Our political system is plagued by the influence of big money donors. Candidates running for office spend an enormous amount of their time talking to and raising funds from wealthy donors and corporate PACs to fund their campaigns. This system leads to government policies favoring the wealthy and serves as a barrier for many candidates. Women, people of color, and those from working-class backgrounds often do not have wealthy networks that allow one to raise sufficient funds and have a competitive campaign. 

Thankfully county governments in Maryland can establish an alternative fundraising model called a Fair Election Fund. A Fair Election fund is a public campaign financing fund that matches small-dollar donations to qualifying candidates. In order for candidates to qualify for public matching funds, they have to agree to not accept donations from corporate PACs or donations above $250. 

We are currently working to implement this program in Anne Arundel County after having successfully pushed for the creation of programs in Montgomery, Howard, Prince George’s, Baltimore City, and Baltimore County. 

Montgomery County used the program successfully during the 2018 elections, and we saw a majority of the elected county councilors using the fund. You can read more about how the program worked in Montgomery County here: Fair Elections in Montgomery County

We also held a Fair Elections in Anne Arundel County Town Hall featuring State Senator Sarah Elfreth, County Council Member Lisa Rodvien, and Government Relations Director Pete Barron discussing how this program works and how it would benefit Anne Arundel County. You can view a recording of this Town Hall here.

To support our work you can sign our petition listed below! You can also follow us on social media and contact our Lead Organizer, Jesse Noviello, at [email protected] or 443-792-9826 to join our taskforce.

Click here to sign the Petition for Fair Elections in Anne Arundel County

Follow the campaign on social media!

• Twitter
• Facebook 
• Instagram 

The 10 MGA Members Who Stood Up for Marylanders During the Pandemic:

1. Del. Julian Ivey
2. Del. Gabriel Acevero
3. Del. Vaughn Stewart
4. Del. Karen Lewis Young
5. Del. Sheila Ruth
6. Del. Frank Conaway
7. Sen. Jill Carter
8. Sen. Arthur Ellis
9. Sen. Charles Sydnor 

None of our other MGA members supported reconvening for a Special Session in 2020.

The Working People's COVID Recovery Agenda

An Agenda for Workers:

-Ensure Essential Workers are Protected and Paid Hazard Pay by Passing the Essential Workers Protection Act 

-Fix our broken unemployment insurance system

-Enact Protections for Pregnant and Breastfeeding workers.

-Support Higher Wages for Workers at Our State’s Most Important Transit Hubs by passing the Secure Maryland Wage Act

-Eliminate the suspension of a driver’s licenses due to unpaid fines and fees

-Eliminate the subminimum wage for    tipped workers and enact One Fair Wage 

-Ensure that Every Marylander Has the Ability to Use Paid Sick Time

-Ensure Every Marylander Has Paid Family Leave

Housing for All:

-Enact a Moratorium on All Evictions and Foreclosures

-Invest in Social Housing to Create Both Affordable and Livable Housing for Marylanders in Need.

-Provide Payment Assistance for Marylanders Behind on Rent and Mortgages 

-End All Utility Shut Offs During the Pandemic

-Ensure Every Person Facing an Eviction going forward Has Legal Representation.

Progressive Taxation:

-Close Corporate Tax Loopholes that Allow Large Corporations to Escape Paying Maryland Taxes. (Combined Reporting)

-End the corporate “nowhere income” tax loophole (throwback rule)

-Ensure Our State Has a Fair Equitable Tax Code that Makes The Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share.

-Add a FairTax on Digital Advertisers.

-Legalize and Tax Marijuana to Create New State Revenue

Healthcare:

-Form a study group to research a pathway for a Medicare for All style Maryland single payer healthcare system. 

- Stop hospitals from suing patients for medical debts owed by passing the Medical Debt Protection Act

- Ensure no COVID patient has to pay out of pocket expenses for treatment and care for related medical issues. 

-Hold Governor accountable for equitable and fair access to COVID vaccine.

Progressive Maryland's 2021 Legislative Agenda

Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression: 

Progressive Maryland is fighting to end the mass incarceration of people of color in our state. Eliminating the use of cash bail, reducing pretrial detention, drug decriminalization, legalization of marijuana, and access to legal representation regardless of immigration status are all individual reforms that would bring us significantly closer to that goal. 

Revisioning the role of police in our communities is also key. We are advocating for the removal of police from schools, higher standards of transparency and accountability for police, particularly through the repeal of LEOBR, and enhancing safety within our immigrant communities by ending state cooperation with ICE. 

Economic Justice: 

We believe that all workers are entitled to safe workplaces and proper compensation. Passing the Essential Workers Protection Act will provide for our essential workers through this immediate crisis; repairing the broken unemployment insurance system, guaranteed paid sick and family leave for all, anti-discrimination legislation for working moms, and closing loopholes in minimum wage law will benefit workers now and into the future. The Transit Safety & Investment Act and Secure Wages Act would provide reliable transportation for workers, good jobs for transit workers, and convenience for all Marylanders as we enjoy shops and restaurants, supporting our economy on multiple fronts.

Healthcare:

For profit healthcare is inherently unjust. We need Medicare for All and we need to stop corporations from suing us over medical debt to pad their millions and billions in profits. We also need greater investment in community health services, including overdose prevention sites. 

Housing Justice Package:

Maryland is one of the most expensive states to live in. In these unprecedented times, we need to stop evictions, foreclosures, and utility shut-offs, provide payment assistance for Marylanders who are behind on rent and mortgages, and ensure that all people who are being threatened with eviction from their homes have legal representation. As we look to the future, we must invest in social housing and ensure that landlords’ screening processes don’t penalize potential tenants through credit checks and other similar mechanisms.

