The Maryland State House in the snow. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.
Monday’s snowstorm wreaked havoc with the jam-packed schedule of pre-General Assembly session fundraisers in Annapolis and across the state.
Almost 60 fundraisers for state lawmakers and statewide elected officials were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, and politicians, fundraising consultants and donors have been scrambling to adapt. Several fundraising events on tap for Monday were canceled, while others were rescheduled to Tuesday or became virtual gatherings.
All 188 state legislators, along with Maryland’s governor, lieutenant governor, state comptroller and attorney general are prohibited by law from soliciting or accepting campaign contributions for the duration of the General Assembly session, which this year runs from noon Wednesday through April 7 at midnight.
Most of the political community that works the legislative session will make its way to the capital city Tuesday or Wednesday, making it easier for fundraisers to take place Tuesday in the self-contained world of bars and restaurants near State Circle, even if the rest of the state is mostly shut down due to the weather. And even if events are canceled, politicians still can collect checks and credit card payments up until the fundraising deadline.
The biggest event of the two-day run-up to the session kickoff is traditionally the Maryland Democratic Party pre-session luncheon on Tuesday, at the Westin Hotel in Annapolis. As of Monday evening, that lunch — a combination fundraiser and pre-session pep rally for Democrats — was still scheduled to take place.
On the speaking program: Gov. Wes Moore, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, House Speaker Adrienne Jones, Senate President Bill Ferguson, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) and Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman. The statewide elected officials and the presiding officers of the legislature, we’d point out, have state cars and drivers who can navigate the nasty roads.
Alsobrooks’ team — and committee assignments
Maryland’s new U.S. senator, Angela D. Alsobrooks (D), who was sworn in to office on Friday, has hired some of her top staffers and has also received her committee assignments.
For Alsobrooks, as previously reported, Zephranie Buetow is chief of staff.
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Buetow served most recently in the Biden administration as assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the Department of Homeland Security and before that was a special assistant to the president and a White House liaison to the Senate. On Capitol Hill, Buetow worked as legislative director for Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and before that was legislative counsel to former Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), handling the senator’s homeland security and judiciary portfolios.
Alsobrooks is turning to another Capitol Hill veteran, Elizabeth Mabry, to be her legislative director. Mabry, according to the website Legistorm.com, held top jobs for Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, including the former chair, ex-Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), from 2017 until last week. Mabry has also worked for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and for Landrieu, both in her personal office and on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Mabry also did a stint as a senior policy manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.
An old Alsobrooks hand, David Sloan, will become her state director. Sloan spent six years as director of Policy, Planning and Public Affairs for the Prince George’s County government while Alsobrooks was county executive, and briefly worked there under her predecessor, former County Executive Rushern Baker (D).
Sloan has also been executive director of the Maryland Democratic Party, and was a special assistant to former Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). Outside of politics, he served as Maryland director for the nonprofit Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry.
Connor Lounsbury, a campaign strategist, will be Alsobrooks’ communications director. In addition to being her campaign communications guru, he has also done consulting for Moore’s campaign and has worked on Capitol Hill and as a campaign consultant.
Politico recently reported that Alsobrooks has received her committee assignments for the new Congress: She’ll serve on the Banking; Environment and Public Works; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and Aging committees.
New House members also staff up
Maryland’s three new U.S. House members, who likewise took office on Friday, are also staffing up.
U.S. Rep. Sarah K. Elfreth (D-3rd) announced that Jamie DeAtley will serve as chief of staff. He has a dozen years of experience in the Maryland congressional delegation, most recently as a senior adviser to Hoyer, where he led the congressman’s Financial Services and General Government work on the House Appropriations Committee. He previously worked for former Rep. Anthony Brown (D-4th) as deputy chief of staff and in various legislative roles.
Hannah Cooper, another veteran of Brown’s congressional office, will be Elfreth’s deputy chief of staff and legislative director. Most recently, Cooper was deputy director of federal relations for Moore. Under Brown, she started as a staff assistant and worked her way up to legislative director.
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Eva Lewis will serve as district director. She is a former executive director of the Maryland Democratic Party and most recently worked as executive director of the Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery. She has also worked for Lierman in the comptroller’s office and in the Governor’s Office for Children.
Katie Petersen will serve as communications director. She has previously held communications roles with Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su in the Biden administration, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), and the Center for American Progress.
“I am very proud of the dynamic, experienced, and diverse team we have built to serve Maryland’s 3rd District,” Elfreth said.
Freshman Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6th) has hired some of her predecessor’s staffers.
Sonny Holding, who was deputy chief of staff and district director for former U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-6th), will become her chief of staff. Holding has also worked for McClain Delaney’s husband and Trone’s predecessor, former Rep. John K. Delaney (D-6th), both in his congressional office and on his campaign staff.
Sasha Galbreath, who was Trone’s former deputy chief of staff and communications director, will be senior adviser and communications director for McClain Delaney. Sarah Dreyer, who was director of outreach for Trone, will be Delaney’s district director.
Kaylee Robinson was legislative director for former U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), who just lost his reelection bid, and will reprise the role for McClain Delaney.
New U.S. Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr. (D-2nd) announced his top staff hires last month.
Emerge Maryland goes from Diane to Diana for next leader
Emerge Maryland, the powerhouse organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for political office, announced Monday evening that it has hired Diana Emerson to serve as its second executive director. She’ll replace Diane Fink, the group’s first leader, who has held the job since 2012.
Emerson has mostly worked in the nonprofit sector, advocating for communities, working on economic development issues, and empowering women- and minority-owned businesses. On the political front, she is first vice chair of the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee, and is deputy treasurer of the Maryland Democratic Party.
“I am thrilled to join Emerge Maryland at this pivotal moment in the organization’s growth,” Emerson said in a statement, adding her goal is to “build an even more inclusive and representative future for Maryland’s leadership at every level.”
As the lobbying world turns
Just in time for the start of the General Assembly session, one of Annapolis’ leading lobbying firms is getting a name change.
The high-earning firm Perry, White, Ross and Jacobson is being rebranded as Perry Jacobson. That reflects the departures in the past couple of years of two former partners, Josh White and Justin Ross. Timothy Perry and Jonas Jacobson are the firm’s remaining original partners, though the Perry Jacobson is now eight lobbyists strong.
– Reporter William J. Ford contributed to this report.
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