Mixed Reviews on Efforts to Make Government More Accessible to Non-English Speakers

By Lisa Nevans Locke
Maryland Matters
July 28, 2019
Read full article here

An English speaker researching affordable housing in Montgomery County might turn to the Department of Housing and Community Affairs’ website, where the information is generally clear despite some acronyms like “MPDUs.”

But to a speaker of Amharic – the lingua franca of the area’s large Ethiopian immigrant population – the translation provided offers a word that is closer to “family planning” than “housing.”

“An Amharic speaker might think they’re talking about birth control,” said Ermiyas Mengesha, a board member of Tayitu Cultural and Educational Center, which showcases Ethiopian and other African cultures.

With Maryland ranked in the top 10 most diverse states in the nation, and immigrants continuing to pour in, the state and many county governments are trying to make their websites more accessible to non-English speakers, with what some advocates describe as mixed success. All of the state’s executive-branch agency and department websites provide a translation button, according to the state’s Department of Information Technology, in compliance with a 2016 state law.

Meanwhile, half of the state’s 24 jurisdictions have chosen to translate some or all of their websites into one or more languages.

“I’m really proud of the message of inclusion,” said Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery), who sponsored the 2016 law mandating translation of state agency websites. “Especially in these days of [President Donald] Trump and division, this is such a welcoming contrast: We want you here.”

Imprecise, confusing programs

The state and most counties use Google Translate, which officials say allows them to provide access to as many as 103 languages for free. But some advocates say translation software can be imprecise, confusing and frustrating. They would like a more human touch.

Software programs offer literal translations, which are often not accurate, Mengesha said.

So, while an English speaker might say someone is “running for office,” the Amharic speaker might picture a person literally running.

“This is very benign,” he said, “but the errors on the website run deeper than this.”

As he browsed through several pages of Montgomery County websites recently, Mengesha, a native Amharic speaker, had to change the language to English in order to understand what the Amharic translation was trying to say.

This spring, Montgomery County posted a survey seeking public input as part of its search for a new police chief, Mengesha said. “The Amharic version was totally ridiculous,” he said. “It had the words ‘police,’ ‘chief,’ and at some point said ‘sheriff,’ but the main message was not there. It was like a word salad – a bunch of things.”

Accurate translation also requires cultural understanding, to avoid potentially offensive language, he said.

“There’s a conspiracy theory in Ethiopia that the government is sterilizing some minority groups with family planning,” he said. “I am surfing here on the Montgomery County housing department website, which is solely for finding information on housing, and while there, I am confronted with this family planning issue. The government has not intentionally done that. They have good intentions, trying to make things convenient. But the language happens to be offensive, not helpful.”

In April, Mengesha discussed government website mistranslations at a “confluence” conference at Montgomery College. His Powerpoint, which placed the original English and its Amharic translation side-by-side, left translators and interpreters shaking their heads.

A Montgomery County spokesman did not comment. But Patrick Mulford, communications director for the Maryland Department of Information Technology, wrote in an email to Maryland Matters: “The Department of Information Technology is using Google Translate because it is the most effective and efficient way for constituents to be able to access, and us to manage, our websites and the thousands of pages of rich content in their native language.”

No ‘silver-bullet answer’

Maryland is “a state that’s relatively progressive, that actually wants to meet the demand” to make government more accessible to limited-English speakers, said Stella Rouse, director of the University of Maryland’s Center for American Politics and Citizenship and an associate professor of government and politics. “It is a challenge. There’s not a silver-bullet answer.”

Maryland is one of the most diverse states in the U.S., with racial minorities comprising 49.1 percent of the population, according to a January 2019 report by the Department of Legislative Services’ Office of Policy Analysis.

The increase in the state’s population from 2000 to 2017 “has been entirely due to the growth in racial minority groups.” The state’s fastest-growing ethnic groups are the Hispanic community, which grew by nearly 170 percent, and the Asian population, which increased by 87 percent, from 2000-2017, according to U.S. Census data cited in the report.

Many members of minority groups moving into the state are U.S. citizens and native English speakers. But nearly 40 percent of foreign migrants entering Maryland who were surveyed identified themselves as “speak[ing] a language other than English, [and] speak[ing] English less than ‘very well,’” according to the 2009 -2013 American Community Survey – Migration Data posted by the Maryland Department of Planning’s State Data Center. And 9.5 percent of all migrants to the state who were surveyed, including those arriving from within and outside the U.S., classified themselves as speaking English “less than ‘very well.’”

A spokesman for the Department of Planning cautioned that the ACS has a wide margin of error, in this case about 8 percent, and noted that what constitutes speaking English “less than ‘very well’” is open to the interpretation of the respondents.

Maryland residents speak more than 100 languages and include people from 160 countries, according to the Department of Legislative Services.

State and local government websites offer the public information about public safety, health, education, obtaining a business loan or driver’s license, voting, tourism and more. But some neighboring states have not gone as far as Maryland. In Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, some agencies’ websites are translated, while many others are not. The District of Columbia’s website is not translated, but its Office of Human Rights has a language access program that offers interpretation services and translated documents.

Delaware government websites offer translation into eight languages and a link to Google translate. Like Maryland, Delaware offers a disclaimer that includes: “Some pages may not be accurately translated due to the limitations of the translation software.”

Room for improvement

Maryland has taken a good first step, but there is room for improvement, said Julio Murillo, government and strategic relations specialist with CASA de Maryland. Google Translate has its weaknesses, but state and local governments generally are good about translating fliers and public events. However, residents who want to dig deeper into an issue — such as housing code, starting a business or getting a permit — often get stuck, he said.

“When you get to the nitty-gritty of the steps you have to take, or what you have to do to get a permit, those tend to be in English,” he said. “That’s where folks may hit a barrier. When those details are not in a language you’re comfortable with, it can stymie the process. People may be embarrassed and stop engaging.”

Murillo said he works closely with Spanish speakers interested in housing code enforcement. They often want to know their rights and what constitutes a violation.

“That’s where they have language access trouble,” he said.

Kagan said the law exempted pdfs and videos from the translation requirement, and adopted the use of Google Translate, to make providing access practical and affordable.

“This is an example of when the perfect is the enemy of the good,” Kagan said. “It’s more important that people have access to state government than that we get every little bit” translated perfectly. A key was doing it for free, she added. “We’d never have got it passed if we said you have to hire people.”

Kagan said 86 percent of the state’s websites were only in English before the law passed three years ago. Even then, it took several years to implement and required additional clarifying legislation. Kagan said she was pleased to discover that a state Department of Education website about evaluating the safety of child care centers and Maryland Higher Education Commission information about obtaining student loans now include translation options; they did not when she checked several months ago.

All of the state’s executive departments now have the translate button on their websites, said Mulford of the state’s IT office.

Both Kagan and Mulford said they have had no feedback from constituents about the use of Google Translate or the accuracy of the translations.

Community outreach

Even in progressive states like Maryland, there is no consensus about providing translations, said UMd associate professor Rouse.

“Whose responsibility is it to provide that service?” Rouse asked. “Is it the state’s responsibility? Groups that work with immigrants? Oftentimes they provide a lot of translation services. Or is it the individual’s? You always get that response from a lot of people: Come here and learn the language – even though we don’t have an official language in the U.S. or in Maryland.”

Murillo said CASA would like to see Maryland follow the example of the language access programs in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties and Washington, D.C., which include community outreach to make residents aware of the service or have individuals within agencies who take translation and interpretation requests.

To Mengesha, if government is going to offer translation services, it should be done right or not at all.

“Montgomery County prides itself as inclusive. They promote themselves as having language access,” he said. “This is how they’re trying to portray themselves to the public, but this is a failure to me. It is good to have it. But once you start to have an effort to be sort-of inclusive, go a little further and make it accurate.”

Lisa Nevans Locke is a freelance writer who has covered education, local and federal government, and other issues in the region for more than 25 years. She has written for The Washington Times, Bethesda Magazine, Scholastic.com, The74million.org and the now-extinct Montgomery Journal, and she teaches writing at Montgomery College.

She can be reached at nevlocke@gmail.com.

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Maryland lawmakers consider plastic foam ban in restaurants, schools

By Samantha Hogan
Frederick News Post
Feb. 13, 2019
Read full article here

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland could be the first state to ban foam food containers statewide, but it would mean taking legislation where it’s never gone before.

For the third straight year, the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on a bill that would ban the use of foam food containers. Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) is again sponsoring the bill, SB 285, to create a unified ban of the product.

“It takes up room in our landfill, it breaks down and does not biodegrade, it ends up littering the side of our streets, it ends up in our waterways, the fish eat it and then we eat the fish. Single-use foam [containers] are up to 40 percent of the volume of our litter,” Kagan said at the bill hearing on Tuesday.

Food service businesses would have until Jan. 1, 2020, to transition to non-foam containers, though a one-year waiver may be available to businesses that would experience “undue hardship” from the ban. More than half of the state’s population lives in a county or city that has implemented, or has pending, restrictions on foam packaging in food service, she said.

The bill would ban plastic foam food containers — often referred to as Styrofoam, which is a trademark name often misused to describe disposable containers that carry food from restaurants, fast-food places, cafes, delicatessens, coffee shops, supermarkets, food trucks, institutional cafeterias and others.

The Tasting Room in downtown Frederick uses plastic containers for the majority of its food, if it’s being carried out of the restaurant. However, the one item it does put into a foam container is soup, said General Manager David Campbell.

The soup is made from scratch in the restaurant each day, and it is packaged to order in the kitchen. A loophole in the bill allows pre-packaged soup and other foods sealed in plastic foam outside the state to be exempt from the ban. The Tasting Room would not qualify for this exception.

The restaurant has not looked into any alternative containers, but it would have to if the bill progressed through the General Assembly, Campbell said. Similar bills submitted in both chambers in 2017 and 2018 never made it out of committee.

Still there has been movement in Maryland and Washington, D.C., away from plastic foam products.

Montgomery County banned plastic foam in food service and as loose packaging starting in January 2016. The following July, Prince George’s County followed suit, banning plastic foam for the same uses.

Washington, D.C., also banned plastic foam food containers in 2016 and recently began enforcing a ban on single-use plastic straws at local eateries. These changes have largely been directed at the food industry, even though foam products are used and sold in other industries.

“I don’t know if it’s needed in the food industry as much as it’s needed [to be recognized] as a global issue polluting our landfills,” Campbell said.

Kagan’s bill proposes that the ban would be overseen by the Maryland Department of the Environment but enforced locally by each county. The counties would each set a fine of no more than $250 and be in charge of enforcing the ban through its health department. Frederick County Sen. Ron Young (D) is a co-sponsor of the ban.

One of the reasons the food industry may be targeted to be the first to stop using a product is because it is the largest user of these single-use products, Campbell said. But he declined to speculate on why lawmakers were considering a ban on plastic foam now.

Baltimore City will stop the use of plastic foam food service products in its school’s cafeterias in October. The bill would expand on this action by also banning the use of plastic foam trays in all schools and higher education institutions statewide.

Frederick County Public Schools currently buys five-compartment foam trays to serve food in the majority of its cafeterias, said Steve O’Brey, procurement coordinator for the school system’s Office of Food and Nutrition Services. He has begun looking at alternative products; however, initial estimates show a $50,000 annual increase in cost.

FCPS is trying to be proactive in finding a new product to replace its foam trays, since it appears a ban on plastic foam products is the direction the state is headed, O’Brey said.

“We know it’s probably going to come down the pipe in the next few years,” O’Brey said.

There are a few paths that FCPS could take to replace its foam trays.

Approximately 90 percent of the county’s elementary schools and four middle schools currently have reusable plastic trays, but not all the schools have a dishwashing machine to accommodate this change and other school systems have struggled with high school students throwing reusable trays in the trash, said Robert Kelly, senior manager of food and nutrition services at FCPS.

“Who’s going to be pulling those out of the trash?” Kelly asked hypothetically.

Another possible alternative to foam trays is a compostable paper tray, which FCPS successfully piloted in Middletown High School during the 2018-2019 school year. However, the tray is three times the cost of the foam tray and would be cost-prohibitive to put in the 10 other high school cafeterias, Kelly said.

FCPS’s overall food service operating budget is $12.9 million, and the $50,000 increase to change the trays would account for less than half of 1 percent of the total budget.

Kelly cautioned, however, that the $12.9 million included much more than just food. FCPS is self-sustaining and its food service budget includes labor and benefits for its 340 employees as well as equipment, repairs, computers, pens and pencils on top of food.

On average, FCPS serves 7,000 breakfasts and 13,000 lunches daily at its schools.

“Compared to the $12.9 [million], it’s a small number, but there’s a lot of other numbers that factor into this,” Kelly said.

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Bill That Could Change How MoCo Votes Advances In MD Legislature
A state bill would allow the Montgomery County Council to change the way residents vote in local elections.

By Alessia Grunberger
Patch.com
Read full article here

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Legislation would allow ‘ranked choice’ voting in Baltimore, a new way of counting ballots

By: Luke Broadwater

Baltimore Sun

January 7, 2019

View Full Article Here

Baltimore could become part of a growing movement that would offer more voters a chance to participate in its Democratic primaries and a new way to determine the winners.

The Maryland General Assembly will consider a bill to allow the Baltimore City Council to establish open primary elections or “ranked choice” voting for primary or general elections.

Del. Brooke Lierman, a Democrat who represents southeast Baltimore, prefiled the legislation ahead of Wednesday’s start of the 90-day General Assembly session. It would authorize the Baltimore City Council to adopt such voting systems, if a majority of council members want to.

“If we had ranked choice voting everywhere, our democracy would look so much better,” Lierman says.

Under current law in Baltimore, candidates can win a primary or general election with less than 50 percent of the vote. Catherine Pugh, for instance, won the Democratic primary for mayor in 2016 with 36.6 percent of the vote.

The same can happen in state elections. Ben Jealous won the 2018 Democratic primary for governor with 39.6 percent of the vote.

Under a ranked choice system, city voters would make their top pick for an office, but then could rank the other candidates for that office in order of preference. There are different methods for how to count the votes but, generally, if a candidate doesn’t receive a majority once everyone’s No. 1 choices are counted, elections officials count voters’ second choices and then third choices until a candidate has a majority.

In some systems, voters who pick a last-place finisher as their top choice can see their No. 1 choice dropped from the tally in the second round and have their No. 2 choice counted instead. The Maryland legislation does not spell out details of how a ranked choice voting system would be implemented in Baltimore.

Ranked choice voting, sometimes called instant-runoff voting, has been used since 2007 in one Maryland city: Takoma Park in Montgomery County.

Lierman’s bill also would give the Baltimore City Council the power to establish open primaries for the offices of mayor, City Council president, City Council and comptroller. The City Council in 2016 formally asked the General Assembly for the authority to hold open primaries.

The resolution — sponsored by Councilmen Bill Henry and Brandon Scott — sought to open up the Democratic primary in Baltimore to independent voters as well as voters registered as Republicans, Libertarians, Green Party members and others. Seventy-nine percent of Baltimore’s voters are registered as Democrats. The second-largest group of registered voters are unaffiliated, at 12 percent.

“It authorizes us to make the decision at the local level,” Henry said. “We can have the hearings. We can solicit the opinions of the citizens and we can go from there.”

Henry called an open primary “fairer and more democratic.”

“A big chunk of the constituency are not members of the Democratic Party,” he said. “They’ve chosen to eschew partisan affiliation. They have to live here and, numbers being what they are, they don’t have a lot of choice” once the general election comes around.

According to Scott’s research for the 2016 resolution, just six of the 24 U.S. cities with the largest populations had closed primaries.

“Realistically, in Baltimore, you’re still going to get a Democrat,” Scott said of the result of an open primary. “But you’ll get the best Democrat and the person most people want. It’s tough to govern when you didn’t win a majority of the actual vote.”

Roger Hartley, dean of the University of Baltimore’s college of public affairs, said ranked choice voting systems in general elections are typically seen as beneficial to third-party candidates, because voters are less likely to write them off as having no chance of winning.

General Assembly is held at The State House in Annapolis, Maryland.
Candidates also could be less likely to personally attack each other, because they might want to be considered as the second choice for a rival’s supporters, he noted.

“There are strengths and weaknesses,” Hartley said. “It gives voters more opportunity for preference. It does change the dynamics of the election. In multicandidate races, you have to campaign in a different way. Third-parties get more of a say over the election.”

On the other hand, Hartley noted, such a system asks voters to be more highly informed and would be a significant change — potentially causing problems for voters.

“Some may be confused by the ranking system,” he said.

As for open primaries, Hartley said they, too, give third-party voters more of an opportunity to compete, which could concern some incumbent Democrats.

“Old Democratic machine politics won’t take kindly to an open primary,” he said.

A similar push for ranked choice voting is underway in Montgomery County. State Sen. Cheryl Kagan and Del. Eric Luedtke are sponsoring legislation for that county.

“Montgomery County had six candidates for county executive and 33 for County Council,” Kagan said. “There was a lot of strategic voting, which is not what we should be doing. It seems time to offer this as an option for Montgomery County.”

Lierman’s bill will be formally introduced Wednesday, the first day of the General Assembly session, in the House Ways and Means Committee.

11 Md. lawmakers call for Montgomery County investigation into sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh

By Ovetta Wiggins and Dan Morse
The Washington Post
September 26

View the full article here

Several Maryland lawmakers representing Montgomery County are calling on local law enforcement officials to investigate the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh, arguing the state’s statute of limitations may not apply to some allegations.

“We request an investigation be conducted if Christine Blasey Ford or other complainants support such an investigation,” reads the letter, which was signed by 11 of the 24 members of the county’s House delegation. “We believe local law enforcement has the authority to investigate allegations of crimes without need for a formal complaint, and we further believe third parties have standing to bring such complaints.”

The letter from the Democratic lawmakers comes on the eve of Kavanaugh’s hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. It is signed by Dels. Kumar Barve, Al Carr, Bonnie Cullison, Ariana B. Kelly, Marc Korman, David Moon, Pam Queen, Kirill Reznik, Shane Robinson, Ana Sol Gutierrez and Jeff Waldstreicher.

Capt. Paul Starks, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Police Department, said Wednesday the department is aware of the letter and is preparing a response to it. He noted that Montgomery detectives follow a “victim-centered” model for sexual assault investigations and cited a statement on the Kavanaugh allegations released by the department two days ago.

The statement read, in part: “The department recognizes that victims of sexual assault may not want to involve law enforcement and/or initiate a criminal investigation, and we respect that position. The department, however, stands prepared to assist anyone who reports being the victim of a sexual assault.”

Earlier this month, Ford went public with her allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. She said he corralled her into a bedroom during a gathering of teens at a house in Montgomery County more than three decades ago.

Since Ford’s allegation, two other women have come forward with allegations against Kavanaugh. He has denied all the accusations.

“County officials may be within the jurisdiction to pursue such an inquiry and are uniquely positioned to investigate publicly announced allegations of sex assaults that may have occurred within our borders,” reads the letter, which was sent to the county chief of police, the county prosecutor and attorneys Michael Avenatti and Debra Katz, who each represent one of the three accusers.

Last week, state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) wrote a letter to Gov. Larry Hogan (R) asking him to direct the state police to investigate. Hogan spokeswoman Amelia Chasse said in a statement that state police are “free to investigate any matter in accordance with established procedures. The governor has never used the state police to pursue investigations at his personal whim. That is a very dangerous and slippery slope.”

In a separate statement, the Maryland State Police said: “It is the policy of the Maryland State Police to initiate a criminal investigation when a criminal complaint is filed. There has been no complaint filed with the Maryland State Police regarding this issue.

“In addition, the Maryland State Police has a memorandum of understanding with Montgomery County that requires any crime of this nature to be investigated by the Montgomery County Police. As such it would be the responsibility of the Montgomery County Police to investigate an alleged sexual assault.”

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Kagan invited to White House in October

Suzanne Pollack

The Sentinel

September 26

View the full article here

Professional athletes aren’t the only ones contemplating the merits of a visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Maryland State Sen. Cheryl Kagan (Dist. 17) spent the past few days mulling whether to accept an invitation to the White House.

She recently received an email inviting state and local officials to the White House during the first week of October.

“I don’t know if there was a dozen or hundreds” of other politicians receiving the same email, she said. She knows directly of just one other person invited.

The email itself was short, she said. “Frankly, there was a real lack of details.”

Kagan, no fan of President Donald Trump, wasn’t sure she wanted to attend.

She turned to Facebook, asking her followers what they thought.

Her post read: “I’m curious as to your opinion. The White House has invited me (among lots of other legislators, I assume) to a meeting there. Would you suggest that I boycott because of my opinions about Trump policies? Or do you think I should attend because of the opportunity to engage on important issues facing our state?”

One-hundred and sixty-six people commented.

The results were “mixed,” Kagan said.

“There was a consensus that I should, which I was inclined to do,” she said in a recent telephone interview.

Some of her followers who want her to attend wrote: “I’d go so they can’t operate in a vacuum;” “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer;” and “Go and Give them Hell!”

A few others who advocated for Kagan to attend warned her not to get trapped into a photo shoot with President Trump that might seem like she was a supporter.

Those opposing her appearance wrote: “Boycott. This is not a normal White House and not worthy of respect” and “Stay away.”

As of now, Kagan intends to attend.

“I have decided it seems wise to go. I have a great disdain for this President and his dangerous policies, but we are talking about the President of the United States and the very powerful executive branch,” explained the senator, who represents the Rockville and Gaithersburg area.

