I hate it when the facts do not fit my assumptions: Election Edition

I hate it when the facts undercut my assumptions.

I had assumed that it was gerrymandering that cost the Democrats their majority in the House of Representatives.  

But tonight I took a look at the states in which a disproportionate number of seats were won by Republicans, as compared to state-wide votes for Governor or Senate; and then did the same states in which a disproportionate number of seats were won by Democrats.

Gerrymandering in the following states gave Republicans disproportionate numbers of members of the House: Alabama 6(R)-1(D), Arizona 6-3, Florida 20-8, Louisiana 5-1, Missouri 6-2, Ohio 10-5, Texas 25-13, Wisconsin 6-2.  My rough estimate is that the Republicans secured, unfairly if the districting should reflect the statewide preference numbers,  4 extra seats each in Florida and Texas, 2 extra seats each in Arizona and Wisconsin, and one extra seat each in Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, and Ohio.  A total of 16 "extra" seats.

But gerrymandering gave Democrats  disproportionate numbers in these states: California 40(D)-12(R), Colorado 5-2, Connecticut 5-0, Illinois 14-3, Maryland 7-1, Massachusetts 9-0, New Jersey 9-3, New Mexico 3-0. My rough estimate is that the Democrats secured, unfairly if the districting should reflect the statewide preference numbers, 9 extra seats in California, 5 extra seats in Illinois, 3 extra seats in Massachusetts, 2 extra seats each in Connecticut and New Jersey, and one extra seat each Colorado, Maryland, and New Mexico.  A total of 24 "extra" seats.  (Note that New York's 15-11 result is not too different from the statewide votes for Senate and Governor.)

So this quick comparison suggests that if all states had districting that reflected the votes of their populations, then Democrats would have won eight fewer seats than it actually won.  

In terms of the true popular will, it is still true that even with fair districting nationwide, every state, no matter how small its population, gets one member of the House.  But that does not appear to skew the situation as badly as one might assume.  Only 5 states are so small that they only have one House member: Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.  And in the upcoming Congress, 3 of those seats will be held by Republicans and 2 will be held by Democrats.

Gerrymandering is a bad thing, but it appears (to my surprise) that that was not, on balance, the reason the Democrats lost the House.  I hate it when the facts contradict my hypotheses.  

In terms of the true popular will, it is still true that even with fair districting nationwide, every state, no matter how small its population, gets one member of the House.  But that does not appear to skew the situation as badly as one might assume.  Only 6 states are so small that they only have one House member: Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.  And in the upcoming Congress, 3 of those seats will be held by Republicans and 3 will be held by Democrats.

We have a very divided country.  Democratic strategists should recognize that the House is not as unreflective of the voters as appears to be the conventional wisdom. In 2020, Joe Biden received 51.3% of the popular vote, to Donald Trump's 46.8%.  The turnout for Presidential contests is always higher than in other contests.  So another part of the challenge is to convince people to vote in the down-ballot contests, too. The challenge is to convince and mobilize more people (whether they have voted in the past or not) to support Democratic policies. 

“Don’t let the light go out.” Is it becoming harder to avoid the darkness?

In 2018, I was very worried.  In a blogpost discussing the dangers and implications of the “nation state” bill in Israel, I concluded with the lyrics of Peter Yarrow’s anthem, Light One Candle, along with my concern: “I do not know from where we will be able to protect the light in the years that come.  But we cannot let the light go out.”

 

Four years later, things are barreling toward the worst-case scenario.  Aaron David Miller has been a prominent supporter of Israel for decades – and his recent piece in the Washington Post illustrates just how bad it has gotten: 

 

“Having brought to life the radical, racist, misogynistic and homophobic far-right parties, Netanyahu is now stuck with them. He has cut a deal with convicted inciter of hatred and violence Itamar Ben Gvir and made him minister of national security, with far-reaching authority for the West Bank, Jerusalem and mixed Arab-Jewish cities in Israel proper. Bezalel Smotrich, who has called for the expulsion of Arabs, is in line to run the finance ministry, with additional authority over the Civil Administration, which governs the West Bank. And Avi Maoz, who proudly espouses a fierce anti-LGBTQ agenda, has been made a deputy in the prime minister’s office in charge of “Jewish identity.”