Environmental Justice: 

Black and brown communities deserve the same clean air and water as white communities. The Environmental Human Rights Amendment and ending government subsidies for trash incineration will protect communities of color from predatory land use decisions.

Democracy Reform:

When corporations and the super wealthy fund our elections, our elected officials are more responsive to their donors than everyday Marylanders. We need publicly financed elections for General Assembly races to reduce the outsize influence of big money in our government.

Education:

We must override the Governor’s Veto of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and increase funding for K-12 education, including funding to expand internet access in low-income communities. At the college level, many of our community college professors and employees are paid barely above minimum wage despite their professional expertise and important role in our society and economy. Granting them access to collective bargaining rights will empower them to fight for fair compensation.

Progressive Taxation:

Corporations and the wealthy benefit financially from police and fire departments, roads and public transit, an educated workforce, and many other services provided by the government. We need to ensure they are paying their fair share of taxes by closing loopholes and raising taxes for multi-millionaires.

Mission:

Progressive Maryland is a multi-racial, working-class political organization that is building a movement to save our planet and put working people in control of our government and economy while ending all forms of structural oppression within our state.  

Vision:

We demand a Maryland in which the state government and its economy work for all working class Marylanders, especially communities of color. In this Maryland, no one will sit alone in the shadows of their home wondering whether they will be able to cover the rent or mortgage that month because their paycheck was too low and life’s expenses were too high. In this Maryland, no mother will have to stand in the doorway of her home with eyebrows furled in worry, as she watches her child depart, and wonder whether they may be murdered by an officer sworn to protect them, or locked in cold shackles for what may have been a minor mistake or simple misunderstanding. We see a future in which the justice system can truly live up to that name by acting as a system for repairing harms as well as restoring both victims and offenders. 

In our Maryland, healthcare will be a free and available right for every human being that must face the very human reality of sickness and disease. No one will have to suffer through illness alone, unable to afford the care they need, while battling the financial strain of poverty. 

We envision a Maryland where poverty is known only in history books and paintings hung on museum walls. All Marylanders will be able to choose a career that provides financial security for themselves and their families and the freedom to live life to the fullest.

Women will have access to the same range of life choices as men and will no longer face the insult of lower wages because of who they are or discrimination in their workplaces for choosing to have children. Families will have the freedom to spend more quality time together and to meet their needs as a whole without worrying about suffering financial or other consequences at the hands of their employers.

We envision a Maryland where we have transitioned from an economic and energy system that threatens our planet to one that is driven by renewable energy and that creates thousands of high wage jobs in this industry. 

We know that can build a world where every human being will be able to live a worthy and dignified life regardless of their race, gender identity, age, immigration status, or sexual orientation as we make hatred and discrimination legally and socially impermissible. 

We are committed to the following values--

Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression: We stand against all forms of oppression and exploitation.

Economic Justice: We are building a thriving economy that is controlled by everyday people, not the wealthiest 1%.

Environmental Justice: The future of our planet is in jeopardy. We must protect life on earth by transitioning to clean and renewable energy.

Democracy: We are committed to ending the corrupting influence the wealthy have in our political system and bringing everyone’s voices to the democratic process.

Education: A quality education is a right for all and a tool for liberation for oppressed and exploited people.

Community Empowerment: The most powerful social movements are led by people impacted by the issues they seek to change.

Non-Violence: We believe in the power of nonviolent resistance and organizing within the electoral arena to achieve our political objectives.

Political Independence:We believe in being accountable to the working class people of Maryland, not party bosses or corporate interests.

🎉 Exciting news: The Catalogue for Philanthropy has chosen Progressive Maryland as one of the best nonprofits in the DC region! We were selected from a competitive applicant pool by passing through a rigorous review process conducted by a team of 170+ pro bono reviewers from foundations, corporate giving programs, peer nonprofits, local government agencies, and the philanthropic advisory community. We are so honored to be part of this powerful cohort of local changemakers! 🔥

Progressive Maryland is proud to endorse the following candidates for the 2020 Maryland General Election: 

BALTIMORE CITY:

Brandon Scott for Baltimore City Mayor --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Bill Henry for Baltimore City Comptroller --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Zeke Cohen for Baltimore City Council, District 1 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Danielle McCray for Baltimore City Council, District 2 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Ryan Dorsey for Baltimore City Council, District 3 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Kris Burnett for Baltimore City Council, District 8 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

John Bullock for Baltimore City Council, District 9 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Phylicia Porter for Baltimore City Council, District 10 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Franca Muller Paz for Baltimore City Council, District 12

Odette Ramos for Baltimore City Council, District 14 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

CALVERT COUNTY:

Antoine White for Calvert County School Board, District 2 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

MONTGOMERY COUNTY:

Marylin Pierre for Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge

Sunil Dasgupta for Montgomery County Board of Education At Large

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY:

April Ademiluyi for Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Gladys Weatherspoon for Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge --- CONGRATULATIONS!

David Murray for Prince George's County Board of Education, District 1 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Shayla Adams-Stafford for Prince George's County Board of Education, District 4 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Raaheela Ahmed for Prince George's County Board of Education, District 5 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Kenneth Harris for Prince George's County Board of Education, District 7 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

Edward Burroughs for Prince George's County Board of Education, District 8 --- CONGRATULATIONS!

LOWER SHORE & NORTHERN MARYLAND COUNTIES:

Mia Mason for Congress, Congressional District 1

Learn more by following our candidate endorsements on Facebook and Twitter.