hogan requested the Trump Administration extend the national public health emergency, which is set to expire this Saturday. He also called for other federal action, including an appeal to Congress for educational funding and the need to pass a coronavirus relief package that provides funding needed by state and local governments whose budgets and payrolls are facing dramatic cuts as the economy continues to struggle.

A crowd of activists toppled the marble Christopher Columbus statue near Little Italy Saturday night and dumped it into the Inner Harbor amid Fourth of July firework displays across the city.

Two weeks ago, an anti-racist protest group known as Baltimore Bloc publicly warned Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young that activists planned to take down the city’s Columbus monuments if his administration did not act to remove them.

The most prominent of three city monuments to Columbus, the statue at the eastern edge of the Inner Harbor was unveiled by President Ronald Reagan and Mayor William Donald Schaefer in 1984 and dedicated with the inscription to the “Discoverer of America.” The 14-foot statue was paid for by a citywide fundraising campaign led by the Italian American Organizations United of Maryland.

Two years ago year this summer, 19 months after a city commission recommended two of the city’s four Confederate monuments be taken down and two more receive educational plaques, then-Mayor Catherine Pugh ordered the removal of all four.

Lester Davis, a spokesman for Young, told the Baltimore Sun that the destruction of Columbus statue is part of a “re-examination taking place nationally and globally around some of these monuments and statues that may represent different things to different people.”

City Council President Brandon Scott, who won last month’s Democratic mayoral primary, issued a statement Saturday night saying he supports both the Baltimore’s Italian-American community and Baltimore’s indigenous community. “I cannot, however, support Columbus,” Scott said.

In 2016, Scott introduced a bill that would’ve renamed Columbus Day in the city to Indigenous Peoples Day. Scott said the intention of the legislation, which did not pass, was “to honor the many peoples inhabiting North America before its colonization by European settlers.”

Scott said he suggested to former Mayor Catherine Pugh that she remove the Columbus statue along with the city’s Confederate statues following a violent conflict between white supremacists and anti-racism activists in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Baltimore City Councilman Ryan Dorsey has introduced a bill that would rededicate the Columbus obelisk at Herring Run to the victims of police brutality.

In a statement Sunday, Governor Larry Hogan condemned the destruction of the Columbus statue and said Baltimore leaders had lost “control of the city and their own streets.”

“While we support peaceful protests and constructive dialogue on whether and how to put certain monuments in context or move them to museums or storage through a legal process, lawlessness, vandalism, and destruction of public property are completely unacceptable,” Hogan said. “That is the antithesis of democracy and should be condemned by everyone, regardless of their politics. Baltimore City leaders need to regain control of their own streets and immediately start making them safer.”

Several state delegates representing Baltimore County and Harford County and a group of Italian-American activists demanded Young and Hogan protect the city’s statues and monuments erected to honor Christopher Columbus at a June 29 press conference at the Inner Harbor.

In a tweet Saturday night, Del. Kathy Szeliga called the pulling down of the Columbus memorial on July 4 “shameful,” and asked where the police and Mayor Young were while the statue was being toppled. She suggested citizens, “move out of Baltimore City while you can if you still live there.”

“This is deeply personal and an affront to the Italian American community and all law-abiding Marylanders,” tweeted State Del. Nino Mangione, a Republican from Baltimore County. “The city of Baltimore has been disgraced once again. America weeps at this outrage.”

Baltimore’s annual October Columbus Day Commemoration and Italian Heritage Festival and parade, approaching 130 years, is believed to be the longest-running celebration in honor of Columbus in the country.

In his speech on July 4, President Donald Trump pledged to “defend, protect, and preserve American way of life, which began in 1492 when Columbus discovered America.”

The Italian-born explorer’s legacy has received increased scrutiny in recent decades as his brutal treatment of the native people of the Caribbean islands and Central America—including mass slaughter, forced mining, enslavement, and child rape—has become better known and understood.

Popular myths regarding Columbus, long taught in schools, have also been exposed by scholars, changing public perception of the nature of his voyages. Columbus did not prove the “flat Earth” theory wrong. Nor was Columbus the first European to sail to the continent, as Scandinavians sailors had done so centuries earlier. Those beliefs and others took hold in the United States after acclaimed writer Washington Irving popularized an “Americanized” Columbus in a best-selling fictionalized historical biography in 1828.

With the pulling down of the statue, Baltimore joins a growing list of cities this summer, including Richmond, Montgomery, Boston, and St. Paul, that have witnessed the toppling of Confederate and Columbus memorials. Numerous cities across the country have made plans to remove statues.

Following the rest of the country, surrounding states, and the District of Columbia, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday the cancellation of in-person school instruction for the remainder of the academic calendar due to the coronavirus.

On the flip side, effective at 7 a.m. today, previous restrictions on outdoor activities will be broadened to allow golf, tennis, boating, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, camping, and outdoor fitness instruction. Maryland state parks will be reopened, including all state beaches and playgrounds for walking and exercise.

“I realize that these are only small steps, and that they may be of little comfort to those who are out of work and struggling,” Hogan said of the loosening of restrictions on outdoor activities during an Annapolis press conference Wednesday. “We are indeed flattening the curve and we are preparing to launch our reopening plan in order to safely get people back to work, safely get our small businesses back open again, and to get our economy back on track so that Maryland, and our nation, can defeat this virus and come back stronger and better than ever.'”

Local governments will have the flexibility to make similar decisions regarding their own outdoor public facilities. However, Hogan cautioned that social distancing measures are still needed. The decision comes as hospitalizations and deaths from the coronavirus continue to mount in the state.

Earlier this week, Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan announced he would reopen beaches and the boardwalk to the general public this Saturday, May 9.

Meanwhile, the state reported 1,401 confirmed deaths as of Thursday morning, including 48 deaths over the past 24 hours, and 102 additional probable deaths from the novel coronavirus. Another 1,683 COVID-19 patients remain hospitalized. More than half of the deaths in the state—793 confirmed cases—have been residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. There have been an additional 11 confirmed deaths among nursing homes and long-term care facility staff.

The Associated Press also reported Wednesday that the state of Maryland has opened a temporary morgue at an ice skating and hockey rink to store bodies during the pandemic:

A spokesman for the state health department wouldn’t disclose the location of the “temporary mortuary affairs center,” but a state lawmaker said Wednesday that it opened last month at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, located about midway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. About 55 bodies have been taken to the ice rink facility since it opened on April 17 and roughly 30 bodies were there on Wednesday, said Del. Mary Lehman, a Democrat whose district includes Laurel. Lehman said she was given the information by a liaison from the state health department.

Hogan also directed the Maryland Department of Health to issue guidelines that allow hospitals and licensed healthcare providers to resume elective and non-urgent medical procedures. Providers will be directed to exercise their professional judgment in determining which procedures are appropriate to perform and which patients to see in light of the contagious nature of COVID-19. Healthcare workers and patients will be required to be screened for coronavirus symptoms, and physical distancing must be strictly maintained to minimize direct contact between staff and patients.

The forced move to distance learning continues to be a challenging transition for Baltimore City Public Schools. The closure of schools has, once again, exposed the dramatic digital divide between students in low-income neighborhoods and those elsewhere. Many students lack home computers and laptops. According to census data, 22 percent of Baltimore homes do not have internet access at home.

Ocean City’s decision to open on Mother’s Day weekend comes as other states have reopened beaches in recent days, drawing criticism from some that elected officials easing restrictions while COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to climb. Ocean City’s beaches were originally set to reopen May 15.

Most of Ocean City’s boardwalk shops will remain closed, however, since the governor’s standing order that nonessential businesses close is still in effect. But some food vendors that are offering carryout services are still open, the Ocean City mayor said.

Reopening the beaches and the boardwalk will enable people and families to get away from home and get outdoors, Meehan added. “It’s going to be people riding bikes; it’s going to be people walking the boardwalk. It’s going to be people out there in small groups with their families just getting out to go out onto the beach,” he said

Masks will not be required on the beaches and boardwalk, Meehan added, since there is no statewide requirement to wear masks outdoors.

“Everybody has to make their own personal decisions right now,” he said.

In addition, hotel reservations and rentals continue to be available only to “essential lodgers” until May 22. However, hotels and motels may start taking reservations for Memorial Day weekend.

On CNN this past weekend, Hogan admitted the challenge of maintaining restrictions with weariness growing around the inability to move freely and ideally, get back to work, given the enormous economic problems created by the virus.

“Unfortunately, the pressure is to do it in a not-safe way,” the governor said on the network’s State of the Union Sunday. “That’s something that we’re very concerned about, and one of the reasons we’re being cautious and trying to do things in a slow, safe, and effective manner.”

This afternoon, one week after Maryland’s first confirmed case of coronavirus, Governor Hogan issued a series of new directives, including that all Maryland public schools would close effective March 16 through March 27.

The two-week closure, which will affect approximately 1 million students, comes after news of the state’s first confirmed case via community transmission, meaning exposure unrelated to travel or known contact with an infected person. Yesterday, the coronavirus, or COVID-19, outbreak was also declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

“We are entering a new phase of this crisis in our state,” Hogan said. “We should expect the number of cases to dramatically and rapidly rise. Our primary focus is now turning from containment to aggressively working to mitigate and limit the spread of the virus.”

Maryland and Ohio are the first states to close all K-12 public schools. During the closure, all school buildings and buses will be cleaned.

Local officials are also working to develop a plan for providing meals to children in need. At last count, more than 100,000 Baltimore City and County students were enrolled in free or reduced-price meal programs.

Earlier this week, numerous Maryland colleges, including Towson, Morgan State, Johns Hopkins, Loyola, and Notre Dame of Maryland universities, canceled classes for the rest of the week. Following next week’s spring break, most plan to resume through online courses through at least early April. Other statewide programming and events have also been cancelled at the likes of libraries and museums.

In addition to school closures, Hogan announced the closure of senior activity centers and the cancellation of large gatherings of more than 250 people. Hospitals will now implement limited visitor policies, while state prisons are to suspend all visits.

He also activated the National Guard to a higher state of readiness and closed the cruise ship terminal at the Port of Baltimore. Nonessential state employees have been ordered to telework if possible, and public access has been restricted at state buildings, including the State House, until further notice.

“[These actions] may sound extreme and they may sound frightening, but they could be the difference in saving lives and helping keep people safe,” said Hogan, also urging daily life to carry on and essential businesses like grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants to remain open.

Currently 12 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Maryland, including the first in Baltimore County. Until today, all local cases have been linked to travel, with patients in Montgomery, Harford, Prince George’s, and Anne Arundel counties, with the majority including patients between their 50 and 80s. Two patients continue to be hospitalized, while three have fully recovered.

Symptoms range from mild, such as cough and fever, to severe, such as pneumonia, with older adults and people with existing health problems at higher risk of serious illness. According to the Maryland Department of Health, people who think they’re infected should call their doctor or local emergency room.

Mike Miller, the longest serving president of the Senate in Maryland history, announced Thursday that he is stepping down after 33 years due to health issues. Miller, who will be 77 by the start of the next legislative session in January, has been battling prostate cancer for more than a year.

Cantankerous, charismatic, stubborn, and generous by turn, Miller wielded power in the Maryland General Assembly perhaps like no other before him. First elected to state Senate in 1975, he rose to president of the Senate in 1987, and ultimately dominated the state legislative process across the tenures of five governors.

At a press conference, Miller said he will continue to represent his district, which includes parts of Prince George’s, Calvert, and Charles counties while he continues treatment.

Baltimore state Senator Bill Ferguson, 36, was unanimously tapped by his Democratic colleagues—who hold a sizable advantage in the legislature—to succeed Miller as their leader. With Baltimore County state Del. Adrienne Jones rising to Speaker of the House of Delegates earlier this year—the first African American and woman to hold that role—the youthful Ferguson’s ascension marks a significant course change in leadership in Annapolis. And, perhaps, a shift in political power in the General Assembly by back toward the state’s largest city.

Jones succeeded deceased House of Delegates Speaker Michael Busch, who had held the position for nearly a decade and a half, in April. A former teacher and coach, Busch was considered the kinder and gentler of the “Two Mikes,” as Miller and Busch came to be known. Busch passed away in office at the end of the last General Assembly following a long illness and liver transplant.

Baltimore has lost notable sway in Annapolis over the past several decades as the city’s population dwindled. The combination of Ferguson and Jones now holding both top positions in the General Assembly could change that perception.

Miller was not just longest serving president of Senate in Maryland history, but also the longest, current serving state Senate president in the country.

He led the state Senate through the passage of a series of controversial measures in recent years, including a ban on the death penalty, and support for legalized gambling and same-sex marriage, the last of which Miller did not vote for himself, but also did not block from coming to the floor of the General Assembly.

In many ways, Miller remained a politician from a previous era. A voracious reader and student of history, Miller was also a protector of the state Senate and General Assembly traditions. In a profile of Miller several years ago, Barbara Hoffman, a former Democratic senator for Baltimore City and County, told Baltimore, “I think his legacy is to be a model for caring about the institution of the Senate more than any one thing.”

“He is the guardian of the tradition of the Senate,” Montgomery Senator Richard Madaleno, who arrived in Annapolis as a budget analyst in 1989, said in the same 2013 profile, describing Miller as the “pillar” of the Maryland Democratic Party. “He knows how to bring people together to form a majority to get an issue done, whether that’s through humor, through discussion, or through yelling.”

Miller also considers Republican Gov. Larry Hogan a friend. Miller knew Gov. Hogan’s father, a former Prince George’s county executive, and has known the governor almost his whole life—a relationship that has somewhat diffused party tensions in the General Assembly in recent years. Miller’s “steady presence and trademark humor will be deeply missed” as Senate president, Gov. Hogan said in statement. “I have immense respect for Mike Miller,” Hogan added. “For the past year, he has shown all of us what courage and determination look like as he faces a very tough personal battle.”

Meanwhile, local and state elected officials praised the selection of Ferguson, who is more liberal than Miller, generally considered a centrist or conservative Democrat. A former teacher and attorney, Ferguson has been vocal in his support for more public education spending as well as the recent Kirwan Commission recommendations calling significant funding increases for public schools. Hogan has called the Kirwan education spending recommendations “half-baked” and referred to the commission as the “Kirwan Tax Hike Commission, setting up a likely contentious battle in Annapolis during the upcoming General Assembly.

State Sen. Bill Ferguson

City Council President Brandon Scott called Ferguson a “hardworking public servant for the people of the 46th District and for every Baltimorean.”

“He loves our city and he loves our state,” Scott said. “I know he’ll honor our city as President. Senator Ferguson will ensure our greatest resource—our young people—get the resources they need for a quality education, regardless of their zip code.”

Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young highlighted Ferguson’s background in teaching and leading voice for increased funding for public education. “I know that he will be a passionate advocate for our children, and a committed partner as we work together with his colleagues in the legislature to ensure that Kirwan is fully funded,” Young said.

Maryland U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said in a statement that’d he’d seen Miller Wednesday night at the Morgan State tribute to Elijah Cummings and that Miller insisted his doctors let him out of the hospital to eulogize Cummings.