She doesn’t expect Trump to be there but does think members of his staff and policy wonks will be.

If she has the chance, Kagan intends to speak with a member of Trump’s staff about bringing more federal dollars to Maryland.

“I would seek to lobby about funding for 911 upgrades and our Metro system,” she said.

Updating the emergency 911 system “is very expensive. Federal funds will be a great help,” she explained.

As for public transportation, Kagan noted that “about one-third of Metro riders are federal employees.”

Therefore, she said, the federal government needs to allocate funds. Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia “have all stepped up,” she said.

A lack of additional Metro money from the federal government “seems irresponsible,” Kagan said.

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Bethesda resident describes “Culture of Privilege” leading to exploitation and abuse

By Brian Karem

The Sentinel

September 26, 2018

View the full article here

(Editor’s note: The Sentinel Newspapers conducted an interview with a woman who recently came forward to speak with us regarding events that occurred during the time former Georgetown Prep student and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh went to high school. We have authenticated her background and offered her anonymity because we believe her voice deserves to be heard and we respect her desire for privacy. For the purposes of this interview we will call her Elizabeth. She is married and has been for more than 20 years. She has more than one child but said she wanted to speak out for her teenage daughter and “everyone else’s daughter including my mother’s daughter.”)

Elizabeth grew up in Montgomery County. In retrospect she said life in Bethesda was one of privilege, “though I did not realize it when I was younger.”

Raised in a “very strict” Catholic family, she remembers her First Communion dress with pride. “It was white and had lace, but it was understated and my mother told me how beautiful I looked in it.”

She went to private Catholic schools her entire life. In high school she was shy, but traveled in the same social circles as both Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

“I knew them both and liked them both though we didn’t see each other often,” she said.

As a 15-year-old in the early 80s Elizabeth remembers riding with friends through Damascus during the Fall of 1982 when the Ku Klux Klan handed out flyers. She remembers a group of kids from Olney she read about in the local newspaper who were her age and got arrested for being part of a burglary ring. “These were not innocent times,” she said. “I read news reports from members of Congress who said there wasn’t much going on back then and how innocent everything was. Like there’s no way this went on. Well, they’re lying or they lived under a rock.”

Mostly, she said, she remembers how boys and girls interacted at the time. “There were people who got away with everything. And there were people who didn’t. If you had money, or were on the winning football team, or both, you didn’t have limits. Everyone else did.”

She was told boys often acted out and to be careful. Her mother warned her about boys who got too “handsy” and was told as a Catholic girl how to politely rebuke them. Her friends warned her about the “nice boys” who would change when they had something to drink. “I thought maybe they got angry. At first I didn’t know what they were talking about.”

She found out soon enough. “I’m not saying every boy was like that,” she explains. “But I ran into more than one who did something inappropriate.” It was usually verbal, but sometimes physical and Elizabeth said she kept herself away from “those boys” when she could and often had a girl friend with her, “because it was always safer than being alone,” she explained.

“We weren’t a wild bunch, but if we had a whiff of parents going away for the weekend, we had a ‘parent’s going away’ party. We didn’t always know the house though we knew the neighborhood and we’d have to go from house to house looking for a familiar car.”

For Elizabeth the allure was the social atmosphere of being with friends and talking without supervision and without judgment from adults. “We put on music. There was Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Talking Heads. We’d dance. And I didn’t even like beer, but it was free and we’d drink and dance.”

Elizabeth said she infrequently saw Brett Kavanaugh during this time – often at house parties. “He was cute. He was always nice,” she said. One night she ran across an apparently inebriated Brett Kavanaugh and things went differently then. Previously, he had always been nice to her. “ But not that night. He was drunk. He was obnoxious and crude. I had a friend with me and we left. His football buddies were laughing at us. Maybe they were laughing at him, but I didn’t take it that way and they didn’t do anything to keep him from being a jerk.”

From that point on Elizabeth said she steered clear of Kavanaugh and didn’t see any more sexually explicit behavior because, “I didn’t want to be around those guys.” She was not present at the party described by Ford – or doesn’t believe she was. She also said she never saw Kavanaugh assault anyone.

But, from her experience, she said she has no problem believing Dr. Ford’s allegations and said Ford should be heard without politics being involved. “I don’t think that’s possible today. I’m afraid for my daughter. How do we make this less politicized? People are criticizing her for coming forward, but she moved to California. He wasn’t in her life. Now he’s everywhere and could be part of the Supreme Court. It was just high school, but that kind of trauma lasts and no one should be judged for coming forward as she did. It took great courage. Maybe he genuinely doesn’t remember what happened because he blacked out. He deserves to be heard too. He shouldn’t be convicted without being heard either.”

Elizabeth says she knows all too well about the resulting trauma inflicted by a sexually aggressive boy. It happened to her the following year with a boy from a Catholic high school. “They’re all the same. Privileged, spoiled, powerful and unaccountable. They can get away with anything.”

Traveling in the backseat of a car to a keg party at a farm off of Darnestown road “That today is a subdivision in a cow pasture,” a young boy became very aggressive with her. “I had known him since we were kids,” she explained. “He grabbed me. I was scared. I was in the backseat of the car and he kept telling me ‘No’ means ‘Yes,’ every time I told him to stop.”

She never made it to the party. When the car slowed for a stop light in Rockville, she said she opened the passenger door and jumped out. “I walked all the way home to Bethesda,” she said. “How stupid was I?”

She didn’t tell her parents. She didn’t tell her friends. She didn’t tell anyone for years until she saw the boy’s grown sister at a local Giant Super Market. “I put it behind me and then it all came back. I told my husband and I cried – this was 20 years later. It stays with you.”

After Dr. Ford came forward Elizabeth decided against filing a complaint, but said she spoke with The Sentinel because she wants “real issues” to be discussed.

“It’s about privilege and how we take it for granted and use it,” she said.

“We looked down on the public school kids. We looked down on pot smokers. That wasn’t socially acceptable in my crowd. We grew up in a culture of privilege. We all came from great, comfortable homes and almost everyone I hung around with was white. The right pedigree meant we got away with it. The cops chased us from one place to another – but they didn’t arrest us. They knew our parents – the judges and lawyers and high paid professionals in the county. It was a small club in a large county and we were at the top of the pyramid. Brett Kavanaugh was part of that crowd. I was. All of my friends were. But the question I ask myself today is, in light of everything that goes on do we want someone sitting in judgment of everyone else who has never had to face the consequences everyone else faces?”

She said she will remain anonymous because she doesn’t want her “life torn apart. And I think the issue isn’t about me. It’s about the conditions that allow the privileged attitude toward women to continue to this day.”

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Brett Kavanaugh admits to ‘juvenile misbehavior,’ denies sexual assault in testimony

By Alex Swoyer
The Washington Times
Wednesday, September 26, 2018

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Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh will admit to “misbehavior” and excessive drinking during his high school years, but will tell the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday that he never sexually assaulted anyone then or since.

In the Supreme Court nominee’s prepared opening statement, shared by the committee on Wednesday, Judge Kavanaugh calls sexual assault “morally wrong” and “contrary to my religious faith.”

He said he does not question accuser Christine Blasey Ford’s claim that she was sexually assaulted at a high school party, but denied he was involved in any way.

“I spent most of my time in high school focused on academics, sports, church, and service. But I was not perfect in those days, just as I am not perfect today,” the judge says.

He adds: “I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends. Sometimes I had too many. In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now. But that’s not why we are here today. What I’ve been accused of is far more serious than juvenile misbehavior. I never did anything remotely resembling what Dr. Ford describes.”

Ms. Blasey Ford is set to testify before Judge Kavanaugh’s turn Thursday morning about her accusation.

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Judicial Crisis Network On Kavanaugh Allegations: ‘We Have To Look Into This Further’

By Paige Lavender and Paul Blumenthal
HuffPost
September 26, 2018

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Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the Judicial Crisis Network, would not definitively state Wednesday that Judge Brett Kavanaugh should still be confirmed as a Supreme Court associate justice, saying allegations of misconduct should be further examined.

“I think we have to look into this further,” Severino said when asked by MSNBC’s Craig Melvin whether Kavanaugh should still be confirmed. “From what we know so far, we don’t have corroboration yet. If the Senate votes on this soon, I think they would have to go on what they know so far. I know the Senate Judiciary Committee is going to look into this before they would move forward to a vote.”

Severino clarified her remarks in a tweet Wednesday afternoon, saying her group still fully supports Kavanaugh.

The Judicial Crisis Network sits at the center of a network of groups and conservative legal activists behind the selection of judges by President Donald Trump. JCN was co-founded by Leonard Leo, the Federalist Society executive who pushed Kavanaugh’s nomination on Trump, as the society’s political arm to publicly advocate for judicial nominees.

The role of JCN is to publicly support those nominees with seven-figure television advertising buys and extensive advocacy on television programs, such as the one Severino, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, appeared on.

Severino’s public comments on Kavanaugh are significant ― it’s her job to promote Kavanaugh’s confirmation, and she’s previously been one of his biggest defenders. She told MSNBC on Tuesday that the accusations of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh are part of a “partisan smear campaign” led by Democrats.

In a Sept. 18 interview with CNN, Severino downplayed the accusations of Christine Blasey Ford, who claims Kavanaugh pinned her down, groped her and tried to remove her clothes at a party when the two were in high school in the 1980s. Severino said Blasey’s accusations “cover a whole range of conduct, from boorishness to rough horseplay to actual attempted rape.”

“There’s 35 years of memory that we’re trying to play with here, and I’m saying the behavior she described could describe a whole range of things,” Severino said.

The White House continued to stand by its candidate, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling CNBC that Trump still has confidence in his pick.

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Gov. Hogan rules out state police investigation of Kavanaugh allegations; Montgomery County police not investigating

By Michael Dresser
The Baltimore Sun
September 25, 2018

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Gov. Larry Hogan on Friday ruled out involving the Maryland State Police in any investigation of allegations that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl more than 30 years ago in Montgomery County.

The Republican governor was asked at a news conference about a letter Democratic state Sen. Cheryl Kagan of Montgomery sent him. She urged Hogan to take the step because the White House has not ordered the FBI to look into the allegations made by Christine Blasey Ford about Kavanaugh’s actions at a high school party.

Hogan said he had not heard about the request, but he immediately turned it down.

“The Maryland State Police will not be getting involved in this,” he said. Hogan did not elaborate on his reasons.

Spokesmen for state and county police said Friday they would not investigate unless they received a complaint — which they said has not happened. State police also said that, in any case, they have an agreement with county police that means local officials investigate such crimes in their jurisdiction.

Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University in California, alleges the then-17-year-old Kavanaugh pushed her into a bedroom during the party 36 years ago, pinned her down with his body and sexually assaulted her while trying to take off her clothes. She says that when she tried to scream, Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth, putting her in fear for her life. According to Ford, another boy in the room piled onto the bed, allowing her to escape.

She has said she did not report the incident at the time because of embarrassment and fear of punishment by her parents.

Kavanaugh, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, has unequivocally denied Ford’s allegations. Trump has stood behind his nominee, and tweeted Friday that “if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents.”

Grassley says he’ll give Kavanaugh accuser more time to decide whether to testify before committee Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have backed Trump’s decision not to involve the FBI.

Hogan is less than two months from a November election in which he is seeking to become the first Republican governor of Maryland to win a second term since 1954. He is opposed by Democrat Ben Jealous.

In her letter, Kagan said Hogan knows the importance of an independent investigation because he signed legislation calling for such an action in cases of sexual harassment allegations against General Assembly members.

“Since you know the importance of an independent investigation, you must step up where members of your party on Capitol Hill fell down, and direct the Maryland State Police to initiate an investigation into Professor Ford’s allegations,” Kagan wrote.

Kagan said she made the request to Hogan because he is “the leader of our state.”

“It’s disappointing that Governor Hogan won’t stand up for Maryland women,” she said. “Hogan has direct authority over the Maryland State Police. He can encourage local action, but he can take state action.”

Hogan spokeswoman Amelia Chasse said the state police are free to investigate all matters that fall under their established guidelines. Chasse said to use the state police to investigate such a matter would be going down “a very dangerous and slippery slope.”

“The governor has never used the state police to pursue investigations at his personal whim,” she said.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump
I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents. I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!

Greg Shipley, a spokesman for the state police, said the department’s policy is to initiate a criminal investigation when a criminal complaint is filed. He said no one has filed a complaint about the Kavanaugh matter.

Shipley added that state police have a memorandum of understanding with Montgomery County that requires any crime such as sexual assault to be investigated by county police.

A county police spokesman, Officer Rick Goodale, said the department would not investigate the matter unless it received a formal complaint. The police department on Monday released a statement saying it had not received a request from an alleged victim or attorney to investigate Kavanaugh.

The county state’s attorney’s office declined to comment except to say no charges have been filed in the matter.

Kavanaugh’s classmates at Georgetown Prep describe alcohol-soaked party culture
Chasse said that at the time of the news conference, Hogan had not received Kagan’s letter. The spokeswoman said it arrived at the governor’s office shortly before 4 p.m. — hours after Kagan sent out a press release criticizing Hogan’s decision.

Legal experts doubt that a case could be made against Kavanaugh even if someone makes a complaint.

For one thing, if attempted rape in the first degree was the most appropriate charge, that was a misdemeanor in the 1980s in Maryland. It did not become a felony in the state until 1996. Former Attorney General Doug Gansler, who also served as Montgomery County state’s attorney, noted that Maryland’s statute of limitations for misdemeanors for an offense committed in the 1980s expired long ago.

Gansler, a Democrat, also noted Kavanaugh was a juvenile at the time, further complicating any investigation and prosecution. He said the type of acts that have been alleged are not ones for which juveniles are typically charged as adults.

Even if charges could be brought, Gansler said that based on the accounts he’s seen, it would be difficult to prove an alleged assailant had the intent to complete a forcible rape and would not have stopped short of that.

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Kavanaugh Classmate Who Wrote of Partying Goes Silent

By The Associated Press
The New York Times
Sept. 25, 2018

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WASHINGTON — Mark Judge spent decades mining his recollections and writing books and articles full of semi-confessional details about the suburban Maryland prep school he attended with future Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Now, though, Judge’s memory has drawn a blank.

Judge, identified by Christine Blasey Ford as an eyewitness to her claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a 1980s teen party, has said he has “no memory” of the episode. Ford, now a college professor in California, claims Judge watched the attack and urged Kavanaugh on. Judge told the Senate Judiciary Committee last week: “I do not recall the party described in Dr. Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes.”

Over much of his adult life, Judge has dived back repeatedly into his memories of Georgetown Preparatory School student life in the early 1980s, and his two memoirs and a cluster of internet essays provide cautionary takes on his prep school days and boozy weekend rounds as a teenage drinker. Judge’s book “Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk” surveyed his alcohol-fueled escapades in high school and college, a time of “drinking and smoking and hooking up,” he wrote in a 2015 essay on the Acculturated website.

After Judge was publicly identified by Ford, some former Georgetown Prep classmates sifted through their own memories, trying to reconcile their recollections with Ford’s account.

Those classmates said they could not recall any instances where Kavanaugh acted similarly to Ford’s account. But three classmates, one speaking publicly and the other two speaking anonymously, portrayed Judge as a bullying presence during classes, and at weekend parties where athletes gathered at night to tap kegs of beer and woo girls from nearby schools. The two who requested anonymity did so out of concern that talking publicly about this issue could jeopardize their business and professional relationships within the tight-knit Georgetown Prep community.

Maryland state Sen. Richard Madaleno, who was in Georgetown Prep’s 1983 graduating class with Kavanaugh and Judge, sharply remembers Judge as “nasty to other people.”

“He was an unhappy person who dealt with his own demons by making other people unhappy,” Madaleno said, “especially those of us who he perceived to be on a lower rung of the high school ladder.” A Democrat who mounted an unsuccessful 2018 candidacy for Maryland governor, Madaleno said if he had been asked 25 years ago who was the most difficult person at the school, “I would have answered Mark Judge.”

Although Kavanaugh and Judge played on the school’s football team and partied together, Madaleno did not remember the future judge the same way. “There’s no guilt by association,” he said.

Two other Georgetown Prep classmates elaborated on Judge’s “bully” persona at the time: Quick-witted and adroit with insults, he taunted kids with weight problems or foreign names. He dismissed many of those outside of his circle as “losers.” He questioned the sexuality of members of the school’s swim team. He sometimes openly mocked teachers and priests.

“He had a way of being funny at other peoples’ expense,” one former classmate said. “You’d want to be on his good side so that you weren’t his target.”

Judge’s lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, said he “is not speaking during the pendency of the Kavanaugh hearings.”

A Washington Post reporter caught up with Judge on Monday in Bethany Beach, Delaware, where he had been holed up in a beachfront house in recent days, ordered by Van Gelder to leave town. “How’d you find me?” is all he said.

“He is a recovering alcoholic and is under unbelievable stress,” Van Gelder told the Post.

The Delaware and Maryland shores are habitats that Judge has sketched repeatedly in his writings, describing liquor-soaked parties where he and his prep school mates drank themselves into stupors and desperately tried to lose their virginity. In a scene in “Wasted,” Judge described a drunken chat with several friends that mentioned what some classmates suggest is a very thinly veiled reference to Kavanaugh.

Asked about a friend named “Bart O’Kavanaugh,” Judge replies that “he’s around here somewhere,” and then is told, “I heard he puked in someone’s car the other night.”

In “God and Man at Georgetown Prep,” a book about his school days, Judge writes that “Prep was a school positively swimming in alcohol, and my class partied with gusto — often right under the noses of our teachers.” Judge added that “my class of 80 decided that we would drink 100 kegs of beer.”

Both Kavanaugh’s and Judge’s yearbook entries contain references to “100 KEGS or Bust.” Kavanaugh is also listed as “Keg City Club (Treasurer).”

But while the classmates say they were aware that Brett Kavanaugh attended some of the weekend house parties and summer beach gatherings with football team members and other friends, they never saw any evidence that he was a heavy drinker in the way that Judge describes himself at the time.

One of the classmates, who said he attended several parties with Kavanaugh and Judge, said: “Brett would have at most two or three beers. Other guys would down twice that amount.”

Charles Koones, who graduated a year ahead of Kavanaugh and Judge, said Judge’s recollections of a drunken, sex-infused Georgetown Prep did not match his own. While students at the school did drink and have parties, Koones said, he doubted Judge’s recollections of a teacher admonishing the class over how many pregnancies its members had caused.

“I never knew that to happen,” he said. “And I wasn’t one of the shrinking violets.”

Koones said he remembered Kavanaugh from the school’s football team and recalled him fondly. He declined to offer thoughts on the sexual assault allegations, but said he found the school’s portrayal to be unfortunate.

“The whole thing is a crying shame,” he said. “The Prep community is confident in the positive things we put into the world.”

___

Witte contributed to this report from Annapolis, Maryland, and Ashraf Khalil from Washington.

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White House invite a dilemma for Kagan

BY Jared Foretek
Washington Jewish Week
September 25, 2018

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Maryland state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-District 17) gets a lot of email — constituent requests, staff correspondence, meeting scheduling. But a couple of weeks ago, she got an email she wasn’t expecting. It came from the White House, and it included an invitation.

“To be clear, I’m a Democrat and I worked really hard to help elect Hillary Clinton,” Kagan told WJW. “So I’m not an obvious invitee to much of anything that’s going on in the White House right now. I dislike President [Donald] Trump’s policies and character.”

Kagan — whose district includes much of Montgomery County — still isn’t sure what exactly she’s been invited to on Oct. 4. She said the message mentioned local elected officials, so she suspects it will have something to do with the Washington region, but she can’t say for sure.

Either way, though, the invitation posed a dilemma for a politician seeking her second term in November. She doesn’t like the White House and doesn’t want to be seen as endorsing its policies or inhabitants. But she also doesn’t want to pass up an opportunity to lobby for the region.

“I had absolutely no interest in lending support or credibility to almost anything I could envision this White House doing,” Kagan said. “At the same time, if I have an opportunity to talk to any decision-makers about funding for our 911 [emergency call] centers or our Metro system, it seems appropriate to snag that opportunity.”

With the RSVP deadline looming, Kagan was torn. So she came up with a way to break the internal tie: On her personal Facebook page, where she said she has nearly 5,000 “friends,” she explained the predicament and asked for advice.

“I’m curious as to your opinion,” she wrote on Sept. 13. “The White House has invited me (among lots of other legislators, I assume) to a meeting there. Would you suggest that I boycott because of my opinions about Trump policies? Or do you think I should attend because of the opportunity to engage on important issues facing our state?”

Almost immediately the responses began rolling in. As of Sept. 24, the post had racked up 166 comments. By
Kagan’s unofficial tally, most supported her going.

“Go, and be a voice of reason and intelligence,” wrote Marla Rosenthal. “Something that is clearly lacking these days!”

Others didn’t see the point.

“No one is listening is the problem with that strategy,” responded Paula Yanoshik.

Kagan’s decided to attend the event, whatever it is. She said she was leaning that way to begin with, but the response from friends convinced her that it was the right call. She readily admits that the vast majority of her Facebook friends are Democrats, so she wasn’t expecting many enthusiastic exclamations of “MAGA.”

But Kagan said she enjoys using social media to both be accessible and poll friends and constituents.

“I love engaging on social media and seeking the wisdom of my super-smart Facebook friends,” Kagan said. “They’re a cross-section of people I respect. I was curious to read their thoughts. … I’ve never been a finger-in-the-wind elected official, but I find it informative.”

