August 5, 2024 • 42 mins
In this episode, Tamara Davis Brown and guest host Jessica Brown discuss the impact of the 2024 Presidential race on Maryland’s local elections. They express enthusiasm about Vice President Kamala Harris Presidential race. Additionally, they explore the implications of Angela Alsobrooks potentially winning the US Senate race, which could create vacancies in the county executive and at-large council seats in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The conversation also touches on potential candidates for these positions. Overall, they highlight the cost and complexity of special elections and emphasize the importance of trust in the political process.
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Episode Transcript
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Tamara Davis Brown (00:09):
Hi, and welcome to another edition of
All Politics is Local with me,your host, Tamara Davis Brown.
I am so excited today becausewe are coming back with part two
of Here's the Tea.
As you know, we are in anelection cycle at the national
level, at the congressionallevel, and even at the local
(00:33):
level here in Prince George'sCounty.
There is just so much to unpackabout how the national
election, the congressionalraces will impact us locally
here in Prince George's County,and that's why we always say
that all politics is local.
So I'm so excited today.
I have a guest host with metoday.
(00:56):
She is a dynamic young woman.
She is a 2022 graduate ofUniversity of Southern
California with a degree incivil engineering with the
emphasis on transportationengineering.
She works for a civilengineering firm dealing with
transportation issues such as uhtransit, roadways, anything
(01:20):
regarding transportation andmoving people safely from one
place to another.
And she is a young person, as Isaid, a 22 graduate college
graduate, so she's of thisgeneration, a millennial, uh,
very educated in things thatimpact her and her generation.
(01:41):
And she takes the time toresearch and do some due
diligence on not only localelections, federal elections,
congressional elections, but shehas some very strong opinions
and statistical data andresearch to back it up on her
opinions.
And so I'm so excited to haveher here.
(02:03):
And she just so happens to bethe brainchild of this podcast,
All Politics is Local.
She's the executive producer ofthis podcast, and so I'm
excited to have our co-hosttoday, my daughter, Jessica
Brown.
Hey, baby girl.
Jessie Brown (02:22):
Welcome to All Politics is local.
Hey, mommy.
Thank you so much for havingme.
I do have to clarify, I am nota millennial.
I am Gen Z, Generation Z.
I'm a Zoomer.
Went through the pandemic onZoom, so I am Gen Z and a
Zoomer.
Tamara Davis Brown (02:40):
All right.
Well, thank you for thatclarification.
I I don't I get those alphas,Zen G, Zen, Zen Z, X.
I get them all mixed up.
I I know baby boomers and maybemillennials.
So all right.
Well, we have a Gen Z as ourco-host guest.
So let's jump right into andunpack what's happening at the
(03:05):
national election.
Um, as we know, this is apresidential year and it's been
a lot going on.
Um and particularly now, what'sdominating the conversation is
the fact that President JoeBiden has decided not to run for
re-election, and he has thrownhis support behind our soror,
(03:29):
vice president Kamala Harris.
We talked originally, and youcan explain to our listeners
that, you know, how you werefeeling about the Democratic
nominee before President of theUnited States decided not to run
versus how you're feeling rightnow.
So uh unpack that for us andand and let's let's talk about
(03:51):
um the national election first.
Jessie Brown (03:53):
Definitely.
I mean, the Kamala nominal, thephenomenon that is Kamala
Harris, I I'm excited.
Um, of course, yeah, she's amember of the first and finest.
Um, so I'm always going tosupport her.
But I I just think um a newgeneration, a generation that is
a little closer to mine, youknow, I'm Gen Z, she is Gen X,
(04:14):
so it's a few letters away inthe alphabet.
Um, but someone who has theenergy and someone who has um
the policy ideals that are alittle are similar to mine.
Um, I I'm like definitelyexcited, you know.
I was a little nervous atfirst, honestly, you know, her
being a black woman, and we'veseen this week with you know the
(04:34):
NABJ whole conversation um justabout how she's going to be
attacked, and we know she'sgoing to be attacked, and the
attacks have already beencoming, and it's almost two
weeks in.
But I'm just excited for theenergy that she's bringing.
And I I don't know if you'veseen or you've probably seen,
you know, all of the Zoom calls.
(04:54):
It started with black women forHarris, and I'm in some group
chats, and there was black womenwhen I uh I got some of those
messages.
I'm I'm sad that I wasn't oneof those 44,000 that got to
attend.
Um, but I'm super excited, theenergy that she's bringing, you
know, uh, you know, Gen Z, welove the memes.
