Maryland Local Election Review: Baltimore, school boards, and local courts
April 27, 2016
By Ballotpedia's Municipal government team
Big decisions were on the ballot for Maryland voters on April 26, 2016, with primary elections for Baltimore's mayor and city council, six races for the Maryland Circuit Courts, and nine of the state's 10 largest school districts.
The most significant victory of the night was for Catherine Pugh, who clinched the Democratic nomination for mayor of Baltimore, winning out over her closest competitor, Sheila Dixon, as well as 12 other candidates. According to historical precedent, Pugh is likely to win the general election and succeed Stephanie Rawlings-Blake as Baltimore's next mayor.
In Baltimore's city council races, incumbents ran in nine out of 15 races and won all but two of their primaries, with William Pete Welch and Warren Branch being the only incumbents running who will not advance to the general election.
In Maryland's school board elections, the greatest change seems likely to come from Howard County, where two of three members of the board's majority were defeated in their primaries. Ellen Flynn Giles and Ann DeLacy, who were defeated, were members of a five-member majority supporting the district's superintendent, Renee Foose. The election could shift the school board from a 5-2 majority supporting the superintendent to a 4-3 majority opposing the superintendent.
Less change is likely in Maryland's Circuit Courts, where incumbents were largely successful in their primary elections. Three challengers, however, were able to beat out incumbents in the primaries and will continue to vie for judicial seats in the general election.
Baltimore
Mayoral primaries
State Senator and former City Councilwoman Catherine Pugh secured a victory in the Democratic primary for mayor of Baltimore, emerging from a tight race and a packed field of over a dozen candidates.[1][2]
The race came down to only 2 percent of the vote, with Pugh's closest competitor, former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, trailing Pugh by fewer than 3,000 votes. The most recent polls before the primary election had shown Pugh leading Dixon by 6 percent, but the race was still expected to be tight, with Dixon appearing as the front-runner in at least one previous survey.[1][3]
Since the winner of the Democratic primary tends historically to win the general election in Baltimore's mayoral races, this race is widely considered to be at least as important as the general election. Pugh cannot declare victory yet, however: she still must face GOP primary winner Alan Walden and 10 third-party or unaffiliated candidates in the general election on November 8.[1]
Elizabeth Embry came in third in the polls, receiving 12 percent of ballots cast. DeRay Mckesson, a candidate who made national headlines for his involvement with the Black Lives Matter movement, was unable to turn his 330,000 Twitter followers into a victory; he finished the election with less than 3 percent of the vote.[1][4]
| Baltimore Mayoral Election (2016), Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Catherine Pugh |
36.80% | 45,360 | |
| Democratic | Sheila Dixon | 34.47% | 42,484 | |
| Democratic | Elizabeth Embry | 11.94% | 14,715 | |
| Democratic | David Warnock | 8.19% | 10,094 | |
| Democratic | Carl Stokes | 3.44% | 4,245 | |
| Democratic | DeRay Mckesson | 2.50% | 3,077 | |
| Democratic | Nick Mosby | 1.42% | 1,755 | |
| Democratic | Calvin Allen Young III | 0.47% | 577 | |
| Democratic | Patrick Gutierrez | 0.30% | 367 | |
| Democratic | Cindy Walsh | 0.16% | 194 | |
| Democratic | Mack Clifton | 0.15% | 189 | |
| Democratic | Gersham Cupid | 0.10% | 124 | |
| Democratic | Wilton Wilson | 0.05% | 66 | |
| Total Votes (99 percent of precincts reporting) | 123,247 | |||
| Source: WBAL TV, "2016 Baltimore primary election results," April 26, 2016 | ||||
City council primaries