She said she doesn’t expect Trump to be present, but that either way she’ll be keeping an eye out for cameras or anything that could portray her giving the administration her support.

Kagan’s been to the White House before, and insists that it’s an awe-inspiring place. But, she said, its current occupant has diminished it.

“If an American can go to the White House and not feel inspired by the symbolism, the architecture, the art, the grandeur of it, they have no soul,” she said. “It is a little bit tarnished by [Trump], but it is still the center of America’s executive branch and therefore one of the most important addresses in the world.”

In a reply to Kagan’s Facebook post, Jeffrey Bochner wrote: “Democracy is a participatory sport. Can’t change things if you don’t go. Decisions are made by those who show up.”

When asked whether she would hesitate to accept an invite from any Republican administration, Kagan took a long pause and said no, Trump is unique.

“The Trump presidency is so mercurial, extreme and dangerous that it seemed prudent to reflect carefully before responding.”

Yes? No? Maybe so

Below is a sampling of the responses Nancy Floreen got on Facebook when she asked whether she should accept an invitation to the White House.

Go

“Go. If you are not at the table, you could be on the menu.” — Ken Sagar

“You can certainly attend as a form of protest. I’d wear a shirt that says #MeToo.” — Eric Levy

“Go … don’t be a snowflake.” — T Edwin Doss

“Please go, and take a knee.” — Laura Zucker

Don’t go

“Personally I would boycott. But if you go wear something that visibly expresses your dissent with his illegitimate regime.” — Sharon Gelman

“Don’t go. You won’t get anything out of it and any suggestions you give them won’t be taken seriously anyway.” — Saqib Ali

Maybe so

“Wear your chastity belt. And a police camera. Don’t sit next to Donald if you can help it.” —Christina Ginsberg

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County Exec Candidates Square off in Sentinel Debate

By Neal Earley
The Sentinel
September 25

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ROCKVILLE — If there is any more evidence needed to show that Montgomery County will have a contested general election for County Executive for the first time in decades, — Monday night’s debate is definitive proof.

The three candidates vying to succeed Ike Leggett as County Executive squared off in a contentious debate Monday night at the Montgomery County Council Office Building, offering different visions for the County’s future and trading personal jabs. Sentinel Executive Editor Brian Karem and columnist Paul K. Schwartz moderated the debate among the three candidates.

The event began with just the two at-large members of the County Council, Marc Elrich and Nancy Floreen.

With Republican candidate Robin Ficker absent at the start of the debate, Floreen and Elrich began outlying their vision for the County’s economic future.

Elrich, who won a tightly-contested Democratic primary with businessman David Blair, led the Council’s decision to pass an increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2020. Elrich said he is skeptical of the County’s decision toward development, arguing the developers need to pay more for schools and infrastructure.

Elrich, who has objected to calls that he is anti-business, which in part prompted a run from the Democrat-turned-independent Floreen, said he supports business, just not unnecessary government incentives to commercial developers.

“Look, I view business as, they are the employers that make the County tick,” Elrich said. “The fact that I don’t believe in giveaways to certain developers is different than how I feel about that.”

Floreen began her opening statements addressing the difficult political environment, saying the County needs a stable leader who can guide it through political turmoil in Washington D.C. as well as work with whoever is in the Governor’s Mansion next year.

Floreen said the County is done with tax increase after the County Council unanimously approved an 8.7 percent property tax increase. Floreen has tried to position herself as a business-friendly moderate who will streamline the County’s procurement process and provide more outreach to local business who feel like their concerns are ignored by local leaders.

“This is a diverse, it’s a complex community. I’m committed to addressing all of our needs without having to raise taxes,” Floreen said.

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New Brett Kavanaugh Allegations Not Handled By Montgomery Police

By Payton Potter
Bethesda Patch
September 24

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BETHESDA, MD — As a California woman prepares to testify that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both prep school students in Bethesda, reports of another high school misdeed were published by one news site, but Montgomery County Police have said the department has no knowledge of the accusation.

The Montgomery County Sentinel reported investigators are looking into allegations by a second woman against Kavanaugh tied to a party during his senior year of high school. The source who claims to know about the investigation wasn’t named, but a Montgomery County police spokesman told Patch the department is not investigating any related allegations. On Thursday, Christine Blasey Ford of California, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in reference to her allegations that a stumbling drunk Kavanaugh pinned her down and groped her when he was a junior at Georgetown Prep school and she attended the nearby all-girls Holton-Arms school.

But since that initial allegation of misconduct, allegations of misconduct by Deborah Ramirez, 53, of Boulder, Colorado, have surfaced from the time they both attended Yale University. Kavanaugh maintains that the alleged assaults did not happen.

Furthermore, Montgomery County Police last week told Bethesda Magazine that unless a complaint is filed with the department, they will not conduct an investigation into the accusations. State Senator Cheryl Kagan, meanwhile, has urged Hogan to step in and conduct an investigation following the White House’s refusal to involve the FBI in allegations made by Christine Blasey Ford.

“It has been distressing to watch the Republicans in the U.S. Senate to try to jam this nomination through an incomplete confirmation process,” Kagan told Bethesda Magazine. “Because this is a lifetime appointment with only nine members on the Supreme Court, I would hope that Governor Hogan would want the U.S. Senate to have as much information as possible about Kavanaugh’s character.”

Governor Larry Hogan said Friday that Maryland’s state police will not investigate the allegations against Kavanaugh. A spokesman for Maryland State Police told the Baltimore Sun on Friday that they would not launch an investigation unless they received a complaint.

Ford told The Washington Post that Kavanaugh and a friend were both deeply intoxicated when they ushered her into a bedroom in Montgomery County. She said Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed on her back and, while his former Georgetown Prep classmate Mark Judge watched, and groped her over her clothes.

Kavanaugh ground his body against hers, she alleged, and tried to take off both her one-piece bathing suit and clothes she was wearing over it. Ford said she tried to scream but that Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand.

The allegations of misconduct by Ramirez as told to New Yorker magazine say,”I remember a penis being in front of my face,” Ramirez said. She admitted she had been drinking and her memories were unclear. “I knew that’s not what I wanted, even in that state of mind.

Attorney Michael Avenatti addressed the Ramirez claims on Twitter, writing that his client, an anonymous woman, has credible information regarding Kavaugh and his former Georgetown Prep classmate Mark Judge.

In an email from Avenatti to Mike Davis, chief counsel for nominations for the Senate Judiciary Committee, the attorney claims the witness is prepared to meet with the FBI to further discuss her accusations.
He later tweeted that his client has previously done work within the State Department, U.S. Mint and Department of Justice. “She has been granted multiple security clearances in the past including Public Trust & Secret,” Avenatti wrote. “The GOP and others better be very careful in trying to suggest that she is not credible.”

The White House on Sunday released a statement from Kavanaugh denying the allegations by Ramirez.

“This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen,” read a quote attributed to Kavanaugh on a White House webpage seemingly dedicated to debunking Ramirez’s claims. “The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple. I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name—and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building—against these last-minute allegations.”

Image: Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh leaves his home Sept. 19 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Kavanaugh is scheduled to appear again before the Senate Judiciary Committee next Monday following allegations that have endangered his appointment to the Supreme Court.

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5 MORE DIRTY TRICKS DEMOCRATS COULD STILL TRY TO DERAIL BRETT KAVANAUGH

By Joel B. Pollak
Breitbart
September 23

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Democrats are determined to sink Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court even if Christine Blasey Ford’s original accusation unravels — as it is beginning to do, with all four named witnesses thus far contradicting her story.
But the left is not above dirty tricks — such as failing to mention the accusation against Kavanaugh until after the confirmation hearings — and there are several more Democrats could pull that might have the potential to block Kavanaugh regardless.

1. Create additional accusations. Even assuming that Dr. Ford’s story is true, one of the problems that Democrats have faced is that Kavanaugh has shown no similar pattern of behavior. But if one or more new accusers emerged, that could create new suspicions that would at least delay his confirmation. The accusations would not need to be true; they would just need to cast the judge in a negative light. (Sunday night’s “dildo” story, apparently in the works from the New Yorker, is a perfect example.)

2. Instigate a local prosecution. If state or county prosectors were to announce that they were investigating Kavanaugh for attempted rape, which has no statue of limitations in Maryland, that could end his confirmation. If that sounds far-fetched, State Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) has already tried it, urging Gov. Larry Hogan to order an investigation by state police. He refused, but prosectors in the office of the Montgomery County state’s attorney — a Democrat — are noncommittal.

3. Block the hearing. Ford’s claims could look less credible by Thursday. Kavanaugh reportedly produced calendars from 1982 on Sunday showing he was out of town for much of the period in question. If so, Democrats might not want Ford to testify — but might want to delay a committee vote. They praised the protesters who interrupted Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing earlier this month; they could arrange massive protests during or before the hearing to disrupt it and delay the process.

4. Organize a Bar protest. The left-leaning American Bar Association (ABA) gave Kavanaugh a unanimous “well-qualified” rating before his confirmation hearings. But Democrats could organize left-leaning lawyers to pressure the ABA to revise that conclusion, or to issue a statement of protest. Alternatively, they could organize a “lawyers’ protest” of their own, stating that they will refuse to argue cases before the Supreme Court so long as Kavanaugh is seated without a full FBI investigation.

5. Character assassination. If Ford’s story falls apart, the campaign against Kavanaugh will go down as one of the worst smear campaigns in American history. But Democrats have time to make it even worse. They can ratchet up the pressure on the judge and his family to the point where he concludes it is simply not worth the effort. Already, the Washington Post is reporting that Kavanaugh refused to answer some personal questions in mock hearings — hinting, perhaps, at worse to come.

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Maryland Police Say They’re Ready to Investigate Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Case if a Report is Filed

By Brian Krassenstein
Hill Reporter
September 22, 2018

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As Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee continue to push back on the requests made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, for what her and her attorney consider to be a fair hearing, news broke late last night that Police in the city of Montgomery, Maryland are prepared to investigate the multi-decade-old incident.

Since the alleged sexual assault took place in Montgomery, Maryland, where there would be no statutes of limitation, the Montgomery police would have jurisdiction over the case. In a statement made yesterday in the midst of the back and forth between Ford’s attorney and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, Montgomery City Police Chief Tom Manger issued the following statement:

“We are prepared to investigate if the victim wants to report to us, and we can determine it occurred in the County.”

Brian J. Karem✔ @BrianKarem
BREAKING: Montgomery MD PD Chief Tom Manger confirms will investigate sexual allegations against Brett Kavanaugh if a complaint is filed.
9:08 PM – Sep 21, 2018

All that it would take is the filling of a police report with the proper authorities and an investigation would commence. While Ford, nor her attorney, have indicated that a report would be filed in Montgomery, the likelihood of such seems quite high, especially given the fact that the President refuses to ask the FBI to investigate the matter further.

Meanwhile, the Republican Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, has ruled out that there would be any sort of State-level investigation into the matter after Democratic state Sen. Cheryl Kagan of Montgomery requested such.

Ford, who alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager, never reported the incident at the time because of what she describes as embarrassment and fear of punishment by her parents.

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Maryland Governor Rebuffs Call for Criminal Investigation into Brett Kavanaugh Attempted Rape Allegations

By Rachel M. Cohen, Ryan Grim
The Intercept
September 22 2018

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ON FRIDAY MORNING, Maryland state Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Democrat, sent a letter to her state’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan calling on him to direct the Maryland State Police to launch an investigation into Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegations.

Ford “deserves the basic fairness she has been denied, and you have the power to give it to her because the assault allegedly occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland.” Kagan wrote. “I know you understand the importance of an independent investigation because you signed HB1342, which requires an independent investigator to examine sexual harassment by members of the Maryland General Assembly.”

HB1342, which Hogan signed in May, is legislation designed to strengthen anti-harassment policies and prevent sexual harassment. It was pushed by the Women’s Caucus in the Maryland General Assembly.

Hogan rejected Kagan’s request at a news conference several hours later, according to the Baltimore Sun. “The Maryland State Police will not be getting involved in this,” he said, without further explanation. Kagan tweeted that she was “disappointed” in Hogan and “hopes he’ll reconsider!” Two hours later, she tweeted again that she hopes the governor “changes his tune and decides to stand up for Maryland women who have been assaulted. #InvestigateKavanaugh”

The Maryland Democratic Party seized on the opportunity to blast the governor, sending out an email with the subject line: “BREAKING: After Months of Silence on Kavanaugh, Hogan Stands with Trump in Defense of SCOTUS Nominee.” The email included a quote from Democratic state party chair Kathleen Matthews, saying: “If Donald Trump doesn’t have the integrity to authorize an independent investigation by the FBI, then Larry Hogan has a duty to authorize an independent investigation by Maryland state police.”

Matthews’s party is aiming to unseat Hogan this November, but polls show Hogan with a strong lead against his Democratic opponent Ben Jealous.

Earlier on Friday, Trump also elevated the issue of local law enforcement, tweeting that if Kavanaugh’s attack on Ford “was as bad as she says,” then Ford or her parents would have immediately filed charges with the police. “I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!” he wrote.

Kavanaugh’s mother was a Montgomery County prosecutor at the time of the alleged assault.

Ford has not filed any reports with the local police, according to the Montgomery County Police Department, and she told the Washington Post that she didn’t tell anyone at the time what happened to her, including her parents.

In Maryland, there is no statute of limitations for rape or attempted rape, and Ford has described her assault as “attempted rape.”

Two days earlier, a spokesperson for the state’s attorney, Ramon Korionoff, told The Intercept that his office was refraining from confirming or denying if it was investigating the Ford allegations. He added that “when there’s something that the police have brought to us, we’ll address it at that time.”

Ike Leggett, the executive of Montgomery County, told The Intercept on Friday morning that he has spoken to Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and that the state’s attorney’s would “of course” look into the allegations if more details emerged, like the date, time, and address of the alleged incident. “Based on what’s been reported in the newspapers, unless there’s some actual complaint filed in more detail, it’s very difficult for them to proceed with just the information that’s available,” Leggett said, based on his conversation with McCarthy. “Secondly, there’s a statute of limitation challenge they need to work through depending on the complaint. They’re in a wait-and-see attitude.”

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Kagan asks Hogan to investigate Kavanaugh allegation

By Neal Earley
The Sentinel
September 22, 2018

View the full article here

State Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-17) has written a letter to Gov. Larry Hogan (R) asking him to direct the Maryland State Police to investigate the sexual assault allegation against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Kagan said in her letter to Hogan that the governor should ask the state police to investigate the allegation, after President Donald J. Trump said he will not ask the FBI to explore the claim.

Palo Alto University psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford said that at a party 36 years ago, Kavanaugh forced himself on Ford and pinned her down on a bed against her will, rubbed himself on her and tried to pull her clothes off, before another boy jumped on both of them, allowing her to escape. At the time, Ford was a 15-year-old student at Holton-Arms, and Kavanaugh, was a 17-year student at Georgetown Prep.

“I’m hoping that Governor Hogan will stand up for Maryland women and understand the seriousness of an allegation like that,” Kagan said.

Since the allegation came to light and Ford made her claims public, the Senate Judiciary Committee has debated how to handle the claims. While both Republican and Democratic senators have said they want both Ford and Kavanaugh to testify before the committee, the details of the testimony are still being negotiated.

Ford, through her attorneys, has asked for an FBI investigation into her allegation, something that the President said he won’t do. He added in a tweet Thursday that she should have filed chargers when the incident happened 36 years ago.

“I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents,” Trump said in a tweet. “I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!”

In response, Kagan said that the Maryland State Police needs to investigate the allegation, given that the FBI is not likely to.

“She deserves the basic fairness she has been denied, and you have the power to give it to her because the assault allegedly occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland,” Kagan wrote to Hogan.

Rick Goodale, a public information officer with the Montgomery County Police Department, said there is no investigation into the alleged sexual assault because a victim has not come forward to file a report yet.

Amelia Chassé, a spokesperson for Hogan, said the Governor has not seen the letter yet, as his office has no record of receiving it.

“The Maryland State Police is free to investigate any matter in accordance with established procedures,” Chassé said. “The governor has never used the state police to pursue investigations at his personal whim. That is a very dangerous and slippery slope.”

Kagan said an investigation by the state police would be preferable to a MCPD investigation. because the state police have more resources and jurisdiction.

“Frankly, the Governor has the opportunity to direct the state police to investigate the allegation,” Kagan said. “They have more resources, and frankly, possibly more credibility because they are statewide.”

Greg Shipley, spokesman for the Maryland State Police’s Office of Media Communications, released the following statement: “It is the policy of the Maryland State Police to initiate a criminal investigation when a criminal complaint is filed. There has been no complaint filed with the Maryland State Police regarding this issue. In addition, the Maryland State Police has a memorandum of understanding with Montgomery County that requires any Part 1 crime to be investigated by the Montgomery County Police. As such it would be the responsibility of the Montgomery County Police to investigate an alleged sexual assault.”

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Senator Wants State Police to Investigate Kavanaugh Assault Charge

By Danielle Gaines
Maryland Matters
September 21, 2018

View the full article here

A Montgomery County senator wants the Maryland State Police to investigate allegations made by California professor Christine Blasey Ford that she was sexually assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when the two were students at private high schools in Montgomery County.

Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) will send a letter to Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) on Friday, asking him to initiate an investigation through the Maryland State Police.

“We are blocked from having a thorough investigation on this because [President Donald J. Trump] will not call on the FBI to investigate a very credible complaint,” Kagan said in an interview with Maryland Matters. “…I am hoping that the governor will stand up for Maryland women.”

Hogan was asked about the issue during a news conference on an unrelated matter Friday morning.

“No. I’ve never heard anything about that,” Hogan said. “…But no, the Maryland State Police will not be getting involved in this.”

Kagan said after the governor’s comments that she would still send him a letter seeking the investigation.

The alleged assault occurred in the early 1980s when Ford was a 15-year-old student at Holton-Arms School and Kavanaugh was a 17-year-old student at Georgetown Preparatory School.

The Montgomery County Police told the news website Bethesda Beat earlier this week that they would investigate the allegations only if a criminal complaint is reported to them, which had not been done.

Ford first revealed the assault in a confidential letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) after Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. He has denied the claims, which are likely to be the topic of a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee next week.

Through an attorney, Ford originally said she would testify only if an investigation were undertaken by the FBI. Now, her attorney is negotiating the terms of her testimony.

Kagan said she has been closely watching news about the allegations, including that Ford has been harassed and threatened since coming forward.

“I am mortified by the personal attacks against a professor with unquestionable credentials. Many of us have stories from our teen or college years that we haven’t shared publicly. That does not in any way undermine or negate the impact that they have had on our lives,” Kagan said in the phone interview. “A woman may not remember what she was wearing or the precise date and time of an assault. But I assure you the key details of the event are burned into her memory for all time.”

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After Months of Silence on Kavanaugh, Hogan Stands with Trump in Defense of SCOTUS Nominee

By pfowler
Maryland Democratic Party
September 21 2018

View the full article here

State Sen. Kagan Sent Letter to Hogan Today Urging Governor to Investigate Sexual Assault Allegations Against Kavanaugh. Does Hogan Not Believe Dr. Blasey Ford? Why Else Would He Block An Investigation to Find Out the Truth?

Annapolis, MD—After months of silence on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to serve on the Supreme Court, Governor Larry Hogan is refusing a request from State Sen. Cheryl Kagan to investigate allegations of sexual assault raised against Kavanaugh. On Sunday, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford reported that while they were both high school students in Bethesda in 1982, Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her.

This morning, Sen. Cheryl Kagan sent letter to Hogan urging him to direct the Maryland State Police to investigate Dr. Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. Kagan wrote, “…you must step up where members of your party on Capitol Hill fell down and direct the Maryland State Police to initiate an investigation int Professor Ford’s allegations. She deserves the basic fairness she has been denied, and you have the power to give it to her because the assault allegedly occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland.”

When asked about the letter at a press conference today, Hogan said, “The Maryland State Police will not be getting involved in this.”

“If Donald Trump doesn’t have the integrity to authorize an independent investigation by the FBI, then Larry Hogan has a duty to authorize an independent investigation by Maryland state police,” said Maryland Democratic Party chair Kathleen Matthews. “The American people should not have Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination for a lifetime seat rushed through without a full investigation into Dr. Blasey Ford’s credible allegations.”

This week, Donald Trump announced that he will break past precedent by refusing to direct the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate the allegations against Kavanugh. Trump has also repeatedly dismissed the allegations, defended Kavanaugh and this morning attacked Dr. Blasey Ford, saying, “If the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents.

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Politics Roundup: Kagan Asks for State Police Investigation of Kavanaugh

By Dan Schere
Bethesda Beat
September 21, 2018

View the full article here

Kagan calls on Hogan to demand police investigation into Kavanaugh allegations

State Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Democrat who represents Rockville, sent a letter Friday to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), asking the Maryland State Police to investigate allegations that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford at a high school party in the 1980s.

Ford has accused Kavanaugh of drunkenly groping her, pinning her to a bed and trying to take off her clothes while they were at a high school party at a Montgomery County house, according to The Washington Post. Kavanaugh, then 17, attended the all-boys Georgetown Preparatory School, while 15-year-old Ford attended Holton-Arms School, both in Bethesda. Kavanaugh’s classmate Mark Judge, she alleges, was an accomplice.

Ford has said she is open to testifying next week in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senate Democrats have asked for an FBI investigation in into the allegations against Kavanaugh, although Republicans and President Trump have been resistant.