And so, you know, the coconutmemes, I don't know if you know
(05:16):
that one, but you know,basically she's talking about
how there's a story of her momsaying, like, you didn't just
fall out of a coconut tree.
You exist within the co thecontext of all that you that is
and was before you.
And so a lot of people havebeen putting coconut trees and
coconuts in their Twitter biosand stuff like that.
(05:37):
Um, you know, she had Meg theStallion come, um, and I'm a big
Hottie for Harris now.
I will claim that a hot girlMeg.
So it's just it's reallyexciting to see how everyone's
kind of coming together.
And I do, I mean, it's hard tobe older, of course, but when
(05:57):
you provide that energy and thatfire, um, it really does
inspire people to take actionand to move.
So I'm just excited to see howKamala's momentum and like as
she defines her own policy, um,that it really will bring the
nation together and will havegreat to do some great things
(06:17):
coming up in the election,hopefully, if she gets elected
um in November.
Tamara Davis Brown (06:22):
That's great to hear because I was a little
concerned when I heard you talkabout how you just really wasn't
feeling President Joe Biden.
And I knew it was not just you,but your entire generation.
And and you even spoke, youjust like, we're not, we're not
feeling it, just like you, youknow, told me you were the the
(06:45):
impetus of this podcast.
You're like, mom, I'm not,we're not reading you emails,
we're not, you know, we're justnot doing that.
You need to start a podcast andtalk about all this stuff.
And so I'm glad that to hearthat you're excited about her um
candidacy and potentialascension to the highest office
in the United States.
(07:06):
But I'm even more excited thatthere is a generation of people
your age and younger that areexcited and want to go out and
vote for for Kamala.
So that that gives me, youknow, hope that, you know, we
can save our democracy.
And so I'm I yeah, no, I I'mthinking that, you know, if
(07:28):
President Joe Biden didn't winagainst um Trump, then, you
know, our democracy was sh is shwas surely in peril.
And not to say it's with withher, you know, everything is
fragile.
And so we have to protect therights, we have to protect uh
our civil rights, we have toprotect our constitutional
(07:50):
rights, we have to protecteverything that uh this nation
was supposedly well theprinciples, I'll put it like
that, the principles that thisnation was supposedly founded
on.
I won't get into other thingsthat you know that's that that
has a stain on our history um asa as a nation.
So but nevertheless, I'mexcited, so we should um look
(08:14):
forward to her candidacy andsupporting her candidacy.
So tell me um what about um theHarris administration and maybe
even the under the what whatyou saw under the Biden Harris
administration that excites you?
Jessie Brown (08:34):
I mean, uh I think from day one, uh I definitely
was a f a fan of Joe Biden.
Um, but from day one, he hadreally, I think, innovative
policies.
Um his executive order numberone was the Justice 40
initiative, which is essentiallya goal that sets 40% of the
overall benefits of certaincertain um federal investments
(08:57):
in climate, clean energy, cleantransportation, and other areas
that flow directly todisadvantaged communities, um,
which have been marginalized byunderinvestment and overburdened
by pollution.
And you know me, I have a greenthumb.
I've always um, you know,supported things that affect our
climate, but I think climatechange uh directly impacts um
(09:22):
marginalized communities.
And so it was really excitingfor me to see Justice 40 as like
a blueprint of like, okay, wereally want whatever investment
that we make, like we reallywant that to affect people the
least of East, as we always talkabout.
And I think like kind of howthat trickles down a little bit,
like I know I work in thetransportation space, and so a
(09:43):
lot of what the work that I dois not just doing the actual
engineering work, but like howwe can we get our clients, you
know, funds for these things.
Um, and so there's a grantprogram called Through the
Infrastructure Bill, which waspassed in the fall of 2021, um,
the low-no emissions program.
So essentially funds that giveuh local municipalities access
(10:05):
so they could purchase um zeroemission buses.
So those are buses that eitherare hybrid or electric and that
reduce emissions.
Um so I was really excited tosee that.
And I think they're on theirlike fourth round of funding.
And actually, Prince RogersCounty um got some funds in this
most recent round.
They actually got $25 million.
So our Prince Rogers CountyDepartment of Public Works and
(10:26):
Infrastructure can go out andreplace those, you know, old the
buses with ones that are umelectric or hybrid, things like
that.
So I I'm really excited how youknow those type of policies,
especially around climate changeand and and helping people who
may not be able to helpthemselves through federal
(10:46):
investment, can get there.
Um and I I really do thinkthat, you know, pulling it back
to all politics as local, Ireally do think that policies
like that um and having leaderswho are going to advocate for
those type of funds is is reallyimportant.
And I know that there's a youknow, the Senate race in
Maryland coming up.
