This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at .听Sign up for today.
This content was republished with permission from WTOP鈥檚 news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for today.
One Maryland lawmaker wants to change the way several rural counties elect their commissioners, arguing that those counties鈥� current systems disenfranchise people of color.
In five counties 鈥� St. Mary鈥檚, Charles, Calvert, Queen Anne鈥檚 and Garrett 鈥� commissioners are elected by a countywide vote, regardless of what district they鈥檙e from. Del. Brian M. Crosby (D-St. Mary鈥檚) called that system 鈥渁nti-democratic鈥� at a House Ways and Means Committee meeting Tuesday.
Crosby is sponsoring a bill that would require that, if a county commissioner is running to represent a specific district, that commissioner鈥檚 election must be decided only by voters within that district.
鈥淭he citizens of each county commissioner district have the right to select who represents their interests without influence from voters outside their district,鈥� Crosby said.
According to a Department of Legislative Services听 of the bill, the five counties have varying approaches to structuring their boards of commissioners. In Calvert, Charles, Queen Anne鈥檚, and St. Mary鈥檚 counties, 鈥渁 specified number of county commissioners represent a district, the remaining run countywide, and all of the commissioners are elected by the voters at large,鈥� according to the analysis. 鈥淭he remaining鈥� are at-large commissioners who represent all of the county.听
In Garrett County, all commissioners run by district but are elected countywide.
Crosby said communities in his own county are disenfranchised under the current county-wide voting system. He said Lexington Park and Great Mills, some of St. Mary鈥檚 County鈥檚 most diverse areas, are 鈥渓eft without an advocate for their own communities鈥� needs,鈥� because they lack power听in electing their local commissioner.
Ongisa Ichile-Mckenzie, the executive director of Southern Marylanders for Racial Equality, said countywide elections for individual districts can dilute the voice of minority voters and lead to racial inequality.
鈥淧eople鈥檚 voices should not be tamped down by the majority who live in other parts of their county,鈥� Ichile-Mckenzie said.
She said many issues in her home county, Charles — including food deserts, aging infrastructure and the digital divide — would be better addressed if community members had more say in picking their county commissioner.
鈥淲hy has Maryland continued to be a state with haves and have-nots?鈥� Ichile-Mckenzie said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 because county commissioners rely on the will of the countywide majority to hold onto power.鈥�
Ellen Kohl, an assistant professor of environmental studies at St. Mary鈥檚 College and an expert in human geography, said the five counties鈥� systems create 鈥渋ndirect structural barriers鈥� that lead to a lack of diversity in local government and have a discriminatory impact on communities of color.
Kohl said that enacting district-level voting doesn鈥檛 guarantee more diverse government, but 鈥渙pens the door鈥� for people of color to have a better say in who represents them.
Opposition
Counties鈥� officials, on the other hand, worry that the legislation is encroaching on their self-governance. James R. Guy, president of the St. Mary鈥檚 County Board of Commissioners, pushed back on the proposal. Appearing with two former Democratic commissioners and a current Republican commissioner, Guy, a Republican, charged that the proposal would 鈥渦nilaterally undermine the will of the people鈥� in his county.
鈥淲e all work to serve all of the county regardless of what district we represent,鈥� Guy said.
At-Large Queen Anne鈥檚 County Commissioner James Moran, a Republican, said Queen Anne鈥檚 voters rejected a similar proposal in 2016. He said he personally supported the proposal, but opposes Crosby鈥檚 bill since county residents already have spoken on the issue.
鈥淥ne fix doesn鈥檛 work across the entire state,鈥� Moran warned.
Kevin Kinnally, legislative director for the Maryland Association of Counties, also opposed the bill. He said counties are concerned that the legislation 鈥渨ould infringe on local autonomy and flexibility in local governance,鈥� and that such a proposal should be decided in the courts rather than the state legislature.
Kinnally and Crosby said that a 1980s court case found that an at-large representation system in Dorchester County violated the federal voting rights act.
Campaign finance
In other business, Ways and Means Committee members heard a proposal from Del. Kevin B. Hornberger, a Republican from Cecil County, that could lead to an overhaul of the state鈥檚 campaign finance system to include a real-time database.
Hornberger鈥檚听听would require the State Board of Elections to study and make recommendations regarding the 鈥渁dministrative, technological, legal, security, and fiscal requirements鈥� that need to be met to give the public real-time access to campaign finance information for candidates.
Hornberger hopes such an听overhaul of the state鈥檚 campaign finance system would make it the most 鈥減rogressive and most transparent鈥� in the country. Represent Maryland, a grass-roots voting rights group, has thrown its support behind the bill.
Committee members also briefly reviewed Gov. Larry Hogan鈥檚 (R) billion-dollar relief act. House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke, a Democrat from Montgomery County, told lawmakers that the House may make changes to the proposal as early as Wednesday. He said he has been in discussions with Hogan鈥檚 office and Senate leaders about how to move forward with the bill.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be able to come up with something where everybody involved can vote yes,鈥� Luedkte said.