 

It is as if here, in the United States, Trump were elected president and put Stephen Miller and Marjorie Taylor Green in charge of the fundamental policies of our government.

 

I will still love our country even if Trump returns to power, just as I still love Israel at a gut level.

 

Aaron David Miller understandably calls for U.S. pressure on Netanyahu to convince him to change course.  But is it too late?  This has been building since Menachem Begin announced in 1977 that he would “create facts in Judea and Samaria.” 

 

So what do we do now?  I do not have an all-encompassing answer.  The ethnic-expulsion and homophobia which is apparently the approach the new coalition is preparing to follow (and forms of which are emanating from Mar-a-Lago now, as Trump plots his return to power) is antithetic to Reform Jewish values.  How we, as an American Reform Jewish Community, respond may determine whether the Diaspora will be able to keep the light from going out.

 

How do we convey our Jewish values to our children and grandchildren in the face of the horrors that may be approaching?  And to the extent that our children and grandchildren have absorbed the Jewish values we cherish, how do we convince them that they should continue to identify as Jews? 

Hogan gives up pressing for the misbegotten P3 before he leaves office; Wes Moore will be able to show his mettle

Today, Bethesda Beat reported that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has given up trying to secure the misbegotten P3 plan for the I270/495 highway before he leaves office. https://mailchi.mp/bethesdamagazine/bethesdabeat-alert-636503?e=127235b306

The early months of the Wes Moore/Aruna Miller Administration will be a test of their commitment to sensible, progressive, and fiscally-sound government. 

 

While big-moneyed interests keep pushing the Hogan P3 Plan for I270/495, it is significant that Congressman Jamie Raskin and Congressman (and Attorney General-elect) Anthony Brown have strongly opposed the Plan for a long time. 

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OPI/Resources/Files/pdf/2021/Letter_to_TPB_Rep_Raskin.pdf.

 

Comptroller-elect Brooke Lierman expresses serious concerns about the Plan’s wisdom and fiscal propriety. See 

https://wamu.org/story/22/10/21/a-conversation-with-maryland-comptroller-candidates-glassman-and-lierman/ (beginning at the 12:30 mark of the transcript). 

 

Elected Montgomery County leaders, including newly-reelected County Executive Marc Elrich, in-coming Council President Evan Glass, and a majority of the in-coming Council  oppose the Hogan Scam.   https://mastcoalition.org/candidate-stances

 

And the Sierra Club of Maryland (one of the Moore/Aruna campaign’s earliest supporters) is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit to stop the Plan; Friends of Moses Hall, whose mission is to protect historic Black Communities, is also a plaintiff. See 

https://www.sierraclub.org/maryland/blog/2022/10/groups-sue-halt-beltway-toll-lane-project

 

The Hogan Scam would make traffic worse, would create environmental problems, and would leave the taxpayers with huge financial multi-million dollar commitments to TransUrban (the Australian builders of the toll lanes), when those lanes inevitably do not produce the toll revenues projected by TransUrban. 

Soon enough, it will be time for Wes and Aruna to show that they will not be pushovers for big-moneyed interests, but instead will stand up for everyday Marylanders, leaving no one behind.

Martin Luther King Services at Temple Emanuel, 1987-2023

 

Martin Luther King Services at Temple Emanuel, 1986-2023

 

2023  Gloria M. Shepherd, Executive Director of the Federal Highway Administration (Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at Temple Emanuel and Showing One Way That His Vision Is Being Realized by Governmental and Community Action)

https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2023/01/celebrating-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-at.html

2022   Sunil Dasgupta, Director of the Political Science Program for the University of Maryland/Baltimore County at the Universities at Shady Grove (The Relevance of Dr. King to the “Critical Race Theory” Controversy)   https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-relevance-of-dr-king-to-critical.html

 

2021  Yolanda Savage-Narva, Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Programs for the Union of Reform Judaism (Striving to Create Dr. King's Beloved Community: Reform Judaism's Quest for Racial Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion)  https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2021/01/