In an interview Friday, Kagan said she called for the state police investigation because any findings would help guide the discussion among senators who are voting on Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

“It has been distressing to watch the Republicans in the U.S. Senate to try to jam this nomination through an incomplete confirmation process. Because this is a lifetime appointment with only nine members on the Supreme Court, I would hope that Governor Hogan would want the U.S. Senate to have as much information as possible about Kavanaugh’s character,” she said.

Maryland law states that there is no statute of limitations on felonies, including sexual assault. Montgomery County Police spokesman Officer Rick Goodale said earlier this week that there were no plans for an investigation since nothing had been reported to his police force.

According to Maryland Matters, which originally reported the letter, Hogan said at a press conference Friday that the “Maryland State Police will not be getting involved in this,” but didn’t elaborate further.

Kagan tweeted in response that she hoped Hogan would “change his tune and decide to stand up for Maryland women who have been assaulted.”

Kagan herself has spoken about being sexually harassed multiple times in Annapolis, including earlier this year by former Del. Gil Genn, who is now a lobbyist. She said she immediately believed Ford when her allegations became public earlier this month.

“She has absolutely no incentive to fabricate a tragic story like this,” Kagan said. “Too many women have terrible secrets similar to hers that they have never shared. I applaud her courage for speaking out and for sacrificing her own safety and privacy to do so.”

MoCo Democratic Party takes neutral position on county ballot initiatives

The precinct leaders of the Montgomery County Democratic Party voted Thursday night to adopt a neutral position on the three ballot questions county residents will vote on in November.

Question A asks whether the selection process for the county’s redistricting committee should be altered. Every 10 years, a redistricting commission redraws the lines for the five district seats on the council by picking four members from the county Democratic and Republican central committees, plus one additional member.

The new plan outlined on the ballot would expand the commission from nine to 11 members. At least one, but no more than four, would have to be from each party that received more than 15 percent of the vote in the last county council general election. In addition, the commission would need to include at least one member from each of the five council districts.

Democrats have long been accused of gerrymandering state and federal districts in Maryland, and that was a topic that precinct members discussed at Thursday’s meeting. One member said deciding which position to take on the initiative was like a “game of dragons,” in that voting for the redistricting proposal could lead to losing Democratic seats on the council but voting against the proposal would reignite beliefs that the party is intent on maintaining a patronage system. Members on both sides weighed in.

“This mythical person who really wants to be on a redistricting body, they have an agenda,” said one member.

Another attendee responded that many unaffiliated voters are still interested in the political process, including college students.

Afterward, Scott Goldberg, the chair of the county’s Democratic Central Committee, said the number of differing views of the ballot question shows how it is a “big tent party.” He said the liberal county council chose to put the initiative on the ballot in order to make the redistricting process more democratic.

“There are a lot of Democratic activists, that even in Maryland would still unilaterally want to have a more nonpartisan redistricting process,” he said. “To my knowledge I haven’t seen any county council members out there advocating for or against, even at this meeting. They decided to leave it in the hands of the voters.”

The party also voted to remain neutral on Question B, which would require an affirmative vote by the entire county council on raising property taxes, and Question C, which would allow each council member to have at least one aide as a non-merit employee.

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Commission to Advance #NG911 Holds First Meeting

By Kevin Kinnally

Maryland Association of Counties Blog

September 20, 2018

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New 911 commission holds first meetings

By: Kylie Khan
Posted: Sep 20, 2018 06:31 PM EDT

Video

Senator Cheryl Kagan was elected chair

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Cities and counties across the United States are moving to a new 911 system to keep up with changes in technology.

In Maryland, Thursday marked the first meeting of the newly formed 911 commission. The commission’s goal is to help roll out the Next Generation 911 system which will allow residents to send texts, videos, and photos to operators. Frederick County is the only county in the state that has implemented texting 911. Montgomery County is in the initial stages of putting NextGen in place.

“Maryland is way out of step with other area states and look at and figure out how to raise the money so that we can make sure to save lives,” said State Senator Cheryl Kagan, (D) Montgomery County.

The commission is tasked with having a report ready by December.

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“Where Genius Grows” Podcast

“We all do the best we can. And I think whatever someone decides to do is the right step for them. But speaking out does have an impact. And I know that sharing my story brought comfort to many women, brought accountability to one man in particular, got legislation passed, and I think served as a bit of an educational opportunity or a warning to a lot of other men. And that makes it all worthwhile. It’s all of that.”— Maryland State Senator, Cheryl Kagan

Cheryl Kagan represents Maryland State Senate District 17 in Annapolis. On March 1, 2018 she was inappropriately touched by a lobbyist. After she she called him out publicly, inspired by brave voices in the #MeToo movement, the lobbyist called her delusional and threatened to sue. Then Sen. Kagan produced video evidence and drove the legislature to pass an anti-sexual harassment law. In this interview, Sen. Kagan discusses what went into speaking up and taking action.

Listen to the podcast here.

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‘Peace Day’ declared in honor of young poet who delivered inspirational messages before his death

July 15, 2018
By Brian O’Keefe
ABC News
View the Full Article Here

At a Peace Day celebration today in Rockville, Maryland, Mattie T. J. Stepanek was remembered.

The memory of the boy, who died when he was 13 years old in 2004 of a rare form of muscular dystrophy, was honored Saturday by State Sen. Cheryl Kagan with a proclamation. It declared that Tuesday, July 17, would be considered “Peace Day” across the state of Maryland.

Matt Houston/AP, FILE

The date was selected because Mattie — who wrote several books of inspirational poetry and was an advocate of peace — would have turned 28 Tuesday.

The Office of the Governor of Maryland

Kagan, who was so moved at a local “Peace Day” celebration last year that she committed to expanding it to county, state and national levels, presented the award to the boy’s mother. Jeni Stepanek has set out a goal to make the day a national holiday.

Brian O’Keefe/ABC News

“This is exciting, as it has pushed the holiday to the next level, across the state,” Jeni Stepanek said.

In the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Mattie appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Good Morning America” to spread his joyful and positive message on humanity, love and life-inspired to millions of readers and television viewers.

Mattie, who wrote seven best-selling books of poetry and openly discussed struggling with his illness, spent most of the last two years of his life in a hospital.

On December 4, 2001, Mattie appeared on Good Morning America — one his many appearances — to discuss one of his books. Charlie Gibson, who was the anchor of the show then, surprised him by bringing out his favorite peacemaker, former President Jimmy Carter.

“You had but to see his face when we brought his hero, President Carter, in to meet him,” Gibson said Saturday.

But the meeting seemed just as emotional for Carter, who seemed moved to tears when he met Mattie.

Gibson added that it wasn’t just the former president who was touched by the boy’s story.

Matt Houston/AP, FILE

“I can only wonder from whence Mattie drew such reserves of happiness, but it made him an inspiration to all of us fortunate enough to know him,” he added.

That reach seemed to endure, as more than 600 people attended the proclamation ceremony in honor of Mattie.

The Mattie J. T. Stepanek Foundation has been founded in his memory. Jeni Stepanek, who is a senior faculty specialist at the University of Maryland, leads the foundation.

Matt Houston/AP, FILE

On its website, it reads that it exists “to further Mattie’s message of hope and peace.”

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Elrich declares victory in Democratic primary for Montgomery Co. executive

July 9, 2018
By Abigail Constantino
WTOP
View the Full Article Here

WASHINGTON — The counting is done in the race for Montgomery County Executive, and only 80 votes separate the two Democratic candidates.

The count ended with 37,529 votes for Montgomery County council member Marc Elrich and 37,449 for businessman David Blair, according to Montgomery County’s election results. The deadline to certify the votes is July 16.

The primary election happened on June 26 but the count recently finished Sunday in Montgomery County to determine whether it will be Elrich or Blair who will be the Democratic candidate in November.

Vote-counters went through more than 5,000 provisional and absentee ballots over the weekend. Blair narrowed the lead Saturday after provisional ballots were counted.

By Sunday night, some 974 ballots were up for rejection — the last remaining to be counted, Montgomery County Board of Elections spokesman Marjorie Roher said in an email.

“We had six talented candidates, all with experience and a vision for Montgomery County’s future. So much is at stake that it really matters who wins,” said Maryland state Sen. Cheryl Kagan, who sat in as on observer on Thursday while canvassers tallied the provisional ballots.

A recount could be requested by candidates, but depending on a number of factors, the campaign of the petitioner could have to foot the bill.

There are a few cases in which a candidate asking for a recount would be relieved of the cost: If the results of the recount flip the results and change the outcome of the race; if the petitioner sees an increase of 2 percent or more of the total votes cast; or if there’s a less than 0.1 percent difference of the total votes cast for the candidates.

WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.

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‘TECTONIC SHIFT’ IN STATE SENATE

July 2, 2018
By Cynthia Prairie
MarylandReporter.com
View the Full Article Here

Last Tuesday’s primary election was “a tectonic shift,” Sen. Cheryl Kagan, D-Montgomery, said afterwards. “It’s the kind of thing that doesn’t happen overnight — except that it happened overnight.” She is referring to the loss by a number of trusted allies of and committee chairs appointed by Senate President Mike Miller. That seismic shift included the loss of most of Miller’s remaining leadership team. Still in place are only one of four major committee chairs and two vice chairs, writes Bryan Sears for the Daily Record.

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‘Political earthquake’: Progressives oust Democratic incumbents in statehouse primaries

June 27, 2018
By Rachel Chason and Teo Armus
The Washington Post
View the Full Article Here

It wasn’t just the governor’s race.

In addition to powering Democrat Ben Jealous’s victory over establishment favorite Rushern L. Baker III on Tuesday, progressive voters in Maryland ousted at least four incumbents allied with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) — causing a shift in the state Senate.

“I call it a political earthquake,” said Larry Stafford, executive director of Progressive Maryland, which backed candidates who defeated two powerful Democratic committee chairs and the Senate’s president pro tem.

Stafford said progressive activists will now have much more leverage to push for a $15 minimum wage, which has previously stalled in the General Assembly; universal health care; and “policies to better protect immigrants.”

Miller, the longest-serving state Senate president in the country, declined a request for an interview.

Todd Eberly, a political-science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, said there is a bleaker possibility for Democrats, as well: Candidates nominated Tuesday may be so left-leaning that centrist voters will back GOP candidates in November.

“Maryland has always had a big-tent Democratic Party, with some moderate and conservative Democrats included,” Eberly said. “Those folks are waking up today and realizing the party they grew up with won’t necessarily be on the ballot in November.”

Some, but not all, of the successful challengers are unopposed in the general election. They include the young, progressive state delegates who defeated three influential Baltimore incumbents: state Sens. Joan Carter Conway, 67, chair of the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee; Nathaniel J. McFadden, 71, the president pro tem; and Barbara Robinson, 80.

Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, lost to Arthur Ellis, a veteran who describes himself as a progressive Democrat. Ellis will face off against Republican John Leonard this fall.

Union support was a key component in several of Tuesday’s primaries. The Service Employees International Union Local 500, which backed Jealous, spent more than $100,000 to oppose Miller and his lieutenants.

While Miller easily defeated his challenger, the ousted incumbents include several of his top allies, including Middleton, McFadden and Conway.

“Democratic primary voters are fed up with the traditional ways of doing business,” said SEIU 500 political director Mark McLaurin. He said the union will press for legislation to increase the minimum wage to $15 and allow public sector employees to enter comprehensive collective bargaining agreements.

State Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery), who was easily nominated for another term, said the “number of respected legislators who were defeated is astonishing.” She said few in the Senate took seriously the challenge to Middleton, who was elected in 1995 and widely viewed as a potential successor to Miller.

The article continues here. 

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Sen. Kagan and District 17 Delegates Review the 2018 Legislative Session at the
Meeting of the Gaithersburg Mayor and Council, May 24, 2018

Senator Kagan’s remarks begin at 38:35.

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Winners and Losers of the 2018 General Assembly Session

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Maryland Senate gives final passage to anti-sexual harassment bill

By Ovetta Wiggins
April 6, 2018

The Maryland Senate gave final approval to a bill that creates a new set of rules for dealing with sexual harassment complaints in the statehouse – the first major overhaul to the state’s anti-harassment policy in decades.

The bill heads back to the House, which passed it last month and is expected to approve the changes made by the Senate before the General Assembly adjourns on Monday at midnight.

“This session will be remembered for school construction, gun control, environmental protection and for Me Too,” said Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) on the floor before the vote. Kagan was one of several current lawmakers and former staffers who spoke publicly over the last weeks about their alleged harassment in hopes of shifting the culture in Annapolis.

The bill’s passage was part of the flurry of activity in Annapolis on Friday as legislators moved quickly to approve legislation before the 90-day session ends.

Del. Ariana Kelly (D-Montgomery), the bill sponsor and president of the Women Legislators of Maryland caucus, said the #MeToo movement empowered women to share their experiences and ultimately helped the bill gain momentum.

“This is a legislative manifestation of a larger movement where people are no longer willing to be silent,” she said. “We ultimately hope to see a culture change. The policies are changing and we expect the culture to change too, and the passage of this legislation is an indication that that is happening.”

Kelly said the changes made by the Senate strengthen the legislation – even though the Senate version replaces “sexual harassment” with “harassment” throughout the bill. Even the bill title was changed from “Legislative Branch of State Government – Sexual Harassment” to “State Government – Discrimination and Harassment.”

“It blunts the impact of the title, but not the policy,” Kelly said. “We changed the sexual harassment policy to include all forms of unlawful discrimination.”

The legislation was a top priority of the Women Legislators of Maryland caucus, which issued a report that detailed numerous alleged accounts of sexual harassment and offered dozens of recommendations to update the policy.

One of the most substantial changes requires an independent investigator to handle complaints.

Under the bill, the Joint Ethics Committee is required to refer complaints to an outside investigator, unless an alleged victim objects. It also must notify the alleged victim of the investigator’s findings. The legislation also prohibits a legislator or member of state government to use state funds to settle a harassment or discrimination claim.

The original House bill only dealt with the legislative branch and lobbyists, which have never been a part of the state’s anti-harassment policy. The Senate expanded the measure to include the members of the executive branch.

The legislation requires the legislative policy committee to update the anti-harassment policy every two years and requires the Department of Legislative Services to maintain electronic records of training attendance for five years and publish attendance on the General Assembly’s website.

The bill requires the Ethics Commission to provide a “training related to discrimination and harassment” to lobbyists every two years. It also sets up a procedure for lobbyists who are harassed for filing a complaint.

It was unclear for much of the session whether the legislation would advance. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) set up a commission in January to review the harassment policies of all three branches of government. The panel’s final report is expected in December, and Miller previously indicated that he wanted to wait until then before changing policies.

Also on Friday, the Senate gave final approval to a bill that imposes a $250 fine and one point against a person who drives while using a cell phone. The Senate amended the House bill by reducing the fine by half and adding the point against the driver’s license.

The Senate also passed a so-called “red flag” bill that makes develops a procedure for getting guns out of the hands of people who are danger to themselves or others and a measure that allows the state to sell the naming rights of rest areas to businesses.

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“THESE T-SHIRTS COULD FIT ME”
Memorial making its rounds through the county outlines those killed in school shootings

April 3, 2018
By Suzanne Pollak
The Sentinel Newspapers
View the Full Article Here

As David Williams gazed at the display of T-shirts blowing in the breeze at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, he shook his head and said, “These could be my classmates. These T-shirts could fit me.”

Each of the 258 T-shirts hanging along a fence at the high school depicts one young life that had been cut down so far this year due to gun violence in schools throughout the country.

Williams, a 17-year-old high-school senior, said, “It’s important to demonstrate a point like this. It’s definitely attracting attention.”

The T-shirt exhibit has been making the rounds at the many County high schools and already visited Winston Churchill High School in Potomac and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.

The display debuted at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School on April 20, the 19th anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High School.

MoCo Students for Gun Control created the graphic portrayals. That student group formed a week after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Since the T-shirts were first hung one month ago, the students had to add more following the murder of eight students at Santa Fe High School in Texas.

While all the T-shirts had been white, the newest ones are in orange. Each is sparsely decorated in black marker and bears the name and age of each victim. Some T-shirts merely are adorned with the words “unidentified male” or “age unknown.”

“I like that our school is sending a message and not ignoring” what is happening, said Leah Leifer, a ninth grader at Richard Montgomery.

Her classmate, Valeria Quispe, scanned the display and declared, “It makes me sad.”

Added ninth grader James Pagara, “I think it’s great. It spreads awareness.”

State Senator Cheryl Kagan, who represents District 17, which covers Rockville and Gaithersburg, videotaped herself as she slowly walked the length of the display.

Kagan called the deaths of the young people “senseless murder” in her video, which she posted on her Facebook page.

These are students “who will never wear their school colors, who won’t go to the prom, who won’t walk across the stage at their high-school graduation’ who won’t have a career or a family or an opportunity to travel, celebrate joyous times, struggle through tough times,” she said as her camera zoomed in on the shirts.

MoCo Students for Gun Control set up a GoFundMe account to cover the costs of the project. The goal was to raise $1,000, but the students surpassed their goal by more than $500.

Any money they raised that wasn’t used will go to other projects aimed at ending gun violence in schools, the group said on the GoFundMe page.

While the students said the T-shirt project was important, “Our end goal, of course, is to pressure legislators into passing the necessary bills to reduce and eventually eliminate the risk of school shootings. Everyone at B-CC is extremely passionate about this issue,” they wrote on the GoFundMe page.

Sen. Kagan Accepts National Award For Her Work on Next Generation 9-1-1

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State Song May Soon Be Demoted to Historical Status

April 3, 2018
By Suzanne Pollak
The Sentinel Newspapers
View the Full Article Here

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Here’s why cybersecurity experts say Maryland’s ballot delivery system is a target for hackers

April 1, 2018
By Rachel Chason
Washington Post
View the Full Article Here

Cybersecurity experts are asking lawmakers to bring Maryland’s ballot access laws — which they say prioritize accessibility to an extent that makes the voting system vulnerable to hacking — in line with other states ahead of November’s elections.

Information revealed last month by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about Russian interference in the political process highlights the need for states to examine the security of voting systems, advocates and computer scientists warn. But legislators say they must balance those concerns with ensuring ballots can be easily obtained by all eligible Marylanders who want to vote.

“There is a tension there,” said state Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery). “With all the news of election tampering in 2016, it’s critically important that voters have confidence in the security and accuracy of our elections . . . . We are also a fairly progressive state that wants to make it reasonably easy for people to vote.”

Maryland is one of three states in which any resident can receive their ballot online and the only state in which there is no signature verification process required by law, advocates said. To have their ballots counted, residents must print them out and return them by mail or in person.

Russians “have already demonstrated that they have all of the tools they would need, and know how to use them, to impersonate real Maryland voters,” Rebecca Wilson of the nonpartisan group SAVE Our Votes said during a committee hearing in the state Senate last month.

Nikki Charlson, deputy administrator of the Maryland State Board of Elections, said the General Assembly made “a policy decision” that every absentee voter should be able to receive a ballot electronically upon request. The board has worked to “make sure that system is secure,” she said.

“We would not offer a system if we didn’t think it was secure for voters to use,” Charlson said.

But advocates say board officials overestimate the state’s ability to detect hacking.

The scenario they lay out is this: Bad actors — whether inside or outside the United States — could send out “phishing” emails to voters from addresses similar to the State Board of Elections account. Following links in these emails, voters would give up their credentials while mistakenly thinking they had completed and sent in legitimate ballots.

Meanwhile, the bad actors could use the credentials to receive the actual ballot from the board, sent to an email address of their choice. They could then send it in to be counted on Election Day.

Counties would have little way of distinguishing legitimate absentee ballots from fake ones, the advocates say, because Maryland does not check signatures. 

In a different scenario, there could also be “chaos on Election Day” if residents go to vote in person and realize their information has been hacked by someone who submitted fraudulent absentee ballots in their names, said Poorvi Vora, a professor of computer science at George Washington University.

The scenarios are strictly hypothetical — officials said they detected no signs of such attempted hacking in Maryland during the 2016 election, and nationally, there have been no widespread campaigns in which hackers mailed in fraudulent ballots.

Charlson said that advocates’ information is incomplete and that “continuous monitoring” is used to mitigate risk created by the online delivery system.

She said she could not publicly share everything the elections board does to guard against hackers because of security concerns.

“Every system has risks,” Charlson said. “We bank and pay bills online, and we do so knowing the risks. We have, however, an obligation to make our online systems as secure as possible.”

Phishing, she added, is “certainly” a concern for the board, which encourages voters to call and ask for information if they have questions about the legitimacy of an email from the board.

Lawmakers opened up the online absentee ballot delivery system to all residents — previously it had been available only to those with disabilities — ahead of the 2016 election cycle, despite concerns from a vocal group of computer scientists and advocates.

The goal was to increase voter participation rates in the state and to make sure accessibility of ballots was not a barrier to voting.

But that goal has not come to fruition, said Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer (D-Baltimore County), who is sponsoring a bill, backed by advocates and cybersecurity experts, to allow only residents who have disabilities, live overseas or serve in the military to have their ballots delivered online.

The percentage of absentee voters has remained steady over time despite changes to the law, and people who requested online ballots have returned them at lower rates than those who asked for paper ballots, Wilson said. In 2016, 71 percent of voters who received their ballots online returned them, compared with 82 percent who received a hard copy in the mail, she said.

In other efforts to make voting more accessible, the General Assembly has approved bills this session to prohibit municipalities from requiring residents to provide a reason for requesting an absentee ballot and another bill that allows for automatic voter registration at various state agencies.