“That’s Mike,” Van Hollen said. “Always there for friends; always there for Maryland. Mike Miller has dedicated his life to serving Marylanders and set the gold standard for true leadership in the State Senate. I was proud to serve under him, and to this day appreciate his mentorship and wisdom. His guiding hand will be missed, but I’m confident that Bill Ferguson will serve our state well.”

U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight Committee and a powerful advocate for civil rights and Baltimore, died early Thursday at 68. According to his office, the 12-term Maryland congressman passed away at Gilchrist Hospice Care, a Johns Hopkins affiliate, due to complications concerning longstanding health challenges. Cummings had not gone back to work this week as Congress returned to Capitol Hill.

Over the past year, since the Democrats retook the House of Representatives following the 2018 midterm elections, Cummings had served a key and high-profile role as the myriad of Congressional investigations into President Donald Trump and his administration have unfolded.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, also a Baltimore native, said of Cummings’ unexpected death that “the people of Baltimore, the U.S. Congress, and America have lost a voice of unsurpassed moral clarity and truth.” She described herself as “personally devastated.”

“In the House, Elijah was our North Star,” Pelosi said. “He was a leader of towering character and integrity, whose stirring voice and steadfast values pushed the Congress and country to rise always to a higher purpose.”

“He worked until his last breath because he believed our democracy was the highest and best expression of our collective humanity and that our nation’s diversity was our promise, not our problem,” said Maya Rockeymore Cummings, the congressman’s wife and chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, in a statement.

Cummings, whose district includes parts of Baltimore City, as well as Baltimore and Howard counties, had—along with the city itself—become a target for President Trump’s vitriol earlier this summer. Cummings addressed Trump directly, describing his work ethic and mission as an elected official.

“Mr. President, I go home to my district daily,” Cummings wrote. “Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the executive branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”

In 2015, after the uprising and riot in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, Cummings was in the streets day and night, playing a key role in diffusing tensions between protestors and police during the week of subsequent curfews.

“With the passing of U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the city of Baltimore, our country, and people throughout the world have lost a powerful voice and one of the strongest and most gifted crusaders for social justice,” Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young said in a statement Thursday morning. “Rep. Cummings, the son of sharecroppers whose ancestors were slaves, wasn’t afraid to use his considerable intellect, booming voice, and poetic oratory to speak out against brutal dictators bent on oppression, unscrupulous business executives who took advantage of unsuspecting customers, or even a U.S. President. He was, put simply, a man of God who never forgot his duty to fight for the rights and dignity of the marginalized and often forgotten.”

Cummings first rose to national prominence five years ago, after Rep. Darrell Issa, then the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, cut off Cummings’ microphone during a key hearing. As Baltimoreans already knew and the country soon learned, Cummings remained a man who wore his heart on his sleeve.

“It’s not just my voice that was being shut down,” Cummings said at the time, maintaining his composure while passionately trying to make his case. “Remember what I said: ‘I represent, we represent, over 700,000 people.’ What about our voice? ‘Shut it down [Issa said].’ That’s not the Democratic way.”

Raised with six brothers and sisters in South Baltimore’s historically black Sharp-Leadenhall neighborhood, Cummings attended a segregated elementary school and was among the first children to integrate the Riverside Park swimming pool in the summer of 1962. The son of former South Carolina sharecroppers, Cummings was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1982—still on the heels of the civil rights movement and several years before Kurt Schmoke was became the first elected black mayor of Baltimore.

“Of the many things I learned from my father—and neither he nor my mother completed elementary school because they went to work in the fields—was to treat everyone with equal respect and not to speak or act out of anger,” Cummings told us in a 2014 Baltimore profile. “Because when you do, the person only hears your tone, they don’t get the message.

“And,” Cummings added, tapping a finger to the table for emphasis, “you’ll lose sight of the bigger picture. You’ll get so caught up in who you are fighting, you’ll forget what you are fighting for—and it’s the ‘what’ that is important.”

University of Maryland Carey School of Law professor Larry Gibson, Schmoke’s former campaign manager, noted in the same story that Cummings’ rise in congressional stature followed in the footsteps of a number of local African-American leaders who made significant contributions to the city, state, and country. “… look at who held that congressional seat before him—Parren Mitchell and Kweisi Mfume. All became powerhouses in Congress.”

Governor Larry Hogan described Cummings as “a fierce advocate for civil rights and for Maryland for more than three decades.”

“Congressman Cummings leaves behind an incredible legacy of fighting for Baltimore City and working to improve people’s lives,” Hogan said in a statement. “He was a passionate and dedicated public servant whose countless contributions made our state and our country better.”

Cummings was born on January 18, 1951 and was a distinguished student at City College High School, where he graduated in 1969. At Howard University, he majored in political science, served as class president, and became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

He graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1976 and practiced law before succeeding Lena Lee in the state House of Delegates. He often said her encouragement and support was crucial in launching his political career. In the General Assembly, where he served for 14 years, Cummings became the first African American in Maryland history to be named Speaker Pro Tem.

Among other efforts, up until the time of his death, Cummings also served on the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors, the Morgan State University Board of Regents, the University of Maryland School of Law Board of Advisors, and the SEED School of Maryland Board of Directors.

To fill the Cummings’ seat, by law, Hogan will soon call a special primary election and a special general election will be held to fill the vacancy, according to reporting from The Baltimore Sun. Hogan’s spokesman, Mike Ricci, said Thursday morning that it wasn’t clear yet when the special election would take place.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he supports the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump in the wake of a whistleblower’s report of alleged widespread abuse of power by the president and his administration.

President Trump and others in his circle and administration—including the president’s personal attorney, Rudolf Giuliani, and U.S. Attorney General William Barr—have been implicated in an alleged scheme to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating Trump’s potential Democratic rival in the 2020 election, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden, in exchange for the release of U.S. military aid.

“I think we do need an inquiry because we have to get to the bottom of it,” Hogan told PBS’ Firing Line host Margaret Hoover in a segment that will air Friday night at 8:30 p.m. “I’m not ready to say I support impeachment and the removal of the president, but I do think we should have an impeachment inquiry.”

At the same time, Hogan expressed some apprehension that the impeachment inquiry led by the Democratic-led House of Representatives would be “a fair, objective one.” But he added, “I don’t see any other way to get the facts.”

Hogan joined two other other Republican governors in blue states, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, in their backing of impeachment inquiry proceedings.

Hogan, who did not support Trump for president in 2016—he says he wrote in his since-deceased father, former Maryland U.S. Rep. Lawrence Hogan Sr., on the ballot—added he would not support Trump again in 2020. However, he added, he could not possibly support a Democratic nominee either.

“We’re 14 months from the election, I’m not sure who the nominee is going to be, who the president is going to be,” Hogan added with a nervous laugh as Hoover pressed him. “We’re just going to have to wait and see.”

When Speaker of the House and Baltimore native Nancy Pelosi announced the start of the impeachment inquiry on September 24, Maryland’s congressional contingent, which had been withholding calls for the start of a formal impeachment investigation, unanimously came out in favor of the inquiry.

To date, all but a handful of the 235 Democratic members of the House of Representatives have expressed support for the impeachment inquiry. But not a single member of 197-member GOP caucus has publicly backed the inquiry. Former GOP-turned-independent congressman Justin Amash has pledged his support for the inquiry.

If the House impeaches Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the GOP-controlled Senate will hold a trial. In order for Trump to be removed from office, at least 20 of the 53 Republican senators would have to vote in favor of impeachment.

On Friday on Capitol Hill, former Ukrainian Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch testified before the House Intelligence Committee after receiving a subpoena. The White House had attempted to block her appearance and in her opening remarks, Yovanovitch said her sudden departure in May was the result of pressure from Trump and others “with clearly questionable motives” on the State Department to remove her.

Governor Hogan, profiled by Baltimore a year ago, is familiar with the process of impeachment proceedings and has often noted that his father was the first Republican member of the Judiciary Committee to call for the impeachment of former President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Hogan considered a primary challenge to Trump earlier this year and travelled to the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire. He eventually decided against running in June, citing his commitment to governing the state on the heels of winning reelection and his new role as chairman of the National Governors Association.

That said, as Hogan, 63, himself highlighted in a Washington Post story this summer: “At some point, there’s no longer going to be a Donald Trump Party.” Whether Trump survives the latest controversy surrounding him and his administration, Hogan most likely has his eyes on a 2024 bid for the GOP nomination and will be keeping his options open should an opportunity arise sooner.

Opioid-related deaths in Maryland, which have quadrupled since 2010, climbed again in 2018.

Overall, there were 2,385 total unintentional intoxication deaths last year in Maryland, an increase of 4.5 percent from 2017 Of that total, 2,114 deaths were opioid-related, an increase of 5.2 percent from 2017, according to data released Thursday from the state’s Opioid Operational Command Center (OOCC).

Maryland is among the top five states with the highest rates of opioid-related overdose deaths.

The crisis continues to be acutely felt in Baltimore City, where opioid-related intoxication deaths jumped more than 15 percent, with 798 unintentional deaths, in 2018.

The fatal overdose epidemic continues to be driven by fentanyl—a synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine. A deadly substitute for heroin and prescription opioids, fentanyl-related deaths in Maryland last jumped to 1,866—an increase of 17 percent.

“We haven’t seen the peak of this, yet,” said Mona Rock, Baltimore City Health Department’s public information officer. “Right now, fentanyl is having a devastating effect in our community and we don’t know when it is going to end.”

Rock added that addressing the opioid epidemic remains a “top priority” for the Health Department under new Commissioner of Health Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, who was appointed in March after former commissioner Dr. Leana Wen was named president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Adrienne Breidenstine, vice president of policy at the Baltimore Behavioral Health System, which works closely with the Health Department, said her agency and the city has begun receiving more state and federal dollars in the past two years.

She adds, however, it will take time to see the impact of new outreach, prevention, and treatment programs. “I think it will still take a couple of more years before we start seeing those numbers [overdose fatalities] turnaround,” said Breidenstine, adding that building safe, healthy communities in the city remains the best long-term preventive measure in addressing Baltimore’s heroin and opioid epidemic.

Opioids, now including fentanyl, are sometimes used in combination with cocaine, and fentanyl is also now pushing a dramatic increase in the number of cocaine-related deaths in Maryland. Cocaine-related deaths jumped 28 percent to a total of 784 in 2018, marking the third straight year of significant increases in cocaine-related fatalities. Approximately 89 percent of all cocaine-related fatalities in 2018 were in combination with fentanyl.

Washington County, driven largely by the opioid epidemic in Hagerstown, its economically struggling county seat of 40,000, saw the second largest increase in unintentional opioid-related intoxication deaths in the state. Opioid-related fatalities in Washington County jumped from 51 to 80 in 2018—a 58 percent increase.

In terms of the per-capita death rate for unintentional opioid-related intoxication deaths, Baltimore County, which saw an increase in overdose deaths from 323 to 348 last year, now ranks fifth among reporting Maryland jurisdictions.

If there’s good news in the report, it’s that several large Maryland counties, including Montgomery, Prince Georges, and Howard, saw decreases in unintentional opioid-related intoxication deaths.

Former Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh, executive director of OOCC, praised Gov. Larry Hogan’s response to the epidemic.

“Since Governor Hogan declared a state of emergency in response to the opioid crisis in March 2017, Maryland has made tremendous progress in implementing prevention and educational programs, stepping up enforcement, and expanding treatment and recovery programs throughout the state,” said Steve Schuh, executive director of Opioid Operational Command Center.

Anne Arundel County saw a 10 percent increase in unintentional opioid-related intoxication deaths with 217 fatal overdoses last year.

In a statement, Schuh added that state officials are “encouraged that the epidemic is starting to plateau.” “2018 was the second year in a row that fatalities increased by less than 10 percent,” Schuh said.

Mike Gimbel, the former “drug czar” of Baltimore County, cautioned about leaning too much on fatal overdose figures in gauging the opioid-addiction crisis. With widespread use of Naloxone, a medication that can quickly reverse the effects of opioids in overdose situations, more people are surviving overdoses. More users are also likely becoming familiar with deadly fentanyl and better managing its use, said Gimbel, a proponent of on-demand, long-term treatment

“We don’t need more billboards and hotlines,” Gimbel said Thursday while at the opening of Awakenings Recovery Center, a 50-bed, residential treatment facility in downtown Hagerstown. “Everyone knows about the crisis now. We need more beds. This place accepts Medicaid and we could use 500 more like it across the state.”

Mayor Catherine Pugh’s most recent $100,000 children’s book contract with the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS)—a deal made in 2018—has been cancelled and she has returned the money amid a deepening ethics scandal, according to spokesmen for the mayor and the UMMS.

The most recent 2018 UMMS contract for 20,000 more copies from the mayor’s Healthy Holly children’s series had yet been fulfilled because the book’s illustrator had been ill, Pugh spokesman James Bentley told Baltimore magazine.

A member of the UMMS board since 2001 before her recent resignation, Pugh entered into five children’s book contracts with the hospital network since 2011, totaling $500,000. Those contracts were each for a purchase of 20,000 of her self-published Healthy Holly children’s books at a cost of $100,000—in which Pugh netted $20,000 in profit from each deal.

When asked if the mayor has considered returning any or all of the $400,000 from the previous four contracts—or her $80,000 in profits—Bentley said he did not know. UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg declined to answer a question regarding whether there have been discussions between the UMMS board and Pugh about returning money from previous contracts.

Baltimore City state Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Democrat considered a potential mayor challenger in 2020, has called on Pugh to return the money she’s received back to medical system. Baltimore City state Del. Brooke Leirman called the debacle “appalling” in a tweet. “It just keeps getting worse . . . I can’t even decide what the worst part is,” Lierman wrote.

Tuesday, The Sun reported Pugh—through her book company, Healthy Holly LLC—has made $7,040 in state political contributions since 2015, including a $5,000 contribution to her own campaign. Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski’s campaign, which received $1,000, said they planned return the money. Baltimore City state Sen. Jill Carter, who introduced legislation making it illegal for board members to profit from contracts with the hospitals they govern, is looking to donate the money to charity.

Asked Wednesday if she would release her tax returns, or tax documents for her company, Pugh told The Sun she would not “because I did everything right.” She referred to the inquires a “witch hunt.” Pugh did not attend the weekly Board of Estimates meeting at City Hall on Wednesday, nor did she hold her usual post BOE press availability.

Anne Fullerton, spokeswoman for the Baltimore City Public School System, said BCPSS received a shipment of Pugh’s children’s books between 2011 and 2013. Documentation for that shipment hasn’t been located, however. Fullerton told Baltimore that the books had not been sought by the school system, nor were they used as part of any curriculum. She could not say how many books the school system received, but said roughly 8,700 currently sit in a school warehouse and that there were no immediate plans to distribute those books.

In the meantime, Pugh’s top communications consultant said he would not renew his contract with the mayor when it expires at the end of the month.

In an emailed statement to Baltimore, attorney Stephen Burch, chairman of the board of the University of Maryland Medical System, said he takes “very seriously the concerns raised regarding Board members that have business relationships with UMMS.”

