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Y’all know that I am a bit fanatical about community engagement, about empowering people and communities to mobilize and stand up for their interests. It’s what puts limits on the concentration of wealth and power at the top of our economy, and those limits are what makes our economy sustainable.
The simplest form of community engagement, the first step for many of us, is voting. I can’t use this government-sponsored weekly letter to advocate on behalf of candidates or political parties, but to honestly cover what mattered this week, I need to talk about the election that took place on Tuesday.
Maryland has closed primaries. Registered Democrats select candidates to represent them in the November election, and Republicans do the same.
In a non-presidential year like this one, primary turnout is usually disappointingly low, especially when there’s not much competition in the race for Governor. Of 173,000 registered Democrats in our county, a bit north of 44,000 voted. Of 129,000 registered Republicans, some 20,000 voted. That is despite round-the-clock work and major financial investments in efforts by candidate committees to inspire voters. I wish those numbers were higher. Our strength is in the engagement of our residents, and elections are the foundation of that strength.
The race I was most interested in was, of course, for the job that I will leave in December. The result will determine how much of the work we have done over the last seven-and-a-half years continues, and where efforts will be redirected.
On the Republican side, there was only one candidate in the primary, Dave Crawford. He benefited from the same dynamic that I took advantage of in 2018. Few people thought a Democrat could win eight years ago, and few people think a Republican can win today, so not many bother to run.
On the Democratic side, there were four candidates on the ballot, one of whom suspended his campaign two weeks before election day. The other three candidates were James Kitchin, Allison Pickard, and Pete Smith.
I have worked closely with each of them throughout my time in office. All three are, in my view, among the best qualified candidates for the job in county history. They each had endorsers, adequate funds to get their messages out, and well-run campaigns. Provisional ballots are still being counted, but the margin was decisive enough that Allison Pickard is the clear winner to be the Democratic nominee in the November 3rd General Election.
The story, in my view, is that engaged Democrats were divided into three camps. Each was passionate about their candidate. Kitchin and Smith supporters are hurting. Pickard supporters are inspired. Republicans lived through this when they were the majority party. The Schuh vs Neuman primary of 2014 was hard-fought and divisive. But this was a new experience for many in this generation of Anne Arundel County Democrats.
Despite all the passion, and all that was at stake, none of the three candidates attacked another publicly. Their websites, their social media, their ads, their direct mail, and their debate performances were clean. They ran on their issues and their credentials, and the voters made their choice.
That’s as good as anyone can ask for in a contested primary, and I know that each one of them is glad they ran. I watched with fascination as each found a voice and grew as a leader. And each of them brought forth important issues that will continue to be at the forefront of community engagement and policy-making for years to come.
I hope that you will join me in thanking every candidate who stepped up from both political parties to offer themselves to public service. And to both winners and non-winners, please join me in showing them grace. They earned it.
Until next week…