It’s Election Day in more places than you might think tomorrow – some folks will be GOTV-busy in Virginia, lending a hand to competitive progressive candidates in NoVa, others focused on Annapolis or Frederick municipal elections (see below) or others around the state. And MoCo has a big Council vote on a $15 minimum wage tomorrow, as well. Find out about all this, and more...

The GOP "tax reform" plan that dumps still more money into the hands of corporations and the rich pays for it by taking money away from working families. Here is what this bill means for the US and for Maryland, the impact on health care and opportunities to fight back.

The concrete achievement of a really useful intercity rail system is in reach for Maryland if it defers the maglev and hyperloop dreams in favor of the needs of today’s household travelers.

Prince George's residents are building power and regaining control of democracy by pooling resources to focus on change. The first Prince George's Co-Op meeting laid the groundwork and a grassroots, self-funding movement for popular empowerment is under way, as you will read here.

From a purely social justice point of view, the supply of affordable units should depend on the number of families and individuals in need. Add to that the history of Columbia, where all types of housing were intermingled in an effort to consciously avoid housing segregation and to allow people to live near where they work.  We know what we need, but who is making those decisions? Progressive HoCo activist Dave Bazell explores need vs. greed.

More discussions are emerging around the state to build a progressive agenda for the 2018 General Assembly session beginning in January. Criminal Justice, social provision and education will all be on the table, and if we are not seated at the table, we wind up being dinner. It’s an election year so don’t let the well-paid business lobbyists dominate the conversation.

The Prince George’s County co-op will build power through organizing money and organizing people. Prince George’s County residents will be able to quickly move on issues that impact them the most and we won’t have to rely on outside dollars to give us the green light. Join us Saturday, October 28th at 12 p.m. for the kick-off event entitled “What If We Funded Ourselves?” -- RSVP using this link: http://www.progressivemaryland.org/pg_coop

In this well-reported Oct. 22 article, Meghan Thompson, writing for the political blog Maryland Matters, furnishes evidence that public financing plans will probably always be behind in providing an alternative to big-money dominance in elections as long as big-money dominance in elections is unregulated and uncontrolled – a plain outcome of the US Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision of 2010. Efforts to propose a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United are somewhat chilled by the fear that it might trigger a wholesale constitutional convention that could bring mischief of a much different sort. 

As October becomes November, stirrings begin in advance of the 2018 General Assembly session. It will run from January to almost April, and then in a few galloping months the June 26 primaries for the November elections will arrive. In many parts of Maryland, the primaries are where general elections are won. So Progressive Maryland will be ramping up – starting now – efforts to make sure people are registered in time for the primaries. Remember, if you are registered, you can always decide whether or not to vote when the election comes around. If you aren’t registered, the decision is out of your hands.

As candidates for Montgomery County Executive debated wage regulations and the county's economy earlier this week, PM activist Helen E. Burns was there and identified a false narrative that pitted the welfare of working families against the health of county businesses. Here she analyzes the way this distorts the discussion and who among the candidates seemed most swayed by the shaky "hostile to business" argument against raising the wages that support working families. This account also appears on the MoCo chapter blog at their website.

This is Burns's opinion; Progressive Maryland has made no endorsements in political races yet.