Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III announced Wednesday that he is running for governor, sending a video message to news outlets and supporters that explains why he believes he can emerge from a crowded field of Democrats to challenge Republican Governor Larry Hogan’s bid for a second term.

Baker, 58, is midway through his seventh year as leader of the state’s second-largest jurisdiction. He has focused on improving schools, streamlining county services, and stimulating economic growth.

The Washington Post reports,

A former state lawmaker with a law degree from Howard University, Baker would become Maryland’s first African American governor and the first county executive to serve in the role since Parris N. Glendening (D), also of Prince George’s, did from 1995 to 2003.

“Being county executive gives me a good vantage point to look at Maryland as a whole, because we are urban, suburban and rural,” Baker said in an interview before his campaign announcement.

“When I look at what we had to do in Prince George’s, given the circumstances we were in, and I look at the state, it’s not dissimilar,” he added.

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The son of a U.S. Army Special Forces officer and a nurse’s aide, Baker was born in Georgia. His family moved frequently, including stints in Okinawa, Japan, before settling in Massachusetts, when he attended high school.

After law school, Baker worked on Capitol Hill, in the D.C. government and as legal counsel for a nonprofit community development and social services organization.

He married his college sweetheart, civil rights lawyer Christa Beverly, and settled in Prince George’s, where he forged ties with fellow black politicos, including Wayne K. Curry, the late county executive. In 1994, with Curry’s guidance, Baker won a seat in the House of Delegates representing Cheverly and parts of Bladensburg.

But Baker badly wanted to be county executive. He lost two primary races, the first while serving in the House of Delegates. In 2010, he tried again and defeated four other Democrats in the primary, later easily winning the general election. Days later, federal agents arrested outgoing county executive Jack B. Johnson (D) on corruption charges.

Baker has traveled the state for months, sharing his story of an economic and civic resurgence in Prince George’s County, the only majority-black jurisdiction in Maryland besides Baltimore City and one of the most affluent majority-black jurisdictions in the nation.

In addition to pushing through ethics reform and seizing partial control of the struggling school system, Baker has boosted development around Metro stations and shepherded major projects, including a regional medical center slated to break ground in the fall. He abandoned his initial opposition to gambling in the county and became a major supporter of the glittering MGM National Harbor casino, which opened to rave reviews in December.

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Before launching his campaign, Baker said he had to decide whether he thought he could do a better job than Hogan. That was the standard that Baker’s wife, whom he calls the driving force in his political career, had set in his previous races.

Beverly was diagnosed with early onset dementia in 2012. Her condition has deteriorated considerably, but the county executive still includes her — along with their three adult children — in campaign meetings and conversations.

Her illness, Baker said, has increased his awareness of “the issues facing working men and women” who juggle work and caretaking. It’s also made him impatient about implementing public policy.

“Time is a precious commodity,” Baker said. “People want to know what you can do now.

“And I understand it, because I don’t know what tomorrow is.”

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Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman launched his 2018 re-election campaign Monday evening at the Columbia lakefront – the same location where he announced his candidacy for county executive four years ago.

The Baltimore Sun reports,

More than 100 Howard County officials, business owners and residents gathered June 12, holding red and yellow campaign signs that read “Kittleman” and “Independent Leader – People, not politics.” District 5 Councilman Greg Fox, Howard County Sheriff Bill McMahon and Howard County Fire Chief John Butler were among the crowd.

During his announcement, Kittleman detailed county accomplishments under his leadership since 2013, including eliminating a $15.8 million deficit, restructuring county government offices and establishing local business initiatives.

“I’m thrilled to have this many people to support us and I’m looking forward to the campaign. We’ll have a lot of things to talk about,” Kittleman said. “Howard County will hopefully have a bright future and people can expect our quality of life to continue to improve.”

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The Montgomery County Council approved an $11 million public campaign financing fund — the first in Maryland — for the 2018 elections when it adopted the county’s $5.4 billion budget for fiscal 2018 last Thursday.