The version of the bill to limit online ballots that was introduced in the House of Delegates in February did not advance beyond committee.

Kagan said its limits on who can receive their ballots online seemed to her too “constrictive.”

“We have to look carefully at implementation to make sure we’re not disenfranchising a swath of voters,” Kagan said. She said she hoped to introduce amendments that would allow people, including college students, first responders who are out of the state and those on emergency out-of-state trips, to get their ballots online.

Alaska and Washington are the only other states that allow any resident to request an absentee ballot online. But both states have signature verification processes in place, unlike Maryland, officials said.

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Ranked choice voting bill falls short, but backers say coming election may give it a boost

March 30, 2018
By Louis Peck
Bethesda Magazine
View the Full Article Here

As has been the case on several occasions in recent years, a bill to authorize Montgomery County election officials to utilize so-called “ranked choice voting” emerged from the county’s 24-member House delegation earlier this year with a favorable recommendation.

And, as has also been the case in the past, that’s as far as it progressed in the 2018 session of the Maryland General Assembly—due to adjourn a week from Monday.

But some supporters of the measure say the huge field of County Council at-large candidates in this year’s June 26 primary may give the proposal a boost when the legislature reconvenes in 2019.

“In prior years, a lot of people said, ‘What problem is this going to solve? I don’t understand why we need to do this’,” Del. David Moon observed. “This year, with 33 or so candidates running for council, suddenly it’s ‘OK, maybe we need to take a closer look at this.’ ”

Moon is a resident of Takoma Park, one of a handful of cities nationwide—including Minneapolis and San Francisco—where ranked choice voting is now utilized in local elections.

In this year’s bill—sponsored by Dels. Eric Luedtke of Burtonsville and Marice Morales of Silver Spring and Sen. Cheryl Kagan of Rockville—ranked choice voting was defined as “a method of casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, and votes are tabulated in a manner that reflects voter preference.”

For ranked choice voting in elections with multiple contenders, as explained by Minneapolis officials, “candidates with no mathematical possibility of winning are defeated, and votes from those candidates are transferred to the next ranked candidate on those ballots. When a candidate reaches the required threshold and is declared elected, that candidate’s surplus votes … are distributed proportionately to the next ranked candidates on the ballots of the elected candidate.”

Supporters contend the end result is that successful candidates have a greater base of support—and increased legitimacy.

“You could have members of the County Council elected with as little as 10 percent of the primary vote, and given that primary voters are not all of the voters in the county, you’re talking about a very small portion of the electorate determining who will be on  the council,” Luedtke said of this year’s primary. “And that’s cause for serious concern.” He predicted the crowded Democratic field in the council at-large race “will create some momentum for change.”

While this year’s measure was introduced as a “local bill”—meaning it would have applied only to Montgomery County elections—sources suggested it ran into resistance from legislators from other areas of the state reluctant to open the door to such changes in their respective jurisdictions.

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Bill would speed up evictions of dangerous tenants

March 30, 2018
By Kelsi Loos
Frederick News Post
View the Full Article Here

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Maryland Senate Votes to Protect LGBTQ Youth from Dangerous “Conversion Therapy”

March 28, 2018
By Stephen Peters
Human Rights Campaign
View the Full Article Here

HRC along with FreeState Justice, a legal advocacy organization that seeks to improve the lives of LGBTQ Marylanders, and WISE praised the Maryland State Senate for passing SB1028 — legislation protecting LGBTQ youth in the state from the dangerous and debunked practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” The bill now goes to the Maryland House of Delegates for consideration.

“We thank the state senators who voted to protect LGBTQ youth from so-called ‘conversion therapy,’” said HRC National Field Director Marty Rouse. “This abusive and inhumane practice has no basis in science and is uniformly rejected by every major mental health organization in the country. We are calling on the Maryland House of Delegates to swiftly pass this bill and send it to Governor Larry Hogan’s desk for his signature.”

“This is a step forward for an important piece of legislation that protects LGBTQ youth from harmful and coercive practices,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Mark Procopio. “We hope the House of Delegates will move quickly to make this law. Maryland’s LGBTQ youth deserve strong protections under state law. Prohibiting these practices moves us closer to that goal.”

SB1028 was introduced in the Maryland State Senate by Senator Richard Madaleno and cosponsors include Senator Bill Ferguson, Senator Guy Guzzone, Senator Cheryl Kagan, Senator Susan Lee, Senator Roger Manno, Senator Paul Pinsky, Senator Craig Zucker, Senator Will Smith, and Senator Ronald Young.

There is no credible evidence that conversion therapy can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. To the contrary, research has clearly shown that these practices pose devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people such as depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior. The harmful practice is condemned by every major medical and mental health organization, including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and American Medical Association.

Connecticut, California, Nevada, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Washington all have passed laws or enacted regulations protecting youth from this abusive practice. A growing number of municipalities have also passed similar protections, including cities and counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Florida, New York, Arizona, and Wisconsin.

According to a recent report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 20,000 LGBTQ minors in states without protections will be subjected to conversion therapy by a licensed healthcare professional if state officials fail to act.

HRC has partnered with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and state equality groups across the nation to pass state legislation ending conversion therapy. More information on the lies and dangers of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity can be found here.

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Sing a New Song? Lawmakers Say No, Thanks

By Bruce DePuyt
MarylandMatters.org
March 22, 2018
View the Full Article Here

An effort to repeal Maryland’s state song will fall short for at least the eighth time in the last 45 years. All that’s left, following lengthy committee and floor debate, and amendment, is a timid recasting of “Maryland, My Maryland” as the state’s “historical song.”

“It’s a compromise,” Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) acknowledged. “Nobody is happy.”

Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) originally hoped to remove the song from its current status and have the state hold a contest to find a new song, one that celebrates the state’s diversity and contemporary values.

“Maryland, My Maryland” is “divisive, dated and racist,” she said on the floor. “It’s time to move forward on this. It is a relic of our past. It should not be celebrated anymore.”

The lyrics to the song are from a poem written by James Ryder Randall in 1861. Critics routinely seize on the description of President Lincoln as a “despot,” a “tyrant” and a “vandal” — and to the states of the Union as “Northern scum.”

“The words themselves are a call to action,” said St. Mary’s College political science professor Todd Eberly. “Randall is angry that a friend of his is dead [killed in the Baltimore Riots, when Union troops who were being relocated clashed with Southern sympathizers]. He’s in Louisiana, and he wants Maryland to secede, and that’s exactly what these lyrics are toward.”

Sen. Robert G. Cassilly (R-Harford), an opponent of repeal, said the lyrics “appeal to Maryland’s historic past, to our glorious fight to our revolution and the like. And the author implores us to continue the fight, to fight and move forward.”

Eberly and several of the lawmakers who voted against Kagan’s bill rejected the suggestion that to embrace the song was to embrace racism.

“We’re getting to the point that history is [being considered] racist,” said Sen. Michael Hough (R-Frederick). “I think we need to be careful about that. … A song is a song. The people singing it today are not singing it with that in their hearts.”

But where some see a stirring call to action or a celebration of the state’s history, Eberly sees something else.

“Here we are, 140 years later, and so many people still can’t bring themselves to admit that this was, in fact, a war fought almost exclusively over the issue of [whether] states have the right to enslave other people.”

“We spent the better part of 100 years giving ourselves an alternative history — [that] this was about states’ rights [and that] slavery was tangential — and now folks are being told ‘you were given this white-washed version of things, and what you were told wasn’t right,’” he said.

The bill recasting “Maryland, My Maryland” as the state’s “historical song” was approved by the Senate 30-13 on the eve of a key legislative deadline. It will now be taken up by the House Health and Government Operations Committee.

Critics of the repeal expressed a concern that Marylanders would no longer be allowed to sing the song if the amended bill is adopted. “Our one day to shine, on the national level, is the Preakness,” said Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings (R-Baltimore County). “What are we going to sing then? What’s going to said in the commentaries?”

Miller offered reassurance. “This … is a compromise,” he said. “It doesn’t abolish the song. It says it is an historical song. And if anyone comes up with another song, they’ll come up with another song.”

Kagan said in an interview she has no plans to re-introduce her original bill next session. While she maintains the current lyrics are “distasteful and offensive,” she said, “I’ve done this work. I will move on.”

It’s unknown if Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) would sign the bill if it reaches his desk. An email sent to his press office on Wednesday, a snow day, was not returned.

Eberly, the political science professor, likened the debate over “Maryland, My Maryland” to the fight over a disputed statue that used to be on the State House grounds of the Supreme Court justice who wrote the Dred Scott decision.

“This song, much like the Roger B. Taney statue, right on the grounds of the Capitol, goes beyond remembering history and glorifies it. By making this our state song, we’re embracing the sentiments it expresses.”

Ironically, Eberly said, the song “represents a viewpoint that Maryland, as a state, never held during the Civil War. Maryland did not secede. Maryland did not join with the South. And that’s what’s weird. It’s a song that doesn’t even match with Maryland’s history during that era.”

Miller, a walking encyclopedia of Maryland history, noted at the end of the floor debate that “Oliver Wendell Holmes said it was the greatest motivational song he ever heard, and he fought on the Union side.”

Rather than pitch the song completely overboard, Eberly offers a compromise that includes a Union “response,’ written to the same melody some time after the original version, with different lyrics.

“There is a Union version of ‘Maryland, My Maryland,’” he said. “What I would love to see — and it’ll never happen — I would love to see the Maryland state song be the original version and the Union response interlaced, so we actually capture the diversity of Maryland history.”

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Kagan calls for culture shift in Annapolis

March 21, 2018
By Dan Schere
Washington Jewish Week
View the Full Article Here (Behind paywall)

When the #MeToo movement began gathering steam last fall, Maryland state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-District 17) started compiling a mental list of the men who have harassed her since 1995, when she arrived in Annapolis as a state delegate.

“It’s a long list,” she said. “As the days went by I went, ‘Oh yeah, him.’”

SEE MORE AT THE LINK…

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Maryland delegates approve new way to investigate sexual harassment claims in legislature

March 19, 2018
By Scott Dance
The Baltimore Sun
View the Full Article Here

The Maryland House of Delegates on Monday unanimously approved reforms to the process for investigating sexual harassment complaints against lawmakers, legislative staffers and lobbyists.

Del. Ariana Kelly, who leads the House women’s caucus, said the policy was borne out of conversations among five female lawmakers in 2016, when “we realized we had some shared, similar experiences” with harassment around the State House. Their efforts gained momentum with the #MeToo movement, she said.

“We realized there were things we could do better to prevent sexual harassment,” she said on the House floor.

The proposed legislation requires the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics to hire an independent counsel if a person is the subject of multiple accusations.

The proposal dovetails with changes passed late last year to bring more transparency to the process of reporting and investigating harassment accusations.

It comes as the legislature deals with the aftermath of an accusation by Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Montgomery County Democrat, that former lawmaker and current lobbyist Gil Genn recently touched her inappropriately at a karaoke event in Annapolis. Genn has denied the allegation.

As a House committee was considering the legislation, three delegates told their colleagues they had personally been victims of sexual harassment. They said the reforms would take politics out of the process of reviewing and investigating harassment complaints.

The legislation now goes to the Senate, where a companion bill has not advanced out of committee.

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Guest Commentary: Police Departments Should Hire Non-Citizen Veterans

March 18, 2018
By Tom Manger and Cheryl C. Kagan
MarylandMatters.org
View the Full Article Here

Police departments across Maryland face challenges in the recruitment and retention of officers. One in eight positions in the Maryland State Police is vacant, according to their most recent budget report. Local police and sheriffs’ departments are struggling to find qualified, committed candidates. Even after potential officers are recruited and trained, we should consider the ethnic background and language skills of our ever more diverse communities.

Meanwhile, every day, women and men who are not yet American citizens put on their uniforms, pick up weapons, and put their lives on the line  as members of our armed forces.

When they get home and want to bring their talents and experience to their local communities, they face a formidable barrier. These permanent legal residents of the U.S. have served with honor, but they are not yet citizens. Currently, that means they are not eligible for one of the most important jobs in government – as local police officers. That’s because Maryland law requires applicants to be citizens.

We are working together to remove that barrier. Senator Kagan has sponsored legislation (SB 344) to enlarge our pool of prospective recruits, which Chief Manger is endorsing. Honorably discharged legal permanent residents would still need to qualify on all other evaluations, tests, and background checks, but the door would be open to this modest, common sense, reasonable, way of making our communities safer. In deference to local control, this legislation does not compel any department to hire a legal permanent resident; it merely provides the option.

This proposed policy is an important step in the evolution of modern police departments. Over the years, requirements for being a police officer have changed. Qualifications codified by the Maryland Police Training Commission over the past 50 years have evolved. Gender, height, and sexual orientation restrictions have been removed. We, along with many of Chief Manger’s law enforcement colleagues, believe that one’s citizenship status is a similarly outdated qualification. Instead, the focus should be on one’s knowledge, skills, commitment, and ability to perform the job effectively.    

As honorably discharged veterans, these potential applicants have demonstrated an allegiance to the United States. They have also undergone security checks and extensive training. Their spirit for service is unquestioned.

In the past, many veterans were able to earn citizenship during their military service, though it wasn’t always easy. Unfortunately, it has become even more difficult as the Trump administration has curtailed the programs that offered the citizenship option.

We await action in the General Assembly to approve Sen. Kagan’s bill. Forty-one of 47 senators signed on as co-sponsors. We commend the House of Delegates for offering preliminary approval of the companion measure sponsored by Dels. Carlo Sanchez, Joseline Peña-Melnyk, and others.

We are under no illusions that this will end the shortage of dedicated police officers. Even if every honorably discharged legal permanent resident were to apply, we would still be searching for qualified people. But the need for potential officers, especially from diverse backgrounds, must be addressed, and this is a population we’re ignoring for no justifiable reason. It’s time to tear down this barrier to service.

Tom Manger is chief of the Montgomery County Police Department. Cheryl C. Kagan, a Democrat, is the state senator from District 17, representing Rockville and Gaithersburg. 

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Maryland needs a new state song that doesn’t endorse the Confederacy, and we have suggestions
The new song won’t contain the phrase “Northern scum.”

March 16, 2018
By Ann-Derrick Gaillot
theoutline.com
View the Full Article Here
NOTE: We are not posting links to the videos on our site, but you can watch the videos at the link for the full article.

Spring is known as a time of change. This year, the state of Maryland may invoke the spirit of the season by throwing out its tired old state song and replacing it with something newer, fresher, and 100 percent less pro-Confederacy. Today, the Maryland State Senate passed a bill that would retire the current song “Maryland, My Maryland” as a “historic” song and make way for another song to take its place.

The state has a huge opportunity here. Aside from sounding like it was written by your college friend’s racist grandpa, including lyrics like “Northern scum” and references to Lincoln as a “tyrant” during the Civil War, the song is not even fun to listen to. It didn’t become the state song until 1939, well after the Civil War ended and closer to the period in the early 1900s when most Confederate memorials were constructed. But with this bill there is a chance for the state to pull from the its impressive musical history for a song that actually deserves the recognition.

Famed Maryland musicians include Toni Braxton, Tori Amos, Frank Zappa, Billie Holiday, Philip Glass, David Byrne, Mya, the Madden twins from Good Charlotte, Animal Collective, and, uh, Logic — the list goes on and on. There is a deep well of great music to dip into, and an infinite number of directions to take the state song in 2018.

You could go with the new classic banger, best song of 2017 “Crew” by DMV-area artist GoldLink, which mentions the state in its first lines.

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Maryland bill would ‘retire’ state song to ‘historic’ status

March 17, 2018
By Brian Witte
The Star Democrat
View the Full Article Here

ANNAPOLIS (AP) — A majority of Maryland senators hope they’ve found an elusive compromise to handle the state’s controversial state song: send it into retirement without erasing all recognition.

The Senate voted 30-13 to put “Maryland, My Maryland” on historic status and say its sensitive pre-Civil War references to “Northern scum” and a despotic President Abraham Lincoln don’t reflect Marylanders’ values today. The bill now goes to the House.

While it would no longer be the official state song, the measure doesn’t completely jettison it, either. It designates it as a “historical state song.”

Opponents of the measure say it just doesn’t do much.

“The words are still there,” said Sen. Bryan Simonaire, an Anne Arundel County Republican. “If they’re so offensive, they’re still in Maryland law.”

But supporters say it makes a significant symbolic gesture.

“This bill acknowledges a dated, offensive, racist-themed song, that it’s time to move forward,” said Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Montgomery County Democrat.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a Democrat, said the song needs to be put aside until the state can come up with a new one.

The song was written in 1861 by James Ryder Randall. It became the state song in 1939. It calls for Maryland to secede from the Union before the Civil War when many Maryland residents sympathized with the Confederacy.

Previous attempts to change the song have stalled, partly because lawmakers were reluctant to tinker with history. But supporters have said recent events involving Confederate statues have highlighted the need for a change.

In August, several days after violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, Maryland officials removed from the statehouse grounds a statue of Roger Taney. Taney was the U.S. Supreme Court justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision that upheld slavery and denied citizenship to African-Americans.

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We thought 1992 would be the year of the woman. This time feels different.

March 16, 2018
Written by Karen Tumulty
The Washington Post
View the Full Article Here

The video begins with Democratic congressional candidate Sol Flores standing in her childhood bedroom in Chicago, recalling happy times when she decorated it with unicorns and rainbows and posters of her boy-band crushes.

Then Flores’s narration takes a detour, into a dark family secret: “There was a man that was living with us that would come into my bedroom when I was asleep.”

A convergence of the #MeToo movement and the political activism that ignited after President Trump’s election has inspired what appears to be a record number of women running for offices up and down the ballot this year. These are not just career politicians climbing the next step on the ladder, but newly energized activists who say running for office never occurred to them until the last election.

And here is what is even more surprising about this crop of female candidates: Many are speaking openly about painful, personal experiences with sexual abuse and harassment.

In 1992, the last time there was talk of an election being a “year of the woman,” it was in large measure because the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas brought sexual harassment to the forefront. Back then, though, it was still taboo for female candidates to talk about their own encounters with the problem.

I remember the sense everyone felt in 1992 that nothing would ever be the same for women, that their voices would only grow stronger and louder. But joining the club in those days meant living by its rules.

This time feels different. Now the experience of suffering sexual harassment or assault has been transformed into a way to connect, particularly for the Democratic contenders who have become the vanguard of the resistance movement. What once was a private shame is now a selling point.

Flores, the founder of a Chicago nonprofit that serves homeless youth, says that after she went public with her story of being molested as a child, she heard from Sara Freeman, a Democratic Minnesota state house contender who now speaks openly about her recovery from being raped at gunpoint two decades ago.

Democrat Mary Barzee Flores, a former circuit court judge running for Congress in Florida, has talked of being groped by the night manager of a Pizza Hut where she worked when she was a teenager. As a lawyer, Flores says, she encountered “a judge who made a crack about my looks on my very first day in court.”

In Annapolis, state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) this month accused lobbyist Gil Genn of running his hand down her back and onto her buttocks in a crowded pub. Now, the two are arguing over whether the brief physical contact revealed by security camera footage of the event constitutes inappropriate conduct. The tape does appear to show that his initial insistence that he had not touched her at all was false.

Previous generations of female politicians kept these kinds of experiences to themselves.

“Absolutely no one would dare do a #MeToo then, although we talked in private about who to watch out for and never get in an elevator with,” recalled former Democratic representative Pat Schroeder of Colorado, who ran briefly for her party’s 1988 presidential nomination and who was not known for being timid. “They felt vulnerable, and if they talked about it, they became even more vulnerable.”

That remained true even in the explosion of female candidates after the Thomas hearings. “Part of that was we all saw how Anita Hill was treated” by the all-white, all-male Senate Judiciary Committee, Schroeder said. “They just dumped all over her, and got away with it. We all internalized it.”

Not anymore.

No one would argue that these kinds of life experiences, by themselves, qualify anyone for public office. And there is even a danger that they will become a distraction from other issues.

“I’ve sort of been pigeonholed into one issue. I’m just the #MeToo candidate,” complains Freeman, a former investment banker who says her top priority if elected would be improving Minnesota’s public schools.

But, she adds, at a moment of awakened sensitivity to sexual transgressions, “these conversations are just too important not to be having.”

There is no small irony in the fact that all of this, while long overdue, might not be happening had the nation elected its first female president in 2016.

Instead, a man credibly accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women sits in the Oval Office.

The old feminist mantra had it that the personal is political. In the #MeToo era, that connection is being forged more directly than ever, one story at a time. But while laying bare what was once kept secret may ultimately produce a healthier culture in politics, what voters will want to know is how all of this is going to change their lives.

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Md. governor, legislative leaders say they have a solution to soaring health-care premiums

March 16, 2018
Written by Ovetta Wiggins and Rachel Chason
The Washington Post
View the Full Article Here

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Maryland’s Democratic legislative leaders have reached agreement on a one-year plan to stabilize skyrocketing individual health insurance premiums by taxing insurance companies and using the money to pay the biggest claims.

Legislation that won initial approval in the state Senate on Friday would levy a surcharge of about $380 million on insurance companies that do business in Maryland, which are paying about that much less in federal taxes this year because of a one-time exemption provided by the recent overhaul of the U.S. tax code.

