December 16, 2023

Maryland Matters

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Skip the shake, pass the Corn

The invitations for dozens of last-minute fundraisers that will take place just before the General Assembly session starts on Jan. 10 are going out. State lawmakers, along with the governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller and attorney general, are banned from raising money during the 90-day session.

But one lawmaker who traditionally holds a money-raising event in early January has decided to forgo a fundraiser — for herself. Instead, she’s urging her donors to support a candidate for Congress in Virginia.

This time of year, Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) is usually trying to get supporters to drink milkshakes at a January fundraiser at Chick & Ruth’s Delly in downtown Annapolis. But this year, she’s urging her supporters to attend a Jan. 7 fundraiser in Bethesda for Eileen Filler-Corn, a former speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates who is running for a vacant congressional seat in Northern Virginia.

In an email to supporters, Kagan called Filler-Corn “an effective and thoughtful leader.” The event is co-sponsored by state Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery), Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin, and Susie Turnbull, a former Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, among others.

Kagan’s solicitation for Filler-Corn does console supporters who are “really sad not to donate to my campaign prior to January 10” and instructs them how they can do so.

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