And so we have some leadersthat are hopefully advocating
(11:09):
for those same type of policiesand making sure that their
administrations can, you know,get those funds that we need so
we can continue to change ourcommunities for the better.
So, what do you think aboutthis, you know, upcoming U.S.
Senate race in Maryland withwith Angela Olsobrooks?
Tamara Davis Brown (11:25):
So I'm uh excited about the Senate race
with Angela Olso Brooks, as youknow or recall, I supported
Angela in the primary race umagainst when she was against
David Trone.
And even though we had quite afew um political leaders that
actually supported Trone, I wasone of as a regular citizen uh
(11:48):
supporting Angela, but therewere quite, you know, there are
a lot of of a lot of us thatthat were supporting her.
So I'm excited that um she madeit past the primary.
There was a question at onepoint whether or not she could
beat Larry Hogan because he is atwo-term elected Republican
(12:10):
governor in the state, and he'smore moderate than uh most
Republicans, and so he was quitepopular when he left office,
and so there was some questioneven in the primary race, and I
believe Trone um had a uh TV adthat said that he was the own,
you know, based on polling, hewas the only candidate that
(12:30):
could beat Larry Hogan.
Well, he's not our Democraticnominee, Angela also Brooks is.
And so I just think that thethe the negatives of the
Republican Party outweighwhether or not we had President
Joe Biden or Vice PresidentKamala Harris at the top of the
ticket.
I thought the negativesoutweigh um whoever is at the
(12:53):
top of the ticket and thatAngela would still win in in
Maryland because Maryland is aheavily blue state in its
majority counties.
And that would include PrinceGeorge's, that would include
Montgomery County, that wouldinclude Baltimore City, and for
the most part Baltimore County.
Some of the other countiesalso, you know, are heavily blue
(13:15):
as well, Howard and Arondo.
Um but we do have some, youknow, some some purple slash uh
red parts of you know WesternMaryland, for example, is is
mostly Republican, but we dohave you know some pockets of of
Republican.
And I just thought the party,the GOP has gone so shifted so
(13:36):
far to the right that I s stillthought that Angela's chances of
beating Larry Hogan, regardlessof who's at the top of the
ticket, was still veryplausible.
Now that Kamala is at the topof the ticket, I think it's even
more of a greater chance thatshe'll she'll win.
And so I'm excited about thatbecause it brings I I think
(14:00):
Kamala's candidacy raises thelevel of all women uh that are
running for office, or allDemocrats for for that mo for
for the most part, allDemocrats, because people will
be inclined to vote straightDemocratic ticket because
Kamala's at the top of theticket.
And so I'm excited about that,and I think it certainly raises
(14:23):
Angela also Brooks' chances ofbeating Larry Hogan in a state
where he was very popular andhad a high approval rating when
he left office, and again wasvoted, you know, twice by the
the Maryland electorate asgovernor of the state.
Um I'm excited to f for thefact that we will finally once
(14:44):
again have a black woman in theSenate.
Yes.
I was, you know, when Kamalaleft the was was running for
president the first time beforeshe became vice president.
I was like, gosh, we need weneed a black woman in the
Senate.
We need a black woman.
Why is she running?
We really need to.
I really wish she would stay,because we need that voice in
the Senate.
So um I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'mexcited that she decided to run
(15:11):
for the vice, I mean forpresident and got the vice
presidency, but it still left uswith that void that we didn't
have a black woman's voice inthe Senate.
And we really need a diversegroup of voices in the Senate.
So I think Angela will do agreat job carrying that mantle
and representing that mantle.
You know, she's, you know, avery intelligent woman.
(15:33):
Not not only is she anattorney, but you know, she's
been an executive of a major umcounty.
We're close to a millionpeople, if not over a million
people, with all the townhousesand other things that they're
building in the county.
So we if we're not if wehaven't cracked that million, we
we were close to it at the lastcensus 2020, so now it's 2024,
(15:56):
so I'm sure we've cracked that.
But anyway, um, yes, um, I'mexcited about that.
Jessie Brown (16:03):
So Angela, hopefully she wins, but what is
her like role, like what is shegonna be able to do in the
Senate?
What do you think?
You know, having a black woman,of course, but advocating for
the state of Maryland, like whathow is that gonna help a future
President Harris or help thestate of Maryland as well?
Tamara Davis Brown (16:23):
Well, I would say two things.
