Maryland
Political notes: Moore’s team expands, Hogan’s judicial record, Our Maryland rebrands, and more personnel news – Maryland Matters
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Gov.-elect Wes Moore (D) on Monday introduced 5 new hires who will be part of his legislative group, and named his incoming administration’s communications director.
Moore stated that June Chung, Brad Fallon, Myles Hicks, Saif Ratul and Melissa Ross will develop into deputy legislative officers, reporting to Eric Luedtke, the previous state lawmaker who would be the administration’s chief legislative officer. David Turner, a veteran political operative who labored most just lately for the Democratic Governors Affiliation, would be the communications director.
“These people are devoted and skilled — I do know that on day one they’ll be prepared to assist us create a Maryland the place nobody is left behind,” Moore stated in a press release.
The incoming administration’s announcement got here with a number of quotes from well-known political figures praising Moore’s appointments.
Chung is at present a coverage analyst with the Division of Legislative Companies, drafting payments and staffing committees. For the final two Normal Meeting periods, she served as committee counsel for the Home Appropriations Committee, staffing the Well being and Social Companies Subcommittee, Oversight Committee on Pensions, and Oversight Committee on Personnel. She is taken into account an professional in a number of topic areas, together with tax, pensions, training, well being, human providers, labor and employment, and finances course of. In the course of the interim, she has staffed the Joint Audit and Analysis Committee and the Joint Committee on Pensions.
Earlier than becoming a member of DLS, Chung graduated from the College of Baltimore Legislation College in 2018 after taking a profession break, and was beforehand a historical past trainer in Pennsylvania and Virginia. She was born in South Korea and lived in England for 10 years earlier than immigrating to the US.
“Throughout her time with the Home Appropriations Committee, Ms. Chung exemplified integrity, equity, ardour, and a piece ethic which might be examples for us all in public service,” stated Del. Mark Chang (D-Anne Arundel), the vice chair of the Appropriations panel. “June’s sturdy understanding of the complicated finances course of and her capacity to work with various stakeholders have contributed to the state finances being equitable for all.”
Fallon involves the job immediately from serving as Luedtke’s chief of employees when the latter was Home majority chief, although he has labored on legislative issues in Annapolis since 2017. In 2022 he co-taught a category on the College of Maryland’s Division of Authorities and Politics together with former Howard County Govt Ken Ulman (D).
Ulman known as Fallon “a diligent, targeted, and pushed public servant who thrives by discovering artistic options to challenges dealing with our communities and society.”
Hicks has labored most just lately as govt director of Marylanders to Forestall Gun Violence. He was beforehand govt director of Maryland Rise, a nonprofit working to advertise financial alternative for Marylanders.
Ratul was director of political engagement for Moore’s marketing campaign throughout the Democratic main, then took over as coordinated marketing campaign director for the Maryland Democratic Social gathering within the basic election. He has additionally labored on the marketing campaign of U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and on the White Home campaigns of President Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Ratul immigrated from Bangladesh along with his household at age 13.
“Saif is an achieved political operative with years of expertise in Maryland and nationwide politics who understands the significance of constructing and sustaining relationships to serve the neighborhood,” stated Maryland Democratic Chair Yvette Lewis.
Ross started her profession with the state as a member of the chief clerk’s workplace within the Home of Delegates in 1995. In 2006, after having taken a while off to deal with elevating her son, Ross labored within the secretary of the Senate’s workplace beneath President Mike Miller (D) after which as assistant to Chair Joan Carter Conway (D) within the Schooling, Well being, and Environmental Affairs Committee. Most just lately, has labored as workplace supervisor and deputy legislative officer in Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) legislative workplace.
“Melissa’s expertise within the Normal Meeting permits the Moore administration to faucet into her institutional data of the legislative course of and procedures to make sure there’s a seamless transition going into the 2023 session,” stated . She might be a useful asset to the group.”
Turner, Moore’s choose to be communications director, has been on the DGA for the reason that 2018 election cycle and was communications director for the 2022 election. Beforehand, he was the communications director for former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s profitable marketing campaign in 2017, and has labored in Democratic politics since 2008.
“As an integral member of DGA senior employees, he helped Democratic governors throughout the nation inform the story of progress made and guarantees saved resulting in one of many committee’s greatest election cycles within the final century,” stated North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), who chaired the DGA within the final cycle. “Wes Moore goes to be an impressive governor for the individuals of Maryland, and David might be a key a part of the profitable group he’s constructing.”
Hogan continues making historical past with remaining judicial appointments
Gov. Larry Hogan (R) introduced his remaining judicial appointments final week, together with the primary Hispanic judges to serve on the Prince George’s County Circuit and District Courtroom benches.