 

 2020   Toni Holness, Public Policy Director, Maryland ACLU  (Making the Dream Real: Disparties in the Criminal Justice System)

            https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2019/12/mlk-shabbat-service-on-jan-17-speaker.html and

https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/at-temple-emanuel-learning-in-order-to-do/

 and

             http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2020/02/at-temple-emanuel-learning-in-order-to.html

 

2019   Brenda Wolff, Montgomery County Board of Education (Making the Dream Real: Challenges in Public Education in Montgomery County) 

            https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2019/01/2019-temple-emanuel-mlk-service-with.html

 

 2018   Ike Leggett, Montgomery County Executive (Implementing Dr. King's Vision: What We Have Done in Montgomery County, and What We Need To Do in theFuture)

            https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/01/county-executive-ike-leggetts.html

 

2017   Will Saletan, Slate and Temple Member (Facing Implicit Bias)

            http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/01/martin-luther-king-jr-shabbat-service.html

 

2016   Noah Roos and Micah Guthrie, Operation Understanding

 

2015   Rev. Carl Davis, Ken-Gar Baptist Church

 

2014   David Fishback (King, Gandhi, Mandela: Giants of the 20^th Century, Beacons

            for the 21s^t) 

            https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/05/temple-emanuel-jan-17-2014-king-gandhi.html

 

2013   Jonathan Jayes-Green (speaking in the context of the Maryland Dream Act

            and the Maryland Civil Marriage Equality Act)

 

2012   David Fishback (What Would Dr. King Occupy?)

            http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2016/01/what-would-dr-king-occupy.html 

 

2011   Solange Hansen (African-American recent convert to Judaism)

 

2010   Delegate Al Carr  (Al represents the District 16 (which includes the

            Temple) in the General Assembly; he is a descendent of the slave-line of the

            Thomas Jefferson family)

 

2009   Bridget Bailey Lipscomb (The Joshua Generation in the Promised Land)

            https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/01/2009-mlk-service-at-temple-emanuel.html

 

2008   Temple Emanuel Teen Choir

 

2007   Patricia Corbett (then-Deputy Executive Director of Metro DC PFLAG)

 

 2006   Delegate Herman Taylor (then-representative from District 14 (Olney/Sandy

            Spring/Ashton/Damascus/Burtonsville) in the General Assembly

 

2005   David Fishback (Theology, Morality & Faith: A Legacy of Dr. King)

            http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2015/11/theology-morality-and-faith-legacy-of.html

 

2004   Ike Leggett (then a member of the Montgomery County Council, now County

            Executive)

 

2003   KESTY (Kensington Temple Emanuel Youth Group)

 

2002   Rabbi Stone, Rev. Carl Davis, Iman Faisal Khan (this service was in the

            aftermath of 9/11)

 

2001   LaRae Jackson (Baltimore VISTA Volunteer)

 

2000   Steve Silverman (then-member of the Montgomery County Council)

 

1999   David Fishback (Dr. King and the Second American Revolution)

            http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/07/dr-king-and-second-american-revolution.html

 

1998   Fair Haven United Methodist Church Choir and Dr. William A. Phillips (1997 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics and longtime member of Fair Haven)

 

1997   Operation Understanding Executive Director

 

1996   Richard Montgomery High School Gospel Choir

 

1995, 1994, 1993        No featured speakers

 

1992   David Fishback (“King: Lessons for the Closing Decade of the Century”)

 

1990   Shirley Small Rougeau, Civil Rights Activist

 

1989   Rev. Alfred Moser

 

1988   Charles Morgan, Civil Rights Attorney

 

