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Some very good stuff has happened in recent days.
An estimated three thousand local folks showed up Saturday morning for a No Kings rally in the parking lot of the AACPS building, and that was only one of three that took place in our county, and 3,300 that brought out 8 million people in all.
I put it in the category of good stuff because kings are a threat to the nation, the democracy, and the constitution that we pledge our allegiance to. It’s good to see that people care enough about those things to show up.
It was also good that the Maryland General Assembly passed the FY27 budget a full week before the state constitution requires it.
That goes in the good column because it demonstrates that government can do hard things. Governor Moore, Senate President Ferguson, and Speaker Peña-Melnyk rallied their teams and, without raising our taxes amidst soaring costs and a federal assault on our most vulnerable residents, managed to deliver a balanced budget with no political grandstanding or drama. Good leaders fight for their people and make compromises for long-term gain, and that’s what we have in Maryland.
Here at home, we saw even more good stuff this week. At the moment the rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds on the Broadneck Peninsula Monday morning, Recreation and Parks Director Jessica Leys began her remarks to a group of smiling local trail users at the Bay Head Park spur connection to the brand new Broadneck Trail.
We had gathered to cut the ribbon on the opening of the final phases of the project, finally connecting Sandy Point State Park, Anne Arundel Community College, Broadneck Library, Bay Head Park, and Broadneck Peninsula neighborhoods. The wide, paved surface, the landscaping, and the split rail fences make the trail safe and beautiful. It was first planned in 1999, but it took today’s extraordinary team at Rec and Parks, DPW, and advocacy from Bike AAA and Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails to finally get it done. Please check it out. I plan to ride it with my family very soon.
But that wasn’t the only good thing that I experienced this week with Recreation and Parks. We also met with neighbors at Loopers Field, the entrance to the Magothy Greenway Natural Area in Pasadena, to sign the official legislation authorizing the transfer of 241 acres from the estate of Edward A. Looper III to Anne Arundel County in partnership with the Magothy River Land Trust. This is a jewel of a property that will expand the 391 acre greenway and extend its trails to waterfront land that will become publicly accessible. Unlike most of the county’s land preservation acquisitions, this property was a gift. The Looper family has left a legacy that they should be proud of.
And last, but not least, in the good column for the week was finding myself once again on the stage at Maryland Hall. It’s become a sacred place for me. It’s where I experienced the terror and thrill of debating both County Executive Steve Schuh and Councilwoman Jessica Haire, where I was sworn in at a ceremony led by my friend Pastor Steve Tillet, where I apologized on behalf of our county government for its complicity in the enforcement of slavery, and where I performed a salsa dance before judges and a packed house. I love the place.
The hall filled up on Tuesday for the last of a series of awards ceremonies that my office has hosted in partnership with the Anne Arundel County Caucus of African American Leaders: the Few of the Many and the Michelle Obama Awards, for Black History Month and Women’s History Month respectively. They were combined when the first was snowed out this year.
There were thirty awardees, all wonderful people engaged in making life better for the people of our county. There were 500 in the seats, all there to celebrate somebody, or everybody, on the stage. But there was one person whose presence held my attention, somebody I’ve always respected, not always agreed with, but have come to truly love - The Honorable Carl O. Snowden.
Carl is the founder and convenor of “The Caucus.” He has spent every waking hour of his life since high school working to mobilize people for justice. When he has a microphone, he uses it well. As the emcee at this event, he introduced me with a story about how I was belittled during my first campaign for this office as a community organizer. He said that’s what drew him to me. Watching Carl organize is what drew me to him.
I spoke to Carl on the phone when he was in the hospital last year. He never told me why he was there, but I believed it was serious. There was an urgency to what he was telling me, and he was kinder than before. I hung up the phone and started crying. Really crying. I didn’t want to lose Carl. I realized that I loved him like a brother, and it hit me just how big his life is to so many people.
When we got to the end of the ceremony, the part where Carl always has everyone turn to their neighbor and tell them, “I love you,” and then do it a second time, “like you really mean it,” I decided it was my moment to profess my love for Carl. I walked up behind him, grabbed the microphone and presented this award to him.
And I told him, “I love you.”
Until next week…