Darren Sebastian Johnson, a present Justice of the Peace decide, is the primary Hispanic decide to serve on the county’s Circuit Courtroom. Llamilet Gutierrez, who has been a prosecutor with the Prince George’s County State’s Legal professional’s Workplace since March 2021, would be the first Hispanic decide on the county’s District Courtroom.
Stenise Lanez Rolle, additionally a Justice of the Peace decide, was additionally appointed to the Circuit Courtroom.
The three new judges carry Hogan’s whole judicial appointment tally as much as 190. That determine contains six of seven justices on Maryland’s Supreme Courtroom, and 7 of the 15 judges on the Appellate Courtroom.
Hogan’s workplace stated the governor has appointed extra feminine, Hispanic and Asian judges than any earlier governor.
“Whereas I’m pleased with the sheer variety of judicial appointments we’ve got made, I’m simply as pleased with our success in making certain that the composition of our courts higher displays the nice variety of our state,” Hogan stated in a press release. “I urge the state’s leaders, judges, and authorized neighborhood to proceed to construct on the work we’ve got completed so as to add variety to the bench.”
The governor’s workplace additionally launched an inventory of a few of the historic appointments throughout his time period, together with the primary Black chief decide of the Appellate Courtroom and the primary overtly LGBTQ individual to function an appellate chief decide, in addition to the primary Hispanic and Afro-Latina appellate decide and the primary Asian American appellate decide and the youngest lady appointed to the Appellate Courtroom.
Hogan thanked the three legal professionals who served as chief authorized counsels to his administration — Bob Scholz, Mike Pedone, and Chris Mincher — who helped with the judicial appointment course of.
Progressive group Advance-s
Our Maryland, the 5-year-old umbrella group for progressive teams and causes, has expanded and rebranded.
The group is now calling itself Advance Maryland.
“5 years in the past, Maryland’s political panorama regarded a lot completely different than it does in the present day,” Advance Maryland wrote in an electronic mail to supporters on Sunday. “Now that we’re coming into a brand new section in Maryland politics with new management in any respect ranges of state and native authorities it’s time to fulfill the second with a contemporary strategy to progressive advocacy.”
In preparation for the upcoming Normal Meeting session, the group has employed two full-time employees members. Alice Wilkerson would be the govt director and Maya Holliday might be digital director. Each previously labored with Sturdy Future Maryland, the advocacy group put collectively by former Democratic gubernatorial contender John King.
“We’re excited for the 12 months forward, and able to present essential digital and communications assist to efforts to broaden and guarantee entry to abortion care, shield the rights of trans Marylanders, proceed to reform Maryland’s youth justice system, implement paid household go away, guarantee Maryland is on monitor to fulfill its local weather and power targets, and way more,” the group wrote in its electronic mail.
Ivey’s chief
Newly sworn-in U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) has employed a chief of employees to information his congressional workplace.
Robin Moses Peguero, who labored most just lately for the U.S. Home Choose Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Assault on the Capitol, is taking the job. He has additionally been an adjunct professor of legislation at Georgetown College and an assistant Miami-Dade state lawyer in Florida.
Peguero has additionally labored on Capitol Hill, as a speechwriter for Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) and as a spokesperson for former U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.).
“Hiring Robin Peguero units a robust tone for the type of office I wish to run,” Ivey stated in a press release. “His management and acumen within the authorized world might be of nice use in Congress. His ardour and dedication to public service parallels my very own and he’ll help me in navigating not solely committees and laws but in addition steering the incisive questioning and evaluation of payments and legal guidelines to the profit of the individuals of the fourth district of Maryland.”
Extra personnel information
Matthew Stegman, a veteran Democratic political operative in Maryland, has simply taken a gig as employees lawyer with the Chesapeake Bay Basis.
Stegman involves the job from Baltimore Metropolis Corridor, the place he spent the previous two years as director of fiscal and legislative providers for Metropolis Council President Nick Mosby (D). Earlier than that, he was deputy director for the Mayor’s Workplace of Authorities Relations beneath former Mayor Bernard “Jack” Younger (D).
Stegman additionally spent a number of years as a high aide to Del. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore Metropolis), the outgoing chair of the Home Appropriations Committee in Annapolis. He’s additionally labored on myriad campaigns in Maryland and throughout the Rust Belt.
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Maryland
Maryland joins IRS Direct File program, offering free tax filing for up to 700,000 taxpayers – Maryland Matters
![Maryland joins IRS Direct File program, offering free tax filing for up to 700,000 taxpayers – Maryland Matters Maryland joins IRS Direct File program, offering free tax filing for up to 700,000 taxpayers – Maryland Matters](https://marylandmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2024_Adeyemo_moore_lierman_directfile_edit-2048x1372.jpg)
Some Maryland taxpayers will be able to use a free electronic filing tool for their federal taxes rather than having to pay a tax preparer or buy tax-filing software next year, when Maryland will offer the IRS’s new Direct File service.