Using that money for a “reinsurance fund” will lower premiums for everyone in the individual insurance market, officials and advocates said, heading off a potential crisis stemming from anticipated increases in premiums of between 30 and 50 percent and the possible departure of CareFirst, Maryland’s only statewide insurer for the estimated 154,000 individuals who buy their own plans rather than get coverage through an employer or government program.

“The consequence of doing nothing, it will just explode the whole entire system,” said Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles), who sponsored the bill.

Hogan, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) have worked together on the issue. In March, the trio sent a letter asking Maryland’s congressional delegation to push Congress to stabilize the market.

“As the governor has made clear countless times, multiple federal administrations and Congress have failed on this issue, but the state of Maryland will not,” said Hogan spokeswoman Amelia Chasse.

A second bill that won initial approval in the Senate late Friday and is part of the agreement forged with Hogan would require Maryland’s health exchange to apply for a federal waiver that would provide long-term funding for the reinsurance program, as several other states have done.

The bill would also require that a Maryland state panel — established last year in response to Republican efforts in Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act — examine whether to adopt a state-based individual health insurance mandate.

Vincent DeMarco, a member of the state health panel and president of the Maryland Citizens Health Initiative, called the initial approval of the bills a “really good step forward.”

“It was a brilliant idea to capture the federal money for a year,” he said.

But he added that he would like to see the General Assembly go further and pass legislation to create a health insurance down-payment program that would replace the repealed federal individual mandate, fine people who don’t have insurance and then use that money to help cover their health-care costs.

The pace of the 90-day legislative session picked up on Friday in advance of Monday’s “crossover,” the date when most bills need to have passed out of at least one chamber to have a solid chance of becoming law.

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KAGAN SAYS VIDEO SHOWS EVIDENCE OF INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING

March 16, 2018
Written by Neal Earley
The Sentinel
View the Full Article Here

Newly-released security camera footage of an interaction between State Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-17th District) and lobbyist Gil Genn is leading to different explanations from both parties roughly two weeks after Kagan accused Genn of touching her inappropriately.

The footage from a March 1 event at Castlebay Irish Pub in Annapolis shows shows Genn, a former state delegate and Kagan greeting one another with Genn putting his hand on Kagan’s back and whispering something to her before sliding his hand off her back, after which both spend the rest of the video in conversation. The footage does not make it clear how exactly Kagan reacted to Genn’s touch, as both continued talking in the crowded Annapolis bar.

Kagan – who in a March 2 statement accused Genn of touching her inappropriately by placing his hand on her back and then “[sliding] it down” – claimed the video validates her accusations.

“I was really uncomfortable,” Kagan said in a press conference Tuesday. “I wanted the incident to end. I wanted the interaction to end. He kept talking.”

However, Genn’s lawyer said the video exonerates Genn of any inappropriate behavior.

“It was completely appropriate and within bounds and something that happens with most Americans thousands of times a week,” said attorney Tim Maloney, who called the video definitive proof that Kagan’s claims that Genn touched her inappropriately are false, and demanded that she apologize for her accusations.

But Kagan still stands by her original claim, noting that too many women are afraid to come forward and name the men that have sexually harassed them. Kagan ended her original statement making the claim with #MeToo, in solidarity of women across the country who have told their own stories of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

“I speak up today not only for myself, but also for the legislative staff and interns who are clearly more vulnerable than a Senator whose votes could affect a lobbyist’s clients. It’s time to call him out,” Kagan said in a statement.

Genn has denied Kagan’s allegations since they first came to light roughly two weeks ago, issuing a statement at the time in which he said that he did not inappropriately touch Kagan.

“I kept my hands to myself,” Genn said in his original statement denying Kagan’s claims. “I didn’t even shake her hand. I did not run my hand down her back or down her ‘tush.’ And I especially and consciously avoided the all-too-common Annapolis legislative ‘hug’ many legislators use to greet one another.”

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Maryland needs a new state song that doesn’t endorse the Confederacy, and we have suggestions

March 16, 2018
By Ann-Derrick Gaillot
The Outline
View the Full Article Here

Spring is known as a time of change. This year, the state of Maryland may invoke the spirit of the season by throwing out its tired old state song and replacing it with something newer, fresher, and 100 percent less pro-Confederacy. Today, the Maryland State Senate passed a bill that would retire the current song “Maryland, My Maryland” as a “historic” song and make way for another song to take its place.

The state has a huge opportunity here. Aside from sounding like it was written by your college friend’s racist grandpa, including lyrics like “Northern scum” and references to Lincoln as a “tyrant” during the Civil War, the song is not even fun to listen to. It didn’t become the state song until 1939, well after the Civil War ended and closer to the period in the early 1900s when most Confederate memorials were constructed. But with this bill there is a chance for the state to pull from the its impressive musical history for a song that actually deserves the recognition.

Famed Maryland musicians include Toni Braxton, Tori Amos, Frank Zappa, Billie Holiday, Philip Glass, David Byrne, Mya, the Madden twins from Good Charlotte, Animal Collective, and, uh, Logic — the list goes on and on. There is a deep well of great music to dip into, and an infinite number of directions to take the state song in 2018.

You could go with the new classic banger, best song of 2017 “Crew” by DMV-area artist GoldLink, which mentions the state in its first lines.

They could lean fully into the ‘90s nostalgia trend and choose the easy-to-love 1995 hit “Stay” by Maryland-born artist Lisa Loeb.

They could get a jump-start on 2000s nostalgia and go for “Thong Song” by Baltimorean Sisqó. (Though, admittedly, both are guaranteed viral PR stunts with short shelf lives.)

Or they could give Baltimore-raised star Billie Holiday her due props and choose pretty much any song she’s ever recorded.

But the obvious route is choosing a song that is actually about Maryland and, as Sen. Cheryl Kagan wrote in the bill, “honors the past, celebrates the present, and anticipates the bright future of this State and its residents.” In that case, the best choice is “Good Morning, Baltimore” from the 2002 musical Hairspray based on the 1988 John Waters film.

Yes, it’s just about Baltimore. But with a refrain like “Good morning, Baltimore / Every day’s like an open door / Every night is a fantasy / Every sound’s like a symphony” the song is sufficiently celebratory of Maryland’s largest city, honors the past, is unbelievably optimistic for a song about the morning, and, most importantly, isn’t racist trash. It’s a win all around!

If the House passes the bill and the Governor signs it, Maryland lawmakers are going to have a very contentious pop culture decision to make. If there’s anyone we can’t trust to pick a hot song, it’s politicians … but hopefully, they’ll do the right thing and pick a song with style, or else Marylander swill be stuck with another boring, stupid tune.

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Maryland Senate passes bill to retire state song

March 16, 2018
By David Collins
WBAL Baltimore
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 ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland state Senate passed a bill Friday that would retire the state song, “Maryland, My Maryland.”

Senate Bill 790 would create a state song selection panel that would hold a competition for the new song and the winner would be voted on online.

The goal would be to announce a winner before the end of this year.

“Maryland, My Maryland,” set to the traditional seasonal tune of “O, Tannenbaum,” was written in 1861 by James Ryder Randall and adopted as the state song in 1939

Lawmakers who support changing the official state song think the time is right to finally wipe away “Northern scum” and other sensitive pre-Civil War phrases.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Maryland bill would ‘retire’ state song to ‘historic’ status

March 16, 2018
By BRIAN WITTE
The Associated Press
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ANNAPOLIS, Md.  — A majority of Maryland senators hope they’ve found a compromise to handle the state’s controversial state song: send it into retirement without erasing all recognition.

The Senate voted 30-13 to put “Maryland, My Maryland” on historic status and say its sensitive pre-Civil War references to “Northern scum” and a despotic President Abraham Lincoln don’t reflect Marylanders’ values today. The bill now goes to the House.

While it would no longer be the official state song, the measure doesn’t completely jettison it, either. It designates it as a “historical state song.”

The song was written in 1861 by James Ryder Randall. It became the state song in 1939. It calls for Maryland to secede from the Union before the Civil War when many Maryland residents sympathized with the Confederacy.

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State Roundup, March 15, 2018

March 15, 2018
By Cynthia Prairie
Maryland Reporter
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‘MARYLAND, MY MARYLAND:’ A bill that advanced Wednesday in the state Senate would not consign “Maryland, My Maryland” to the playlist of history but it does seek to relegate the official state song to B-side status, Michael Dresser wittily writes in the Sun. Senators narrowly gave preliminary approval to legislation that would re-designate the pro-Confederate anthem as the “historic” state song — putting some distance between modern Maryland and 157-year-old lyrics that refer to Unionists as “Northern scum” and label President Abraham Lincoln a “despot.”

It’s a change some lawmakers say is too long in coming as officials here and around the country seek to deal with remnants of the country’s ties to slavery and the Civil War while other legislators say the changes amount to erasing history, reports Bryan Sears for the Daily Record. “Others of us would see it as divisive, dated and racist,” said Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan, D-Montgomery and lead sponsor of the bill. “It’s time to move forward on this. It’s time to enact a compromise.”

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For 79 years, Maryland’s state song has called Northerners ‘scum.’ That may change soon

March 15, 2018
By Lawrence Crook III
CNN
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For almost eight decades, the official state song of Maryland has been a Confederate ballad whose lyrics call Unionists “Northern scum” and President Abraham Lincoln a “despot” and a “tyrant.”

On Wednesday, Maryland’s Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would retire the controversial song.

The bill’s sponsor is seeking to demote “Maryland, My Maryland” from “official” to “historic,” effectively retiring it and opening the door to a new state song.

In her bill, Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D) wrote, “it is imperative that the current State song be retired and that a new State song be adopted that honors the past, celebrates the present, and anticipates the bright future of this State and its residents.”

Critics have long argued the state song, adopted in 1939, celebrates the Confederacy and is contrary to the ideals and values Marylanders have today. Recent debate over the song comes as some US cities and states have removed symbols of their Confederate past, which are seen by many as racist.

On the state’s official website, the song is described as a nine-stanza poem written by James Ryder Randall in April of 1861, near the beginning of the Civil War. Randall, a native of Louisiana, was outraged at the news of Union troops marching through Baltimore.

The poem articulated Randall’s Confederate sympathies and also refers to the phrase, “sic semper tyrannis,” a rebels’ rallying cry, which John Wilkes Booth reportedly shouted in Ford’s Theatre after fatally shooting President Lincoln in 1865.

For those who haven’t heard the song, it’s sung to the traditional tune of “O, Tannenbaum” and is often performed at major events in the state, such as the annual Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

Over the years public criticism of “Maryland, My Maryland” has grown, and a number of proposals have been introduced to modify or replace the song. But the current bill on the Senate floor has been the only one to pass a preliminary approval vote.

In August, the University of Maryland marching band announced they will no longer play the song before Terrapin football games.

While the bill received preliminary approval, it passed only by a narrow 25-19 vote. The bill faces a vote for final approval later this week.

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‘Maryland, My Maryland’? Maybe not. Senate bill aims to strip state song of ‘official’ status

March 15, 2018
By Michael Dresser
Baltimore Sun
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A bill that advanced Wednesday in the state Senate would not consign “Maryland, My Maryland” to the playlist of history but it does seek to relegate the official state song to B-side status.

Senators narrowly gave preliminary approval to legislation that would re-designate the pro-Confederate anthem as the “historic” state song — putting some distance between modern Maryland and 157-year-old lyrics that refer to Unionists as “Northern scum” and label President Abraham Lincoln a “despot.”

The action came after some Republican senators criticized the move as hollow and mounted a defense of a song many critics see as a racist relic. They say one can separate the inspirational verse from outdated political motivations.

Sen. Cheryl Kagan, the bill’s sponsor, defended the measure as a compromise crafted by the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, which has the unenviable task of handling bills dealing with state symbols.

The Montgomery County Democrat’s original bill would have created a selection panel to hold a competition for a replacement for “Maryland, My Maryland,” penned by Southern sympathizer James Ryder Randall in 1861. He wrote the song after what is known as Baltimore’s Pratt Street Riot brought the first bloodshed of the Civil War as rebel sympathizers attacked Union soldiers bound for Washington.

The song, set to the tune of “O Tannenbaum,” exhorts Marylanders to take up the Southern cause and “avenge the patriotic gore that flecked the streets of Baltimore.”

Kagan’s bill was one of three proposed in the Senate to scrap all or some of the 1861 lyrics, which the General Assembly adopted as official in 1939 — the year the film “Gone With the Wind” was released and romanticization of the Old South was at its peak. Two measures that proposed altered lyrics set to the same tune failed in committee.

Kagan’s bill survived, but only after it was limited to demoting the song from “official” to “historic.”

Senate Minority Leader J. B. Jennings derided the measure as “a participation trophy bill” and a “waste of time.”

Jennings, who represents Baltimore and Harford counties, noted the recent trend of dismantling Confederate statues and warned that the state flag could be next on the list for abolition.

“Where does it end?” the Republican said.

What would the choir sing at the Preakness? Jennings asked.

Whatever they want, Kagan answered. She pointed out the bill doesn’t ban the song and that the race’s organizers can decide what is sung.

Sen. Robert G. Cassilly mounted a more affirmative defense of the lyrics. While the Harford County Republican distanced himself from the song’s pro-Confederate sympathies, he likened the reclassification of the song to “book-burning” and praised its poetic homage to Maryland’s military glories.

“It’s still a very valid call to arms and a motivational song,” he said.

Kagan disagreed.

“Others of us would see it as divisive, dated and racist,” she said. “It should not be celebrated any more.”

Senators voted down a motion to kill the bill 25-19. Jennings’ amendment to erase the bill’s preamble, which says the song’s words are “controversial, inappropriate, and do not represent the ideals and values of Marylanders today,” lost 25-21.

Despite the close vote in preliminary tests, Kagan expressed confidence the bill would prevail on its final vote.

“We had the votes on the amendment. We’ll have the votes on the floor for final passage,” she said.

The measure’s prospects in the House are uncertain. No comparable measure has been introduced in that chamber. Kagan said she has not yet discussed her bill with House members.

“I think there’s consensus — at least among Democratic legislators — that it’s time,” she said.

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 The debate over Maryland’s state song is a familiar refrain

March 15, 2018
By Doug Donovan and Ellen Fishel
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Maryland politicians are yet again singing different tunes about the official state song, “Maryland, My Maryland.”

And their competing refrains – for and against the song – have become as redundant as a pop station playlist.

Debate about the official state song and its ties to the Confederacy repeatedly emerges as an issue in the Maryland General Assembly. And this year is no different. A pending proposal would strip “Maryland, My Maryland” of its “official” status and replace it with the designation of “historical.” Efforts to change the lyrics (the current song refers to Unionists as “Northern scum” and call Abraham Lincoln a despot) or seek new ones in a competition were both defeated.

Here’s a “best of” compilation of the debate over the past few years, as broadcast, er, reported by The Baltimore Sun:

In August 2017, the University of Maryland marching band decided to stop playing “Maryland, My Maryland” before football games. The move came after the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Earlier that year, the performance of the song at the Preakness horse race only included the third verse, which includes no Confederate battle cry lyrics.

The General Assembly also took up the state song issue in 2016. State senators voted to keep the third verse of the song and add words from a 1894 poem by Western Maryland teacher James T. White. The bill died in the House of Delegates. Another bill that would’ve established a contest for a new state song also died.

» In 2015, a panel of historians, music scholars and a poet recommended that lawmakers replace most or all of the lyrics, or select a different song entirely.

» Baltimore musician Sean Tully has urged lawmakers to work a reference to Maryland abolitionist Harriet Tubman into the song’s lyrics.

» It’s not just the state song — Maryland’s flag has also been the subject of some debate. The flag combines the black-and-gold pattern of the Calvert family and the red-and-white pattern of the Crossland family. The red-and-white Crossland arms was used by some Pro-Confederate Marylanders as a sign of resistance to the Union. Gov. Larry Hogan emphasized in August that there were no plans to change the state flag.

Baltimore Sun reporter Pamela Wood contributed to this article.

 

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‘Maryland, My Maryland’ faces official retirement

March 14, 2018
By Danielle E. Gaines
The Fredrick News-Post
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ANNAPOLIS — Maryland’s Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would retire the state’s official song.

A bill from Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) would remove the “official” designation of “Maryland, My Maryland,” and change references to the tune in state law to “historical.”

Critics say the song is divisive for its celebration of the Confederacy.

The nine-verse tune — written by James Ryder Randall, a native of Baltimore, in 1861, while he was living in Louisiana — has been the official state song since 1939. The song refers to President Abraham Lincoln as a despot and a tyrant.

It has been the subject of several unsuccessful retirement efforts over the past four decades.

Kagan described the song as “divisive, dated and racist.”

The bill is a compromise from the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. Kagan originally sought to also create a state commission tasked with designating a new official song, but that portion of the bill was stripped before it reached the floor. She encouraged her colleagues to support the retirement on Wednesday.

In a vote accepting the committee’s amendments, the chamber was split 25-19. The bill will face a vote for final approval later this week.

Frederick Sen. Ron Young (D-District 3) voted in favor of the amendments to the bill, though he’d hoped for a measure that would have gone further. “I would like to have substituted words. There are at least three or four other versions that are pretty good, but I’m glad to get rid of [it],” Young said Wednesday afternoon.

In 2016, he sponsored a bill that would have adopted one of the six alternatives proposed by a 2015 State Song Advisory Group: to change the format of the song to retire all but one original verse, and add a verse from an 1894 poem by Middletown poet John T. White, who penned alternate lyrics to Randall’s song.

That measure passed the Senate chamber, but died in the House. Other failed bills that would have overturned the designation were considered in 1974, 1980, 1984, 2001, 2002 and 2009.

Frederick County Sen. Michael Hough (R-District 4) voted against the committee amendments and doesn’t support a bill to get rid of the song.

He called the debate a “superfluous waste of time.”

Hough also questioned Kagan’s description of the song as racist.

“It’s actually an anti-Lincoln song,” he said. And anti-Lincoln sentiment was strong in Maryland when it was written, Hough said. Hough recounted how the General Assembly left Annapolis in 1861 to convene at Kemp Hall in Frederick for the purpose of taking up debate about secession.

According to the Maryland State Archives, the General Assembly at the time was primarily interested in preserving Maryland’s neutrality in the ongoing war, but one of the few things lawmakers agreed on during their time in Frederick was to send a resolution to Lincoln protesting the Union occupation of Maryland.

The song, however, wasn’t designated as the state’s “official” tune until nearly nearly eight decades after it was written. In 1935, a bill designating the song as the state song was passed by the General Assembly, but was vetoed by Gov. Harry W. Nice, who opposed the song’s “objectionable verses,” according to the advisory group’s report. After Nice lost his bid for re-election in 1939, Gov. Herbert R. O’Conor signed the bill into law.

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3 Maryland delegates say they were sexually harassed. Now they’re pushing for reforms

March 6, 2018
By Erin Cox
Baltimore Sun
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Three state delegates said publicly on Monday they have been victims of sexual harassment on the job in Annapolis, and they called for a new policy that would take politics out of investigating future complaints.

Two of their male colleagues said they’ve witnessed groping or other sexual impropriety, and that the Maryland General Assembly needs a better process to ensure victims are protected and willing to come forward.

The revelations come as the state legislature grapples with the #MeToo movement and calls for action against sexual harassment. The General Assembly is weighing legislation to prevent and handle it, including having an independent investigator review future complaints. Those investigations currently are funneled through General Assembly’s elected leaders.

Del. Angela Angel told the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee that she felt defenseless when she was accosted in front of other people and no one came to her defense.

“We have a problem, a monster of our own creation that we have both the opportunity and the duty to put down,” the Prince George’s County Democrat said during a hearing on a proposal to revamp sexual harassment procedures.

“The moment that I was publicly grabbed and no one said a word, I knew that I was my only protector in this House,” she said.

She didn’t offer further details on the incident, but said she’s wept with other women navigating how to respond to “the latest inappropriate comment, uncomfortable encounter and unwanted touches.”

Del. Marice Morales said she has to “call out” colleagues who sexually harass her. The Montgomery County Democrat said the current reporting process would force her to reveal embarrassing encounters to people crucial to her political future.

“It’s very lonely when there were other colleagues in the room that did not say anything,” she said. “And then they came up to me afterward and said, ‘Marice, I’m really sorry that happened to you. Do you want me to say anything about it?’

“No, because I’m a freshman legislator. Do I really want to start my career with this on my record? That’s what I have to constantly ask myself every single day.”

Morales said she didn’t want to have to seek political support from the same people adjudicating her sexual harassment complaint.

“I don’t want the speaker to see me in a different way,” Morales said. “Where I have to go in front of [you] and earn your respect and have you look at my bills for the merits of the bill, I don’t want you to know that I’ve been sexually harassed because it undermines me as a person, as a legislator.”

Del. Ariana Kelly, the Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the Women’s Caucus, said she has a “list of incidents” that she shares privately with colleagues as she’s trying to persuade them to change sexual harassment procedures. She previously disclosed the details of one incident — a senior colleague who groped her when she was a freshman lawmaker — in a Washington Post opinion piece.

“Each of those incidents made it harder for me to do my job,” she said. “These situations made me feel objectified and minimized and disrespected. And when I spoke out, I feared retaliation. And sometimes I faced retaliation.”

The comments come four days after Sen. Cheryl Kagan became the first sitting lawmaker since the #MeToo movement began to openly accuse someone of sexual impropriety.

The Montgomery County Democrat said Friday that former lawmaker and current lobbyist Gil Genn had run his hand down her back and “grazed my tush” at an Annapolis bar the night before.

Genn denied the allegation and called Kagan “delusional.” He said Monday he regretted that characterization.

