Candidates and Racial Justice — A Guide to the Maryland Primary
The United States has experienced a deadly growth in the White supremacy movement, as well as an increase in police violence against people of color. No candidate of either party running for governor or U.S. representative in 1st District raised the issue of White supremacy; however, all the Democratic candidates for both offices had statements on racial equity on their websites. Based on the statements on the websites of Republican candidates, it is clear that they do not consider racial equity a matter of concern.
The positions below were taken from candidates’ websites and VOTE411, a voter information website of the League of Women Voters. While the questions that the LWV asked the candidates did not address the topic of racial justice directly, it was possible find references in the candidates’ responses to other questions.
The primary election is scheduled for Tuesday, July 19. Only residents who have registered their political party preference are eligible to vote, and they may only vote for their party’s candidates. Thus Democrats may only vote for Democratic candidates, and Republicans only for Republican candidates.
Governor/Lieutenant Governor
Dan Cox + Gordana Schifanelli — Republican
There is no statement on racial justice on his website. All his positions are extreme right-wing and Trumpist.
Robin Ficker + LeRoy F. Yegge, Jr. — Republican
Ficker is a disbarred attorney. There is no statement on racial justice on the website. Most of the photos portray him in the company of conservative governors of other states.
Kelly Schulz + Jeff Woolford — Republican
www.kellyschulzforgovernor.com
Schulz’s program is typical of her party: less and lower taxes, support for police, parental control of the public education system. There is no statement on racial justice at all.
Joe Werner + Minh Thanh Luong — Republican
No statement on racial justice. He is also the only candidate for governor who has not submitted answers to the League of Women Voters website, Vote411.org
Rushern Baker III + Nancy Navarro — Democrat
Rushern Baker III suspended his race for governor on June 10.
Jon Baron + Natalie Williams — Democrat
A statement on his website states that “My career over the past 20 years has focused on underserved communities across the United States, with the goals of closing social and racial gaps in education, economic opportunity, healthcare, and other areas. In our own state, such gaps between Black and White Marylanders have persisted for decades and are unacceptably large. Currently, for example, the poverty rate of Black Marylanders is nearly 50% higher than that of the overall Maryland population, and Maryland has had consistently larger achievement gaps between Black and White students than the U.S. average.” Baron worked in both the Bush and the Obama administrations to expand programs for underserved population.
Peter Franchot + Monique Anderson-Walker — Democrat
Franchot promises to create a new cabinet-level position focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion to promote diversity in government, to identify biases in existing or proposed policies, and to develop policies to promote economic relief for underserved communities. He indicates that his administration will prioritize addressing the effects of redlining and will seek to provide state-backed mortgages to communities of color. On the issue of public safety, Franchot supports policies such as “ending no knock warrants, prioritizing community policing, evaluating police training standards, treating addiction as a health issue, and focusing on violent repeat offenders.”
Douglas F. Gansler + Candace Hollingsworth — Democrat
Gansler’s website has no specific statement on race, however, his running mate, Candace Bacchus Hollingsworth has a strong history of working for racial justice. After stepping down as mayor of Hyattsville, she worked to grow Our Black Party, a national organization that she co-founded to strengthen a relationship that promotes change between the Black community and the political system.
Ralph W. Jaffe + Mark Greben — Democrat
www.fedupwithcrookedpolitics.com
No statement on racial justice.
Ashwani Jain + LaTrece Hawkins Lytes — Democrat
No statement on racial justice.
John King + Michelle Daugherty Siri — Democrat
King will view every part of his platform through the lens of the “Black Agenda,” according to his website. As governor, he will require a Racial Equity Impact Statement to be submitted with every bill that comes to his desk.
Wes Moore + Aruna Miller — Democrat
According to his website, Moore believes that Maryland will never achieve its potential until equity is achieved. He applauded the Maryland legislature last year “for passing some of the nation’s most comprehensive police accountability legislation,” and believes that we have to build on that progress and see that it is carried out effectively. He supports policies in the criminal justice system that promote redemption and second chances. He also supports prison reform. He wants to promote equity in housing and access to education and healthcare. He stands for eliminating the racial wealth gap.
Tom Perez + Shannon Sneed — Democrat
Perez has undoubtedly the most extensive statement on racial justice issues of all the candidates.
- He pledges to combat and develop solutions to the climate crisis, which, he states, disproportionately harms Black citizens.
- Further, he would reinvest cannabis tax revenue back into the minority communities that have been disproportionately and systematically criminalized for marijuana.
- He will seek to make Maryland a leader in providing economic opportunities for Black business owners by reforming the State’s antiquated MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) program.
- He will work towards increasing opportunities for Black business start-ups by expanding the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority, Neighborhood Business Works and EARN (Employment Advancement Right Now).
- As governor, he will work to close the health care enrollment gap to ensure that 100% of Black citizens can access insurance.
- He would support capital investments in Historic Black Colleges and Universities.
- He would expand apprenticeship opportunities in the Black community and connect Black citizens with jobs in manufacturing through programs like the Jane Addams Resource Corp. in Baltimore, which provides free manufacturing job training.
Jerome M. Segal + Justinian M. Dispenza — Democrat
The heading on Segal’s webpage states “Bread and Roses Socialism: Decency and Renaissance.” While he doesn’t address racial justice, his statements promoting education and climate justice and economic equality clearly indicate that his administration would confront that issue in a positive way: “Most ambitiously, we seek a new culture, one in which personal identity and social status will have little to do with how one earns one’s money and the amount of it. We seek a culture in which identity and status will revolve around one’s passion — work, one’s values, character, and excellences.”
Congress 1st District
Andrew P. Harris — Republican — incumbent
Harris has no position on racial justice issues on his website. It should be noted, however, that he was one of 186 Republicans in Congress who voted against the bill to designate a federal building in Tallahassee, Fla. to honor Black Judge Joseph W. Hatchett. He also voted against a resolution to honor Capitol Police for their bravery on January 6, 2021.
R. David Harden — Democrat
The following statement on equality and inclusion can be found on Harden’s website: “Every person must be treated with dignity and have equal rights under the law. No person in a free and fair society should make less money, be denied government services, pay more for healthcare, lose a job or housing opportunities, or face discrimination in the community or workplace because of their gender, race, color, national origin, age, religion, creed, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran's status.” He doesn’t propose any particular policies to solve those problems.
Heather R. Mizeur — Democrat
Mizeur strongly supports the For the People Act on voting rights, which would expand access to early voting and voting by mail. She believes that the federal government must be the guarantor of the right to vote. She has no firm statement on racial justice on her website; however, she responds to a questionnaire on social issues on the ISideWith... website. She indicates support for NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality. She also supports the federal government policy requiring racial sensitivity training for employees.
A native of Wicomico County, George Shivers holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland and taught in the Foreign Language Dept. of Washington College for 38 years before retiring in 2007. He is also very interested in the history and culture of the Eastern Shore, African American history in particular.
© Common Sense for the Eastern Shore, 2024
Title image: Pond at Pickering Creek Audubon Center, Talbot Co. Photo: Jan Plotczyk