Incumbent city council president Jack Young retained his seat in the Democratic primary. His biggest challenge was from his primary opponent, Kim Trueheart, who received 31 percent of the vote, but he still must face GOP primary winner Shannon Wright in the general election.[1] One highlight of this race is the amount of money involved: Young had $722,000 of cash in hand from campaign fundraising as of January 20, 2016.[5]
In Baltimore's 1st District, the Democratic primary was not the only one to draw attention; although there are no Republicans currently on the Baltimore City Council—and there have not been since 1963—polling trends show a possibility for a Republican to win this seat in 2016. In the Republican primary, Matthew McDaniel defeated Liz Copeland and Jennifer Susan Dudley.[1] The Maryland GOP has pledged to throw its financial weight behind the winner of this race, expecting Democratic candidates to expend much of their funding in their own primary and leave little for the general election.[6] McDaniel will compete in November against Zeke Cohen, who won the Democratic primary out of a field of six.[1]
For the most part, incumbents were successful in holding on to their seats in the primary, with two exceptions. District 9 incumbent William Pete Welch was defeated by challenger John Bullock, and District 13 incumbent Warren Branch was defeated by challenger Shannon Sneed.[1]
Two candidates, having won their respective primaries, will run uncontested in the general election: Isaac Scleifer (D) in District 5 and incumbent Eric Costello (D) in District 11. Three more will face only third-party or unaffiliated opponents in the general election: Ryan Dorsey (D) in District 3, incumbent Sharon Green Middleton (D) in District 6, and Robert Stokes, Sr. (D) in District 10.[1]
The other primary winners were incumbent Brandon Scott (D) and Gregory Yarberough (R) in District 2, incumbent Bill Henry (D) and William Broaddus III (R) in District Four, Leon Pinkett III (D) and Tamara Purnell (R) in District 7, Kristerfer Burnett (D) and Joseph Brown, Jr. (R) in District 8, John Bullock (D) and Kenneth Earl Ebron, Jr. (R) in District 9, incumbent Edward Reisinger (D) and Christine Digman (R) in District 10, Shannon Sneed (D) and George Johnson (R) in District 13, and incumbent Mary Pat Clarke (D) and Thomas Boyce (R) in District 14.[1]
Judicial
There were six races on the primary ballot for Maryland's Circuit Courts. In Maryland, judicial candidates run in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. The winners from each primary compete in the general without party affiliation. Incumbents fared well, although a few challengers made it through to the general.[7]
Four judges on the Fifth Circuit ran in the primary against three challengers. The challengers trailed far behind in the Republican primary, but Claudia Barber managed to come in fourth in the Democratic primary, ahead of incumbent Glenn L. Klavans. Barber will compete against the four judges—Klavans, Cathleen M. Vitale, Donna Schaeffer, and Stacy McCormack—for four seats on the court on November 8.
Similarly, two candidates filed to run against the four Seventh Circuit judges up for election in Prince George's County. Ingrid Turner, who dropped out of a U.S. House race in order to run for the court, came in second in the Democratic primary. The four incumbents won the Republican primary. Turner will hope to edge out one of the incumbents in the general election.
Six seats are up for election in the Eighth Circuit Court, which covers the city of Baltimore. Two challengers, James B. Kraft and Todd Oppenheim, ran against the six judges in primary election. The incumbents easily won the Democratic primary. In the Republican race, however, Kraft ended up in sixth place, ahead of Judge Wanda Keyes Heard. Again, one challenger in the race will continue on to the general after qualifying in one of the primaries.
There are also three seats up for election in the Fourth Circuit—one each in Allegany, Garrett, and Washington counties. One judge faced one challenger in each of these races, and the incumbents all won in both the Democratic and Republican primaries. Assuming no independent candidate files for the general election, the three incumbents will run unopposed in November.