Burch said along with accepting Pugh’s resignation, he has accepted the resignations of UMMS board members John Dillon and Robert Pevenstein. The Sun broke the story last week that nine members of UMMS board have business deals with the hospital network, which they oversee. Dillon reported his health care consulting firm received $300,000 from 2017 and 2018 contracts. Pevenstein reported that his technology firms received more than $150,000 through UMMS contracts in 2017. He reported his son made more than $100,000 from UMMS in 2018. In 2014, according to The Sun’s reporting, UMMS provided $25,000 to the Gov. Larry Hogan and Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford’s inaugural committee.

Burch also said he has requested three board members—August Chiasera, Francis X. Kelly, James Soltesz and Walter Tilley, Jr.—to take an immediate voluntary leave of absence while the UMMS board reviews their governance and transparency practices.

M&T Bank executive August Chiasera has reported $7.4 million in revenue for the bank from UMMS contracts over the past two years. Former state Sen. Francis X. Kelley’s insurance company has reported $4.4 million in revenue from UMMS revenue over the past two years.

Following revelations of a $500,000 children’s book deal with the University of Maryland Medical System, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh announced Monday morning that she is resigning her seat as a University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) board member.

In a statement, Pugh said it “has been an honor to have been associated with the important work of the UMMS Board, but the fact is, I have many other pressing concerns that require my full attention, energy, and efforts.”

Pugh also praised the work of the University of Maryland Medical System. She did not mention her controversial children’s book deal, which has prompted outrage from Baltimore voters and rebuke from Maryland lawmakers in the General Assembly. In recent years, the UMMS system upon whose board she has sat for 18 years, approved the purchase of 100,000 copies of her Healthy Holly children’s book.

Since Sun reporter Luke Broadwater broke the story last week that Pugh and eight other members of the University of Maryland Medical System Board of Directors had business deals with the hospital network, the mayor has been forced to amend seven years of financial disclosure forms with the state ethics commission. State Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore City Democrat, has called on Pugh to return the money she’s received back to medical system.

Speaker of the House Mike Busch, a Democrat like Pugh, also sits on the UMMS board and said that the board was not aware of the private deals others entered into the with hospital system. “Candidly, I was shocked,” Busch told The Sun, regarding the contracts. “I’m outraged the University of Maryland Medical board had individuals on it who were greasing their whole palms by getting contracts with the medical [system]. It was never, ever brought up in a meeting that there were these contracts.”

Legislation introduced by Baltimore City state Sen. Jill Carter, a Democrat, would make it illegal for board members to profit from contracts with the hospitals they govern. Carter told The Sun her bill intends to bring “renewed commitment” to the “best practices of public and private service to the University of Maryland Medical System.” She added it also would prohibit members from “intentionally using the prestige of office or public position for that member’s or another’s private gain.”

The two University of Maryland Medical System board members with the largest financial relationships with hospital network, according to The Sun, are M&T Bank executive August Chiasera, who reported $7.4 million in revenue for the bank from UMMS contracts, and former state Sen. Francis X. Kelley. Kelley’s insurance company reported $4.4 million in revenue from UMMS revenue over the past two years.

Meanwhile, Maryland legislators from both parties are seeking an audit of the University of Maryland Medical System. Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement that he planned join Senate President Mike Miller and Busch in demanding answers from the UMMS leadership regarding their financial arrangements with the hospital network.

“Like many Marylanders, I have been a patient in the medical system, and I have great affection and respect for the doctors and nurses who serve there,” Hogan said. “That’s why it is so disconcerting to hear that several members of the system’s board have significant financial dealings with these hospitals. These transactions for personal profit damage the public trust. It is not just unseemly, it is appalling, and I have called for an immediate and full review.”

In a statement emailed to Baltimore magazine, Pugh defended the quality of her children’s books, saying they have been featured at the Baltimore Book Festival and Children’s Book Festival in Philadelphia, her deal with the UMMS board, and disclosures. She noted that the University of Maryland Medical System, several years ago, bought and then donated some 20,000 of her children’s books to Baltimore City school children through her company, Healthy Holly LLC.

Anne Fullerton, spokeswoman for the Baltimore City Public School System, confirmed a donation of Pugh’s children’s books from the University of Maryland Medical System, but was unable to track down the exact number or year they had been given. Fullerton also told Baltimore that the donation had not been sought by the school system, nor were the books used as part of any curriculum.

According to Pugh’s statement, her books cost $4 each to print and ship, and that, by charging $5 per book, she earned $1 of profit on each purchase by the UMMS board, which ultimately ordered 100,000 copies between 2011 and 2018.

“I have fully conformed with all disclosure requirements as a board member of the University of Maryland Medical System,” said Pugh. “If it is the decision of the General Assembly to change those requirements, I will, of course, comply with any and all new regulations. In the meantime, I hope that my books have been inspiring and instructive to our young people who need and deserve every indication that we care for them and their future.”

University of Maryland media relations director Michael Schwartzberg emailed the following statement to Baltimore:

“UMMS is in compliance with all IRS filing requirements and has properly disclosed each transaction as required in statute; the threshold for reporting on Form 990 is business transactions that exceed $100,000 per year. There are no contracts for the purchase of the Healthy Holly books, which is a sole-source purchase given the uniqueness of the book.

According to our financial records, the Medical System has purchased 100,000 books since 2011 at a total cost of $500,000. The Medical System strongly believes in and supports promoting healthy lifestyles for Baltimore’s schoolchildren.”

As reported previously by the Baltimore Brew, Pugh’s financial and political ties to the University of Maryland Medical System go beyond books—three UMMS directors loaned Pugh $200,000 in the run-up to the April 2016 Democratic primary. The infusion of funds allowed Pugh’s “campaign to offer free meals, transportation to early polling sites and money—what opponents decried as ‘walk-around” money’—to precinct workers who brought voters to the polls,” according to the Brew.

Pugh won a narrow victory because of her early-voting margin over former Mayor Sheila Dixon. Pugh legislative aide Gary Brown was found guilty of two counts of making illegal campaign donations in the 2016 campaign.

Larry Hogan has serious doubts that Donald J. Trump can win a second term. And, Hogan also told CBS News in an appearance Wednesday morning, he’s been hearing from Republican politicos that he should challenge the sitting president with a 2020 primary bid.

“I am being approached by a lot of different people and I guess the best way of putting it is I haven’t been throwing them out of my office,” the 62-year-old Republican Maryland governor said.

“The issue I’m concerned about is he has a very low re-elect number, I think in the 30s, high 30s, low 40s,” Hogan said. “So the chance of him losing a general election are pretty good. I’m not saying he couldn’t win, but he’s pretty weak in the general election. At some point,” Hogan continued, “if he weakens further, Republicans would say we’re concerned about whether or not he’s going to win if we’re going to face a very far-left Democratic nominee, and is he going to take the rest of us down with him if you’re an elected official.”

Hogan, of course, won reelection in blue Maryland—a state with one of the largest minority populations in the country—this past November by more than 13 points.

In 2016, Hogan was one of the highest profile Republican officeholders not to endorse Trump. He did not vote for Hillary Clinton either, he says, but wrote in the name of his father—former Maryland U.S. representative and Prince George’s County Executive Lawrence Hogan Sr. In terms of supporting Trump in 2020, “I don’t see how my position would’ve changed much from before,” Hogan said.

Hogan also offered what he called “friendly advice,” suggesting Trump lower his rhetoric and think through his decisions before making policy and implementing presidential powers.

“I’ve been pretty clear, I don’t like the tone that the president uses,” Hogan said. “I think there are times where he acts irrationally, and makes decisions and . . . does things in a way that aren’t great for the Republican Party, or for the country, or for him and his agenda, for that matter. I mean, I think sometimes he can be his own worst enemy.”

He added he was “not in any position to judge the fitness of the president.”

If Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report comes back with compelling evidence regarding Trump collusion with Russian interference in the 2016 election or other wrongdoing, Hogan believes the Republican primary might become crowded fast.

“I think you would see a number of potential challengers in the Republican Party consider jumping in.”

Last week, former Republican Massachusetts Governor William Weld announced he was forming an exploratory committee around a potential 2020 bid. In our October profile of Hogan, Rick Wilson, a longtime Republican strategist and author of Everything Trump Touches Dies, described Hogan as “an interesting guy to watch.”

“He may not be on the radar of the average voter outside Maryland,” Wilson said, “but political nerds know him.”

As part of Hogan’s new role as head of the National Governors Association next month, he will visit Iowa—long the nation’s key, first primary state.

“I would say the election is still two years away and we don’t know who the nominees will be in either party,” Hogan said.

In terms of recent policy disagreements with the president, Hogan believes using the declaration of emergency powers to declare an emergency at the border was the wrong thing to do: “You know, I think the president made some real mistakes here. We’ve exaggerated what’s going on at the border.”

He also said many in the GOP, including those in Congress, “have not stood up when they think the president is doing something wrong.”

“I have not been afraid to do that,” Hogan said, then pointing—perhaps not coincidentally—to his father’s actions during Watergate as his model.

In the interview, Hogan noted his late father, a former U.S. representative and FBI agent, was the first Republican in Congress to publicly support the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. “No man, not even the president of the United States, is above the law,” Hogan’s father implored during a 1974 hearing.

In a Goucher Poll released Tuesday, Hogan’s popularity among Marylanders remained high with 69 percent indicating they approve of the job he is doing as governor. On the other hand, only a third of Marylanders think that Hogan should run for president in 2020 while 55 percent do not think he should launch a campaign. (Maryland obviously is a politically safe state to take on Trump. In the same poll, 66 percent of Marylanders disapproved of the job the president is doing.)

Meanwhile, President Trump has yet to respond to Hogan’s interview. He’s been more consumed so far today on Twitter with former FBI acting director Andrew McCabe and his new book, The Threat, the “fake news” Washington Post, the “enemy of the people” New York Times, and California’s “already failed” efforts to build a high-speed train.

Earlier, Trump did tweet, however, that he wished “Crazy Bernie” well after Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced he was running again for the Democratic nomination.

By large margins, Maryland residents say they support legislation currently before the General Assembly that would significantly change diverse swaths of longstanding public policy, including the recreational use of marijuana, the minimum wage, education spending, and aid-in-dying. (Among others, retired NPR host Diane Rehm, who has supported aid-in-dying legislation since her husband’s 2014 death in hospice care in the state, recently testified in favor of such legislation.)

Similarly, an overwhelming majority of Marylanders, 86 percent, say they are “very” of “somewhat” concerned with pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, according to the latest Goucher Poll released today. And 62 percent of residents rate the health of the environment in Maryland as either “poor” or “fair” as legislators consider raising the state’s renewable energy targets.

At the same time, the study revealed that important, differing perceptions of racial discrimination and justice among white and black citizens continue to persist. Also noteworthy: A majority of both groups agree race relations in Maryland have worsened in recent years.

“The Democrats in the General Assembly have laid out a robust set of policy proposals this legislative session,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College in a statement. “Our poll results suggest that much of their agenda is popular with the general public. Some of these issues, however, are contentious and will face formidable opposition from organized interests on their way to an uncertain fate at Gov. [Larry] Hogan’s desk.”

From the Goucher Poll, which surveyed 808 adults between February 7-12:

Statewide Policy Issues

• 67 percent support raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour and 30 percent oppose it.
• 57 percent support legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and 37 percent oppose it.
• 63 percent support a statewide ban on Styrofoam products such as food containers, plates, and cups and 31 percent oppose it.
• 62 percent support the proposed “aid-in-dying” bill and 31 percent oppose it.
• 64 percent say the state spends too little on education, 24 percent say about the right amount.
• 66 percent support raising the minimum age for the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products and 31 percent oppose it.

Racial Justice Issues in Maryland

• 39 percent of all Marylanders agree that “people of all races receive equal treatment by the police in your community.”
  • Among African Americans, 18 percent agree.
  • Among whites, 47 percent agree.
• 55 percent of Marylanders agree that “racial minorities face discrimination on the job or at work in Maryland.”
  • Among African Americans, 69 percent agree.
  • Among whites, 47 percent agree.
• 53 percent of Marylanders agree that “race relations in Maryland have gotten worse over the past few years.”
  • Among African Americans, 54 percent agree.
  • Among whites, 54 percent agree.
• 24 percent of Marylanders agree that “the criminal justice system in Maryland treats whites and blacks equally.”
  • Among African Americans, 10 percent agree.
  • Among whites, 30 percent agree.
• 63 percent of Marylanders agree that “racism is a big problem in Maryland today.”
  • Among African Americans, 72 percent agree.
  • Among whites, 58 percent agree.

Gov. Larry Hogan made clear the message he wanted to send at his second inaugural address when he announced earlier this week that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush would introduce him at Wednesday’s ceremony in Annapolis.

Maryland’s Republican governor invoked Bush’s father, former President George H.W. Bush, as well as former Sen. John McCain and his own father, former U.S. Rep. Larry Hogan Sr., the first Republican to come out for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, in making the case for moderate leadership and bipartisanship in his address. Hogan did not mention President Donald Trump by name, or the current federal government shutdown, in his 1,700-plus word speech. But highlighting those former establishment-wing members of GOP leaders was widely viewed as a rebuke of the embattled president and de facto head of today’s Republican Party.

“Party loyalty,” Hogan said, quoting his father during the Watergate scandal with words that have a certain resonance at the moment, “and personal affection and precedents of the past must fall before the arbiter of men’s actions: the law itself. No man, not even the President of the United States, is above the law.”

Hogan pledged civility and a “humble, tolerant, respectful, and effective government that has worked together and found bipartisan, commonsense solutions.”

Jeb Bush, of course, was initially the frontrunner to win the 2016 GOP presidential nomination before Trump’s surprising takeover of the party’s base. Hogan praised his model of leadership in purple Florida and his family’s commitment to public service in his address.

“Let’s repudiate the debilitating politics practiced elsewhere—including just down the road in Washington—where insults substitute for debate, recriminations for negotiation, and gridlock for compromise; where the heat, finger-pointing, and rancor suffocates the light, and the only result is divisiveness and dysfunction,” Hogan said.

Hogan also made the pitch that Maryland has “already shown a better path forward” under his first term in the Governor’s Mansion. He apparently has made a believer out of Jeb Bush, a frequent Trump critic. “What’s happening here in Annapolis is the antithesis of what’s happening in Washington, D.C., these days,” Bush told the crowd of several hundred people in Annapolis.

In November, Hogan became just the second Republican governor ever re-elected in Maryland and first to be re-elected in 65 years. In such an overwhelming Democratic state, his moderate style and bipartisan approach has no doubt been due, at least in part, from necessity.

At the same time, Hogan has worked with the Democratic-led General Assembly on a number of issues, including banning fracking, protecting the state’s Affordable Care Act provisions, and directing casino taxes to boost education funding. Last month, Hogan opened an event in Washington, D.C.—“Starting Over: The Center-Right After Trump”—because of his success governing as a moderate in the state.