In an open letter on Monday, Genn again denied the allegation, but wrote in his three-page message that it was “in-artful” to describe her as delusional.

“I wish I did not use that term, and I wish I could retract it, and I apologize for it,” he said. He went on to issue what he said was a public apology to Kagan for calling her delusional, but he continued to deny the underlying allegation. He sent the letter to the entire General Assembly.

“Senator Kagan, I genuinely apologize for my inartful characterization of your accusations of me as ‘delusional.’ Genn wrote. “Perhaps, in the crowded and noisy bar at that moment, you did indeed feel a person’s hand on your back and that hand running down your back to your tush. To the extent you did, I swear to you it was absolutely not me. I also assure you that I had, and have, absolutely no intention or interest whatsoever in touching you in any manner whatsoever. None. I will continue to respect you in a professional context only, and will continue to treat you with all the dignity you deserve.”

In response, Kagan issued a statement that said, “I stand by my testimony and am disappointed that he would fabricate such an obviously self-serving statement of absurd denial.

“I think Genn ‘doth protesteth too much’ with a 3-page statement.”

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Lobbyist Apologizes For Calling Rockville State Senator ‘Delusional’

March 6^th, 2018
By Andrew Metcalf
Bethesda Beat
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Annapolis lobbyist and former District 16 delegate Gil Genn apologized in an open letter he released Monday night for describing state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Rockville) as “delusional” after she accused him of inappropriately touching her last week.

Genn wrote that he first found out from a Baltimore Sun reporter that Kagan had accused him of putting his hand on her “tush” at an Annapolis bar Thursday night.

“I was shocked and stunned,” Genn wrote. “Regrettably, I reacted viscerally in my shocked state of mind. In the heat of that moment I used the inartful word to describe Senator Kagan’s allegations as ‘delusional.’ I wish I did not use that term, and I wish I could retract it, and I apologize for it.”

However, Genn pushed back against Kagan’s memory of the events. He said he saw her at the Castle Bay bar in Annapolis on March 1 as he was leaving, briefly greeted her and left.

“I kept my hands to myself. I didn’t even shake her hand,” Genn wrote. “I did not run my hand down her back or down to her tush. And I especially and consciously avoided the all too common Annapolis legislative ‘hug’ many legislators use to greet one another.”

Kagan issued a statement in response saying that she stood by her recollection of events and that she was “disappointed that he would fabricate such an obviously self-serving statement of absurd denial.”

Kagan publicly named Genn in a statement released Friday in which she accused him of touching her inappropriately at the bar. She said at the time she decided to name him in response to the #MeToo movement and to try to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Genn wrote in his three-page statement that he supports the #MeToo movement and believes women should speak out against sexual harassment and inappropriate touching. However, he wrote that “due process is also important.”

“There needs to be a venue where all parties have a full, fair and impartial hearing,” Genn wrote. “Most accusations have merit, and it takes courage for the victim to come forward. But some are false, and real victims are hurt by the false allegations of others. Senator Kagan’s allegation is completely false. I thus welcome a fair and impartial inquiry by the State Ethics Commission to investigate her false allegation.”

Genn is a partner at the Annapolis-based firm Bellamy Genn Group and previously served as the delegate from Bethesda-based District 16 from 1987 to 1999.

Genn issued the statement on the same day that three state delegates testified in favor of a bill that aims to take politics out of investigating future harassment complaints leveled in the General Assembly. Two Montgomery County delegates, Ariana Kelly (D-Bethesda) and Marcie Morales (D-Silver Spring), told a House committee that they had been sexually harassed while working at the Statehouse, but felt uncomfortable providing details about the incidents because they feared political retaliation, according to The Baltimore Sun.

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State Roundup, March 5, 2018

March 5^th, 2018
By Cynthia Prairie
Maryland Reporter
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KAGAN CLAIMS HARASSMENT: Maryland state senator and a former lobbyist went public Friday with allegations of sexual harassment, becoming the first women since the #MeToo movement began to publicly name men connected to the State House — a current lawmaker in one case and a lawmaker turned lobbyist in another — who they say touched them inappropriately, Ovetta Wiggins of the Post reports. Both men denied the allegations.

State Sen. Cheryl Kagan publicly accused a lobbyist and former legislator of improperly touching her in an Annapolis bar and restaurant, Bryan Sears of the Daily Record reports. Kagan, D-Montgomery, released a statement accusing Gil Genn of inappropriately touching her during a karaoke event Thursday night at Castlebay Irish Pub. The statement was released less than a day after Kagan posted on her Facebook page that a then-unnamed lobbyist “put his hand on my back and slid it down down down.”

“How someone would still have the audacity to do that, in this climate, astonished me,” Kagan said. She said she plans to file a formal complaint about the incident. Genn denies he touched Kagan at all, calling her account of their brief karaoke night encounter “delusional,” reports Erin Cox in the Sun.

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Letter by female lawmakers about sexual harassment in Annapolis causes a backlash

 

March 4 at 5:48 PM
By Ovetta Wiggins
The Washington Post
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The open letter — signed by almost every female lawmaker in the Maryland General Assembly — was supposed to refocus attention away from ugly allegations about sexual harassment in Annapolis and onto women’s progress in the legislature and efforts to address inappropriate conduct.

But instead the missive released last week created a backlash, with the head of the women’s caucus asking for her signature to be removed and alleged victims of harassment saying they felt blindsided and further marginalized.

“We are disappointed to learn so many legislators had disregarded the stories of current and former staffers,” said a statement provided to The Washington Post last week by an advocate and two former Annapolis staffers, including Nina Smith, who testified before the caucus last month about being harassed by six lawmakers over eight years. “With this action, many of us have been forced to relive our traumatic experiences.”

The letter, signed by 57 of the 60 female lawmakers, pushed back against part of a report by the women’s caucus, in which an anonymous victim of alleged harassment describes the General Assembly as a “frat house.” The characterization was “unfair and . . . is disrespectful to the work that we do every day,” the letter said.

On Wednesday, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) had a clerk read the letter on the Senate floor, then thanked the women for writing it. The letter, Miller said, “shows that we’re making progress . . . and if they recognize that, it makes everybody feel better that what we’ve been doing to protect the workplace has not been in vain.”

Del. Mary L. Washington (D-Baltimore City), one of three women who refused to the sign the letter, said she considered it the latest attempt by legislative leaders to control the narrative coming out of the State House on the topic of harassment. “It was more focused on protecting the institution rather than those who are experiencing sexual harassment,” she said.

Washington said she was taken aback by a decision by Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) to form a commission to study the legislature’s anti-harassment policy at a time when the women’s caucus was finalizing its recommendations on the same issue.

Del. Ariana B. Kelly (D-Montgomery), president of the women’s caucus, said she initially signed the letter because she wanted to highlight that there “is more to the legislature than just the horrifying ‘frat house’ environment we described in our report.” She said she also wanted to “keep peace among women legislators,” including those who had circulated the letter in the first place.

She removed her name late last week because of what she said were unintended consequences. “Unfortunately some of the very victims we are working to support have communicated to us they feel betrayed by this letter,” Kelly wrote in a statement. “Others have attempted to use this letter to support the idea of holding off on legislation to address these issues.”

The House Rules Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Monday on a bill sponsored by Kelly that would strengthen anti-harassment policies, adding procedures to deal with lobbyists who might be victims or perpetrators and requiring the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics to refer claims against lawmakers to an independent investigator.

But Miller said last week that although procedural changes are possible, he does not expect any anti-harassment legislation to be approved before the commission he and Busch created comes up with its own report, which is expected by the end of the year.

Maryland’s capital has been increasingly focused on allegations of harassment in recent months. Last week, Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgmery) accused a lobbyist of touching her inappropriately, and former lobbyist Sarah Love said Del. Charles E. Barkley (D-Montgomery) in the past had hugged and kissed her in ways that were not acceptable.

It was the first time women connected to the State House have publicly named men who they said were responsible for wrongdoing. Previously, women had spoken anonymously, or without naming alleged perpetrators, about what they called a pervasive culture of misconduct in the General Assembly. Barkley and the accused lobbyist, former delete Gil Genn, denied behaving inappropriately.

The women’s caucus report, released in mid-February, included numerous accounts of alleged harassment and assault, including one incident in which a woman said she had to “forcefully” push a co-worker away after he grabbed her breasts and stuck his tongue in her ear during a ride home from a work event.

Another woman is quoted saying, “It feels like a fraternity house.” That description, which was picked up in news reports, is what prompted some female legislative leaders to propose the open letter and ask their colleagues to sign it.

Del. Kathleen M. Dumais (D-Montgomery), one of the women legislators who came up with the idea, said she never intended to appear to dismiss the accounts of the women who shared their stories.

“Under no circumstance would I ever do anything to minimize a victim’s experience,” she said. “I’m sorry if someone took it that way. Our concern was that the articles seemed to concentrate on the reports of pretty despicable behavior and the term ‘frat house’ was used. . . . We just thought the stories were not balanced. That’s what we were trying to address.”

Dumais said the idea to write the letter came from conversations she had with Del. Maggie L. McIntosh (D-Baltimore City) and House Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County).

Although Szeliga said she doesn’t think anti-harassment legislation needs to be passed — noting several policies implemented over the past two years to expand the process for reporting harassment and tracking complaints — McIntosh seemed open to the option.

“Nobody who wrote the letter, signed the letter . . . viewed it as saying to the women who came forward ‘shame on you,’ ” McIntosh said. “All of us are going to be supporting bills to try to address sexual harassment, not only in this workplace but in other workplaces. Rather than getting into the battle of the letters or the battle of the press, I’d rather get down to work on legislation or policy work, changes to our personnel practices.”

In addition to Smith, the statement from the former Annapolis staffers criticizing the open letter was signed by Jessica Semachko, who worked for an advocacy group until 2015, and Neal Carter, who worked at the State House from 2007 to 2009. Both had posted on social media about experiencing and witnessing sexual harassment.

In their statement, they and Smith said the letter from the female lawmakers has made them even more determined to push for changes in Annapolis.

“Those of us who have shared our stories won’t be deterred,” the statement said. “We’ll continue to demand systemic change, and we’re determined to use the legislative process to do so now more than ever.” 

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Maryland senator accuses lobbyist of improper touching

March 2^nd, 2018, 4:00 PM
by Erin Fox, Contract Reporter
The Baltimore Sun
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State Sen. Cheryl Kagan said a General Assembly lobbyist touched her inappropriately Thursday evening during a karaoke night at an Annapolis bar.

In a statement she released Friday on Senate letterhead, Kagan said it was not the first time that lobbyist Gil Genn, a former lawmaker, put his hands on her. She said she decided to publicly “call him out” now because it was the first time it happened since the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment began dominating national news.

“How someone would still have the audacity to do that, in this climate, astonished me,” Kagan said. She said she plans to file a formal complaint about the incident.

Genn denies he touched Kagan at all, calling her account of their brief karaoke night encounter “delusional.”

Although Maryland’s female lawmakers published a report describing anonymous accounts of sexual harassment in the General Assembly, Kagan is the first sitting Maryland lawmaker to publicly accuse someone of inappropriate conduct.

Kagan said Genn interrupted a conversation she was having with a former aide at the CastleBay Irish Pub on Main Street around 10 p.m. and slid his hand all the way down her back until he “grazed my tush.”

“It was completely inappropriate,” Kagan said. “And then he wanted to carry on a conversation.”

Genn said he and a group of friends had been at the bar for a while, and that he briefly ran into Kagan while leaving the bar with his longtime girlfriend. He said it would have been impossible for him to touch the senator because he had a wet coat and umbrella in his hand.

“This is so stunning and shocking, I’m almost breathless,” Genn said.

Genn and Kagan, both Montgomery County Democrats, have known each other for more than 20 years. Genn said he suspected Kagan was making the accusation in retribution for his lobbying firm’s opposition to the senator’s proposed ban on foam cups.

Kagan said that is not the case.

“Lobbyists have opposed various legislative proposals over my eight years in the House and four years in the Senate,” she said. “I’ve never leveled an accusation like this against any of them. … I don’t mind when people disagree with me. I have a problem with people who lie or disrespect me or my beliefs.”

Justin Fiore, Kagan’s former chief of staff, said that after the senator introduced her to Genn they chatted briefly until Kagan’s eyes went wide and she went stiff.

“All of a sudden, her facial expression changed, her body language shifted, and she is looking at me in the eyes with that stare that says, ‘I need to get out of this situation.’ ” Fiore said. “It was every physical sign that one can give to say they’re not comfortable.”

He couldn’t see the incident, but after Genn left a few seconds later, Kagan told him what happened, Fiore said.

Kagan noted that Genn has donated to her campaigns in the past.

She said that when their terms overlapped in the House of Delegates in the late 1990s, on at least two occasions Genn put his hand on her stomach, right below her breasts. She said he stopped after she threatened to tell his then-wife.

Genn called that allegation “as false as this delusional representation of what she said happened last night.”

Genn’s lobbying partner, Lorenzo Bellamy, released a statement about the allegations.

“As managing partner, I am concerned about the allegations raised by Senator Kagan,” Bellamy wrote. “I have the upmost personal and professional respect for all of my clients and legislators. I do not condone and have zero tolerance for any inappropriate behavior.”

Genn and Bellamy launched the Bellamy Glenn Group in September.

Kagan said in her written statement that she was making the accusation public because she was speaking up for legislative staff and interns “who are clearly more vulnerable than a Senator whose votes could affect a lobbyist’s clients.”

Kagan had posted on Facebook Thursday night after the encounter, saying she was “SO tempted to start naming names as a consequence.”

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller’s chief of staff, Pat Murray, said their office reached out to Kagan after seeing the post and encouraged her to report the incident.

“We take this very seriously,” Murray said.

The General Assembly revamped its sexual harassment policy late last year to include tracking of complaints and an annual report that identified sustained cases of harassment.

Legislative leaders in January created a 14-member commission to examine how to further expand the legislature’s process for preventing and addressing sexual assault. The current policy and procedures don’t cover lobbyists since they are not General Assembly employees. The commission is considering what to do when a lobbyist is accused of wrong doing.

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Current, former Md. lawmakers accused of inappropriately touching women in Annapolis

 March 2^nd, 2018
By Ovetta Wiggins
The Washington Post
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A Maryland state senator and a former lobbyist went public Friday with allegations of sexual harassment, becoming the first women since the #MeToo movement began to publicly name men connected to the State House — a current lawmaker in one case and a lawmaker turned lobbyist in another — who they say touched them inappropriately.

Both men denied the allegations.

Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) said former delegate Gil Genn, who now works as a lobbyist, put his hand on her back during a chance encounter at a bar near the State House on Thursday night and then “ran it down my back to my tush.”

Sara Love, who worked as a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union from 2013 to 2016, said in a separate interview that Del. Charles E. Barkley (D-Montgomery) made inappropriate physical contact with her during that period.

Barkley, she said, “pulled me in too close, held me too long and gave a sloppy wet kiss on my cheek. . . . His behavior crossed the line. It was inappropriate.”

Kagan, who has served 12 years in the General Assembly, and Love said they were speaking out because sexual harassment continues in Annapolis despite news reports in recent months based on the accounts of women who shared their stories anonymously. Kagan said she filed a formal complaint with the legislative human resources director Friday.

“My goal is to serve as a warning for men that they need to clean up their act immediately,” she said, “that they will be outed and shamed and that their behavior is completely unacceptable.”

Kagan said she has experienced instances of sexual harassment during her career but still was shocked by Genn’s “brazen attitude for disrespecting women’s boundaries,” especially given the country’s ongoing national discussion about sexual harassment.

Genn, who served in the General Assembly from 1987 to 1999 and is now a partner at the firm Bellamy Genn, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He told the Baltimore Sun that Kagan’s allegations were “delusional,” saying, “This is so stunning and shocking, I’m almost breathless.”

Lorenzo Bellamy, managing partner of the lobbying firm, said in a statement: “I am concerned about the allegations raised by Senator Kagan. I have the utmost personal and professional respect for all of my clients and legislators. I do not condone and have zero tolerance for any inappropriate behavior. Thank You.”

Barkley, who has served in the House since 1999, said he did not recall “any behavior that crossed the line” with Love.

“Sara was and still is a very nice person,” he said. “She would give me a hug. I would give her a hug. I don’t remember doing anything other than that. . . . It sounds like I made her uncomfortable. If I did, I’m sorry about that.”

Maryland lawmakers have been grappling with how to address what many describe as a pervasive culture of sexual harassment in the capital. Women until now have been reluctant to publicly describe their experiences.

A recent report from the Women Legislators of Maryland caucus contained searing descriptions of alleged sexual harassment and assault by male colleagues, and a former legislative staffer named Nina Smith told the caucus last month that six lawmakers had touched her inappropriately during her time in Annapolis.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) have created a commission to review anti-harassment policies for the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The commission is scheduled to complete its work by the end of the year.

Kagan said her interaction with Genn occurred while she was meeting colleagues from the Maryland Municipal League and the Maryland Association of Counties at Castlebay, an Annapolis bar and restaurant that has karaoke on Thursday nights.

“Gil came over . . . and put his hand on my back and ran it down my back to my tush,” she said. “I was so shocked that I couldn’t respond in the moment.”

She said Genn then tried to make conversation and she “pivoted” her body away.

“If a lobbyist who needs my vote for his clients can think it’s okay to harass a senator, imagine how he would act around interns or staffers,” Kagan said. “It’s not okay, and I have to speak out.”

Love said she has not filed a complaint against Barkley, who is giving up his seat at the end of the year and running for the Montgomery County Council. She said she came forward after a former Montgomery County delegate mentioned the veteran lawmaker’s name on social media as an alleged perpetrator. And she said she hopes that making her allegations public will help fuel changes in the legislature, which only this year began tracking how many harassment complaints it receives and how they are resolved.

Del. Ariana B. Kelly (D-Montgomery), president of the women’s caucus, has proposed legislation that would require the legislature to have an independent investigator look into complaints. A hearing Monday will determine whether that bill gets assigned to a committee, where it could be considered.

“Enough is enough,” Love said. “There is a serious problem in Annapolis that has got to be addressed, and the focus is on leadership to make serious reforms.”

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KAGAN NAMES A NAME

March 2, 2018
By Adam Pagnucco
Seventh State
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One of the things that has been missing so far in the #Metoo movement’s impact on Annapolis is the naming of actual perpetrators of sexual harassment.  Well, that ends now.  Senator Cheryl Kagan (D-17) has issued a statement on official letterhead accusing former District 16 Delegate and current lobbyist Gilbert J. Genn of touching her inappropriately.  (Genn was once a member of the House Judiciary Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice.)  Think on this, folks: if a lobbyist is behaving this way with a person of power – a State Senator! – what is happening to others?

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Kagan Accuses Lobbyist of Inappropriate Touching

 March 2^nd, 2018 at 05:18
By Andrew Metcalf
Bethesda Beat
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State Sen. Cheryl Kagan on Friday afternoon issued a statement accusing Annapolis lobbyist Gil Genn of inappropriately touching her Thursday night.

In the statement, Kagan, who represents Rockville-based District 17, said Genn put his hand on her back and “then slid it down.”

The Baltimore Sun reported the incident happened during a karaoke night at Castle Bay bar in Annapolis after Genn interrupted a conversation Kagan was having with someone else. She told the paper he “grazed” her “tush.”

Genn did not immediately respond to a text message from Bethesda Beat requesting comment and his voicemail box was full Friday afternoon.

He described Kagan’s account of the encounter to the Sun as “delusional” and said he only briefly ran into her at the bar while he was there with his long-time girlfriend.

He also denied that there were any other incidents of inappropriate touching. Kagan told the paper that in the late 1990s Genn had on at least two occasions put his hand on her stomach, right below her breasts, but stopped when she confronted him about it.

Kagan first mentioned what she says happened Thursday night on Facebook, but didn’t name Genn at the time. At 10:30 p.m. Thursday, she wrote, “Damn—I can’t believe it happened again! With all the conversation, awareness and press about #MeToo, did a lobbyist truly just put his hand on my back and slide it down down down…? #DefinitelyNOTacceptable. I am SO tempted to start naming names as a consequence.”

People who responded to the Facebook post encouraged her to name the person.

In Friday’s statement, Kagan wrote, “While the anonymous stories that have been covered by the press are valid and important, it is so critical to call out—by name—men who still fail to respect women’s boundaries. I will be silent no more. Last night, former legislator and current Annapolis lobbyist, Gil Genn, put his hand on my back and then slid it down… . This was not the first time he had touched me inappropriately. I speak up today not only for myself, but also for the legislative staff and interns who are clearly more vulnerable than a Senator whose votes could affect a lobbyist’s clients. It’s time to call him out.”

Genn formerly served as the delegate from Bethesda-based District 16 from 1987 to 1999. He’s listed as a partner at the Bellamy Genn Group on the Annapolis firm’s website.

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Md. Sen. Kagan accuses lobbyist of improper touching

March 2^nd, 2018
By Bryan P. Sears, Daily Record Government Reporter
The Daily Record
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ANNAPOLIS — A state senator is publicly accusing a lobbyist and former legislator of improperly touching her in an Annapolis bar and restaurant. Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan, D-Montgomery, released a statement accusing Gil Genn of inappropriately touching her during a karaoke event Thursday night at Castlebay Irish Pub. The statement was released less than a day …

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Statement by Senator Kagan on Sexual Harassment in Annapolis

March 2, 2018

Over the course of my career, I, like most women I know, have experienced some form of sexual harassment. Courageous women all over the country have come forward since last fall to share their stories. As a result, many offenders in various industries have lost power and prestige. Employers have created or enhanced sexual harassment trainings and strengthened their enforcement mechanisms.