1987   Phineas Indritz, Civil Rights Lawyer and Temple Member

Martin Luther King Services at Temple Emanuel, 1986-2020 Martin Luther King Services at Temple Emanuel, 1986-2020 2020 Toni Holness, Public Policy Director, Maryland ACLU (Making the Dream Real: Disparties in the Criminal Justice System) https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2019/12/mlk-shabbat-service-on-jan-17-speaker.html and https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/63763/at-temple-emanuel-learning-in-order-to-do/editorial-opinion/?fbclid=IwAR2DfasD9rHQu1x-eh7LzpDMDnrtV3M3RBZNiopl0fa1djRIIE0LHphJkI8 and http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2020/02/at-temple-emanuel-learning-in-order-to.html 2019 Brenda Wolff, Montgomery County Board of Education (Making the Dream Real: Challenges in Public Education in Montgomery County) https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2019/01/2019-temple-emanuel-mlk-service-with.html 2018 Ike Leggett, Montgomery County Executive (Implementing Dr. King's Vision: What We Have Done in Montgomery County, and What We Need To Do in theFuture) https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/01/county-executive-ike-leggetts.html 2017 Will Saletan, Slate and Temple Member (Facing Implicit Bias) http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/01/martin-luther-king-jr-shabbat-service.html 2016 Noah Roos and Micah Guthrie, Operation Understanding 2015 Rev. Carl Davis, Ken-Gar Baptist Church 2014 David Fishback (King, Gandhi, Mandela: Giants of the 20th Century, Beacons for the 21st) https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/05/temple-emanuel-jan-17-2014-king-gandhi.html 2013 Jonathan Jayes-Green (speaking in the context of the Maryland Dream Act and the Maryland Civil Marriage Equality Act) 2012 David Fishback (What Would Dr. King Occupy?) http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2016/01/what-would-dr-king-occupy.html 2011 Solange Hansen (African-American recent convert to Judaism) 2010 Delegate Al Carr (Al represents the District 16 (which includes the Temple) in the General Assembly; he is a descendent of the slave-line of the Thomas Jefferson family) 2009 Bridget Bailey Lipscomb (The Joshua Generation in the Promised Land) https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2018/01/2009-mlk-service-at-temple-emanuel.html 2008 Temple Emanuel Teen Choir 2007 Patricia Corbett (then-Deputy Executive Director of Metro DC PFLAG) 2006 Delegate Herman Taylor (then-representative from District 14 (Olney/Sandy Spring/Ashton/Damascus/Burtonsville) in the General Assembly 2005 David Fishback (Theology, Morality & Faith: A Legacy of Dr. King) http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2015/11/theology-morality-and-faith-legacy-of.html 2004 Ike Leggett (then a member of the Montgomery County Council, now County Executive) 2003 KESTY (Kensington Temple Emanuel Youth Group) 2002 Rabbi Stone, Rev. Carl Davis, Iman Faisal Khan (this service was in the aftermath of 9/11) 2001 LaRae Jackson (Baltimore VISTA Volunteer) 2000 Steve Silverman (then-member of the Montgomery County Council) 1999 David Fishback (Dr. King and the Second American Revolution) http://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2017/07/dr-king-and-second-american-revolution.html 1998 Fair Haven United Methodist Church Choir and Dr. William A. Phillips (1997 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics and longtime member of Fair Haven) 1997 Operation Understanding Executive Director 1996 Richard Montgomery High School Gospel Choir 1995, 1994, 1993 No featured speakers 1992 David Fishback (“King: Lessons for the Closing Decade of the Century”) 1990 Shirley Small Rougeau, Civil Rights Activist 1989 Rev. Alfred Moser 1988 Charles Morgan, Civil Rights Attorney 1987 Phineas Indritz, Civil Rights Lawyer and Temple Member

Duplicitous dirty trick from Republican County Executive Candidate Reardon Sullivan

 Dirty Tricks, happily, have not been a staple of MoCo elections.  But there are exceptions.  Reardon Sullivan’s recent duplicity is something MoCo voters should reject.

See this report in today's Bethesda Beat (Note, also, that Mr. Sullivan is plainly the candidate of the developers like Charles Nulsen III.  See https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/07/montgomery-county-executive-primary.html; Mr. Sullivan also has aligned himself with the right-wing Family Research Council. See https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/08/republican-nominee-for-county-executive.html)

Odd couple: Sullivan ad pictures him with Renne – but without union leader’s consent

Reardon Sullivan, the Republican nominee pursuing a longshot bid for county executive against Democratic incumbent Marc Elrich in this year’s general election, last month asked for a meeting with Gino Renne – president of the union local that represents a majority of the Montgomery County government workforce.