After his double-digit reelection win over Democratic nominee Ben Jealous this fall, Hogan’s name has been bandied about as potential national Republican leader and even future presidential candidate—should the GOP turn away from Trump and Trumpism. “[Hogan] lays a path that we might want to pay attention to,” Jerry Taylor, president of the nonpartisan Niskanen Center think tank, told The Washington Post.

In his post-election remarks, Hogan blamed Trump for the Republican’s overall poor results, and said he wants to be part of the national conversation about moving the party forward. At his post-inauguration gala, Hogan literally entered the event in carrying a purple surfboard, which he says he road over Maryland’s blue wave.

The surprises in this year’s state elections, it turned out, were all in the races for county executive. Starting with Baltimore County.

Recap: John “Johnny O” Olszewski Jr. won one of the closest elections in state history when he slipped past a pair of more conservative Democrats, state Sen. Jim Brochin and Councilwoman Vicky Almond in a near three-way tie. Olszewski, running as a progressive, won the recount by 17 votes. Statistically, that’s less than .1 percent.

Then, versus Republican Al Redmer—enthusiastically backed by incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan, who won the county by more 24 percent Tuesday—the general election contest turned out to be no contest. Instead, the 36-year-old Olszewski (pronounced: Ol-shess-ski) posted a stunning 15-point victory, a nearly 40-point Democratic swing from the gubernatorial results.

Democrat Calvin Ball’s upset of Allan Kittleman, the moderate Republican incumbent county executive in Howard County, was significant, of course. So was Democrat Steuart Pittman’s upset of Republican incumbent county executive Steve Schuh in Anne Arundel County. But perhaps no local story was more compelling than Olszewski’s political comeback from a tough loss four years ago for an open state senate seat in the Dundalk-area district where he was born, raised, and still lives.

“I think [the loss four years ago] humbled him,” said one local Democratic Party insider of Olszewski. “I think it made him a better listener.”

Olszewski’s loss to Republican Johnny Ray Salling, by little more than 800 votes, certainly had a lot to do with southeast Baltimore County’s blue-to-red tilt in recent years. However, Olszewski deserves credit, not just for picking up the pieces and running for office again, but for spending two years laying the groundwork for his successful comeback, and in particular, reaching out to voters on the other side of county.

“He made every town hall meeting, met with every church group, and met with every organization on the west side,” said Shirley Supik, a Woodlawn-area Democrat. “He’s a service guy. He’s a man who listens.”

“He knows as many people on this side of town as the east side, I guarantee you that,” added her husband, Jeff Supik, 66, a former general contractor. “In this county, education is the most important issue and he’s made it clear it’s on the top of his list. He’s been a teacher and he has a Ph.D., which shows how important education is to him.”

Olszewski, who as he puts it “grew up in the shadow” of the once-great Bethlehem Steel mill, is young, but hardly a political newcomer. If anything, what his election has shown, is that he possesses the ability to pull off a tough balancing act—remaining viable to blue-collar, Democratic Hogan voters as well as the more progressive wing of his party. Not that it’s been easy.

While in the House of Delegates, Olszewski cast a key vote in 2012 in support of civil marriage for same-sex couples. The following year, perhaps with a state senate bid in mind in conservative District 6, he voted against the assault weapons ban—which passed—a vote he characterized as a mistake during this election season.

And, although he doesn’t push back against the progressive label, neither did he campaign with Bernie Sanders-endorsed, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous. In a recent interview with Baltimore magazine, he highlighted votes in the General Assembly against higher sales, alcohol, and gasoline taxes, and opposition to toll increases. “Some of that is being born in an industrial town where people work hard for their money and sort of, valuing that as a life lesson,” Olszewski said.

The eldest son of former County Councilman John Olszewski Sr.’s three sons, Olszewski got an early start in the family business with a student-member appointment to the Baltimore County Board of Education as a Sparrows Point High senior. Three years later, he was elected to the Maryland Democratic State Central Committee, and in 2006 he was appointed to fill a House of Delegates vacancy left by the late John Arnick, where he was twice reelected. Olszewski was the youngest person elected to lead the Baltimore County delegation in the House of Delegates, and taught for seven years at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts before earning a doctorate in public policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He’s married, with one young daughter, and lives in the St. Helena neighborhood.

During his campaign, he came out in favor of a statewide $15 minimum wage, a single-payer health care system in Maryland, and an end to cash bail. He supports the Trust Act—legislation, which would protect local government resources from being used to enforce civil immigration enforcement—and a goal of 100 percent renewable energy for Baltimore County government operations by 2030. He also supports spending taxpayer dollars to build infrastructure to aid the Tradepoint Atlantic redevelopment project, already home to Amazon, Fed Ex, and Under Armour distribution facilities, at Sparrows Point.

Most notably, he enthusiastically supported the Home Act on the campaign trail—which forbids housing discrimination in Baltimore County based on the source of income. It may have been the defining issue of the 2018 electoral season in Baltimore County and, in fact, Olszewski believes it doesn’t go far enough.

Brochin, Almond, and Redmer all opposed the anti-housing discrimination law.

During a visit to the Baltimore offices after his win, we asked County Executive-elect Olszewski a few more questions about his policies. And also a few questions about some other things.

Larry Hogan Becomes First Republican Governor to Be Re-Elected Since 1954.
In convincing fashion, Larry Hogan became the first Republican governor in Maryland in more than 60 years to win a second term Tuesday.

Not since Theodore McKeldin in the 1950s had voters in the state awarded a Republican a second four-year stay in the Governor’s Mansion, but Hogan’s victory hardly came as a surprise. The popular Anne Arundel County-based real estate developer, who survived a well-publicized bout with cancer in his first term, led Democratic challenger Ben Jealous by double digits throughout the general election season.

Pledging to hold the line on taxes and create a more business-friendly climate in the state, Hogan attracted more than enough centrist and conservative Democrats to his GOP base to easily overcome a 2-1 Democratic registration advantage in the state.

“Let me remind you that Maryland has always been a state of middle temperate,” Hogan said in his acceptance remarks, adding his administration has sought a bi-partisan approach to governing since its outset four years ago. “I’m proud we are setting an example for rest of America.

Jealous, the former head of the NAACP, had finally gained some momentum in the last couple of weeks of the campaign, but for all intents and purposes, the race was decided shortly after the primaries, according to political observers. “The Republican Governors Association and Hogan ads defined Jealous, who struggled with fundraising, as risky and extreme before he ever responded,” said Goucher College political science professor and pollster Mileah Kromer. “When you allow your opponent to define you in politics, that’s never a good thing.”

“Ben Jealous tried very hard to make the election a referendum on Donald Trump, and then a referendum on health care and the minimum wage, but there never was a defining message,” said Todd Eberly, a St. Mary’s College political science professor. “It was a scattershot approach and just too little, too late.”

Baltimore County Elects Johnny O.
In Baltimore County, which Hogan carried by a wide margin, voters overwhelming elected Democratic Johnny Olszewski, who captured 57 percent of the tally, and defeated Republican Al Redmer.

Olszewski, running on a progressive platform, won a three-way Democratic primary battle in the county by just 17 votes before besting Redmer, who had received the enthusiastic backing of Hogan. The victory marks something of a comeback for Olszewski, a former teacher and Baltimore County state delegate from Dundalk, who lost a bid for the state senate four years ago.

“He’s been to every church and met with every organization and people have gotten to know him and they trust him,” said Shirley Supik, an Olszewski supporter from Woodlawn, at a rally over the weekend. “He’s a man who listens.”

“Education is a priority with him,” added her husband, Jeff Supik, 66, a former general contractor. “He’s shown that and it’s the number one issue in this county.”

There Was (Mostly) a Blue Wave in Maryland.
Hogan’s strong approval ratings translated into 56 percent of the tally in the gubernatorial race, but did not produce any coattails, however. Democrats managed to flip two important suburban county executive seats as well as maintaining their veto-proof majority in the General Assembly.

The GOP went into Election Day with hopes, albeit against long odds, of turning five state senate seats from blue to red—their “Drive for Five” effort—which would’ve enabled Hogan and Republican party to redraw the state’s legislative districts in 2020.

Democratic Attorney General Brian Frosh, who has clashed with Hogan, in particular in regards to federal lawsuits directed at the President Trump, won reelection by nearly 30 points over Republican challenger Craig Wolf.

As expected, Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Cardin also easily won reelection.

Nationally, the Democrats recaptured control of the House of Representatives, but the GOP kept its advantage in the U.S. Senate.

In terms of the Maryland congressional seats up for grabs, there were no upsets in the state. Democrats held onto all seven of their seats in the House, with incumbents Dutch Ruppersberger, Elijah Cummings, Jon Sarbanes, Anthony Brown, Steny Hoyer, and Jaime Raskin all easily winning reelection. In the 6th congressional district, Democrat David Trone won, replacing John Delaney, who did not pursue reelection in order to launch a presidential campaign.

Republican Andy Harris, the lone GOP representative in the Maryland delegation, coasted to reelection in the 1st congressional district.

Democratic Upsets in Howard and Anne Arundel Counties.
In Howard and Anne Arundel counties—both of which Hogan won handily—incumbent Republican county executives unexpectedly lost to their Democrat challengers. In Howard County, County Councilman Calvin Ball upset Allan Kittleman. In Anne Arundel County, Steuart Pittman, a farmer and community organizer, surprised Steve Schuh.

Ball will be the first African-American Howard County executive and plans to invest in education, environmental sustainability, and the opioid crisis.

Of course, the 300-pound elephant in the campaign is managing the $50 million plan to mitigate flooding in Ellicott City. Kittleman announced the plan in August and Ball voted against the three funding bills because his amendments were not included. Ball told The Sun on Tuesday that he would “take time to evaluate all plans in progress for effectiveness and efficiency . . . and make a decision from there.”

Olszewski, Ball, and Pittman’s victories could put them on the early list of potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates for 2022. For Kittleman and Schuh, viewed as possible Republican gubernatorial contenders in four years, their losses make any future Annapolis run more difficult.

During a busy final weekend push to get out voters, Democratic gubernatorial challenger Ben Jealous rallied with comedian and longtime family friend Dave Chappelle, as well as actress and activist Rosario Dawson at historic Gwynn Oak Park on Saturday afternoon.

The site of a series of ultimately successful desegregation demonstrations in the 1960s, the setting provided a particularly compelling backdrop for Jealous, the former NAACP leader who is vying to become the first black governor in Maryland history. Jealous noted that his own mother, who grew up in West Baltimore, “couldn’t play in the park as a child.”

“Oh, we’re going to play in this park,” interrupted Chappelle, a Silver Spring native, to laughter and applause.

“If you want to make Donald Trump’s blood pressure go up,” Jealous continued, “send a civil rights leader to the governor’s office.”

Chappelle, who has known Jealous since they were teenagers, has been a regular presence alongside Jealous on the campaign trail in recent weeks—knocking on doors over the weekend and even helping one potential voter with her groceries.

Dawson, co-founder of Voto Latino, talked about Jealous’ plans to make health care affordable for everyone, expand public education, and raise the minimum wage.

“We have to change the narrative and conversation,” Dawson said. “Right now it feels very hopeless for a lot of people.”

More than 660,000 Maryland voters went to the polls during the eight-day early voting period that ended last week. That record number is more than double the turnout during 2014 mid-term elections, but the expectation among campaign officials is that at least another 600,0000 Marylanders will vote Tuesday on Election Day.

While Jealous was in Gwynn Oak Park, incumbent Republican Gov. Larry Hogan was meeting with voters in Grasonville on Maryland’s Eastern Shore Saturday.

Hogan, running on a business-friendly, anti-tax platform, has received high approval ratings from Marylanders during his first term and has been buoyed by a huge fundraising advantage in his reelection bid.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Hogan told supporters.

Polls have shown Hogan leading Jealous by double-digit margins throughout the campaign season. Jealous and Democratic officials, however, are hoping the party’s 2-1 registration advantage in the state and record turnout—boosted by a blue wave of anti-Donald Trump sentiment in Maryland—can lead to an upset.

Also on hand showing support for Jealous were Maryland U.S. senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Baltimore County state delegate Charles Sydnor, Democratic state senate candidate Jill Carter, Baltimore City Council members Brandon Scott, Ryan Dorsey, and Kris Burnett, and Susan Turnbull, his lieutenant governor running mate.

Krish Vignarajah, former policy director for First Lady Michelle Obama, who ran against Jealous in the Democratic primary for governor, made the event’s opening remarks. She highlighted the need for change in the state, starting with “kids freezing in classrooms and being warehoused in buildings with no air conditioning.”

“I grew up in this area,” said Vignarajah, a Sri Lanka immigrant and Woodlawn High School graduate. “My family fled a civil war when I was nine months old at a time when America was its true self. I went from Woodlawn to the White House and this is how I know we need Ben Jealous in Annapolis.”

Jealous is one of three black Democratic candidates, along with Stacy Abrams, a Yale law school graduate and former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, and Andrew Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, who could become their state’s first black governors if elected Tuesday.

Jealous’ parents—Ann, who is black, and Fred Jealous, who is white—met as Baltimore City schoolteachers. Both were civil rights activists, with his mother participating in the desegregation of Western High School. Their marriage was prohibited in Maryland prior to 1967 and they eventually moved to California where Jealous was born.

Looking over the diverse group of supporters gathered Saturday, Jealous mentioned his father was raised in Maine, where one of his uncles ran a lumberyard in rural community, and where he returns from time to time.

“This crowd looks a lot like a Jealous family reunion,” he observed.

Good news for procrastinators: There is still time to register and cast a ballot in the 2018 elections.

The bad news: Today is your last chance.

In Maryland, the early voting period—which began on October 25 and allows same-day registration and voting at the same polling place—comes to an end today at 8 p.m. There are seven early voting centers in Baltimore City, 11 in Baltimore County, and more in the surrounding counties.

According to the State Board of Elections, all residents will need to register is a state-issued ID card that shows proof of your name and address. You can also update your address at an early voting center, however, you cannot change your party affiliation until after the election.

Official sample ballots for each jurisdiction are also online. The most significant office up for grabs, of course, is for governor with incumbent Republican Larry Hogan and Democratic challenger Ben Jealous facing off. In the attorney general race, incumbent Brian Frosh is being challenged by Republican Craig Wolf.

In the Baltimore County Executive race, Democrat John “Johnny O” Olszewski Jr. is competing with Republican Al Redmer Jr. to replace Kevin Kamenetz—who served two terms, and passed away while competing in Democratic primary for governor earlier this year. Congressional, state delegate, and state senate seats are also up for grabs across the state, along with a plethora of other locally elected positions.

Early voting turnout is up dramatically in the state—as it is around the country. In fact, early voting numbers in Maryland have doubled since the last governor’s race in 2014, when Republican incumbent Larry Hogan beat Democratic candidate Anthony Brown with more than 400,000 Marylanders coming out to vote.

For Democratic challenger Ben Jealous, who is trailing significantly in terms of the polling, the big early voting numbers have to translate into a record turnout overall to pull a similar upset.

