We wish everyone who is celebrating, a bright and joyous Diwali! This day is a beautiful reminder that light prevails over darkness. It also gives us a moment to reflect on how fortunate we are to live in one of the most racially and culturally diverse states in the country.

This election season offers a chance to vote for candidates who will better reflect our diversity as a state and our values. It gives us a chance to say yes to prosperity and security for all of our communities; to say yes to rights for women, LGBTQ residents, immigrants, people of color and workers; and to say yes to a more inclusive Maryland.

If you have not yet voted, make your plan to vote by mail, or to vote in person during early voting starting Thursday and running until Thursday, Nov.3, or in person on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

It’s crunch time for reaching and galvanizing voters. Join our amazing team to make calls or knock doors with us.  

Sign up to canvass with us! 

Click here to join our phone banking efforts! 

Donate to support our electoral efforts here

Thank you for helping us build a statewide base of electoral organizing power in 2022 and beyond. Read on for more important election information and updates on our issue campaigns and local organizing.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

Good news: Maryland elections are VERY well-run. Tougher news: Maryland's K-12 students have a lot of pandemic deficits to overcome. And who is paying for school lunches these days? Much more in News You Can Use about labor's rapprochement with Wes Moore; housing pluses and minuses, the explicit threats of national GOP types if they get control in DC about tax cuts (and their perils), losing those discounted Medicare prescription deals and more. Read on.

Dear {{FirstName or 'Friend'}}, 

From Salisbury to Aberdeen to Federick to Seat Pleasant our volunteers, chapters, leaders and members are pulling out the stops to make a difference in the 2022 elections! We’re knocking on doors, making phone calls and energizing voters all over the state. People are making decisions right now about whether to vote and how they’re going to vote so the contacts we’re making every day can make a critical difference.

That’s why if you haven’t gotten involved yet, we urge you to join the effort! No campaign experience is needed. We will train and support everyone who can throw down with us. (We also have paid canvass positions available in some parts of the state. See below for details about all opportunities)

The gubernatorial debate last Wednesday evening illustrated why we must elect Wes Moore over Dan Cox. Moore is in tune with the needs of all regions of our state and will push an agenda that supports good jobs, community needs, and a state government that works for all Marylanders. Cox and the Republican candidates would do just the opposite, stripping our civil rights and undermining our public schools and institutions. 

The 2022 general election offers us a chance to reject Dan Cox, the rest of the top of the GOP ticket, and Donald Trump (who now owns the Republican party). Insead, we can score major progressive victories. More champions in Annapolis means we can pass policies that will expand healthcare, fix our drug laws and criminal justice system, and create an economy that supports workers and families.

We can win with your help: 

Sign up to knock doors with our team

Join us virtually to make phone calls

See the memo for more details about important election deadlines and opportunities to get out the vote work at the local level. Thank you for your support!

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

First, of course, get registered if you aren't yet -- by tomorrow. Then think about your vote in this context -- Maryland needs fast action on decarbonizing the electrical grid and saving the Chesapeake Bay. And, f course, we need well-educated young people to take charge of the effort. Plus more, read on.

Esther Wells is running for Montgomery County Board of Education. She holds many harmful beliefs and affiliations that will make students less safe. NOTE: While she is running in District 1, everyone who votes in Montgomery County can vote in this race! This is just some of her record:

• During the primaries, Esther Wells ran on the New Dawn Slate with Michael Fryar and Dawn Iannaco-Hahn. New Dawn Slate members publicly stated their extremist views and opposition to masking and unions. 
• The New Dawn Slate has been endorsed by United Against Racism in Education (UARE), which is affiliated with the MoCo GOP, as well as Help Save Maryland, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified as an anti-immigrant hate group. 
• In one of her interviews with right-wing media, Wells affirmed the host’s anti-CRT rhetoric by insinuating that talking about race is the real racism.
• Wells signed onto an open letter opposing COVID-19 vaccines for children. 
• Wells does not stand up for LGBTQ+ students, even as discriminatory policies are systematically instituted nationwide. She repeatedly keeps her answers around protections for LGBTQ+ students vague. When a constituent expressed concerns about Wells purposefully misgendering people, she claimed the interaction was misrepresented. Instead of clarifying her views, she insulted the teachers union.
• Wells notes on her campaign website that she serves as “Chairman & President Trustee of the Board of a multi-million dollar non-profit in Gaithersburg.” She does not reveal that the non-profit states on its website that it “opposes all forms of sexual immorality, including…homosexuality.” 
• UARE, Clean Slate MoCo, and Moderately MoCo, which have all endorsed Wells, use divisive, dog-whistling rhetoric that further marginalizes the most vulnerable students. 

