Baltimore politics is dominated by the (D). You’ll see the capital letter inside the parentheses after every name of every elected official in the city. For even the most engaged political observers, this means the competitive races in Baltimore are summertime affairs: the primaries.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t turn out, or that there aren’t some key issues to settle on Election Day. From referendums to a governor’s race, November 8 is not an election to skip. So get out to the polls and vote.
Wait the Baltimore Police Department is a state agency
If you’re among the thousands of Baltimore City residents who registered for early voting and already have a ballot, you’ll see Question H, which would establish the Baltimore City Police Department as a city agency.
The Baltimore City Police Department, since 1860, has been and continues to be a state agency that is locally administered. The City Council and the mayor hire the police commissioner; the mayor and the council approve the department’s budget (all $570 million of it); and the police commissioner hires and fires the commanders and rank-and-file cops. Officer discipline and oversight lies largely outside the control of City Hall.
There’s a whole history that got Baltimore to this place which includes divisive politics, the Civil War, and perhaps even the fact that the department was once headed by a former Confederate cavalry officer after he was done letting out rebel yells in the Lost Cause.
But here we are, and Baltimore City residents have a choice. A “yes” vote returns the police department to the city. A “no” vote leaves it with the state.
Inspection reports
Baltimore’s Office of Inspector General is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct, violations of city regulations, civil statues, or criminal acts by city employees and contractors. The office also looks for irregularities in city contracts and institutional weaknesses and problems. If you are involved in some shenanigans, the inspector general’s job is to sit back and watch you, collect information on the wrongdoing, and report those findings.
Question I on the ballot asks voters whether the office should be overseen by an 11-member board comprised of seven City Council appointees, two local law school heads, a certified public accountant, and a fraud inspector, rather than the current five member board made up of exclusively of City Hall folks.
A “yes” vote broadens the replaces the current board with a larger oversight body.
A “no” vote keeps the current oversight board in place.
Media bias
Sinclair Broadcast Group wants in on the politics game. Sure, media outlets often call balls and strikes on politicians and the laws and policies they introduce, but a media outlet executive contributing $525,000 to a campaign is a different story. That’s what Sinclair Broadcast Group executive David Smith gave to the political action committee People for Elected Accountability and Civic Engagement. Those are the folks backing Question K, a move to place term limits on Baltimore City elected officials.
As an independent nonprofit newspaper, the Baltimore Beat won’t take a position in the election and, by law, it can’t.
A “yes” vote on Question K places term limits on Baltimore City elected officials beginning in 2024.
A “no” vote does not create limits on the number of terms a politician can run for and occupy an elected office.
“Reeferendum”
The legal sale of weed has been making white people money for years now. Meanwhile, Black and Brown folks still sit behind bars for selling, carrying, or sometimes even simply smelling like weed. Many states have already approved the use of weed for non-medical use, including New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. Right now, the only way Maryland residents can legally get their hands on weed is by purchasing it from a medical dispensary, and only with a medical card. A recent Washington Post/University of Maryland poll found that Marylanders mostly think cannabis should be legalized. The Washington Post reported that 77 percent of Black voters and 70 percent of white voters approve of the legislation. It would go into effect on or after July 1, 2023.
A “yes” vote means that Marylanders 21 years of age or older can legally possess up to 1.5 ounces of weed.
A “no” vote means cannabis remains legal for medicinal use only in Maryland.
Remembering Tater
It’s been almost two years since Dante “Tater” Barksdale was shot and killed. He was the face of Safe Streets, the violence mediation program in Baltimore, and he was close to many in City Hall. On the ballot this year is a measure to fund an apprenticeship program which will bear Barksdale’s name for Baltimore City high schools and community colleges.
A “yes” vote gives the mayor’s office the power to create a non-lapsing fund for the program.
A “no” vote does not allow the mayor’s office to have the authority to create a non-lapsing fund for the apprenticeship program.
The following are the candidates for state and federal offices whose jurisdiction covers Baltimore City. Incumbents are marked with an asterisk (*).