The service was tested in 12 states this year, where 140,803 people filed with Direct File, saving an estimated $5.6 million in tax preparation fees. Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D) estimated Wednesday that as many as 700,000 Maryland taxpayers could be eligible for the program when it debuts in the state next year.
“While we value our relationship with tax preparers and CPAs (certified public accountants), it’s unacceptable that Marylanders should have to pay any portion whatsoever of their refund or paycheck to fulfill a mandatory requirement like filing tax returns,” Lierman said at a news conference announcing the program.
The IRS and the U.S. Treasury still have to finalize eligibility rules for the program this fall, but Lierman said it will be a “game changer” for those families who do qualify, which could be as much as 20% of individual taxpayers in the state.
“Taxes are a part of the glue that keeps our state and our nation together, functioning, producing, protecting and thriving,” Lierman said. “Yet in America, we make it uniquely challenging to pay those taxes and file a return — until now.”
According to the Treasury, taxpayers spend “approximately 13 hours and $270 preparing their taxes each year.” Many Americans use tax filing services or software, such as TurboTax and H&R Block, to ensure that their taxes are filed correctly, despite most of the information being readily available state and federal tax collection agencies.
It’s unacceptable that Marylanders should have to pay any portion whatsoever of their refund or paycheck to fulfill a mandatory requirement like filing tax returns.
– Comptroller Brooke Lierman
Direct File launched this year in 12 states for people to file their 2023 federal returns — Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the program is aimed at helping middle-income tax filers with “relatively simple” filings.
“What I can tell you is our goal for us is to build a system that’s going to work for working class and middle class Americans. So you get a W-2, and you’re somebody who’s a teacher, you’re a fireman, you’re a doctor who’s earning most of your money from a W-2, we want to make sure we’re building a system that potentially works for you,” said Adeyemo, who was in Annapolis for the announcement.
“The thing we’re not going to do is build a system that works for big corporations or wealthy individuals. Next year we’re going to expand the system so that more Americans are able to participate in it,” Adeyemo said.
The Biden administration invited all 50 states and the District of Columbia to join the program next year, when people will be filing their 2024 taxes. The Treasury said that Maryland joins Oregon, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Connecticut, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Maine in taking up Direct File.
“I know to some, this announcement may seem inconsequential — and I know how exciting tax announcements are,” Gov. Wes Moore (D) joked at the announcement. “But the details matter. They matter to the families who are impacted by this work. They’re going to matter to the families, who … dread tax season because it feels complicated. Who dread tax season because it seems expensive, or oftentimes have to deal with the consequences of getting something wrong.”
The Direct File program came out of the Inflation Reduction Act signed in 2022, which also secured additional funding to help the IRS modernize and provide better services to Americans.
But Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who chairs a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, said Direct File program and other services under the Inflation Reduction Act could be “under threat.” While his subcommittee wants to fully fund the IRS and keep Direct File going, House leaders want to cut funding for both.
He also said that the industry is lobbying against the free tax filing system.
“There are people who didn’t want us to do this, including a lot of the middlemen” who currently profit from tax preparation, Van Hollen said. “They’re lobbying against this kind of thing.”
In addition to Van Hollen, Moore, Lierman and Adeyemo, Wednesday’s event drew a number of Maryland Democratic heavyweights: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer John Sarbanes and State Treasurer Dereck Davis.
Hoyer put it simply: “Nobody likes taxes.”
“We don’t really get excited about paying our taxes. But we know that it is the price of our democracy,” Hoyer said. “We ought to make it as easy as possible for people to comply with a legal obligation that they have to support their country, their state and their communities.”
Maryland
Maryland Weather: Nice stretch with rain chance Friday into Saturday
![Maryland Weather: Nice stretch with rain chance Friday into Saturday Maryland Weather: Nice stretch with rain chance Friday into Saturday](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/09/04/24a84ea6-a5cd-4bed-9808-a9fb32e33d7e/thumbnail/1200x630/84a699c7d390f8d73a7d438723501c23/7-day-wednesday-pm.png?v=631cf5f2b4e8db7f9bc428589402864d)
BALTIMORE -Nice weather continues through Thursday. Sprinkles & drizzle may develop Friday with steadier rain likely Saturday.
We are right in the middle of an outstanding weather pattern that will continue into Thursday. Temperatures reached the middle to upper 70s Wednesday afternoon with comfortable humidity levels. High clouds are mainly south of Baltimore, so we’ve enjoyed a mostly sunny sky.