“For Ben Jealous to win, this high turnout has to continue into Election Day,” Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College, told the Baltimore Sun. “If he can turn out a younger, more diverse electorate, then he has a chance to win.”

Police responded to the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday during morning services following reports of an active shooter. The shooter has been identified as Robert Bowers, who walked into the synagogue with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and three pistols and began shooting, killing 11 and injuring six more.

Bowers is being charged with 29 federal counts, including several hate crimes.

“They’re committing genocide to my people,” he told a SWAT officer after being shot and captured, according to a federal criminal complaint released ­Sunday. “I just want to kill Jews.”

The Anti-Defamation League, an international Jewish organization that fights anti-semitism and bigotry, says that this shooting is the the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in America.

The names of the victims were released on Sunday, the oldest being 97-year-old Rose Mallinger, who lived in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood and was a faithful member of the Tree of Life temple. Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband, Sylvan, 86, were married at the Tree of Life synagogue in December 1956, and died together there on Saturday along with brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal.

This tragedy has sparked worldwide outrage with local officials and clergy speaking out about the horrific loss.

The Baltimore Hebrew Congregation held a special service on Sunday morning to mourn with the families who lost their loved ones in the shooting. Rabbi Elissa Sachs-Kohen addressed the congregation detailing how devastated she is at the loss of life in the Jewish community.

“My heart is so heavy this morning,” she said to the congregation. “And my heart is heavy with fear. Not fear that I, or someone I love will be the next target, though that is real. My heart is heavy with fear that we will send our thoughts and prayers; that we will go on Facebook and Instagram and with a tear on the face of a yellow emoji express our sadness and that we will think that is enough. That is not enough.”

Senator Ben Cardin, who attended the service on Sunday, took to social media to express his outrage about the act of hate.

“Heartbroken and horrified by the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue,” he said in a tweet. “Just appalling. I’m thinking of and praying for the entire Squirrel Hill community today. And I’m grateful as ever for our first responders. We cannot—we WILL NOT—accept this as normal. I refuse.”

Governor Larry Hogan also expressed his grief on Twitter, even reaching out to the Governor of Pennsylvania to offer assistance “to help our neighbors.”

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the horrific shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh,” he wrote. “Our prayers are with the victims and those were were injured.”

Senator Chris Van Hollen took to Twitter to plead for a stop to gun violence.

“Horror strikes again,” he wrote. “My heart goes out to Pittsburgh. We must end the hate. We must stop the gun violence. We have it in our power to save lives. Hate, silence, and failure to act have deadly consequences.”

With 10 days before the start of early voting and one month before Election Day, Democratic challenger Ben Jealous is still finding it difficult to make inroads against incumbent Republican Governor Larry Hogan, according to a new Gonzales Poll released Wednesday.

Across the state, 54 percent of likely voters indicate they plan to vote for Hogan, while 36 percent say they will vote for Ben Jealous—an 18-point margin that is only slightly narrower than the 20-point lead Hogan had in a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released earlier this week.

“Free State voters are on the doorstep of reelecting a GOP governor for the first time since many liked Ike, and we all loved Lucy,” pollster Patrick Gonzales said in a statement accompanying the release of the poll. In the worst of times—the very worst political environment imaginable—a Democrat in Maryland begins the race with 40 percent. Mr. Jealous has not yet reached that minimum threshold a little more than a week before early voting commences.”

Two percent of likely voters say they’ll vote for either Libertarian candidate Shawn Quinn or Green Party candidate Ian Schlakman, and eight percent are undecided.

Meanwhile, support for Donald Trump ticked up five points in Maryland since August—as the controversial Brett Kavanaugh nomination was in the news—with 41 percent of state voters now indicating they approve of the job the president is doing. Statewide, 55 percent disapprove (with 48 percent “strongly” disapproving) of the job that Trump is doing.

Hogan captured a third of the registered Democrats in the state in the Gonzales Poll, running up enormous margins in the Baltimore suburbs (64 percent to 25 percent), the eastern, western, and southern parts of the state. Jealous leads in Baltimore City, but by just 10 percent (50-40) and the Washington metro area by 17 percent (53-36.) Jealous leads in Prince George’s County where Hogan’s father once served as county executive, 64 percent to 23 percent, but is only tied with Hogan in traditionally liberal Montgomery County.

The Gonzales Poll, with a plus or minor margin of error of 3.5 percent, was conducted during the first week of October.

Overall, Hogan remains very popular with 67 percent of voters holding either a “very favorable” (44 percent) or “somewhat favorable” (23 percent) opinion of the governor. By party, 86 percent of Republicans and 59 percent of Democrats hold a favorable opinion of Hogan. Sixty-two percent believe Maryland is moving in the “right direction” and 20 percent believe it is on the “wrong track.”

A mid-September Goucher Poll had Hogan ahead by 22 points, albeit many voters indicating they supported policies backed by Jealous, suggesting the challenger could possibly gain traction. That has not transpired.

In terms of race, the majority of both white Marylanders (68 percent) and black Marylanders (53 percent) approve of the job Hogan is doing.

However, there is a big distinction between white Marylanders’ and black Marylanders’ perceptions of Jealous, who is vying to become the first African-American governor in the state. While black voters in the state overwhelmingly have a favorable opinion of Jealous (65 percent to 7 percent), white voters do not (28 to 44).

Earlier this week, Jealous said the Hogan campaign was using a political ad that mocked his stutter.

The unusual support for a Republican governor in traditionally blue Maryland where Democrats hold a 2-1-voter registration advantage also appears to be helping make the race for Attorney General closer than expected. In that campaign, Democratic incumbent Brian Frosh holds a nine-point lead, 43 percent to 34 percent, over Republican challenger Craig Wolf, with 23 percent undecided.

Incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan and his Democratic challenger, former NAACP president Ben Jealous, squared off in a lively, at times contentious, debate Monday hosted by Maryland Public Television.

The two candidates painted vastly different portraits of the state, with Hogan, not surprisingly, making the case that Maryland is on the right track and Jealous challenging that assertion at every opportunity.

Jealous went after Hogan on the state’s economy, noting employment remains below that of other states in the region, the declining performance of public schools, rising health care costs and violent crime rates in Maryland, the cancellation of the Red Line mass transit project in Baltimore, and the still-escalating opioid epidemic.

Firing back, Hogan defended his record of holding the line on tax increases, fees, and business regulations, and cited positive economic progress. When Jealous stated Maryland has been “dead last in the region with job growth,” Hogan, who repeated campaign condemnations of the direction of the state under his predecessor, Martin O’Malley, answered, “We’ve had one of the greatest economic turnarounds in the nation.”

According to a Baltimore Sun post-debate fact-check, Maryland ranks fourth out of five state and the District of Columbia in job creation.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway is voters would be served by another debate—or two—which would help clarify and sharpen the candidate’s facts, positions and agendas. In 2014, Democratic Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and then GOP-nominee Hogan participated in three televised debates, all of which were held in October, the month before the general election.

Hogan is vying become the first Maryland Republican to be re-elected governor in more than six decades. Jealous, if elected, would be the first black governor in Maryland history and just the third black governor elected in U.S. history. Currently, there are no sitting black governors in the country.

Along with battles over education funding, teacher pay increases (Jealous proposes a 29 percent raise for teachers) and a vision for improving schools, transportation proved a major area of contention. Hogan pitched his work in improving the Washington, D.C. Metro subway, his green light of the Montgomery and Prince George’s Purple Line, and increased spending on highway expansion between D.C. and the Maryland suburbs, and elsewhere in the state. Jealous countered that Hogan’s I-270 and I-295 transportation projects amounted “toll lanes for rich people” and would not solve the state’s daily traffic woes, which include some of the longest commuter times in the country.

Hogan attempted to portray Jealous as an outsider from California, noting he had not registered to vote in the state prior to 2012, but at the same time opened the door to one of Jealous’ most compelling moments of the debate. Jealous, whose parents’ biracial marriage was not legal in Maryland when they wed in 1966, were both Baltimore public school teachers and civil rights activists. Jealous recounted his own life story and that of his family, including his 101-year-old grandmother who never left the city, as well as his frequent summer visits to Baltimore, which he described as “home.”

Hogan touted his bipartisan efforts with the General Assembly to pass tougher gun control measures, stop proposed Trump Administration efforts to cut Chesapeake Bay restoration funding, and passing criminal justice reform legislation to reduce the state’s prison population. He also described Jealous’ Medicare-for-All, universal pre-K and free community college proposals, and other initiatives as too burdensome on taxpayers and “reckless.”

He characterized Jealous’ intention on further reducing the state’s prison population as an effort “to put murderers and rapists and repeat violent offenders back on the street.” Jealous, noting he has lost family members in Howard and Prince George’s counties to violence, responded that Hogan’s remarks were “out of the old [GOP] playbook right from Willie Horton to Donald Trump.”

Jealous also tried to tie Hogan to the president’s immigration policies—the governor sent Maryland National Guard troops to the Mexican border, for example—as well as controversial Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, a supporter of private charters and private school vouchers. Hogan responded by saying he called the Maryland troops back to the state and merely accompanied DeVos to a reading at Montgomery County school as he did previously with previous education secretaries.

Jealous also forced the governor to defend his record on the opioid epidemic in the state, pointing to huge increases in overdose deaths statewide in recent years, and saying it took Hogan too long, two years, to declare a state emergency after running on the issue four years ago. Hogan replied that he was the first governor in the country to declare a state of emergency around the public health epidemic.

Afterward, Jealous supporters, including former Democratic primary challenger state Senator Rich Madaleno praised his performance. “You can see why the Governor doesn’t want to have another debate,” Madaleno said.

“This is the tipping point in this race,” said Baltimore City Council member Brandon Scott, a former candidate for lieutenant governor on Democratic primary challenger Jim Shea’s ticket.

The Hogan team was equally confident about his performance.

“We’re up 22 points,” said Doug Mayer, Hogan’s deputy campaign manager. “Nothing that happened in that room is going to change that.”

Election Day is November 6, with early voting beginning October 25 and running through November 1.

Outside West Baltimore’s Shake & Bake Family Fun Center, 15 brand new, all-terrain Department of Public Works litter vehicles line the sidewalk. Courtesy of a $500,000 Keep Maryland Beautiful grant from the state, the fleet of golf-cart size street sweepers is being unveiled this morning as the Cardinal Shehan school choir—of Good Morning America fame—kicks off what is billed as Governor Larry Hogan’s “regional cabinet meeting” inside the iconic roller rink.

“Cardinal Shehan school choir—incredible. Wow. I mean they put me in a hard spot,” a beaming Hogan exclaims after a rousing rendition of “Rise Up.” “I’m not sure how you follow anything like that choir.”

The governor has brought his top officials with him, including Pete Rahn, head of the Department of Transportation, and Ken Holt, the state’s housing secretary, but the event has the unmistakable feel of a crowd-for-hire campaign rally. Those cramming into the Shake & Bake—mostly white, largely made up of Maryland government employees in suits and dresses sporting state ID badges—break into applause and standing ovations during the governor’s remarks, while he touts administration efforts in the city. Even the majority of the police officers on hand appear to be from Annapolis.

Tellingly, before Keiffer Mitchell, the former city councilman and current senior advisor to the governor, introduced Hogan, he began his remarks by describing the black renaissance history of Pennsylvania Avenue and the story behind the roller rink, which was started decades ago by former Colt Glenn “Shake & Bake” Doughty.

Neither “The Avenue” nor the roller rink needs an introduction to West Baltimoreans.

It would be easy, in other words, to dismiss the entire orchestration as mere political theater (Hogan implied it was a historic occasion). It is, after all, taking place on the first day of early primary voting, and the governor, without a Republican opponent, is spending the entire day in the heart of Democratic Baltimore, taking headlines away from the opposition. Except, the handful of invitees who live or work in West Baltimore and speak on the governor’s behalf are clearly impressed by Hogan’s outreach and sincerity, including Shionta Somerville, principal at nearby Carver Vocational-Technical High School. Not just today, but over the past four years.

“After his second visit [to Carver], people asked me, ‘How is the Governor?’” Somerville says. “Not people at school but friends of mine outside of school,” she adds with a smile, garnering nervous laughter from the audience, which is fully cognizant that a white Republican governor isn’t likely to engender much affection in heavily Democratic West Baltimore. “I say he’s just down to earth and very charming. I’ve never been very big on politics, but I’m big on people.”

As unlikely as it would’ve sounded at this time four years ago, when he trailed Democratic nominee Anthony Brown by double digits in the polls, Larry Hogan—a first-time Republican elected official in one of the bluest states in the country—is now the second-most-popular governor in the United States. According to a Morning Consult poll this summer, 68 percent of Maryland voters approve of the job Hogan is doing. Only Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, another Republican in a blue state, is more popular, by a single percentage point.

Of course, despite Somerville’s affection and kind words, and Hogan’s genuine talent for retail politics and relationship building, he is not going to carry Baltimore City this November. The overwhelming 10-1 Democratic registration advantage, and his original sins in the eyes of many in the city—cancelling the $2.9 billion Red Line transit project, breaking the decade-in-the-works $1.5 billion State Center redevelopment deal, holding back school funding weeks after the Freddie Gray uprising—are simply a bridge too far.

Also: Larry Hogan doesn’t need to win Baltimore. He didn’t in 2014. With broad support in the state’s suburban and rural counties, he just needs to mitigate the damage. So when Baltimore’s second-highest-ranking elected official, City Council President Jack Young, refuses to answer a reporter’s query about whether he will support the incumbent Republican governor or the Democratic nominee—it should ring alarms among the Democratic party faithful hoping to elect nominee Ben Jealous.

“You heard what people said. Look at his poll numbers,” Young says after offering words of praise for the governor in the lobby of the Shake & Bake as the Hogan event winds down. “I don’t have to tell you [who I’m voting for],” adds Young, suggesting he’s either a genuine fan of the governor, intimidated by his approval ratings, or both. “Who are you voting for?”

By now, most Maryland voters at least know the outline of Larry Hogan’s backstory. That his father, Larry Sr., was a U.S. Congressman and Prince George’s County Executive (also a former FBI agent and one of the first Republicans to come out against Richard Nixon after Watergate). That Hogan worked for his father and held a top appointment in the Republican administration of former Governor Bob Ehrlich, a friend since the pair were in their early 20s. That he was—and still is—the owner of a successful real estate company (while serving as governor, Hogan turned over leadership of his company to his brother and put his assets into a trust). And that he’s a self-described workaholic who didn’t marry until he was 48.

Less well known when he ran four years ago was that he’d run twice for his father’s old congressional seat and lost, which—silver lining here—meant he didn’t have to defend a voting record on Capitol Hill. It also effectively allowed Hogan to position himself as a political newbie in 2014 and an Anne Arundel County “small businessman.” He was anything but, obviously. He served as Maryland chairman of Youth for Reagan and four times as a delegate to the Republican National Convention, displaying sharp political instincts and a knack for savvy messaging from the outset of his stunning upset campaign. Hogan Companies have completed more than $2 billion in real estate deals since they were founded in 1985 and the governor has made roughly $2.4 million in combined corporate earnings and government salary since taking office.