Maryland Governor
Candidates
Democrat: Wes Moore; Lieutenant Governor, Aruna Miller
Republican: Dan Cox; Lieutenant Governor, Gordana Schifanelli
Green: Nancy Wallace; Lieutenant Governor, Patrick Elder
Libertarian: David Lashar; Lieutenant Governor, Christiana Logansmith
Working Class: David Harding; Lieutenant Governor Cathy White
Maryland Comptroller
Candidates
Republican: Barry Glassman
Democrat: Brooke Elizabeth Lierman
Maryland Attorney General
Candidates
Democrat: Anthony G. Brown
Republican: Michael Anthony Peroutka
United States Senate
Candidates
Republican: Chris Chaffee Party
* Democrat: Chris Van Hollen
United States House of Representatives, District 2
Candidates
Republican: Nicolee Ambrose
* Democrat: C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
United States House of Representatives, District 7
Candidates
* Democrat: Kweisi Mfume
Republican: Scott M. Collier
Maryland State Senate, District 40
Candidates
Republican: Christopher Anderson
* Democrat: Antonio Hayes
Maryland State Senate, District 41
* Democrat: Jill P. Carter (running unopposed)
Maryland State Senate, District 43
Candidate
* Democrat: Mary Washington
Libertarian: Bob Gemmill
Maryland State Senate, District 45
* Democrat: Cory V. McCray (running unopposed)
Maryland State Senate, District 46
Republican: Emmanuel Digman
* Democrat: Bill Ferguson
Maryland House of Delegates, District 40
Candidates (vote for up to three)
* Democrat: Marlon D. Amprey
* Democrat: Frank Conaway, Jr.
* Democrat: Melissa Wells
Republican: Zulieka A. Baysmore
Maryland House of Delegates, District 41
Candidates (vote for up to three)
Republican: Scott Graham
* Democrat: Dalya Attar
* Democrat: Tony Bridges
* Democrat: S. I. “Sandy” Rosenberg
Maryland House of Delegates, District 43A
Candidates (vote for up to two)
* Democrat: Regina T. Boyce
Republican: Gwendolyn O. Butler
Green: Renaud Deaundre Brown
Democrat: Elizabeth Embry
Maryland House of Delegates, District 45
Candidates (Vote for up to three)
Republican: Antonio Barboza
Democrat: Jackie Addison
* Democrat: Stephanie Smith
Democrat: Caylin Young
Maryland House of Delegates, District 46
Candidates (vote for up to three)
* Democrat: Luke Clippinger
Democrat: Mark Edelson
* Democrat: Robbyn Lewis
Republican: Peter Waters
Judge of the Circuit Court: Circuit 8
Candidates (nonpartisan election, vote for up to four)
Erik Atas
Charles Mario Blomquist
Myshala E. Middleton
Barry G. Williams
Judge, Court of Special Appeals at Large
Candidates (nonpartisan election)
Stuart R. Berger (A “yes” vote keeps this person on the bench, a “no” vote ends their term.)
Terrence M. R. Zic (A “yes” vote keeps this person on the bench, a “no” vote ends their term.)
Baltimore City State’s Attorney
Democrat: Ivan Bates (running unopposed)
Baltimore City Clerk of the Circuit Court
Democrat: Xavier A. Conaway (running unopposed)
Baltimore City Register of Wills
Democrat: Belinda Conaway (running unopposed)
Baltimore Orphans Court
Candidates (vote for up to three)
* Democrat: Charles “Chuck” Bernstein
* Democrat: Lewyn Scott Garrett
* Democrat: Michele E. Loewenthal
Baltimore City Board of Education, at-Large Member
Candidates (nonpartisan, vote for up to two)
April Christina Curley
Salimah Jasani
Ashley E. Esposito
Kwame Kenyatta-Bey
* An earlier version of this post, incorrectly stated what was on the ballot for Question I, the charter amendment to change the composition of the committee which oversees the city’s Inspector General. The ballot question ask voters whether they want to expand the size and alter the composition of that oversight committee. The Baltimore Beat regrets the error.