After all of these revelations and the ongoing conversations in Annapolis, I was shocked to be touched inappropriately yet again last night. Unfortunately, there are too many women who, for fear of reprisal or career limitation, have needed to remain silent. While the anonymous stories that have been covered by the press are valid and important, it is also critical to call out— by name— men who still fail to respect women’s boundaries. I will remain silent no more.

Last night, former legislator and current Annapolis lobbyist, Gil Genn, put his hand on my back and then slid it down…. This was not the first time he had touched me inappropriately. I speak up today not only for myself, but also for the legislative staff and interns who are clearly more vulnerable than a Senator whose votes could affect a lobbyist’s clients. It’s time to call him out.

#MeToo

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A new bill could ban styrofoam in Maryland restaurants

March 1, 2018 at 11:35 PM
by Brooks DuBose
The Diamondback
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A statewide ban on Styrofoam products at restaurants and food suppliers is making its way through the Maryland General Assembly.

Cups, plates and takeout boxes made from expanded polystyrene foam, commonly called Styrofoam, would be banned from use in this state starting July 1, according to the bill. The bill would allow a six-month grace period for businesses to adjust before enforcement of the law would begin, said state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery), who sponsored the bill. Enforcement would begin Jan. 1.

Claire Jordan, the advocacy and outreach manager for the environmental group Trash Free Maryland, has gathered a list of environmental advocacy groups in the state including Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and Blue Water Baltimore, who support the bill.

MaryPIRG, an activist group at the University of Maryland, has collected over 1,500 individual petitions in support of the statewide ban, said sophomore government and politics major Luisa Beltran, who leads the “Save the Bay” campaign for MaryPIRG and has organized phone banking and email blasts to legislators who might be undecided on the bill.

“It’s a momentum thing that people are starting to realize that Styrofoam has no practical use,” Beltran said. “In the long run, it has a lot of negative impacts, not only [on] the environment but a lot health risks that come along with it.”

The bill has gained steam after similar bans were enacted in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and Washington, D.C., in 2016. The Baltimore City Council unanimously approved a ban on expanded polystyrene food containers last month, an initiative Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh vowed to sign into law.

The state bill has received over 120 individual petition signatures and 12 letters of support from businesses saying that they are in favor of the bill, Jordan said, including Mom’s Organic Market and Elevation Burger in Hyattsville.

While some local jurisdictions have taken action to ban polystyrene, a statewide ban is preferable, she said, because it “levels the playing field” for Maryland businesses, adding that the goal is to have consistency in the law across the state.

“It makes it harder for businesses in multiple jurisdictions to comply with a variety of different bans,” Jordan said. “Litter doesn’t stop at county lines.”

Both versions of the bill have support from legislators. Nineteen senators are co-sponsors of the Senate bill, and over 30 have put their support behind the House bill.

“It’s always the right time to pass proactive preventative environmental legislation,” Jordan said. “We’ve known for years the negative environmental impacts of expanded polystyrene foam.”

Research shows that expanded polystyrene does not biodegrade. Instead, it breaks down into tiny particles and seeps into the waterways where they are ingested by animals and even humans, Jordan said.

Styrene, the main chemical in polystyrene, is reasonably anticipated to be carcinogenic, according to the National Toxicology Program. These chemicals leach into food and beverages, Kagan said.

Opponents argue that replacing polystyrene products would not reduce the environmental impact and that the infrastructure to recycle alternatives does not exist everywhere across the state.

“These materials must be collected and sent to commercial composting facilities in order to fully break down as designed,” said Restaurant Association of Maryland’s Senior Vice President Melvin Thompson. “Howard County is the only jurisdiction we are aware of that has some limited residential collection and composting of food waste and such alternatives.”

“Forcing businesses to use alternative packaging does not reduce litter; it only changes its composition,” Thompson added.

Gary Armstrong, the owner of Heavenly Chicken & Ribs, a small business with locations in both Prince George’s and Calvert counties, testified at last month’s Senate hearing that this issue is a “trash problem, not a Styrofoam problem.”

“Let’s go after where the garbage is going and how to manage that better,” Armstrong said.

The ban would increase costs for restaurants, Thompson said, which is “challenging to absorb for narrow-profit margin industries like ours, and are difficult to pass on to price-sensitive customers.”

The cost of switching away from polystyrene foam would impact his bottom line, Armstrong said. A pack of 200 polystyrene containers costs $16, and the same number of biodegradable containers costs twice as much.

“That’s an increase of $7,000 [in cost] to my business a year,” he said.

The bill’s fiscal note found the financial impact the bill will have on small businesses is negligible.

Kagan said she understands why some businesses are resistant to the ban.

“Some of this is based on fear or lack of knowledge,” she said. “We think that businesses will do the right thing — protect public health — and with little to no cost increase.”

Jordan and Kagan stressed that they do not intend the ban to negatively impact Maryland businesses. Trash Free Maryland is seeking to extend the bill’s grace period to one year, the length of time used in the bans in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, according to Jordan.

“We’re not asking anybody to throw away their current supply,” Kagan said. “We know that, especially in restaurants, profit margins can be narrow.”

Jordan said the bill is not meant to be unfriendly to businesses and that Kagan wouldn’t have reintroduced it had Trash Free Maryland received negative feedback.

To better understand the impact similar legislation has had on businesses, Jordan polled local restaurants in Washington, D.C. The majority of businesses she spoke to were already using a mix of expanded polystyrene foam and compostable containers, she said.

“Businesses go in the direction of the market,” Jordan said. “They’ve been able to switch to other products. It tells us that the market is moving in that direction.”

“We don’t want this to be punitive,” Kagan said. “We want people to do the right thing.”

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OpEd: 911 texting a good start, but Md. system needs more to protect lives
By Senator Cheryl Kagan

February 22, 2018
The Baltimore Sun
View the Full Article Here

Every child knows what to do in an emergency: They dial 911. But when 911 fails, people die.

On April 19, 2006, Kaafee Billah called 911 from his office at MedImmune/AstraZeneca in Gaithersburg. He thought he might be having a heart attack. Emergency responders searched from office to office, looking for him. Ten hours later, he was found dead in a different company building that shared the same “trunk” phone line.

On July 25, 2010, Rockville resident and environmental activist Carl Henn was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm; 911 was overwhelmed by calls, so his friends’ efforts were met with busy signals. Carl later died.

On July 10, 2016, Marlon Somarriba was having trouble breathing. Montgomery County’s 911 Center was experiencing a brief outage. No calls could be answered, so no emergency assistance could be dispatched. Marlon died.

The common thread in all these tragedies was the failure of 911 to get help to where it was needed. Next Generation 911 is being implemented around the country and will address some of these shortcomings. It will change how we communicate and help those in crisis. We need to bring it to Maryland.

In 23 of our 24 local jurisdictions, if there’s a bad guy in your house, you need to dial 911 and actually talk to a call-taker. Only in Frederick County can residents currently text to 911, though that’s expected to soon change. The state Board of Public Works on Wednesday voted to approve a $2.4 million contract that will allow 911 texting in other counties as early as May. This is a good start, but it does not eliminate the need for NextGen911, which will also allow you to send photos and videos and allow our emergency personnel to more accurately locate you. This will give our first responders situational awareness before they arrive, improving their response and safety.

While this technology will offer clear benefits, it could be abused with sinister intent. Imagine a criminal sending a video of a murder he is committing to taunt police; or the X-rated videos or pranks that could be sent. We’ll need to focus on cybersecurity.

Another challenge will be regulating exactly what personal information from emergency calls should be disclosed to the public. The Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) is an important tool that ensures government accountability through transparency. There is, however, a need to balance that transparency with reasonable privacy. We wouldn’t want to see gory or gruesome acts on our evening news. Innocent children caught in the background of a crime video shouldn’t have their faces displayed. And our personal medical information should be kept private when it’s not a part of a criminal investigation.

We will also need extra support, training and counseling for the call-takers, who, if you think about it, are our first first responders. Their jobs are stressful, and they are often underappreciated. It takes eight to 12 months to train a call-taker. They are underpaid and have few of the benefits of other first responders. Reclassifying their role to allow local governments to offer better pensions, tax benefits and death benefits could help address our recruiting and retention challenges in these critical jobs.

Once call-takers have information about your emergency, they dispatch police, fire or rescue to help. People often wonder how a pizza delivery driver can pinpoint their location, while the emergency responder has trouble. Some of that is due to the state of our GIS, or Geographic Information System. While our landline telephones are easily traced, cell phones are much less precise. The cell tower is one data point, but that doesn’t help find you in an office complex, apartment building or hotel room. Investments to upgrade the GIS data will help emergency responders get to you faster.

Clearly, enhancing our hardware and software and increasing responsiveness through well-qualified and well-trained professional staff come with a cost. Funding for 911 services has not kept pace with technology. Senate Bill 1051 proposes a new method for calculating the 911 fee and other changes that would raise needed funds now, even before we transition to NextGen911.

911 is a phone number that too many people take for granted. It is arguably the very most important service that our local governments provide. We all assume that when we call, someone will answer and help will be on the way. Unfortunately, that’s not certain. We have already seen that in extreme weather, traffic pile-ups or (God forbid) another school shooting, our current system is inadequate. As I say all too regularly, “when 911 fails, people die.” I hope that policymakers of both parties will step up — even in an election year — to address the urgent need to protect Marylanders.

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Politics Roundup: Two Candidates in Montgomery County Slide through Filing Deadline Unopposed

February 28, 2018
by Louis Peck and Andrew Metcalf
Bethesda Beat Magazine
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More than 60 public offices—ranging from U.S. senator to school board—will be on the ballot in Montgomery County this year. A flurry of activity just prior to Tuesday’s 9 p.m. filing deadline created races for several previously uncontested seats.

But two Montgomery County officeholders—State’s Attorney John McCarthy and District 17 state Sen. Cheryl Kagan—emerged with no opposition in the June 26 primary or the November general election, guaranteeing both another four-year term in office.

McCarthy, a Gaithersburg resident, was first elected as state’s attorney in 2006 after serving as chief deputy to his predecessor, Doug Gansler. This will be his fourth term in office; he was also re-elected without primary or general election opposition in 2010, and easily defeated a Republican challenger in 2014.

For a time, it appeared that McCarthy would have primary opposition this year. But Rockville attorney Thomas DeGonia, after initially announcing his candidacy, later decided against challenging McCarthy.

Kagan’s free pass this year follows two often bitter primary contests for the Senate seat—which encompasses most of Rockville and Gaithersburg—in 2010 and 2014. The first time, Kagan narrowly lost a challenge to then-Sen. Jennie Forehand. When Forehand retired in 2014, Kagan defeated then-Del. Luis Simmons to win.

Kagan, a Rockville resident, also served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2002.

Two other candidates for state Senate from Montgomery County emerged from the filing deadline with only minor party challenges.

Del. Ben Kramer of Derwood, seeking to succeed Sen. Roger Manno in District 19, has no primary challenger or Republican opponent this fall. But Rockville resident David Jeang filed to appear on the Green Party line in November. The district extends from Silver Spring to the outskirts of Rockville and Gaithersburg; Manno is leaving to run for the District 6 congressional seat now held by U.S. Rep. John Delaney.

In Silver Spring/Takoma Park-based District 20, Sen. Will Smith also has no intraparty or Republican opposition in seeking his first full term. But an independent candidate, Vardly St. Preux of Silver Spring, filed Tuesday to appear on the November ballot. Smith was appointed to the Senate seat in December 2016 to succeed now-U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin.

Local Republicans, who have not won a contest for the Maryland General Assembly in Montgomery County since 2002, scrambled Tuesday to file candidates in several previously uncontested races.

The 11th-hour effort produced a full GOP slate of a Senate candidate and three House of Delegate contenders in District 14, which covers the eastern portion of Montgomery County. The Republicans had earlier fielded a full slate in neighboring District 15, which extends from Potomac north to the Frederick County line.

Other Republicans emerged Tuesday to partially fill the party’s slates in Bethesda-based District 16 as well as in District 18, which runs from Bethesda through Chevy Chase to Silver Spring. Both those jurisdictions have overwhelming Democratic registration margins.

The only one of the county’s eight legislative districts in which no Republicans filed is District 20, where Democrats have a better than 7-1 registration advantage.

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Debate over international election observers ends in Maryland Senate

February 21, 2018
by Danielle Gaines
The Frederick News Post
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ANNAPOLIS — The debate over Russian influence on American elections reached fever-pitch in the Maryland Senate on Wednesday, when the Senate president entered the debate over international election observers at Maryland polling places on Wednesday, taking the unusual step of removing himself from the rostrum to participate in floor debate.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D) read extensively from a Washington Post column about the indictment of 13 Russians on charges related to interference in the 2016 election through social media and said he wants to limit those allowed in polling places to “bona fide” Marylanders, echoing concerns Republican lawmakers have made on the floor during a debate of fits-and-starts over Senate Bill 190 during the last two weeks.

Miller supported a decision to send the bill back to committee, adding “I hope [it] doesn’t see its rise again any time in the near future.”

“This bill might have been ready for prime time four weeks ago or six years ago or four years ago or even two weeks ago, but what has happened now with the indictment of these 13 men showing how vulnerable our elections are … our elections are very easy to manipulate,” Miller said. “I don’t want these people in the room.”

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery), said she was surprised by Miller’s nearly six-minute speech and said Republican attacks on her bill were disingenuous.

The state Republican party sent an email last week stating “Maryland Democrats introduce a bill to invite Russians into polling places” and encouraged members to sign a petition urging the bill’s defeat.

“Do you think foreign nationals should be openly invited into our polling places on election day?” the email asked. “… For all the complaints about potential foreign involvement in U.S. elections, Maryland Democrats sure are trying to invite outside influences into our elections.”

Kagan defended the bill, saying that its purpose was to codify uniform rules to guide foreign election observers, who are often directed to Maryland polling places to learn more about democracy on election days because of the state’s proximity to Washington.

“One of the reasons we do this is to be able to educate leaders from other countries about democracy. They learn from us by watching our election process, and then they take it home to their own countries and bring democracy there,” Kagan said. “It’s an important State Department program, and it’s vital that we continue that while also increasing our security.”

Kagan said it was a “topsy-turvy world” when a bill that would have increased election security was derailed.

She said the State Board of Elections will achieve the precautions included in the bill — but will do so through office policy since the legislation is unlikely to re-emerge from committee.

Kagan shared a letter from Linda H. Lamone, the state’s election administrator, which noted that foreign election observers are governed by international agreements and are “forbidden from talking to voters or touching any equipment whatsoever. Local election officials retain their authority to place or remove any observer at any time if the rules are violated.”

The letter also stated that “Maryland will continue to abide by our international treaty commitments without ever endangering the safety and security of our election process.”

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Baltimore set to ban Styrofoam use

February 21, 2018
by Luke Broadwater
The Baltimore Sun
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The Baltimore City Council is poised to forbid city businesses from using polystyrene foam containers for carryout food and drink — a bill that Mayor Catherine E. Pugh has pledged to sign into law.

By an unanimous vote Monday night, the council gave preliminary approval to the bill that Councilman John Bullock introduced as an effort to cut down on the number of foam cups floating in Baltimore’s waterways. The bill would enact criminal fines on businesses that fail to comply with a ban that states that “no food service facility may use any disposable food” container made from polystyrene foam, commonly called Styrofoam.

The overwhelming display of support comes after several previous attempts failed to overcome opposition from stores and restaurants, which continue to resist an environmental initiative that has been enacted in other parts of Maryland and in Washington. A final vote is still required at the council’s next meeting in March before the measure is sent to Pugh, but it is considered largely a formality.

“We look at all the litter in our waterways. It’s not biodegradable. It’s not actually being recycled,” Bullock said. “For the most part, it’s ending up in landfills or being incinerated. In water, it breaks apart into small pieces, which makes it very difficult to clear up the water and dangerous for wildlife.”

Violating the law would be a misdemeanor that carries a $1,000 fine. Bullock said he was not worried that the measure makes it a criminal offense.

“I don’t expect anyone to go to jail because of this,” he said. “There is a fine attached to it. We want to change behavior.”

The mayor said she plans to support the legislation because the council agreed to amend the bill and give city businesses 18 months to comply with the foam ban after she signs it.

“The good thing is it gives folks time to transform into a more environmentally friendly material,” Pugh said. “I think 18 months ought to be enough time.”

The foam is a cheap way to package food and a popular method for serving carryout coffee, business owners say. But environmentalists say that when the material is discarded it often ends up in the Inner Harbor, where it breaks into ever-smaller floating pieces which can harm wildlife.

Baltimore is not alone in its concern. The city would join other jurisdictions in the area with similar bans, including Washington, Takoma Park, and Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.

Restaurant and store owners who have resisted the bill say the ban will increase their costs and do little to clean up the harbor.

“It is puzzling and disappointing that the Baltimore City Council is becoming more involved with policies affecting the minutiae of restaurant operation,” said Melvin R. Thompson, vice president at the Restaurant Association of Maryland. “This type of unwarranted focus on the restaurant industry exacerbates the operational challenges already facing city restaurants.”

The ban is the latest of repeated attempts to pass similar legislation. In 2013, the council postponed action on a proposed ban after several members withdrew their support.

Bullock introduced a new bill after calculating that younger, more progressive council members voted into office in December 2016 might support the concept. When he introduced the bill last year, Bullock stood on the council floor with a cluster of white foam products that had become mushed together in the water — underscoring the point that the products remain in water for long periods.

New Baltimore City Council takes office pledging improvements
A key moment for the bill’s success came this month when council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced his support for a measure he had previously opposed. Young shifted his position at the urging of city school students.

Young, who once called the ban “anti-business,” said at a committee hearing on the measure that he’d been convinced to support it after schoolchildren lobbied him.

“I asked them questions, and they came back with tough answers,” he said. “They were really educated and knew exactly what they wanted to say.”

The council also was pushed by environmental activists.

Claire Jordan of Trash Free Maryland called the council’s vote “an important step forward for the health of the Baltimore City environment, for future generations, and for taxpayers, and puts Baltimore city on the right path to be a leader on trash and litter pollution.”

Laurie Schwartz, president of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, said her organization’s trash-cleaning service called Mr. Trash Wheel picks up 175,000 foam containers a year.

“The Waterfront Partnership looks forward to spending less money on trash cleanups and more on beautification projects,” Schwartz said.

The council also granted preliminary approval for a bill that would bar restaurants from including sodas and other sugary drinks as default options in children’s meals, a move supporters say could improve children’s health. The bill would still allow families to request a soda if desired.

“Many people say we are attacking industry. We’re not attacking industry. We are doing something we haven’t done for too long: focusing on our children,” said City Councilman Brandon Scott, the bill’s lead sponsor.

 

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Here’s an idea for infrastructure week: Bring 911 into the 21st century

January 15, 2018
by the Washington Post’s Editorial Board
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THIS FRIDAY marks the 50th anniversary of the first 911 emergency call placed in the United States. Since then, uncounted lives have been saved and people helped. It has been a great accomplishment of government.

But even as an estimated 240 million 911 calls continue to be placed annually, the systems that service them have grown obsolete, unable to handle photos, video, downloads, precise geo-locating and even, in most places, simple text messages. That’s a threat not just to public safety but also to national security.

Worryingly, no one seems quite sure how to pay for a modernization to what’s known as Next Generation 911 (“NG911” in industry parlance), whose cost could exceed $20 billion. This week, as hundreds of public-safety and industry officials gather in the District for their annual 911 conference, many will have one main question on their minds: Why not prioritize an upgrade as part of the Trump administration’s national infrastructure project?
Good question. Given the dearth of funding in the president’s proposal, however, there’s little room for optimism in the short term. And in the White House’s $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan, a 55-page document released Monday, there’s not a word about upgrading 911 service.

Part of the problem is that 911 is a victim of its own success. For much of the service’s history, people who called the emergency number, which was handled by the single local phone company, could be all but certain the system would work. Calls were answered promptly and handled efficiently, and help would be quickly on the way.

That’s still the case for the vast majority of 911 calls, but glitches have multiplied as technology has aged and Americans have switched to cellphones, from which 80 percent of 911 calls are now made. A six-hour outage in April 2014 left 750,000 wireless customers in California without access to 911. In October 2016, a cyberattack via Twitter triggered nonstop cellphone emergency calls in cities nationwide, flooding 911 call centers. One day last March, AT&T Wireless customers nationwide couldn’t get through to 911.

“Every call to 911 must go through,” said Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Yes, but that’s not happening. In Maryland, state Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Montgomery County Democrat alarmed at the deaths of constituents in her district involving 911 breakdowns since 2006, has introduced legislation to help localities start the transition to NG911. As things stand, callers can send text messages to 911 in just one county — Frederick County, home of the Maryland School for the Deaf.

As the system ages, it will become ever more prone to pranks, hackers and cyberattacks, and ever less reliable. It will also be increasingly vulnerable to collapse in emergencies, unable to reroute calls in the event of natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

At the heart of NG911 is a shift to Internet, digital-based routing to replace old-fashioned phone lines. That will take a large helping of funds from Congress, plus significant contributions from state and local governments. So far, there’s little sign of either.

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Sen. Kagan scolds state school board veep for disparaging students

February 8, 2018
by Glynis Kazanjian
Maryland Reporter
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