Hogan had begun planting the seeds of what ultimately became his campaign when he launched a Facebook page in 2009 with the name Change Maryland and started trolling Governor Martin O’Malley—“Owe Malley” in red circles—over increases in state taxes, tolls, and fees, and the cost of regulations to businesses. That was five years before he announced his intent to run for governor. “Just a genius use of social media,” says Eberly, political science professor at St. Mary’s College in Southern Maryland. “I can’t think of anything like it before or since.”

In a recent interview at the Governor’s Mansion, Hogan says he was just frustrated at the time by the direction in Annapolis and didn’t necessarily intend to run for office himself. Borrowing from the opposition playbook, he took to Facebook after witnessing the Barack Obama’s groundbreaking use of social media. “It started to grow very quickly,” Hogan recalls. “I couldn’t find anyone I thought could win. [So], I decided to [jump in].”

Later, Hogan memorably—some would say cynically—dubbed an EPA-mandated, storm water management fee initiated by O’Malley “the Rain Tax,” honing his anti-tax message down to a three-word mantra. Avoiding hot-button social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage that could potentially plague a conservative candidate in Maryland, Hogan—an Irish Catholic who personally doesn’t support the right to choose and says he has “evolved” on gay marriage—simply declared the subjects settled.

Hogan also vowed not to go after the new gun-control laws passed in the state under O’Malley in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, and he has kept those promises. He even went further after the Parkland school shooting announcing he would support a “red flag” bill that would allow judges to temporarily require people to surrender firearms if they are deemed a danger to themselves or others.

Four years later, in his reelection campaign, he’s plugging positive job growth numbers in the state (although Maryland’s unemployment rate remains above the national average and neighboring Virginia and Pennsylvania), and his successful efforts to roll back tolls and push the first day of public school to after Labor Day.

“It’s been a pendulum swing from O’Malley,” says Jennifer Duffy, of the Cook Political Report, a national independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections. “Hogan doesn’t have an enormous record of accomplishment, and he’s not putting forth a grand vision for the second term, but he’s not raising taxes and he’s focused on deregulating rules for businesses. Maryland’s one of the wealthiest states in the country, has high-ranking public schools, and that’s enough for a lot voters who see no reason to change course.”

The attacks on O’Malley and the Rain Tax have also returned. The Maryland road signs Hogan changed after taking office still say, “We’re Open for Business.”

Hogan’s political success as a Republican governing a blue state is also something of a phenomenon, rarely seen in recent years outside of New England. (See Massachusetts governors Charlie Baker, William Weld, and Mitt Romney; Vermont Gov. Phil Scott; and New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu.) It has put him on the radar of the national Republican strategists who ponder the possibility of a Hogan presidential run—should a more moderate post-Trump GOP ever emerge.

“Larry Hogan is an interesting guy to watch,” says Rick Wilson, a longtime Republican strategist and author of Everything Trump Touches Dies. “He may not be on the radar of the average voter outside Maryland, but political nerds know him.”

“He’s charismatic, he’s a people person, and he loves to talk. He’s been that way for 35 years.”

To understand how Hogan ascended to the stunning position he’s in, which includes a 22-point lead over Jealous in last week’s Goucher College poll, it is worth remembering that he was not really known—think Q rating terms—even after he was first elected. In a low-turnout year, he won by garnering roughly 19 percent of the voting-age eligible population. Ordering the National Guard into Baltimore in the midst of the Freddie Gray uprising 97 days into his first term raised his profile, but he still was not a well-defined figure outside the political class.

That changed two months later when he held a press conference, his wife Yumi by his side, and informed Marylanders he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after discovering a lump on his neck during a trade mission to Asia. Staying on the job despite the tough rounds of chemotherapy—his bald pate a visible testament of the battle—the newly elected Hogan, gregarious and self-deprecating by nature, proved more than just relatable to the average Marylander, but courageous as well. “The best news is that my odds of getting through this and beating this are much, much better than the odds I had of beating Anthony Brown,” Hogan joked during the announcement.

Now, there remains a narrative that Hogan’s bout with cancer, fraught as it could’ve been, remains at the core of his statewide appeal. Undoubtedly, it provided a sympathetic boost and a turning point in his approval numbers. But to credit his record popularity three years later to mere goodwill would be not just unfair, but a mistake.

“Let me preface this by saying I don’t think a cancer diagnosis is ever a good thing, for anyone, ever,” says Mileah Kromer, a Goucher College political scientist and pollster. “That said, a lot of people in the state didn’t really know who Larry Hogan was up until then—they hadn’t had time to fully shape an identity around him—and then that did it. Every family has been affected by cancer. His approval numbers were in the 40s at the time, and they shot up. That is all true. But to focus only on that is to miss Hogan’s gifts as a politician.”

Those gifts include Hogan’s remarkable skill in navigating a General Assembly with veto-proof majorities in both the state House and Senate, and dancing, on a nearly daily basis it seems, around the chaotic presidency of Donald Trump, the face of his party, just 35 miles down the road.

Democrats in Maryland, which Trump lost by 26 points, would love nothing more to tie Trump like a lead weight around the governor. Mostly, however, Hogan nimbly sidesteps the Twitter barrage and controversial policies coming from the other Pennsylvania Avenue—the one in D.C. But he has also taken some questionable positions and made some questionable statements for the leader of a blue state.

He remained mostly silent in the wake of the president’s Muslim travel ban and called efforts to limit state cooperation with ICE’s ramped-up deportation of immigrants “absurd,” for example. (In his first year in office, Hogan told the federal government Syrian refugees were not welcome in Maryland.) Two of his officials signed off on the state’s participation in a controversial Trump Administration effort probing alleged voter fraud. He joined embattled U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on a visit to a Montgomery County school, but declined to comment on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, a pick many legal observers believe could imperil Roe v. Wade.

Most of these potentially polarizing episodes don’t stick to Hogan, however, and his ability to defuse problematic issues and appear pragmatic and reasonable have become a hallmark.

Hogan makes walking the difficult tightrope between the president’s words and deeds in more liberal Maryland almost look easy, says Richard Vatz, a professor of rhetoric and communications at Towson University. Stylistically, says Vatz, he’s able to alleviate middle-of-the-road Democratic voter concerns while not alienating the Republican base, by presenting himself as “not Trump” rather than “anti-Trump.” “When he does agree with the president’s agenda,” Vatz adds, “he goes out of the way to say he supports the policy, not necessarily the person behind it.”

“The real ‘Trump effect’ is that he is making Hogan look like a moderate,” Kromer says.

The General Assembly did override Hogan vetoes to pass a paid sick leave bill and higher renewable energy benchmarks, among other legislation, but overall he’s proved adept at avoiding losing fights in the state legislature, the importance of which he learned from his stint in the combative Ehrlich Administration. He maintains a solid rapport with powerful Senate President Mike Miller, who has known Hogan, through his father, since the governor was a teenager. “I let a lot of pitches go by,” Hogan says. “Where there is common ground, we work together.”

Hogan has let an automatic MVA voter registration, Planned Parenthood funding, and oyster sanctuary bills become laws without his signature to avoid veto override fights. He worked with the legislature to prevent Marylanders from losing their health care coverage following Trump Administration policy changes related to Obamacare and to oppose EPA cuts to Chesapeake Bay restoration funds. He collaborated with the General Assembly in putting together a $5-billion incentive offer to lure Amazon to Montgomery County.

But Hogan has also developed a knack for getting behind popular legislation he initially opposed. The fracking ban and the education lockbox amendment to the state constitution—which he now refers to as the “Hogan Lockbox” in a television ad—were first put forth and pushed by Democratic legislators. This week, Hogan began displaying a red apple, the trademarked logo of the 80,000-member Maryland State Education Association, on social media and campaign materials even though the teacher’s union has endorsed his Democratic opponent.

Hogan’s greatest gift as a politician, however, apparent to anyone who has crossed paths with him on the boardwalk in Ocean City, walking in Dundalk’s annual Fourth of July parade, or mingling at the Shake & Bake for that matter, is not his flair for branding or his political agility, as remarkable as those skills are. It’s a rare combination of personality traits for politicians: Hogan is not just an astute political animal, he is a happy warrior on the campaign trail, fun to be around, and disciplined off it.

No one has to ask the governor twice to pose for a selfie.

“He’s charismatic, he’s opinionated, he’s a people person, and he loves to talk,” says his old boss Ehrlich, who now works for the D.C. office of law firm King and Spalding. “He’s been that way for 35 years. Not all politicians are outgoing, but it helps, and he’s very outgoing.”

Hogan makes walking the difficult tightrope between the president’s words and deeds in more liberal Maryland almost look easy.

None of this, however, matters to progressive Democratic leaders and activists in Baltimore.

When Hogan brought his team to the Shake & Bake, local lay minister Glenn Smith, vice president of the Baltimore Equity Transit Coalition, led a small protest on Pennsylvania Avenue. Hogan’s spiking of the shovel-ready 14-mile, $2.9 billion Red Line transit project remains an issue because the lack of reliable public transportation remains the biggest impediment to employment in many neighborhoods, Smith says. “This was 13 years of planning, working with community leaders and community associations, and then just to come in and call it a ‘boondoggle,’ instead of, ‘How can we fix this? What can be improved?’ And to send $900 million back to the federal government—who does that?” says Smith, whose organization is trying to revive the once-in-a-generation initiative. “It felt punitive and mean-spirited.”

The governor admits no formal review document of the project was ever produced. State funds that would have been spent in Baltimore were diverted to highway projects in other parts of the state with higher concentrations of white residents, precipitating a civil rights complaint from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU, which the Trump Administration dismissed shortly after taking office.

At the same time, Hogan did green-light the Purple Line transit project, connecting suburban Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Those two decisions together seemed to underscore a shift in the power structure in the state from Baltimore City to the booming D.C. suburbs.

Subsequently, the Hogan Administration’s $135 million effort to improve the MTA bus system in Baltimore has failed to become the “transformational” public transit system he promised. According to a study by the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, on-time scores have not improved, and access to all jobs has marginally decreased since the change. More recently, an independent review after a four-week closure of the Metro Subway over potentially dangerous and long-ignored safety issues found troubling problems with the state transit agency, including poor inspection and maintenance practices and a failure to follow industry standards. Baltimore region commute times rank among the worst in country, surpassing even Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Hogan, who says there are no new plans to address transportation woes within Baltimore City, has backed two high-speed rail projects, the Northeast Maglev and Elon Musk-pitched Hyperloop initiative between Baltimore and D.C, which further agitates some Baltimoreans. “The big problem for Baltimoreans is not getting to Washington, but getting across the city. Moving east-west has been a problem since the 19th century,” says former Johns Hopkins professor and Baltimore City historian Matthew Crenson. “The Maglev and Hyperloop make me furious.”

When Hogan opened his Baltimore City campaign office on North Avenue, City Council members Brandon Scott, Zeke Cohen, and State Delegate Brooke Lierman organized a counter press event across the street.

“There is a record here, and it is not a good record for Baltimore,” Lierman told the Real News Network, highlighting the Red Line, as well as the $1.5 billion redevelopment of State Center, now mired in lawsuits after Hogan’s decision to pull out of the deal. “I’m on the Appropriations Committee. Every year, it is a battle to make sure we are funding the priorities in Baltimore,” she added in an interview with the Real News Network. “Whether that’s the Baltimore Regional Neighborhoods Initiative, whether that’s funding for the Enoch Pratt, every year he cuts those initiatives out of his budget, and the General Assembly has to put that money back in and find money.”

Cohen, a former Baltimore City teacher and chair of the City Council’s Education and Youth Committee, said Hogan has underfunded city schools “somewhere in the range of $290 million to $360 million per year, depending on what study you follow” and alleged that when city school boilers “were bursting across the city and the children were in freezing classrooms . . . Governor Hogan was nowhere to be found.”

Cohen also called out Hogan for referring to unionized teachers as “thugs.”

Dave Werkmeister, a 34-year-old IT sales professional and Patterson Park Neighborhood Association member, voted for Hogan four years ago. Hogan won the city’s first district, the geographical bottom of the so-called “White L,” and may very well do so again, but Werkmeister says he’s been disappointed in Hogan’s actions related to Baltimore. “[The Hogan Administration] put out a map of all the major transportation projects in the state, and literally Baltimore City had been removed from the map,” Werkmeister says. “Symbolically, that said everything to me.”

The low point, in terms of Hogan’s rhetoric toward the city, probably came during the trial of the first police officer in the death of Freddie Gray. On WBAL Radio’s C4 Show, Hogan expressed “concern” that while people were venting their frustration over the death of Gray, who had died in police custody, no one was protesting about the 330 other people murdered in city. As City Councilman Brandon Scott responded, that was not just factually wrong—given the 300 Men Marches, Enough is Enough rallies, Citizens on Patrol Walks, and litany of vigils and efforts—it was disrespectful to the thousands of residents who want nothing more than to quell violence in the city.

It was also dismissive of the troubling and criminal problems within the Baltimore Police Department, highlighted by a Department of Justice investigation and punctuated by the recent convictions of eight members of the department’s Gun Trace Task Force.

In 2015, Hogan’s top housing official, Kenneth Holt, told a gathering at the annual summer conference of the Maryland Association of Counties that he was looking to loosen state lead paint poisoning laws, suggesting current statutes could motivate mothers to intentionally poison their children in order to receive free housing.

“Larry Hogan may be doing a great job for other parts of the state,” Werkmeister continues. “And I am not about to tell someone who lives in another part of the state, in another county, that he’s not. I don’t know that. I live here.”

At some point, pollster Kromer believes, one way or another, the city’s high crime and poverty rates, criminal justice problems, school funding shortages, and lack of reliable transportation, affordable housing, and living-wage jobs—will have to be addressed by Hogan. If for no other reason than Jealous, whose parents have Baltimore roots and who needs a big turnout in the city for the race to be close, will bring it up.

Hogan would rather keep the focus on the State of Maryland than the state of Baltimore, Kromer says. “But Baltimore will be litigated.”

If the election were today, 54 percent of likely Maryland voters would cast their ballot for incumbent Republican Larry Hogan in the race for governor, according to the latest Goucher College poll. Thirty-two percent say they would vote for Democratic candidate Ben Jealous.

Green Party candidate Ian Schlakman and Libertarian candidate Shawn Quinn each received one percent of the support of likely voters.

Nine percent of voters remain undecided. Another quarter of likely voters indicated they could change their mind, leaving some hope for Jealous, who trails Hogan significantly in fundraising efforts and only began airing his first television commercial after the poll concluded. Interestingly, by a margin of 47 percent to 36 percent, likely voters say they value a governor who is more focused on bringing about change than ensuring stability.

Statewide, likely Republicans voters favor Hogan by 91 percent to 1 percent margin. Currently, registered Maryland Democratic voters only break for Jealous by 10 points—48 percent to 38 percent.

“The cross [tabulations] tell the story,” St. Mary’s College political science professor Todd Eberly commented on Twitter. “The lesser known GOP candidates running against Cardin, Frosh, and Franchot are getting crushed. But Hogan is receiving strong support from core Democratic voters.”

