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Opinion: Baltimore County Councilmember Defends Hogan’s Record

Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) speaks after an April meeting of Republican and Democratic lawmakers he convened in Annapolis to discuss infrastructure. The Maryland Democratic Party announced Tuesday a “Hogan Accountability Project” to probe, among other things, the governor’s claims to bipartisanship. File photo by Danielle E. Gaines.

I rarely comment on the machinations of the Maryland Democratic Party, but felt necessary to respond to the absurdity of that organization’s attacks on Governor Hogan’s supposed lack of “bipartisanship.”

Think about this for a moment: a partisan operative from a partisan organization is attacking Governor Hogan for not being truly “bipartisan.”

The leadership of the Maryland Democratic Party does not care about bipartisanship. They care about scoring political points and defeating Republicans, and as political scientist Todd Eberly pointed out, their relentless attacks on Governor Hogan have hardly made a dent over the past seven years.

Baltimore County Councilmember David S. Marks (R)

I have served in elected office under two governors, one Democrat and one Republican. The fact is, Governor Hogan has been far more bipartisan than his predecessor, working with a legislature controlled by the opposite party to overhaul the criminal justice system, restore open space funding, and guide the state through the pandemic. It’s the same approach many of us take in local government, where our ultimate goal is to get results.

Has Governor Hogan been perfect? No, but by and large, he has governed in a center-right, pragmatic manner, and a partisan organization attacking his lack of “bipartisanship” seems strikingly hypocritical.

As we approach redistricting, if the leaders of the Maryland Democratic Party care about bipartisanship, maybe they could could throw their weight behind a different process to drawing Congressional and state legislative lines. Something tells me, however, that their interest in “bipartisanship” has its limits.

— DAVID MARKS

The writer, a Republican, represents central and northeastern Baltimore County on the County Council.

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Opinion: Baltimore County Councilmember Defends Hogan’s Record