The Washington Post has endorsed Prince George County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D. MD) in the Democratic primary for Governor:
The Democratic primary contest, whose winner will challenge Mr. Hogan in November, has been marked by opportunistic sniping at Mr. Baker’s record with the schools, in most cases by rivals who lack his breadth and depth of experience. Well before he became county executive, Mr. Baker, as a state lawmaker from Prince George’s, was an effective advocate for improving public schools.
After a stint leading a nonprofit focusing on education, he took over the county government eight years ago amid turmoil. For years there had been rumors and reports of the county’s pay-to-play politics. Shabby ethical conduct was rife among sticky-fingered public officials, several of whom thought little of using county credit cards to cover personal expenses. Sweetheart contracts, jobs and deals went to the well-connected, often of dubious qualification. Few people seemed very upset about the status quo.
That all exploded weeks before Mr. Baker took office. Federal agents arrested the man he would succeed, then-County Executive Jack B. Johnson, along with his wife, Leslie, who had been elected to the County Council. As the agents entered their home, Mrs. Johnson, at her husband’s behest, was stuffing nearly $80,000 in her bra and flushing a check for $100,000, obtained as a bribe, down the toilet. Both pleaded guilty and went to prison.
Having promised a new day in Prince George’s, Mr. Baker more than delivered, infusing the county not only with beefed-up ethics rules — his tenure has been mostly scandal-free — but also with new opportunities and a sense of economic vibrancy. He sealed a deal to attract the $1.4 billion MGM resort and casino to National Harbor, generating millions of dollars in tax revenue, thousands of jobs and legions of visitors. He pushed through plans to replace the county’s chronically penniless hospital with a modern medical complex. And he positioned the county as a strong contender to land the FBI’s new headquarters, until the Trump administration pulled the plug on the project.
Crime has plummeted on Mr. Baker’s watch, buttressing investors’ confidence, and last year Whole Foods opened its first market in the county — a milestone in one of the nation’s most populous and prosperous majority-minority jurisdictions.
Mr. Baker says he would focus his energies as governor on education, as well as transit and health care (with a focus on mental health and the opioid crisis). He insists he is prepared to make cuts in other areas of government to further that agenda, especially to free up funds to improve the state’s schools. It’s a clearsighted blueprint, and Mr. Baker, having served nearly a decade in the state legislature, has the allies in Annapolis he’d need to help enact it — though we reserve judgment on a general-election contest including Mr. Hogan.
Click here to donate and get involved with Baker’s campaign.