We have a fantastic evening of weather on the way. If you’re headed to the Os game this evening expect mostly sunny weather for the 1st pitch at 6:35 PM against the White Sox. Temperatures will start in the upper 70s, but then ease into the lower 70s by the end of the game.
Early fall-like temperatures return tonight with lows in the 50s for most neighborhoods. The coolest overnight lows in the low 50s will be located in neighborhoods north and west of the Baltimore Beltway. Temperatures in the metro will dip down into the upper 50s. Any patchy high thin clouds will sink south overnight.
Humidity levels gradually climb Thursday, but we still score ourselves a very nice day. Highs will climb toward 80°. Other than a few patchy clouds, expect a mostly sunny sky.
You will feel even more humidity in the air on Friday. With an easterly to southeasterly wind off the Ocean, areas of low clouds will be possible. As the atmosphere continues to moisten through the day Friday, patchy sprinkles and drizzle will become possible. The greatest chance for this happening would be late Friday into Friday evening. While the rain will be light and patchy in nature, you may want a poncho or light rain jacket if you’re headed to any high school Friday night football games.
Scattered showers and patchy drizzle is likely Friday night with lows in the middle 60s.
Saturday will be our last real humid day for awhile. Expect patchy areas of light rain and showers during the morning and midday hours. There may be a lull or two in the wet weather Saturday, but a steadier round of showers, possibly a thunderstorm will cross the area Saturday evening into early Saturday night. Highs on Saturday will top out in the upper 70s. The cold front that’s responsible for Saturday’s wet weather will flush out the clouds, showers, and humidity overnight Saturday. Temperatures late Saturday night will fall into the lower to middle 50s!
Sunday has another beautiful fall-like feel. Early morning temperatures in the lower to middle 50s with highs in the middle 70s. We get to enjoy abundant sunshine and pleasant breeze out of the northwest at 10 mph.
A winning stretch of weather continues for most of next week along with a gradual warming trend. Highs on Monday reach the upper 70s. By Tuesday and Wednesday, high temperatures climb into the lower 80s with plenty of sunshine and low humidity. We get to enjoy yet another spectacular stretch of September weather for most of next week with little to no rain!
Maryland
Maryland Senate race poll shows Democrat Alsobrooks leading GOP's Hogan, despite 1 in 3 not knowing who she is
![Maryland Senate race poll shows Democrat Alsobrooks leading GOP's Hogan, despite 1 in 3 not knowing who she is Maryland Senate race poll shows Democrat Alsobrooks leading GOP's Hogan, despite 1 in 3 not knowing who she is](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/05/LARRY-HOGAN-ANGELA-ALSOBROOKS.jpg)
The Democratic candidate for senate in Maryland is leading her GOP rival despite more than a third of eligible voters not recognizing her name.
A poll published by Gonzales Research & Media Services this week found that Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has pulled ahead of Republican former Governor Larry Hogan by five points — 46% to 41%.
Alsobrooks’ current success in the polls comes as a surprise, given the Democratic candidate’s continued struggles with low name recognition among voters.
The Gonzales poll found that approximately 34% of registered voters do not recognize Alsobrooks by name. This includes approximately 33% of independents who do not recognize Alsobrooks, as well as 17% of eligible voters registered with the Democratic Party.
NEW POLL REVEALS REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE DEADLOCKED WITH DEM IN CRUCIAL DEEP BLUE STATE
Maryland Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks speaks at a campaign event on Gun Violence Awareness Day at Kentland Community Center in Landover, Maryland. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Notably, 72% of total eligible voters told the pollster that they did not recognize the Democratic candidate.
MARYLAND DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE SAYS THERE SHOULD BE NO LIMIT ON ABORTION
The winner of the November election will succeed Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring this year after serving nearly two decades in the Senate and nearly six decades as a state and then federal lawmaker.
With Democrats trying to protect their fragile Senate majority, Hogan’s late entry into the race in February gave them an unexpected headache in a state previously considered safe territory.
![Larry Hogan wins GOP Senate nomination in Maryland](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/05/1200/675/Larry-Hogan-primary-night-victory-Annapolis-MD-May-14-2024-scaled.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Former two-term Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland celebrates his victory in the 2024 Maryland Republican Senate primary, in Annapolis, Maryland. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Hogan left the governor’s office at the beginning of 2023 with very positive approval and favorable ratings.
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A vocal Republican critic of former President Trump who previously flirted with a 2024 White House run, Hogan has repeatedly said that he will not vote for the former president in November’s election. In the spring, he stood out from most other Republicans for publicly calling for the guilty verdicts in Trump’s criminal trial to be respected.
The Gonzales Research & Media Services poll was conducted from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30 and surveyed 820 self-described likely voters via phone interviews.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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