Friends and neighbors, allow me to share selected 2018 electoral recommendations, for competitive races. They are:

Montgomery County

County executive: Marc Elrich. Marc is the progressive candidate in the race, independent of corporate and moneyed-interest influence and highly capable, and the only candidate truly capable of listening, learning, and growing in office. 

Board of Education, at large: Karla Silvestre. Karla has extensive education and community engagement, deep Montgomery County roots, and the skills and knowledge to work with parents, MCPS staff and leadership, and BOE colleagues to make progress on the pressing needs facing our school communities.

Board of Education, District 3: Lynn Amano. Lynn will bring a much-needed fresh perspective to the school board, one less accommodating of the school bureaucracy. 

Board of Education, District 1: no recommendation

State Constitutional Ballot Questions

Yes: Question 1– Requiring Commercial Gaming Revenues That Are For Public Education To Supplement Spending For Education In Public Schools. This is the “lockbox” we were promised when Maryland first legalized casino gambling. Unfortunately, revenues displaced and did not supplement, as intended, funding from other sources.

Yes: Question 2– Same-Day Registration And Voting At The Precinct Polling Place On Election Day. This reform would extend same-day registration and voting from early voting to Election Day, expanding the electorate to late-activated potential voters.

Montgomery County Charter Questions

Yes: Question A– Redistricting Procedure – Composition Of Redistricting Commission. I would remove the explicitly-partisan party committees from the redistricting process.

Yes: Question B– Changes the requirement needed to raise County property taxes above the inflation rate from 9 votes to a unanimous vote of the Council. This is a technical adjustment to existing law, to allow for a situation when a council seat is vacant.

Yes: Question C– Would allow Councilmembers to hire aides outside the Merit System. A councilmember should be free to hire non-status aides, whom the councilmember knows and whose politics matches the councilmember’s, without going through the charade of competitive hiring. 

Federal

Congress, District 6: David Trone. We need a Democratic congressional majority. 

Maryland state

Governor/Lt. Governor: Ben Jealous and Susan Turnbull. Jealous and Turnbull are strong progressives who would advance education, equity, justice reform, and environmentalism in Maryland.

Attorney General: Brian Frosh. Frosh is an excellent AG who fights for Marylanders’ interests and deserves another term.