By Steve Crane | Editor-in-chief
“Today, we agreed to work together to develop a four-year plan that addresses the state’s ongoing budget shortfalls and puts our finances on a more sustainable path. A more predictable state budget will be a stronger foundation for diversifying our economy and supporting the most vulnerable in our communities.” - Gov. Wes Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson, House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, in a joint statement calling for multiyear budget planning.
Apparently you survived Friday the 13th without mishap, so welcome to the weekend, as we begin the slow turn from elections to the looming 2027 General Assembly session. (Two months from yesterday, not that we’re counting.)
When the session starts, lawmakers will — once again — be faced with a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall, and more are predicted in the next few years. That gets tiresome after a while, and the governor and legislative leaders announced Friday that they’re adopting a multiyear budget planning model to get a handle on that, as Bryan P. Sears reports.
If there was a face of Frederick County politics, it may have been 20-year Sheriff Chuck Jenkins. But Jenkins is gone after next month, as are many state and local GOP office holders in the county, a stark display of the blue wave that swept the nation, including in shifting Frederick County. Pera Onal has the story.
And in a break from politics — hey, even we need a break sometimes — Danielle J. Brown speaks with the Rev. Brendan Fitzgerald, who is at the Vatican this weekend to talk about the important element that’s often missing from care for homeless individuals — a personal connection. Fitzgerald and others from the U.S. hope to take their message to Pope Leo XIV as the church observes World Day of the Poor.
We know how important the personal connection is — and we feel it with our readers, who help support what we do. Readers like Rhonda W. of Pikesville, John M. and Cynthia W., both from Baltimore, Tanya H. of Greer, S.C., Arun I. of College Park, Ruth N. of Columbia, William W. of Frederick, Stephanie H. of University Park, Barbara C. of Phoenix (Md.), David G. of Takoma Park, Joan B. of Chevy Chase, Mary A. of Salisbury, B.A. of Mitchellville and Mary Jo L. of Frederick. Thank you for your support! If you want to support what we do, visit our donate page.
In the meantime, the leaf raking can wait. Kick back and catch up on those stories, plus more from Annapolis and Capitol Hill, along with a roundup of headlines from the past week. Enjoy!
Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel) and Gov. Wes Moore (D) during a bill signing in April. (File photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters)
By Bryan P. Sears
Maryland's governor and legislative leaders said Friday they have agreed on a new multiyear approach on the state budget as they look to resolve a series of looming budget gaps.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) and lawmakers will return in January facing a nearly $3 billion projected structural budget gap for fiscal 2028. Larger gaps are projected for the following three years. Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George's and Anne Arundel) said in a joint statement that addressing the deficits one year at a time "cannot continue."
Much of Maryland's fiscal problem is self inflicted, as lawmakers approve aspirational but expensive programs not moored to adequate sustainable funding. Lawmakers have long been told that mandated spending grows by nearly 5% while projected revenues increase by 3.5%. Traditionally, the gaps were addressed in one-year fixes. More recently, state fiscal leaders have had to address structural gaps to varying degrees.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins speaks at a press conference this spring, with Maryland Senate Republicans, in support of the 287(g) program. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
By Pera Onal
After three consecutive losses to longtime Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R), by sometimes sizeable margins, Democratic challenger Karl Bickel swamped the 20-year veteran sheriff. As of Friday returns, Bickel had 67,164 votes to Jenkins' 45,939, a 59% to 41% margin.
It was the clearest evidence that the blue wave that swept the country last week also washed over Frederick County, a once-solidly red county that has steadily been turning purple.
It is comfortably purple after last week, if not outright blue now: Except for Del. Jesse Pippy, the House minority leader, and State's Attorney Charlie Smith, who was running unopposed, the only Republicans to win in Frederick where those whose districts also included parts of neighboring counties. Jenkins said in a Friday interview he wasn’t totally surprised at the Democratic victories across the county, but he was surprised by the margins.
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By Danielle J. Brown
To the Rev. Brendan Fitzgerald, it seems that both religious and lay efforts to support homeless people can neglect a “hidden suffering” – a lack of connection to others.
That vital but often forgotten need -- what Fitzgerald calls "relational ministry" -- is the message he and 19 other Catholic leaders from across the United States hope to take to Pope Leo XIV, as they head to Rome this weekend as the Vatican gears up for the 10th World Day of the Poor on Sunday.
Once in Rome, he hopes to promote the work at his Baltimore-based mission to help homeless individuals form connections and feel less alone. Fitzgerald, the rector at the Basilica of the Assumption in downtown Baltimore, is also executive director of Source of All Hope. Twice a week, missionaries in the program walk the streets of Baltimore and meet with the homeless individuals they run into. While they come with bottles of water and socks for those without, their goal is to simply talk to and make friends with the people struggling with homelessness, who Fitzgerald refers to as “our friends on the street.”
IN OTHER NEWS
A tall order for Van Hollen: Sen. Chris Van Hollen has a considerable amount of support he will need to shore up to become majority leader next Congress, a role New York Sen. Chuck Schumer appears far more likely to retain when Democrats vote Dec. 1.
A battle for UMES: Since it opened as a land-grant university in 1890, the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore has been underfunded by the state and the university system, say supporters of the historically Black university, who are suing to do something about it.
Days of delays possible: The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all flights in the United States on Friday due to communication problems. The stop was lifted at 8:15 p.m., but Maryland's major airports all said flight delays could extend into the weekend.
Political notes: Montgomery County Executive-elect Will Jawando builds out his transition team, the county's House delegation gets new leadership and the Maryland Farm Bureau adds some homegrown talent, in political notes.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
McIlwain, Strickland out: Maryland Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain and Emergency Management Secretary Russell Strickland announced their departures, as the Moore administration continues remaking its leadership team ahead of a second term.
Van Hollen to take on Schumer: After a week of “actively listening” to progressive Democrats calling on him to challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for Senate majority leader, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) confirmed late Thursday that the race is on.
More menhaden feuds: An East Coast fisheries commission voted to cut the coastwide harvest of menhaden for the next two years and, for the first time, limit the number caught in the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland officials don't think the cuts were steep enough.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
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