MD governor race - Dem primaries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know she probably doesn't have a chance, but I really like Krish Vignarajah.
Every time I hear her speak or read something about her I'm impressed.

I have a hard time being impressed by a lawyer who doesn't seem to understand or heed laws.

She lived in MD, registered as a resident of MD and then voted (multiple times!) in DC when she worked there. The 2016 election was the first time she had ever voted in MD. Prior to that she had voted at least 4 times in DC. The DC voter registration form that she signed very clearly said that to register as a voter in DC, she could not be a legal resident in any state. In 2014, she signed responded to an inquiry by the DC Board of elections that she lived in a co-op in DC. In DC, she filed for a marriage certificate listing her DC residence as an address. However, MD board of elections requires that gubernatorial candidates must reside in the state for 5 years. She now contends that she resided continuously in MD for the last 5 years and only maintained a crash pad to work in DC. If that were the case, then she should not have been voting or registered for a marriage certificate with the DC address.

A lawsuit was filed to address this, and was thrown out last week, not because she wasn't a voter registration fraud, but because the lawsuit was not filed in a timely manner. Protests for ballot representation need to be filed within 9 days of the filing deadline (February 27). The lawsuit was filed after the deadline, so the judge threw the case out. That doesn't address the issue that she is a residency fraud and not legal to run for governor of MD. I don't think she's eligible to be governor. And I don't think the Democrats can afford a candidate whose eligibility for the office could be legally challenged successfully in court. If she wins the primary, you can bet that there will be additional lawsuits trying to bar her from being elected governor or from taking office. And additional lawsuits are likely to have more heavy-weight litigants like the RNC and Republican party in MD. They have more resources to prove their case legally than the first lawsuit had. The Democrats are already an underdog in this election, but to possibly lose your candidate between the primaries and the election would be devastating to the party. I think voting for Vignarajah is essentially conceding the elections to Hogan.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/on-government-forms-md-gubernatorial-candidate-said-she-lived-in-dc/2018/05/09/e46af98c-5207-11e8-9c91-7dab596e8252_story.html?utm_term=.fa84e957cdd9
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/judge-says-vignarajah-is-eligible-to-run-for-governor/2018/06/12/04cead52-6e84-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html?utm_term=.df430e65448e

NP here, wish I'd know this earlier today when I early voted. I voted for her based on watching a candidate forum on TV on Sunday. I thought she was impressive.

Doesn't matter in the long run because I will vote for Hogan in the general election.

[Anonymous]

I'll probably vote for whoever the Democratic candidate is in the general election, just on principle, but I won't really mind if Hogan wins. If Hogan became an Independent, he'd probably win in a landslide.

[Anonymous]

Doesn’t really matter, IMO. Hogan is one of the most popular governors in the nation. He’s not going to lose.

[Anonymous]

I like Alec Ross.

[Anonymous]

I like Baker. I don't think your first elected office should be governor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like Baker. I don't think your first elected office should be governor.

+1. He’s done good things in PG county and that’s no small feat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Baker. I don't think your first elected office should be governor.

+1. He’s done good things in PG county and that’s no small feat.

What's he done in PG County? Can you explain further?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Baker. I don't think your first elected office should be governor.

+1. He’s done good things in PG county and that’s no small feat.

The schools (which he personally took unheard of power and responsibility for), are in shambles, and his hand picked guy is in the process of being fired with a large buy-out.

He tried to impose a 15% property tax increase (!!!).

Nice guy, and not corrupt like previous administrations... but no. Absolutely not Baker.

Hogan again- been fine, and we need some balance from the Mikes, and the Takoma Park types who will overreach if not kept in at least modest check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Baker. I don't think your first elected office should be governor.

+1. He’s done good things in PG county and that’s no small feat.

What's he done in PG County? Can you explain further?

I think the Washington Post endorsement explains it best.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/democrats-should-choose-rushern-baker-for-maryland-governor/2018/05/19/97bd52aa-5947-11e8-858f-12becb4d6067_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.84cc9f33d100

IT CAN be easy to forget the spectacular mess that Rushern L. Baker III inherited when, in 2010, he became the top elected official in Prince George’s County, Maryland’s second-most-populous locality. Given his brand of steady, sane, no-drama leadership as county executive over the past eight years, it is equally easy to overlook the extent to which he has succeeded in radically rebranding a locality whose reputation had been so badly stained by public corruption, chaotic governance and crime.