Renne has long been a key backer of Elrich, and heads an organization, UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO, that – like much of organized labor – has been firmly allied with the Democratic Party. However, in deference to a number of MCGEO members who are Republicans, Renne met with Sullivan. At the end of the session, Sullivan asked if he could take a selfie and Renne consented.

It did come as a surprise to Renne – and several other political insiders – when the selfie showed in a subsequent online ad by the Sullivan campaign, in what might have been mistaken by some as an endorsement.

Renne said Sullivan never asked for the union’s permission to use Renne’s image in the online ad — which he said “We would have denied,” while pointedly noting, “we strongly support Elrich.”

The Sullivan ad, which appeared online as recently as late last week, was headlined “Reardon Sullivan for County Executive” and was accompanied by the photo of Renne and MCGEO official Lisa Brown. It said Sullivan had met with them “regarding the challenges of the ever changing workforce demographics and the work/life balance of the Montgomery County workforce.”

The ad concluded: “Let’s get away from identity politics and work together so everybody has a seat at the table.”

Sullivan could not immediately be reached for comment. Renne said he had not contacted Sullivan to ask that the ad be taken down, while noting it no longer appears to be running.

Sullivan appears to be relying in significant measure on online ads in a low-budget campaign: On Tuesday, he sent out a blast email with the plea, “I need your help to get the message out on radio and social media to the voters that have not yet heard my message.” He went on to assert: “The local bloggers and pundits are saying that I cannot be elected as County Executive … well they are WRONG!”

Elrich – who, unlike Sullivan, is tapping into the county’s public campaign finance system – doesn’t appear to be worried: He reported raising only $3,300 in private contributions over the past couple of months, for which he is seeking another $8,700 in public matching funds on top of nearly $81,600 in public subsidies for which he already has qualified during the general election.

Sullivan reported raising a little over $46,200 in the two months leading up to Oct. 23. He had nearly $41,400 in cash on hand with a little more than two weeks to go until Election Day – as compared to about $72,800 for Elrich.

While Sullivan’s blast email Tuesday declared, “I have not sought donations or support from special interest groups. I do NOT want to be beholden to anyone except the good people of Montgomery County,” among his three largest donors during the recent reporting period was Charles Nulsen, president of Washington Property Co., a Bethesda-based commercial real estate firm. During this year’s primary campaign, Nulsen chaired Progressives for Progress, a largely developer-funded political action committee (PAC).

Nulsen donated $5,000 to Sullivan in September, while Nicholas Paleologos – vice chair of Bethesda-based construction firm Miller and Long – contributed $6,000 to the Sullivan campaign during the same month.

During the primary, Nulsen donated $50,000 to Progressives for Progress, while contributing another $250,000 to the Affordable Maryland PAC, a committee created to oppose Elrich’s renomination as county executive. Paleologos gave $100,000 to the Affordable Maryland PAC.

— Louis Peck

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2022/11/02/political-notes-record-price-tag-of-blairs-2022-bid-for-county-executive-continues-to-grow/?utm_source=Bethesda+Magazine+%7C+Bethesda+Beat&utm_campaign=76992f3f12-RSS_BETHESDA+BEAT_WEEKDAY_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1bbe9df5d9-76992f3f12-105238086&mc_cid=76992f3f12&mc_eid=127235b306

 

 

 

Observation on last night's Board of Education Candidates' Forum

In the last 15 years, the Montgomery County Public Schools system has successfully implemented health education and other policies, following the wisdom of every mainstream American medical and mental health professional association, that support and embrace students whose sexual orientation is not “straight” or whose gender identity is not “cisgender." 

At Bethesda Magazine‘s October 26 Board of Education Candidate Forum, candidate Esther Wells was “asked if MCPS addresses LGBTQ acceptance in age-appropriate ways, and if the district provides appropriate supports and resources for LGBTQ students.”