4th Circuit, Allegany County
| One open seat |  Democratic primary
|
 Republican primary
|
|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey Getty (i) | ||
| George McKinley |
4th Circuit, Garrett County
| One open seat | Democratic primary
|
Republican primary
|
|---|---|---|
| Raymond George Strubin (i) | ||
| Daryl Walters |
4th Circuit, Washington County
| One open seat | Democratic primary
|
Republican primary
|
|---|---|---|
| Edward Kuczynski | ||
| Viki Marie Pauler (i) |
5th Circuit, Anne Arundel County
| Four open seats | Democratic primary
|
Republican primary
|
|---|---|---|
| Claudia Barber | ||
| Mark Howes | ||
| Rickey Nelson Jones | ||
| Glenn L. Klavans (i) | ||
| Stacy McCormack (i) | ||
| Donna Schaeffer (i) | ||
| Cathleen M. Vitale (i) |
7th Circuit, Prince George's County
| Four open seats | Democratic primary
|
Republican primary
|
|---|---|---|
| April Ademiluyi | ||
| Herman C. Dawson (i) | ||
| Dorothy Engel (i) | ||
| Karen H. Mason (i) | ||
| Erik H. Nyce (i) | ||
| Ingrid Turner |
8th Circuit, Baltimore City
| Six open seats | Democratic primary
|
Republican primary
|
|---|---|---|
| Shannon E. Avery (i) | ||
| Audrey J. S. Carrion (i) | ||
| Michael A. DiPietro (i) | ||
| Karen Friedman (i) | ||
| Wanda Keyes Heard (i) | ||
| Cynthia H. Jones (i) | ||
| James B. Kraft | ||
| Todd Oppenheim |
School boards
Nine of Maryland's 10 largest school districts based on student enrollment held primaries on Tuesday. Six incumbents in these districts did not file for re-election in 2016, leaving 22 board members seeking new terms. Sixteen incumbents faced contested primaries, with six board members not advancing to the general election. Jim Doolan in Carroll County withdrew prior to the election, but his name still appeared on the ballot because the withdrawal deadline had already passed. The most significant change in board leadership could come in Howard County, where two of three members of the board's majority were defeated.
Spotlight district: Howard County Public Schools
Incumbents Ellen Flynn Giles and Ann DeLacy did not advance to the general election following a contentious primary centered on the board's support for Superintendent Renee Foose. Giles, DeLacy, and Janet Siddiqui were part of the five-member majority that renewed Foose's contract through the 2019-2020 school year in February 2016. Public frustration with Foose and the school board stems from allegations that the district failed to tell parents and students about mold issues at Glenwood Middle School. Critics also challenged the district's failure to provide a full version of a special education report that cost $300,000. Additional complaints cited exorbitant costs quoted by district officials to fulfill public information requests.[8][9]
The top three vote recipients—Kirsten Coombs, Christina Delmont-Small, and Mavis Ellis—were endorsed by the Howard County Education Association and The Baltimore Sun prior to the primary. All three candidates campaigned during the primary on a platform of increasing transparency and pursuing public feedback on district decisions.[10] Siddiqui finished fourth, while Vicky Cutroneo and Robert Wayne Miller advanced on platforms similar to Coombs, Delmont-Small, and Ellis. The general election field includes only one incumbent, which could lead to a shift from a 5-2 majority supporting the superintendent to a 4-3 majority opposing the superintendent.
Candidates
Note: An (i) next to a candidate's name indicates incumbent status.
See also
- Maryland local trial court judicial elections, 2016
- Maryland school board elections, 2016
- Municipal elections in Baltimore, Maryland (2016)
- United States municipal elections, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 WBAL TV, "2016 Baltimore primary election results," April 26, 2016
- ↑ WTop, "The Latest: Pugh wins Dem mayoral primary in Baltimore," April 26, 2016
- ↑ OpinionWorks of Anapolis, "Baltimore City 2016 Pre-Primary Likely Voter Poll for Publication April 7," April 7, 2016
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Can DeRay Mckesson Turn 330,000 Twitter Followers Into 20,000 Votes?" April 11, 2016
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Catherine Pugh raises more money than Sheila Dixon in Baltimore mayor's race," January 20, 2016
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "A big-money, two-party race for City Council heats up in Southeast Baltimore," February 16, 2016
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Unofficial 2016 Presidential Primary Election results for Judge of the Circuit Court," April 26, 2016
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Amid criticism, Howard school board reappoints Foose as superintendent," February 4, 2016
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Gov. Hogan signs law to investigate Howard County school officials' public information law compliance," April 12, 2016
- ↑ The Baltimore Sun, "Howard County school board endorsements," April 14, 2016
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