Mr. Baker’s admirable, ambitious record in Prince George’s is the basis on which we support him in Maryland’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, on June 26. In a solid field of primary candidates, which includes a respected state senator, a nationally known civil rights leader and others with impressive résumés, Mr. Baker stands out for having run what amounts to a turnaround project in a county of nearly 1 million residents.

He has lately come under fire from his rivals, including Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, for controversies in the Prince George’s school system, one of the nation’s largest, including inflated graduation rates, mishandled sex abuse cases and questionable raises for top aides to the outgoing schools CEO, Kevin M. Maxwell, who was chosen by Mr. Baker.

What gets lost in the hubbub is that Mr. Baker, virtually alone among county executives in Maryland, had the political courage to seek and attain personal authority over public education in the county. His willingness to be politically accountable for reforming a huge system long troubled by poor performance and managerial dysfunction was a gamble. And despite the recent troubles, it paid off to a large degree: Enrollment climbed and test scores crept up as schools offered an enriched menu of academic choices, including expanded full-day prekindergarten and language immersion.

The Democratic primary contest, whose winner will challenge Mr. Hogan in November, has been marked by opportunistic sniping at Mr. Baker’s record with the schools, in most cases by rivals who lack his breadth and depth of experience. Well before he became county executive, Mr. Baker, as a state lawmaker from Prince George’s, was an effective advocate for improving public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Baker. I don't think your first elected office should be governor.

+1. He’s done good things in PG county and that’s no small feat.

What's he done in PG County? Can you explain further?

I think the Washington Post endorsement explains it best.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/democrats-should-choose-rushern-baker-for-maryland-governor/2018/05/19/97bd52aa-5947-11e8-858f-12becb4d6067_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.84cc9f33d100

IT CAN be easy to forget the spectacular mess that Rushern L. Baker III inherited when, in 2010, he became the top elected official in Prince George’s County, Maryland’s second-most-populous locality. Given his brand of steady, sane, no-drama leadership as county executive over the past eight years, it is equally easy to overlook the extent to which he has succeeded in radically rebranding a locality whose reputation had been so badly stained by public corruption, chaotic governance and crime.

Mr. Baker’s admirable, ambitious record in Prince George’s is the basis on which we support him in Maryland’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, on June 26. In a solid field of primary candidates, which includes a respected state senator, a nationally known civil rights leader and others with impressive résumés, Mr. Baker stands out for having run what amounts to a turnaround project in a county of nearly 1 million residents.

He has lately come under fire from his rivals, including Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, for controversies in the Prince George’s school system, one of the nation’s largest, including inflated graduation rates, mishandled sex abuse cases and questionable raises for top aides to the outgoing schools CEO, Kevin M. Maxwell, who was chosen by Mr. Baker.

What gets lost in the hubbub is that Mr. Baker, virtually alone among county executives in Maryland, had the political courage to seek and attain personal authority over public education in the county. His willingness to be politically accountable for reforming a huge system long troubled by poor performance and managerial dysfunction was a gamble. And despite the recent troubles, it paid off to a large degree: Enrollment climbed and test scores crept up as schools offered an enriched menu of academic choices, including expanded full-day prekindergarten and language immersion.

The Democratic primary contest, whose winner will challenge Mr. Hogan in November, has been marked by opportunistic sniping at Mr. Baker’s record with the schools, in most cases by rivals who lack his breadth and depth of experience. Well before he became county executive, Mr. Baker, as a state lawmaker from Prince George’s, was an effective advocate for improving public schools.

This has been my experience in Prince George’s as well. He has worked tirelessly and honestly in this county. Have there been mistakes, of course, but results over rhetoric.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This has been my experience in Prince George’s as well. He has worked tirelessly and honestly in this county. Have there been mistakes, of course, but results over rhetoric.

I live and work in PG County. The reception of Rushern Baker in northern PG has been positive. While there are problems, such as the school problems, in general, the residents feel that he has been significantly better for the county and worse. His elimination of the corruption and pay-to-play atmosphere, plus the strengthening of the police forces and significantly increased local development, attraction of businesses and external money to the county have all made huge impacts. And while he hand-picked Maxwell, he wasn't responsible for the debacle that Maxwell created or the lapses that happened under Maxwell's watch. He may not have micro-managed the schools but he wasn't hands-on in mismanaging the schools. Considering how much he managed well, most here are willing to forgive the problems in the school as the man was spread pretty thin over many, many fires to put out and problems to resolve over his tenure.

And my opinion is not a minority opinion. I've talked about this to friends and acquaintances at home and work and he has a good rep around the northern parts of the county.