According to MarylandReporter,

The new public campaign finance law could be a model for other Maryland counties, such as Howard County, which is considering its own version for local races.

Montgomery’s new law gets mixed reviews.  It is not clear whether the new system will meet its promised goals of keeping special interest money out of campaigns, leveling the playing field for newcomers and increasing voter turnout.

Robin Ficker, a Republican running for county executive, who successfully spearheaded a 2016 petition referendum imposing term limits on the county executive and council members, calls the new program “self-serving.”

Four of the nine councilmembers have already filed to use the fund they set up.

“The tax-increase specialists on the County Council concluded they didn’t have any competition on the Republican side anymore,” Ficker said.  In Montgomery, Democrats enjoy a three-to-one advantage in registered voters over Republicans. “They thought they might as well finance their own campaigns now.”

The new law, which passed unanimously through the all-Democrat, nine-member Council in 2014, will debut for the 2018 elections. It allows qualified candidates participating in the county executive and county council races to receive taxpayer-subsidized funds if they get enough smaller campaign contributions from county residents.

The council provided $1 million more than the request from County Executive Ike Leggett, but that aligned with the recommendation of a county committee reviewing funding.  The Council added $5 million, instead of $4 million, to an existing fund of $6 million, which had been approved in prior budgets.

To qualify for public campaign financing, county executive candidates must collect 500 contributions totaling $40,000; county council at large candidates 250 contributions totaling $20,000; and county council district candidates 125 contributions totaling $10,000.

County executive candidates can receive up to $750,000 for both the primary and general elections; county council at-large candidates, $250,000; and county council district candidates $125,000.

At-Large County Councilmember Marc Elrich, D, who is also running for county executive and planning to use public funding, believes the new system will help reduce special interest money in elections.

“It’s more for the public than anything,” Elrich said. “The candidates are going to have to be largely financed by the public.  The large donors, who have the resources to mount the campaign, are not going to be able to shape it.”

The law prohibits political action committees (PACs), corporations, labor organizations and state and local political committees from contributing to candidates who participate in public campaign financing.  It also caps individual contributions at $150.

“The caveat is public financing doesn’t require everybody to public finance,” Elrich conceded.  “A non-public funded candidate can easily raise more money than [a candidate] with fewer donors. Large donors who have traditionally dominated donations can just create PACs.”

Todd Eberly, political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, takes the case a step further.

“Public financing won’t have an impact on big money at all,” Eberly said.  “[The U.S. Supreme Court case] Citizens United established that corporations and unions can spend unlimited money independent of a candidate. The research conducted on public finance systems in other states has shown that public financing systems does free candidates from the burden of continually fundraising, but incumbent candidates continue to enjoy a tremendous advantage over competitors.”

Eberly said it is a “false hope” to think candidates won’t be beholden to big donors just because the contributions are not coordinated with their campaigns.  In fact, Eberly said, independent expenditures increased in New York after public financing was introduced.

Both Ficker and Elrich believe new or unknown candidates will never see those types of independent donations.

Rachael Rice, a seasoned Democratic fundraiser who has worked for dozens of Maryland candidates, including former Attorney General Doug Gansler, believes the public funding program will help new candidates.

“Fundraising generally is much easier for incumbents and this new law may change that, depending on how it plays out. ” Rice said.  “I think it will be helpful to challengers because it gives them access to funds that they wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Candidates would receive $6 for every $1 of the first $50 raised in the county executive race and $4 for every $1 raised of the first $50 in county council races.  The county matches decrease with every $50 raised.

In Montgomery, candidates participating in public funding have no limit on how much money they can raise in small contributions.  Contributions can also come from outside of the candidate’s district, county and state. But county funds will only be matched to county contributions.

Montgomery County Democratic Party Vice Chair Emily Shetty sees that as an advantage to all voters.

“What we’ve seen in prior [election] cycles is that voters who donate to a candidate are voters who turnout to an election,” Shetty said.  “The matching [contribution] system will incentivize people who have not previously participated.  I think we’ll see increased voter turnout which is in the best interest of democracy.”

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