District 1 needs a Board of Education member who will advocate for Black, brown, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ students. Montgomery County needs leaders who will unite, not divide, our diverse community.

¹Screenshots of New Dawn Slate member’s social media: https://twitter.com/gunsensemelissa/status/1543935914988142593

²Tweet from a New Dawn Slate member:  https://twitter.com/Dawn_LCPC/status/1552151685220499456

³“A New Dawn” MoCo School Board Candidates. The Larry O’Connor Show, 4/27/2022, timestamp: 5:00-6:10.

⁴Montgomery County Republican Party site: https://www.mcgop.com/_united_against_racism_in_education_meeting 

⁵Tweet from Delegate Vaughn Stewart: https://twitter.com/DelegateStewart/status/1546525695635062786 

⁶Southern Poverty Legal Center: https://www.splcenter.org/states/maryland 

⁷“A New Dawn” MoCo School Board Candidates. The Larry O’Connor Show, 4/27/2022, timestamp: 12:40 to end.

⁸Urgency of Normal responds to recently released CDC recommendations for COVID19 mitigation in schools. 6/21/2022.

⁹Metro DC PFLAG Montgomery County District 1 BOE Candidate Questionnaire Answers. David Fishback’s Blog, 5/7/2022.

¹⁰Screenshot of Twitter exchange with Esther Wells: https://twitter.com/RebekahWriter/status/1568677678928232449 

¹¹Esther Wells’ campaign website:  https://voteforesther.com/about-esther

¹²Inter-Denominational Church of God’s Values & Beliefs webpage: https://icog.org/values-beliefs 

¹³Clean Slate MoCo and Moderately MoCo endorsements: https://cleanslatemoco.com/resources/, 

   https://moderatelymoco.com/last-day-to-vote-in-the-2022-montgomery-county-primary-election/

The Memo will be posted here after the email is sent

News you can use -- appearing on Tuesday after a holiday Monday

Yesterday, Indigenous People’s Day, we published a moving message on progress made, progress still to be made.

Today in the news, State Archives Launches Native American Research Tool: The Maryland State Archives launched a new website on Indigenous Peoples’ Day Monday that allows students, residents and visitors to research Native American tribes and events in Maryland history, we learn from The Capital Gazette.

Lots more below, on Marylanders' health, including that of the Bay, our schools and other pressing issues. So press "Read More"...

A message written by Bee Van Hall (they/them), Social Media Coordinator for Progressive Maryland.

In many ways it still seems as though our children are still just getting back to school after the pandemic shutdowns. It has often been that disruptive for students, their families -- and schools.

As Maryland moves into new stages of the ambitious Blueprint for school improvement, analyst Kalman Hettleman outlines what prospects and resources are on the way -- and who should, and should not, get extra responsibilities as a result. This opinion article appeared in Maryland Matters Oct. 7

We’re working hard on the general election, focusing on voter education and turn out efforts thanks to supporters like you. Electing Wes Moore as Governor, Brooke Lierman as Comptroller, and Anthony Brown as Attorney General will mean great things for our state. We’re calling it the New Era! This New Era can see big investments in our public schools, more support for teachers, school staff and public employees; bolder action on climate initiatives; steps taken to dismantle the racial disparities in our economy, and increased funds for health care services, including mental health and harm reduction programs. We’re also campaigning to pass Ballot Question 4 to legalize cannabis, which many other states have done with positive results and benefits. 

Remember to vote for every office on the ballot! Lawmakers at every level of government make decisions that affect our daily lives. With that in mind, we’ve had and will be having  numerous individual meetings with state legislators in order to build relationships and gain insights about the upcoming Maryland General Assembly. We need to hit the ground running in 2023! Having a strong showing during the coming weeks and on Election Day strengthens our hand in pushing a bold agenda in Annapolis and on the local level. What do we need? More folks to get more deeply involved in this grassroots movement! 

We also invite you to sign up for a Get Out the Vote shift this Thursday with our phone banking team. For those of you who want to take action in person, sign up for a door knocking shift on Saturday, Oct.15 with our canvassing team. 

Check out the other important events and actions you can take in the memo below. And you can always contact one of our organizers to learn more about our work. Thank you!