Rather than answer the question directly, Ms. Wells said would “engage with all stakeholders and ensure everyone feels that they are able to have a voice and are able to be part of the curriculum process and that ultimately our students are ready for the real world, and they are aware of sexuality, their sexuality and their identities, at age-appropriate times.”

 

Left unsaid by Ms. Wells was how her perspectives on sexual orientation and gender identity would impact on how she proceeds with such engagement. Ms. Wells states on her campaign website that she serves “as the Chairman & President Trustee of the Board of a multi-million dollar non-profit in Gaithersburg, MD.”   The website of that organization states that the non-profit "opposes all forms of sexual immorality, including . . . homosexuality." 

This information should give voters great pause with respect to how Ms. Wells would approach these issues.

(The other candidates present --  Scott Joftus, Grace Rivera Oven, Karla Silvestre, Brenda Wolff, and Julie Yang  -- repeated their endorsements of the MCPS policies (candidate Valerie Coll, who was not present, has previously given such endorsement).

For more background, see https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2022/09/two-problematic-montgomery-county-md.html

Board of Education (and other) Endorsements for November 8

As someone who has been involved with Montgomery County Public Schools matters since 1984, I find that friends (and sometimes my friends’ children) ask me my opinion in Board of Education elections.  In this blogpost, I say who I am voting for and why. (Remember, District candidates must live in their District, but all County voters can vote in all the contests.) 

At the end of the blogpost, I have a few observations on other State and County contests.

 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION  

 

AT-LARGE AND DISTRICT 5

                                         

     Karla Silvestre                                                                 Brenda Wolff

 

I plan to vote for Karla Silvestre for re-election to the At-Large seat and Brenda Wolff for reelection to the Fifth District seat.  The last few years have presented unprecedented challenges, and while I suspect that no one has been in agreement 100% of the time with the decisions made by the Board and MCPS, I think they have done a good job under very trying circumstances.  And the fact that Ms. Silvestre and Ms. Wolff have chosen to run for re-election is a credit to their commitment to our community.  From my perspective as Co-Chair for Maryland Advocacy for Metro DC PFLAG, their commitment and performance on LGBTQ+ matters have been exemplary. See my previous posts here and here.

 

Ms. Silvestre’s opponent in the November 8 election, Mike Erickson, has been reluctant to say anything substantive about where he stands until a few days ago.  Indeed, as I discussed in a September 22 blog post, he completely ignored the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire.  That certainly made me suspicious of what his views might be.  Finally, on October 17, Bethesda Beat finally got him to respond to substantive questions, and many of his answers were disturbing to say the least.  So supporting Ms. Silvestre for reelection is an easy call.

 

Ms. Wolff, who currently serves as Board President, has been a steady leader in these turbulent times.  Her opponent, Valerie Coll, also gave excellent answers to the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire, recently retired after decades as a classroom teacher, was impressive in the League of Women Voters Candidate Forum, and is well-respected by people I respect. I suspect she would make a good member of the Board.  But Ms. Wolff’s experience will be very important going forward, particularly given the passing of long-time Board member Patricia O’Neill last year.  So I am supporting Ms. Wolff.

 

DISTRICT 1

                                                              Grace Rivera Oven

 

The District 1 contest is the only one that does not have an incumbent.  I plan to vote for Grace Rivera Oven, who has a long history of positive community activism in Montgomery County, and gave full-throated support to the great progress made regarding LGBTQ+ matters in recent years.  See my previous post here.  Her opponent, Esther Wells, on the other hand, gave vague answers.  I had hoped that the League of Women Voters Forum would include a question that would challenge some disturbing matters regarding Ms. Wells’ views, but time did not permit the asking of a probing question.  I paste below the question that I hoped would have been asked.

 

For the last 15 years, MCPS has successfully implemented health education and other policies, supported by every mainstream American medical and mental health professional association, that support and embrace students whose sexual orientation is not “straight” or whose gender identity is not “cisgender."  Legal challenges to such policies were rejected by the courts in January 2008 and August 2022 .

 

This progress was summarized in the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire sent to you last spring, to which all of you responded.  (Mr. Erickson, who is not here this evening, did not respond.)

