With the General Assembly session coming to an end and other potential Democratic candidates for governor in 2022 beginning to mobilize, Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) on Thursday entered what he called “a new phase” in his gubernatorial campaign, releasing a set of 14 policy priorities.
Called “The Franchot Pledges: A Bold Vision for Maryland’s Future,” the document carries campaign promises in a variety of policy areas, including job creation, controlling health care costs, the transition to renewable energy, affordable paths to home ownership, and tackling the student debt crisis.
“Together, they form a vision of competence and bold reform that will stand out from any competition,” the Franchot campaign said.
In an accompanying letter to voters, Franchot said the proposals “are not empty campaign promises. They are my substantive commitments to the residents of Maryland.”
Among the pledges:
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Major infrastructure initiatives, such as ensuring access to 5G broadband service statewide, moving Maryland to become the first state with zero carbon emissions in the nation, and new public transit investments.
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Leveraging public investment, workforce partnerships with labor, industry and small business support to create 100,000 “family-supporting jobs in industries of the future” within the first 100 weeks of Franchot’s administration.
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Debt-free vocational or higher education at Maryland public universities for those who live and work in Maryland for at least five years.
“If I am fortunate enough to be your Governor in January 2023, my goal is to make Maryland the leading state in our nation, known by all as a bastion of economic and social fairness, as a state where all of its residents share in its prosperity,” Franchot wrote.
Josh Kurtz
Founding editor
Founding Editor Josh Kurtz is a veteran chronicler of Maryland politics and government. He began covering the State House in 1995 for The Gazette newspapers, and has been writing about state and local politics ever since. He was an editor at Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, for eight years, and for eight years was the editor of E&E Daily, which covers energy and environmental policy on Capitol Hill. For 6 1/2 years Kurtz wrote a weekly column on state politics for Center Maryland and has written for several other Maryland publications as well. Kurtz regularly gives speeches and appears on TV and radio shows to discuss Maryland politics.
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