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Timothy J. Adams (D) made history when he was elected as Bowie鈥檚 first Black mayor in 2019. Now he鈥檚 looking to make history again as the state鈥檚 first Black comptroller 鈥� and the first person with paraplegia to ever hold a statewide office in Maryland.
Adams, a wealthy government contractor, will formally announce his candidacy for Maryland comptroller Tuesday, charging that the state鈥檚 current tax system puts an undue burden on families and small businesses.
He said the state鈥檚 current policies are 鈥済eared to protect international corporations and appease special interests,鈥� and pledged to sponsor legislation to take taxpayer subsidies back from businesses that don鈥檛 deliver on their promises to the state.
Adams also endorsed combined reporting 鈥� a policy meant to close corporation tax loopholes that has repeatedly met roadblocks in the legislature.
鈥淯ntil we get our fiscal house in order and build a 21st century economy that offers opportunity to all Marylanders, we will not be able to sustain our investments in those priorities that matter to all of us,鈥� Adams said in a news release.
Adams wants to use the comptroller鈥檚 seat on the state鈥檚 powerful Board of Public Works to boost transparency and ensure that everyone 鈥� including minority business owners 鈥� gets a fair shot at securing a state contract.
Adams himself is keenly aware of the challenges minority business owners face: He鈥檚 the president and CEO of the multimillion-dollar defense contracting firm Systems Application & Technologies 鈥� a company that he founded out of the trunk of his car, according to his campaign launch video.
鈥淔or all of our talk about so-called 鈥榞overnment transparency,鈥� Maryland鈥檚 procurement system is still weighted in favor of incumbent vendors and those with the best political connections,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淭his works out perfectly well for a handful of Annapolis insiders, but not for the taxpayers or for those emerging entrepreneurs who can offer better services at lower costs.
Adams also slammed Maryland鈥檚 education system, and said the state is sending students 鈥渋nto buildings and classrooms that are literally falling apart,鈥� and called for oversight of the state鈥檚 public school construction program to be returned to the Board of Public Works. That role was taken away by the legislature in a political fight with Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) and outgoing Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) a few years ago.
Accompanying Adams鈥� announcement is his first campaign advertisement: A聽聽in which Adams is portrayed by his own son. In the video, entitled 鈥淟et鈥檚 Roll,鈥� Adams recalls sleeping six to a bed with his siblings as a child in New Orleans 鈥� and his early days as a defense contractor.
He also recounts his run for Bowie mayor, and says some had doubts about his candidacy because he is Black and uses a wheelchair.
鈥淚 might not be able to walk, but that鈥檚 never stopped me from running,鈥� Adams says in the video.
The video was produced by Devine Mulvey Longabaugh 鈥� a prominent Washington, D.C.- based Democratic media firm whose clients include Franchot. The firm made the highly-touted 鈥淎merica鈥� ad, using the Simon & Garfunkel song of the same title, for the 2016 presidential campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Adams has largely bankrolled his own campaign so far: He reported $253,129 in his campaign account as of January, including a recent $200,000 contribution of his own money.
That鈥檚 still a far cry from Del. Brooke E. Lierman (D-Baltimore City), who launched her own comptroller campaign in December. She reported $588,292 in her campaign account as of Jan. 13.
Whether more Democrats will hop into the comptroller race remains to be seen: Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Prince George鈥檚) and Del. Kumar P. Barve (D-Montgomery) both told聽Maryland Matters聽that they don鈥檛 plan to run, but other potential contenders include Sen. Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery) and Montgomery County Councilmember Tom Hucker (D), although Hucker said in a previous interview that he needs to be 鈥渓aser-focused鈥� on providing assistance to county residents instead of on the campaign trail.
A Democratic bid for comptroller only recently became feasible with Franchot鈥檚 gubernatorial bid. Franchot handily won reelection in 2010, 2014 and 2018 after his election in 2006.