 

Four of you made clear your full-throated support of this progress.  One candidate gave answers that, for the most part, were not responsive and notes on her campaign website that she serves “as the Chairman & President Trustee of the Board of a multi-million dollar non-profit in Gaithersburg, MD.”   The website of that organization states that the non-profit "opposes all forms of sexual immorality, including . . . homosexuality."

 

Here is our question:  Would you continue on the course taken by MCPS with respect to LGBTQ+ matters?  Or do you believe that homosexuality is immoral and, if elected, would you seek to reverse or weaken MCPS's affirming policies or urge inclusion of doctrines regarding "reparative" or "conversion" therapy, which have been rejected by every mainstream American medical and mental health professional association with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity? [1]

 

A recent piece published by Progressive Maryland further shows why Ms. Wells would not be a useful addition to the Board.  

 

DISTRICT 3

Scott Joftus                                                                                                    Julie Yang

Scott Joftus, a former teacher and education consultant, was elected last year by the other Board members to fill out Pat O’Neill’s term, and he is running to keep the seat.  His challenger, Julie Yang, is a former teacher and counselor in MCPS.  Both gave very good answers to the LGBTQ+ questionnaire.  Each would bring strengths to the Board.  Mr. Joftus appears to have very good ideas and experience in administering school systems, background which certainly would be valuable.  Ms. Yang’s work in the MCPS system and her obvious enthusiasm would bring new energy to the Board.  I still have not decided who to vote for.  Both are good choices, but for different reasons.

 

OTHER CONTESTS

No one who knows me will be surprised that I intend to vote for everyone on the Democratic ticket.  I do have comments on two of the contests. 

 

The Republican candidate for Montgomery County Executive, Reardon Sullivan, seeks to make the case that Marc Elrich has been an ineffectual Executive, and that he (Sullivan) would do a better job.  I think Mr. Elrich has done a good, if not perfect, job in these extremely difficult times.  I had no problem at all voting for him in the primary, and will enthusiastically support vote for him on November 8.  Mr. Sullivan has urged Democrats who voted for David Blair in the primary to vote for him.  Decades ago, when Republican leaders in Montgomery County were moderate liberals (Jim Gleason, Gilbert Gude, Connie Morella), this might be an attractive argument for many Democrats.  Mr. Blair (himself a former Republican), however, has endorsed Mr.Elrich.  This is not at all surprising, since Mr. Sullivan is not out of the old Gleason/Gude/Morella mold.  Instead, he appears to be rooted in the extreme right-wing, having launched his Facebook advertising campaign with citations to analyses from a Family Research Council propaganda arm.  See my previous post here.

 

The Washington Post, having endorsed Democratic Gubernatorial and Attorney General nominees Wes Moore and Anthony Brown over their very right-wing (a charitable characterization) Republican opponents.  But the Post also endorsed for State Comptroller the Republican candidate, former State Senator and current Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, over the extremely well-qualified Democratic candidate, Delegate Brooke Lierman.  The Post’s principal rationale was that Mr. Glassman, unlike the Republican candidates for Governor and Attorney General, is not an extreme election-denier, and that “one-party government” is never a good idea. There are several reasons for why this endorsement lacks merit.  For example, while in the State Senate, Mr. Glassman voted against the Civil Marriage Protection Act, codifying marriage equality; against the Fairness for All Marylanders Act, which protects transgender people; and against a fairer minimum wage. So he is not what I would consider a moderate Republican – a species which, sadly, is close to extinct.  Brooke Lierman is a quality choice.  To elect a Republican for the sake of bi-partisanship because he is not crazy like other Republican nominees is too low a bar.  We should and can do better.  So I am voting for Brooke Lierman for Comptroller, along with the rest of the Democratic ticket.

---

[1] (Note:  Since 2018, it has been unlawful in Maryland for licensed health care practitioners to "practice" reparative or conversion therapy on minors.  One of the issues raised years ago regarding the health education curriculum was that it should have included the doctrine that, through conversion therapy, "gays could become ex-gays."  MCPS rejected this argument, for the reasons that led Maryland and many other jurisdictions to ban licensed health care practitioners from practicing the discredited notion on minors.)