Political Notebook: More candidates file, Democrats scrap straw pole

Martinez officially files for Congress, gets NOW endorsement

Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez, who announced last summer that she would be seeking the Sixth District U.S. House seat this year, has received the endorsement of National Organization for Women Political Action Committee.

Her campaign announced the endorsement last week.

“As the first Black Mayor of Hagerstown, Tekesha Martinez has leveraged her lived experience and professional experience as a mediator to improve the lives of women in her hometown," NOW PAC Chairwoman Christian F. Nunes said in a statement. "The National Organization for Women PAC is proud to stand with her campaign to serve Maryland’s 6th congressional district and drive forward a women’s agenda.”

Martinez officially filed last week to run in the Maryland Democratic primary on May 14. Two other previously announced candidates, Dels. Lesley Lopez and Joe Vogel, both D-Montgomery, also filed last week, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. It's a crowded field, with nine Democrats vying so far for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. David Trone, D-6th.

Seven Republicans are running for that party's nomination.

There also was another filing in the race for the seat Trone hopes to win: the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Ben Cardin, D-Md.

Democrat Robert K. Houton filed last week to run in the May 14 primary election.

As of Friday afternoon, six Democrats and five Republicans had filed to run for Cardin's seat. But neither Trone nor previously announced candidate Angela Alsobrooks was among them.

The deadline to file for the primary elections is 9 p.m. Feb. 9.

— Tamela Baker

Hagerstown council, school board offices wide open

If you've ever thought about running for a seat on the Washington County Board of Education or the Hagerstown City Council, this might be the year.

As of Friday, there was only one candidate for four open school board seats, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections.

And while Stacy L. Michael and incumbent Matthew Schindler both filed for Hagestown City Council last week, there are only five candidates for the five open council seats. A filing for one more candidate, Journie Martinez, was pending.

Michael and previously announced candidate Sean Flaherty were both finalists when Schindler was appointed to replace Martinez on the council when she became mayor last year, as was Stephen S. Schutte, who is running for mayor.

— Tamela Baker

New bay bridge update: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge: One of many Maryland transportation projects in the works

State of the County presentation Feb. 6

The Washington County Chamber of Commerce will host county officials for the annual State of the County breakfast presentation on Feb. 6 at Fountain Head Country Club.

Registration begins at 6:30 a.m., breakfast is served at 7 a.m. and the presentation begins at 7:50 a.m. Advance tickets are $20 for members and $30 for non-members through Feb. 3, and $30 and $40 afterward.

To register, go to tinyurl.com/yjd9m2vv

Western Maryland Democrat Summit set for April

Late last year the Eastern Shore Democrats organized a summit and a U.S. Senate candidate straw poll modeled after a Western Maryland tradition, and while this year the summit show will go on in Flintstone, the parallel poll is off the air, not on the 2024 schedule.

The two-day event is scheduled for April 12 and 13 at Rocky Gap Casino, Resort & Golf in Flintstone, Md., according to an email from the secretary/treasurer of the Western Maryland Democratic PAC.

The nonprofit news site Maryland Matters reported recently that the straw poll has been suspended this year. The emailed schedule, which concludes with a reception honoring longtime U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., did not include a candidate poll for a potential Senate replacement.

The summit comes about one month before the state’s presidential primary election, which includes congressional elections for a U.S. Senate seat and for the U.S. House of Representatives, including in the state’s Sixth Congressional District that includes all of Washington County.

— Dwight A. Weingarten

Student of the Week winner: Herald-Mail Student of the Week: See this week's winner

Sarbane endorses Alsobrooks for U.S. Senate

At an event decrying big money’s influence in politics, a Maryland congressman endorsed Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, rather than a House of Representatives colleague, in her bid for a United States Senate seat.

“She is a champion of all that makes our democracy strong and will be in the vanguard of fighting voter suppression and big money corruption,” said U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, D-3rd, during an event at Towson University, according to a release from Alsobrooks' campaign. A spokesperson for Sarbanes confirmed the endorsement in an email on Monday.

“I am mindful that today’s announcement comes as Americans mark the 14th anniversary of the tragic Citizens United case, which unleashed the flood of big money pouring into our politics,” said Sarbanes, a representative in his 17th year. He is not seeking reelection.

“I’m honored to have his support,” said Alsobrooks, also a Democrat.

In a split ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010, the Citizens United case allowed corporations to spend freely on political campaigns under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment right to free speech. Another candidate for U.S. Senate, Sarbanes’ colleague U.S. Rep. David Trone, D-6th, has argued his independence from money in politics as he largely self-funds his campaigns. Trone has loaned more than $9 million to his Senate campaign so far.

— Dwight A. Weingarten

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Political notes for Jan. 29