In the first half of the Goucher College survey released yesterday, a significant majority of Marylanders backed policies—typically viewed as progressive Democratic initiatives and supported by Jealous—while also strongly supporting Hogan. Seventy-one percent of Marylanders now back raising the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour—up from 66 percent in February 2018—with 25 percent in opposition. By a margin of 54 percent to 33 percent, Marylanders hold a favorable opinion of a Medicare for All/single payer healthcare system. And 62 percent of Marylanders support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

The single, one-hour televised debate between the two candidates is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday and will be broadcasted on Maryland Public Television.

“Ben Jealous has faced a months-long barrage of negative ads and has a substantial disadvantage in campaign fundraising—and it’s prevented him from defining his candidacy to the public and making gains on his opponent,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College. “Hogan’s electoral strength continues to be grounded in political moderation and the confidence the public has in him to handle economic issues. We have less than two months to see whether Hogan can maintain his bipartisan voting coalition or if Jealous can turnout enough progressives to make up the difference.”

The Jealous campaign appeared to suffer an unforced error earlier this week when they vetoed a Hagerstown Herald-Mail reporter from the upcoming MPT debate panel and then rescinded the move after an up road from other local media outlets.

The economy/jobs (25 percent), education (13 percent), racial/social justice (13 percent), President Donald J. Trump/national political concerns (13 percent), and healthcare (11 percent) were highlighted by likely voters as the most important issues in making a vote for governor.

Overall, 66 percent of likely voters expressed more confidence in Hogan in terms of economic development and job creation, 51 percent had more confidence in Hogan in handling education concerns, and 51 percent had more confidence in Hogan in regards to healthcare issues.

Sixty percent of likely voters said their opinions toward embattled President Trump, the GOP’s national standard-bearer, “will have no or little effect on their choice for governor.”

A Hogan endorsement, the poll found, holds less sway perhaps than his strong survey numbers suggest. Just 38 percent of likely voters said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by the governor. Meanwhile, Democratic incumbents Sen. Ben Cardin and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh both maintain significant leads on their challengers.

Fifty-six percent of likely voters in the state indicate they will vote for Cardin and 17 percent for Republican challenger Tony Campbell. Independent Neal Simon captured eight percent support.

Fifty-eight percent of likely voters in the state indicate they will vote for Frosh and 26 percent for Republican challenger Craig Wolf.

“Ben Cardin and Brian Frosh are both in a strong position to easily win their reelection bids in November,” said Kromer. “They both earn strong support from their Democratic base, as well as a solid percent of independent voters.”

Maryland residents overwhelmingly support a $15 minimum wage, the legalization of recreational marijuana, and a Medicare for All/single-payer healthcare system.

Interestingly, while backing those policies—typically viewed as progressive Democratic initiatives—Marylanders also strongly support Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.

According to the latest Goucher College survey conducted last week, 71 percent of Marylanders now back raising the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour—up from 66 percent in February 2018—with 25 percent in opposition. By a margin of 54 percent to 33 percent, Marylanders hold a favorable opinion of a Medicare for All/single payer healthcare system. And 62 percent of Marylanders support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

Marylanders also continued to express strong support for incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan (64 percent approval) and the general direction that the state is headed (55 percent).

“The underlying issue [in terms of support for Hogan] is taxes,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College. “Marylanders are, by and large, focused on economic issues and Governor Hogan has had a consistent message—that he has not raised taxes over the past four years.”

A majority of Marylanders (56 percent) consider the amount of state taxes they pay “too high.” Nearly half (48 percent) believe the current tax system advantages the wealthy, with 13 percent believing the current system is fair to everyone.

All of these issues that Marylanders are in support of are policies that have been put forth by Hogan’s Democratic challenger in the race for governor, Ben Jealous. Kromer cautions, however, support for a single-payer healthcare system is not quite as strong as support for improving the Affordable Care Act in Maryland.

“Support for a state-based Medicare for All plan distinguished Ben Jealous as a candidate for governor from the rest of field during the Democratic primary,” said Kromer. “However, opinions toward adopting a single-payer healthcare system are nuanced. Marylanders do view Medicare for All favorably, but a majority still prefers that elected officials focus on improving the way the Affordable Care Act is working for Maryland.”

Overall, the percentage of Maryland residents disapproving of President Donald Trump is among the highest in the country. With a margin of error +/-3.4 percent, 71 percent of the adults in the state disapprove of the president, who is battling controversies from the Russian investigation, his immigration and trade policies, and his nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Just 23 percent of Maryland residents approve of the job the president is doing.

Forty-five percent of Marylanders believe Hogan has distanced himself “about the right amount” from President Trump. Twenty-four percent of respondents indicated they believe Hogan has distanced himself too little from President Trump.

Almost half of Marylanders view the governor as a moderate (48 percent), 27 percent see him as a conservative, 10 percent think of him as a progressive, and 14 percent say they don’t know.

Tomorrow, Goucher will post other survey results, including poll numbers on the Hogan and Jealous race. In the latest Gonzales poll, Hogan led Jealous by 16 points in the state. The two candidates are scheduled to meet in a single televised debate September 24.

About the Goucher Poll:
The survey was conducted Tuesday, September 11, to Sunday, September 16, 2018. During this time, 813 interviews with Maryland adults were conducted noon to 9 p.m. on Monday to Friday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Interviews are conducted by a staff of professionally trained, paid, student interviewers. Interviews were not conducted with adults who were reached at business or work numbers. Eighty-three percent of the interviews were conducted on a cell phone and 17 percent were conducted on a landline.

Ben Jealous, the son of former Baltimore City school teachers and a former NAACP president, handily beat Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination Tuesday.

Jealous, an unabashed progressive with support from the Maryland teachers union and Sen. Bernie Sanders, will face off against incumbent Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, presenting voters with a clear choice in November. Despite a 2-1 Democratic advantage in registered voters in the state, Jealous is expected to have his work cut out in challenging Hogan, whose approval ratings have consistently ranked in the mid-60s during his first term. Unopposed in the Republican primary, Hogan also starts the general election campaign with a nearly $8 million fundraising lead on Jealous.

“Hogan will lose because he doesn’t know how run to against some who can build people-powered grassroots campaign,” Jealous told supporters at his campaign’s victory party at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore.

Jealous will certainly try to tie Hogan, considered a moderate Republican, to the head of his party, President Donald Trump, who received just under 34 percent of the vote in Maryland in 2016.

“A [Jealous] vs. [Hogan] race isn’t just interesting nationally because of what Jealous represents for the future of the Dem Party,” Goucher College political science professor Mileah Kromer commented on Twitter last night, “it’s also what Hogan represents for the future of Republican Party.”

In another high-profile primary race Tuesday, incumbent Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby won another four-year term, defeating defense attorney Ivan Bates and former prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah, who essentially split the opposition vote. Mosby tallied just less than 50 percent support of Democratic voters with 96 percent of the precincts reporting last night.

Mosby became a national figure in 2015 after filing charges against six city police officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray, who died while in custody and maintained the support of numerous Baltimore political leaders, including Rep. Elijah Cummings, former Rep. Kweisi Mfume, and Mayor Catherine Pugh.

In Baltimore County, the Democratic nomination for county executive remained in a three-way deadlock after voting ended. Former Del. John Olszewski Jr., state Sen. Jim Brochin and County Councilwoman Vicki Almond posted 33.1 percent, 32.7 percent, and 31.8 percent of vote with more than 98 percent of the vote counted last night. However, a significant number of provisional ballots—nobody will know until July 5 how many—were likely cast yesterday after the Department of Motor Vehicles announced they failed to update the registrations of 80,000 voters over the past year. In the GOP nomination for Baltimore County executive, Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer easily defeated state Del. Pat McDonough.

In city state senate races, two incumbents, Nathan McFadden in East Baltimore, and Barbara Robinson in West Baltimore, lost to challenges from younger state delegates, Del. Cory McCray and Del. Antonio Hayes, respectively. Another state delegate, Del. Mary Washington appeared to be on the verge of upsetting state Sen. Joan Conway with 96 percent of the voting in Tuesday.

In another high-profile state senate race, Sen. Jill Carter held off a challenge from former school teacher J.D. Merrill, the son-in-law of former mayor and governor Martin O’Malley.

In a state house race that garnered regional and even some national attention, state Del. Robbyn Lewis, a public health expert and the first African-American woman to represent District 46, exceeded expectations in easily fending off a big-money challenge by newcomer Nate Loewentheil, a former Obama Administration official.

With 80 percent of the vote, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin won the Democratic primary in his bid to return to Capitol Hill. He’ll be challenged by Tony Campbell, an author, minister, and political science professor at Towson University.

In District 6, the only open congressional seat in Maryland, Democrat David Trone, who spent nearly $12 million, will face defense consultant Republican Amie Hoeber, who also won GOP’s 2016 nomination. Rep. John Delaney is resigning his seat in a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in two years.

In deep blue Baltimore, the primaries held later this month, for all intents and purposes, will decide much of the city’s elected leadership. That means today is an important deadline for voters: It is the last day for Marylanders to register for the upcoming June 26 contests.

(In order to cast a ballot in Maryland, voters must register at least 21 days before the next election.)

Also important: Maryland’s primaries are closed, which means voters must be registered with a party affiliation to cast a ballot later this month. Today is also the last day to change political affiliation if you are already registered to vote.

The good news? Registering or changing affiliation just takes a few minutes online. Simply head to the State Board of Election’s website, scroll to your local (Baltimore City or county) board of elections, and then follow links to voter info and voter registration.

To submit a registration electronically, voters must provide a valid Maryland-issued state ID number or driver’s license number. It’s too late to register by mail, but you can also still register in-person this afternoon in Baltimore until 4:30 p.m. at The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

In Baltimore, major races include the battle for city state’s attorney general where incumbent Marilyn Mosby faces challenges from defense attorney Ivan Bates and Thiru Vignarajah, a former deputy attorney general for Maryland.

The biggest race this year, of course, is for governor. According to a new Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released Tuesday morning, former NAACP president Benjamin Jealous has jumped past Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III and ahead of the rest of the Democratic pack.

Jealous, who had been trailing Baker during the primary season to date, now leads Baker among likely Democratic voters 21 percent to 16 percent. The rest of the field, Valerie Ervin, Rich Mandaleno, Jim Shea, Krish Vignarajah, and Alec Ross, track from 8 percent to 2 percent support. However, the largest percentage of the vote—39 percent—remains up for grabs.

Meanwhile, incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan, running unopposed in the Republican primary, maintains broad support, with a 71 percent job-approval rating, including nearly two-thirds approval among Democrats.

Races up for also grabs also include the state delegate and state senate positions—all of Maryland’s congressional seats—and one the state’s U.S. Senate positions where Sen. Ben Cardin is running for re-election.

In Baltimore City, other contests include Clerk of the Circuit Court, Register of Wills, Judge of the Orphan’s Court, Sheriff, and Democratic and Republican Central Committee seats.

The Incumbent: Larry Hogan, Republican
In April, a national Morning Consult poll reported that Gov. Larry Hogan had the second-highest approval rating among governors in the country—a finding that came as no surprise to followers of Maryland politics. The 62-year-old Republican has maintained extraordinary support from state voters, typically posting approval ratings in the mid-60s since his win in 2014. Hogan’s secret in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1? He blends a dog-loving, Everyman persona with savvy political instincts, carefully picking his battles in General Assembly and avoiding entanglements in President Donald Trump’s seemingly endless capacity for controversy.

According to the late April Goucher Poll, the percentage of registered voters likely to vote for Hogan in November remains in the mid-40s, with roughly a quarter of voters still undecided. While all the action this month is in the June 26 Democratic primary, it is only a prelude to what will be a no-holds-barred general election race in November. A Hogan win would certainly garner him national attention in what is expected to be a blue wave nationally.

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The Contenders
The question heading toward this year’s primary has been: When will the Democratic candidates distinguish themselves from each other? And who, if anyone, will jump out in front of the crowded field? (Polling numbers as of 2/22/18. Forty-seven percent of people polled voted “undecided.”)

Rushern Baker III
The Prince George’s County Executive has held a lead, although not a commanding edge, from the start. A sharp, committed manager, Baker, 59, restored confidence in the P.G. County government following the corruption scandal of predecessor Jack Johnson and has boosted economic development. In 2015, Governing magazine named him one of the top public officials of the year. Polling at: 19%

Ben Jealous
A decade ago, Jealous became the youngest president and CEO of the NAACP, earning kudos for returning the historic civil rights organization to relevance and registering voters. Charismatic and unapologetically progressive, Jealous, 45, has garnered endorsements from U.S. senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and Cory Booker, as well as several local unions, including the Maryland State Education Association. Polling at: 10%

Richard Madaleno Jr. 
Vice-chair of the state senate Budget and Taxation Committee and a legislative leader in the Maryland General Assembly, Madaleno should be better known across the state than he is. A married father of two, Madaleno, 53, of Montgomery County, is vying to become the state’s first openly gay governor. He will contend for the progressive vote with Jealous. Polling at: 2%

Alec Ross
A technology policy expert, Ross, 46, served as senior advisor for innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ross came to Baltimore—where he resides with his wife and kids—after graduating from Northwestern University. He taught at a West Baltimore middle school for two years, and later co-founded One Economy, a non-profit that delivers internet access and technology education to low-income communities. Polling at: 3%

Jim Shea
Shea, 65, grew up in Baltimore County, where his mother worked in the public school system. He has never held elected political office, but he did lead the largest law firm in the Baltimore metro area. He has promised to bring a Fortune 500 company to Baltimore, keep the Preakness here, and he picked City Councilman Brandon Scott, 33, as his running mate. Polling at: 2%

Krishanti Vignarajah
A Sri Lanka-native and daughter of two Baltimore City schoolteachers, Vignarajah, 38, served as Michelle Obama’s policy director, helping the former First Lady launch the popular Let Girls Learn initiative. A Woodlawn High School graduate, she earned a law degree from Yale University and is the only woman running in the Democratic primary in a state that has never elected a female governor. Polling at: 2%

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Editor’s note: The print version of this story included information about Kevin Kamenetz’s planned run for governor. Baltimore magazine sends heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and constituents.

Anyone with siblings knows that besting a brother or sister in sports or winning your parents praise is like a nagging intuition that only grows with age. Thiru and Krishanti Vignarajah are living proof that sibling rivalries never die. One is running for Baltimore state’s attorney and the other is vying to unseat Gov. Larry Hogan. As the children of two immigrant Baltimore City Public School teachers, Thiru and Krishanti are the epitome of the American dream.

After their parents fled civil unrest in Sri Lanka, they sought refuge in the Edmondson Heights neighborhood in Baltimore City. Thiru went on to pursue law at Harvard—becoming the editor of the Harvard Law Review “before Barack Obama made it cool.” And his younger sister, Krishanti, studied political science and molecular cellular and developmental biology at Yale, eventually becoming the policy director for Michelle Obama at the White House. Although wildly successful, the pair says that there was never any pressure from their parents to go to college and do well.

