Election Day tomorrow! (Tuesday) and all hands on deck for local, state and national progressive candidates and causes. Review the ballot questions in Howard, Prince George's and Montgomery counties here.

Welcome to the Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for November 7-13.

In case you hadn’t heard, tomorrow is the last day of the worst campaign experience of most people’s lives. We have cheered ourselves up by working madly to promote the results we want, and we hope that has worked for you too. Everyone has a role, in addition to voting yourself. If you have friends and family in other states – especially the swing states, or those where a critical Senate race is hanging in the balance – remind them how important their votes are.

If you haven’t voted, make a plan for tomorrow (Tuesday)… don’t let anything get in the way of voting. If you have already voted, help others to do so.

In deep-blue Maryland, some of the hottest issues are supposedly nonpartisan ballot questions – Question A in Howard County, to get big money out of local elections (vote “Yes”);

 Question D in Prince George’s, a developer-spurred stealth move to add at-large members to the County Council and evade voter-imposed term limits (vote “No”);

And Question B in Montgomery, which would impose term limits. Vote “No.”

More on these below:

Question A in Howard provides limited public financing for local elections, tailored to keep big money out of the county’s politics. A big surge below the federal level on campaign finance reform and public financing and HoCo is out front. Howard residents can help work the polls for this pro-people move, opposed by the usual suspects including the Republican county executive. Email [email protected]

Question D in Prince George’s adds two at-large members to the County Council and allows sitting council members who are term-limited in 2018 to run immediately for those positions in 2018. The new positions would cost taxpayers a million bucks a year but net developers and real estate interests big bonuses because they can keep their pet councilmembers in office. Those very interests have backed the effort to the tune of $30,000 and counting; so people power and information are needed to combat that spending. Volunteers for the polls Election Day can join the 100-plus who have contacted over 50,000 voters by emailing [email protected]

Question B in Montgomery is another try at term limits by the indefatigable Republican gadfly Robin Ficker, irked at MoCo voters’ habit of choosing and re-electing knowledgeable Democrats for elective offices in the county.  A “No” vote is recommended by all progressive forces in MoCo.

And more: Our MoCo lead organizer Justin Vest reports “On Fight for $15, we're hearing the HHS committee will mark-up the bill and probably vote on Nov. 28th at 9:30 a.m. The coalition is planning a rally that morning before they meet and folks can RSVP here: http://www.progressivemaryland.org/mocofor15 “

READING THE PM BLOGS – readers and fans of the PM BlogSpace can get a copy of the Weekly Memo delivered directly to their email inbox. It includes an update on the week ahead as well as links to the blogs that have appeared in recent weeks. Never miss a blog post. Sign up at http://www.progressivemaryland.org/blog_signup

For example, we recently posted these:

Ladies last: Why Maryland may have zero women in House, Senate delegations

November 3, 2016 A great piece by the University of Maryland J-school’s Capital News Service, exploring the “broken pipeline” of women in politics that will likely mean Marylanders will have no women in our US House or Senate delegations. And, they show, it’s not just Maryland. “For states like Maryland facing an absence of female federal representation, the solution starts at the bottom, [one observer] said. Women need to be encouraged during high school and college to pursue political careers so local politicians can springboard to the national stage.”

 Foot-dragging and low energy can stealth-reverse environmental progress

November 2, 2016 The Hogan administration is showing how indifference and cutback on enforcement resources can stealthily reverse environmental progress and ena ble sprawl, pleasing Hogan's developer backers. A post from Bay Journal by Tom Horton has details.

Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for October 31

October 31, 2016 Cash bail discussed Tuesday a.m. on the radio show; early voting, both good and scary (Question D) experiences; All out for Question A in Howard County; and links to the recent blog posts...

 Tomorrow on the Radio: Cash Bail in Maryland Must Go

October 31, 2016 PM Executive Director Larry Stafford and guest on the "Community Watch and Comment" show, Tuesday at 11 a.m. on WPFW-FM 89.3, discuss cash bail in Maryland.

 Question D looks just as bogus to our next-door neighbors

October 29, 2016 The Howard County Times' editorial on Prince George's County's Question D shows that Maryland's neighboring counties know a flim-flam when they see one. Question D on the Prince George's ballot is a ruse that evades term limits without saying so.

 Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace since June 2015 are all available with descriptions and links here.