“If you ask my father, he would tell you, they didn’t really know of the Ivy League, and they always kind of encouraged us to realize our potential,” Krishanti said. “But it was never sort of pressure. It was never, ‘You will go to a top notch academic institution.’ I think there was an expectation that we would make something of ourselves and find some way to give back.” 

Neither Krishanti nor Thiru had ever thought about running for public office. For Thiru, it was the Uprising in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray that piqued his interest in politics. As a former Maryland deputy attorney general, he witnessed firsthand how the increased violence and homicide rates in Baltimore were tearing communities apart.

“It was just gut wrenching and heart breaking,” Thiru said. “I suddenly realized that it was not going to get better unless we had real leadership in the role of the state’s attorney. I just couldn’t sit back and watch anymore.”

For Krishanti, she was asked to run following a keynote address at the Western Maryland Democratic Summit in April 2017 (and was eight months pregnant at the time). A political consultant approached her and said, “You’re not going to like me in five minutes. You’re going to hate me in five months,” and showed Krishanti a crumpled piece of paper with names on it.

“She says, ‘None of these candidates could beat governor Hogan. Fortunately, I’ve just found my candidate. I just need to wait until she delivers her baby,’” she recalls. “It kind of gave me pause. Part of that pause was that, coming out of the Obama administration, and having so many of the accomplishments we worked so hard to achieve either already reversed or threatened to be reversed, made me believe that we needed to be part of the resistance and opposition. Part of it was I was nearly nine months pregnant.”

Now, nearly six weeks away from the primaries, the brother and sister are ready to acknowledge their familial ties within the race. After keeping their relationship out of the race in an effort to “keep the focus on the issues at hand,” Thiru freely prattled on about his admiration for his little sister and all of her accomplishments.

“She’s extraordinary and we have a sibling rivalry like everybody else but there’s no one I would trust more with the biggest responsibilities on the Earth,” he said. “She is as humble as she is brilliant, she is as hardworking as she is charming.”

Neither sibling can ignore the elephant in the room—if they both win their respective seats, will there be a conflict of interest? Baltimore is known for its history of political families—Mitchells, Cardins, Mosbys—but aside from having a longer name, Thiru believes that they are the same as other families that have served. 

“If a brother and sister didn’t disagree, nobody would believe it,” he joked. “There will be issues and subjects in which we may disagree, and we’ll talk about it and we’ll move forward. In some respects, that’s what I would say about a person in government that wasn’t family.”

When the fancy titles are stripped away, and politics are out of the picture, Thiru and Krishanti are just Woodlawn High graduates who enjoy being on the water or taking in a game at Camden Yards. At the end of the day, they are just a brother and sister, who are hoping for the best outcomes for each other in the June 26 primary.

“I’m inspired and proud of what Krish is doing,” Thiru said. “There is a moment that is seizing the country and I think both of us feel this calling. It’s rooted in our unique experiences, we have walked our distinctive paths, but if not now, when? If not here, where? If not us, who?”

Shortly before 8 a.m. this morning, Austin Wyatt Rollins, walked into Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County with a handgun and began shooting students. Two students—a 16-year-old female and 14-year-old male, were shot and remain in critical and stable condition, respectively.

School resource officer Blaine Gaskill responded to the scene in less than a minute and fired a round at the shooter, who was pronounced dead. It has yet to be confirmed if Rollins’ fatal injury came from Gaskill’s bullets or the shooter’s own.

Parents of Great Mills students were directed to report to nearby Leonardtown High School for reunification. Shortly after the shooting was reported, Governor Larry Hogan reassured residents via Twitter that the situation was being addressed.

“We are closely monitoring the situation at Great Mills High School,” he said. “[The Maryland State Police] is in touch with local law enforcement and ready to provide support. Our prayers are with students, school personnel, and first responders.”

Other local officials and politicians were quick to offer “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of the shooting.

“My thoughts are with the Great Mills High School community as we grapple with yet another school shooting,” Rep. Elijah Cummings tweeted. “I pray for the victims of this horrendous tragedy and my heart goes out to their families.”

Sen. Ben Cardin expressed his anger and frustration saying that at a minimum, universal background checks and a ban on assault-style weapons are needed. He said he believes the momentum for gun reform is building and is fueled by student activism.

“These students are literally just not taking ‘no’ for an answer,” Cardin said. “I can tell you that Americans are listening to our students. I think our political system will respond.”

Rep. Steny Hoyer praised the first responders, more specifically Gaskill who “answered the call this morning with swiftness, professionalism, and courage.” Hoyer believes now it’s time for Congress to act.

“We sympathize. We empathize,” Hoyer said. “We have moments of silence. But we don’t have action. Wringing our hands is not enough.”

According to the Never Again Movement, this incident at Great Mills marks the 11th time a gun has been discharged in a K-12 school since the Parkland shooting in Florida on February 14. 

Last week, students at Great Mills participated in the National School Walkout to protest gun violence.

“Headed to St. Mary’s County to be with the students, teachers, and families of Great Mills High School,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen. “Much gratitude to all the first responders. We must stop the epidemic of gun violence.”

His lucky shirt.
A Las Vegas doctor credited an Under Armour compression T-shirt with saving the life of shooting victim Philip Aurich, who suffered major internal injuries in the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history.

The Minnesota-native, who was shot in the back, was moved out of intensive care this week, WCCO in Minneapolis reported. Aurich’s brother told the television station that doctors said the tight-fitting Under Armour T-shirt his sibling had worn helped compress the bleeding until he reached the hospital and helped saved his life.

“Doctors said that shirt was a big part of him not bleeding terribly, bleeding out, pretty, much,” Ben Aurich, who played high school football with his brother in St. Paul, told WCCO.

This past Sunday, Philip Aurich, who lost his spleen and part of his colon—and still has a bullet lodged in his lung—got to see his two kids for the first time since the shooting. 

Good News; bad news.
The good news first: Baltimore moved closer to becoming a host of the 2026 FIFA World Cup this week. The United Bid Committee, coordinating the joint effort between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to host the 2026 tournament, announced that Baltimore and M&T Bank Stadium had made the narrowing list of 32 cities that could serve as a venue for the world’s most prestigious soccer tournament. (Pittsburgh notably did not make the list. Just saying.) At least a dozen cities will ultimately host games. The bad news? The U.S. men’s soccer team lost 2-1 to Trinidad and Tobago in a qualifying round Tuesday for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, thereby getting eliminated before the tourney even began. 

Will (legal) sports betting come to Maryland?
The 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act prohibited sports betting in every state—save four: Nevada, Montana, Delaware, and New Jersey. However, the law required that those states offer sports betting with a year, which the Garden State did not do—or they’d lose their privilege, giving rise to current N.J. Gov. Chris Christie’s subsequent legal challenge. The U.S. Supreme is scheduled to hear New Jersey’s petition Dec. 4. Among the groups filing amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs are the European Sports Security Administration, the American Gaming Association, West Virginia and 17 other states, as well as the governors of Kentucky, North Dakota—and Maryland. Gov. Larry Hogan hasn’t said much about legalizing sports betting, but he is considered a long-time political ally of Christie. A bill last year was introduced into the General Assembly to study and implement sports betting—contingent on the overturning of the ’92 federal ban. Gambling lobbyists have already begun campaigning for state elected officials to take up measure again in 2018.

This is monumental.

Morgan State University, celebrating its 150th anniversary, unveiled its new “Legends Plaza” on campus this week, including life-size bronze statues of former Coach Edward (“Eddie”) Hurt and Coach Earl (“Papa Bear”) Banks. According to a press release from Morgan, the memorial—part of a nearly 2,000-square-foot enclosed area near Hughes Stadium and the school’s student center—will eventually add bronze plaques honoring other former Morgan athletic standouts as well. Starting in 1929, Hurt’s football, basketball, and track squads won 33 conference titles, and once posted a 54-game winning streak on the gridiron. Banks’ football teams won five CIAA conference championships, played in four bowl games, and posted three regular-season unbeaten records, including a 31-game winning streak.                                                                                                                      

“It’s okay not to be okay.” 
Greatest swimmer of all time and Towson native Michael Phelps opened up recently about his own anxiety, sharing a story about being bullied and depressed in the new documentary Angst. IndieFlix CEO and founder Scilla Andreen, which made the film, told the Associated Press that she hopes the 56-minute documentary will reach more than 3 million people around the world from 25,000 school and community screenings. Shot in the U.S. and U.K, the film is appropriate for children age 10 and older.

“Once I opened up about that [being bullied] and things that I had kept inside of me for so many years, I then found that life was a lot easier,” Phelps says in the film, describing a period when he did not want to look at himself in mirror. “I got to the point where I understood that it’s OK to not be OK.”      

Baltimoreans appreciate our beloved hometown for its great neighborhoods, eccentricity, and “Smaltimore” feel, but political disarray, inequality, and violence have also long-plagued the city.

Matthew Crenson, professor emeritus of political science at Johns Hopkins University, is the author of Neighborhood Politics and the co-author of Downsizing Democracy: How America Sidelined Its Citizens and Privatized Its Public. In his new book, Baltimore: A Political History, he tackles the tangled history of the city’s political and cultural disjointedness, examining the role of race and politics from the 18th-century through to our present circumstances  

Why this book and why now?
Like many Baltimoreans, I was curious about the city’s many curiosities. And it has been a long time since anyone told the city’s story. The second edition of urban geographer Sherry Olson’s book, Baltimore: The Building of an American City, appeared 20 years ago, and it concentrates on the physical development of Baltimore, not its political history.  

One vital research source also became more accessible when the Baltimore City Archives relocated and reorganized in 2010. The Archives are essential for understanding the city’s political past, but only a few authors have relied on these records.   

Of course, I could not have foreseen the death of Freddie Gray or the turmoil that would follow it [when I started working on the book]. Retracing the path by which we got here now seems even more vital than when I began. 

You make the case that Annapolis, the state capital, long held political sway over Baltimore. Do you think that’s still the case?
Because Baltimore was a late-blooming city, there was already an entrenched political establishment in Annapolis at the time of the town’s birth. It cast its shadow over Baltimore from the time it received its town charter in 1729. Even after it became a supposedly self-governing municipality in 1797, the city’s powers were limited by the state. The city, for example, could levy property taxes, but for decades after it became a city, the state legislature decided what the tax rate would be. 

Baltimore can fix its own property tax rate today, but the city’s police department is still technically a state agency, as it has been since just before the Civil War. The Governor’s cancellation of the Red Line reminded Baltimoreans of just how much control the state has over the city’s public transportation system. Then there’s the Maryland Stadium Authority. In 1997, Baltimore’s mayor conceded partial control of the city’s school system to the state in return for increased state funding. Governor Larry Hogan closed the city’s detention center (probably a good decision), but without consulting any city officials in advance. Baltimoreans are reminded of their exposure to state government every time the General Assembly convenes. 

Baltimore was home to the largest number of free African-Americans in the South in the decades before the Civil War—some 92 percent of black Baltimoreans were free at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation. But you conclude white Baltimoreans were always afraid to address the issue of race head on. What drove you to that conclusion? Do you believe that’s still true?
As early as 1817, when prominent Baltimoreans became advocates of the American Colonization Society, the city’s leading whites have repeatedly practiced evasion or equivocation when confronted with issues of race or slavery. The Colonization Society proposed sending African Americans to Liberia. On the one hand, they argued that exporting free black people to Africa would help to preserve slavery in this country, because the presence of free black people made slaves restless.  On the other, they claimed that slave owners would be more likely to manumit their slaves if they could send them to Africa, instead of having to live with them after they were free.  Baltimoreans, in other words, managed to come down on both sides of the slavery question. Colonization would preserve slavery while eroding slavery. 

A long series of similar dodges led me to conclude that the city’s white leadership was leery about confronting the issue of race head-on,  perhaps because Baltimore is a border city where whites are unlikely to be united on issues of race. And then, soon after World War II, many whites abandoned the city for the suburbs. The exodus accelerated after the 1968 riots. Much of Baltimore’s former white population can now avoid the race issue—and practice segregation—without thinking or feeling like racists. 

Can you tell us when the division between Baltimore City and Baltimore County was created and why?
This is complicated. 

The separation was a two-step process—maybe three. In 1850, the General Assembly passed legislation that would enable the residents of Baltimore County to vote on whether to separate from Baltimore City. (The legislators held that this would be advantageous to Baltimore County.) The voters were also to elect a commission whose members would decide where to put “public buildings”—a courthouse, a jail, and a poorhouse—facilities which the County had previously shared with the City. The voters decided to disengage County from City. The Commission was elected, but couldn’t agree on where to put the public buildings. The commission divided down the middle on whether to leave the City.

In the meantime, the voters of the state approved the calling of a constitutional convention. When the convention completed its work in 1851, it placed Baltimore City and Baltimore County in separate judicial districts, requiring them to have separate courts and jails. In 1852, the General Assembly repealed its act of 1850 calling for the election of a commission, thereby depriving the commission of its authority to make decisions for the County.

If we can go back, say, before William Donald Schaefer, what important character, politician or leader should Baltimoreans know about—but probably don’t?
Mayor James H. Preston [in office from 1911-1919] was a creature of the Democratic political machine. But he had vision. He proposed a gradualist alternative to annexation. It would have created four “boroughs” outside Baltimore City, one in each quarter of the compass. The boroughs would be governed by their own councils and could purchase services from the City. As they bought in to more city services, they would eventually become parts of the City, which would achieve annexation, but without suddenly imposing high city taxes on former suburbanites. Unfortunately, politicians from Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties prevented Preston’s plan from becoming law. If they had agreed to it, we might have a viable metropolitan area government today—like Miami-Dade and Indianapolis.

Who is your favorite historical Baltimore political figure? And why?
This is hard. There’s John Pendleton Kennedy—novelist, politician, and designer of an iron bridge over the Jones Falls that would stand up to floods. Then there’s Samuel Smith—businessman, politician, and military tactician who anticipated every move that the British would make in their 1814 assault on Baltimore. And of course, there’s Frederick Douglass, who learned to read in Baltimore, and became the country’s premier writer and orator in the struggle against slavery. 

But I have a special admiration for Samuel Purviance, a forgotten Baltimore revolutionary. He chaired the city’s Committee of Observation during the Revolutionary War. It functioned as the town’s government, struggling to maintain public order in the face of the city’s anti-British hotheads, one of whom was Samuel’s brother, Robert. He also had to contend with a revolutionary government in Annapolis that was far from revolutionary. As late as January, 1776, the provincial convention declared its “affection for, and loyalty to the house of Hanover” [the British dynasty the produced six monarchs, including George III] and its conviction that to be British subjects “is to be the freest members of any civil society in the known world.” Purviance endured censure by the Annapolis authorities for trying to take the royal governor into custody. (The royal governor had been providing intelligence to the British military about prospects for invading the Chesapeake.) Purviance’s business interests collapsed in the recession that followed the Revolution. He tried to retrieve his fortunes in the West, but was captured by Indians while traveling by boat on the Ohio River, and was never heard from again.