One, we're gonna have a 50-50split, and I believe that
Angela's presence will be that51st vote that will help the the
Harris administration to getsome of the policies passed,
number one, and any appointmentsthat have to be passed, whether
(16:43):
it's in in cabinet positions,but specifically federal judges,
even Supreme Court justices,Angela will be able to make that
tie-breaking vote bymaintaining, you know, having,
you know, it's a 50-50 splitnow, so if we maintain Maryland,
we can certainly ensure thatwe'll have the Senate majority.
(17:08):
So I'm excited about that.
Um two, I'm I'm hopeful that asyou mentioned about some of the
federal grants, and this issome of the things that I've
been talking about on thecampaign trail, is that we will
have greater access to federalgrants.
Um she'll know about those,she'll um help signal and help
(17:29):
us to, you know, get to where wecan apply, maybe even earmark
some funds that can help us herein the state of Maryland and
particularly in Prince George'sCounty, to bring whether it's
we're we're getting the FBI, butwhether it's uh you know
another federal installation,that would be um very helpful
(17:51):
for the state of Maryland.
So I I'm hopeful that she'llshe'll see that and as our
current county executive andknowing what our budget um and
potential budget deficit lookslike, that she will steer a lot
of federal funds our way.
Um programs like that lowemission that you talked about.
You know, there's there's justso much that we need to do in
(18:12):
order to make sure that we canclose our budget deficit,
maintain our AAA bond rating,and um, you know, continue to
fund everything that we needwithout raising taxes on our
residents and particularly ourseniors who have you know
shouldered the the burden interms of property taxes and and
(18:35):
income taxes and so forth.
So I think that that's gonna bea plus for us here in the state
of Maryland.
Jessie Brown (18:43):
I definitely think so.
And for and for Prince RhodesCounty.
I mean, Angela also brooks I Ireally hope she does win the
Senate seat because because ofall those benefits, the 50-50
split and just advocating havingsomeone from Prince Rogers
County to advocate, of course,for the whole state, but also
for the county that we we alllove.
(19:03):
Um, but how does so Angela isthe the county executive for
Prince Rogers County currently,so how does her potential win in
November affect um how thecounty is governed in the
future, what happens to to herseat um and things like that?
Tamara Davis Brown (19:22):
Good that's a good question, and I'm glad
you asked that question becauseas this podcast is entitled All
Politics is local, and what willhappen is depending on the
timing of her um resignation orstepping down, so let's let's
let's we're hopeful, right?
We're hopeful that um she'llwin in November.
(19:44):
And if she if she d announcesher resignation um immediately,
and I could I might have thisbackwards, and so forgive me for
not doing my research before Idid this, before we did this
podcast, but I I I forget sheactually depending she won't get
(20:04):
sworn in obviously untilJanuary with the rest of the
class, whether um, you know, forCongress, everybody runs every
two years for the House ofRepresentatives, the Senate is
um different.
Um they have a longer term thanCongress, they don't have to
run every two years.
But when they are sworn intooffice will be in January of
(20:27):
2025.
And so her the timing of herresignation based on our county
um ordinance and the countycharter uh depends, will tell us
whether or not we will have anappointment or a special
election.
unknown (20:44):
Okay.
Tamara Davis Brown (20:45):
An appointment would mean that if
she steps down in in the timeframe where the county council
can appoint a a a countyexecutive, what will happen is
is the county council will meettogether and they will select a
person to represent PrinceGeorge's County as the county
executive until the nextelection, which would be 2026.
Jessie Brown (21:08):
Okay.
Tamara Davis Brown (21:25):
Another one.
And so, yes, another one.
Yes, we're in the midst of oneright now due to the resignation
of one at-large member, as youknow.
Right.
And we would be potentially ithave to have another special
election countywide to fill thevacancy of Angela also Brooks,
(21:45):
if that's her true desire.
And again, that's that's that'sjust a rumor.
Here's the T.
The T is that she really wantsthe people of Prince George's
County to select their countyexecutive and not just hand it
over to the county council tomake that decision.
So, yeah, that would be anotherum special election that we
have.
And so our listeners alreadyknow that we're in the midst of
(22:09):
the special election for theresignation of an at-large
council member.
There are seven Democratsrunning, including yours truly,
Tamara Davis Brown, as well asfour Republican candidates that
are are running as well.
And so early voting is alreadygo uh occurring.
(22:30):
Uh it started on July 31st, itends on Monday the 5th, with uh
primary special election dayTuesday, August the 6th.
Jessie Brown (22:41):
If it is Angela also broke's intention to you
know give the people theirvoice, who who do you think are
the top uh people to kind ofrepla replace her?
What's what's the politicalmachine looking like?
What's the grassroots supportlooking like?
Tamara Davis Brown (22:58):
So I know for certain that our state's
attorney, Aisha Brayboy, isinterested in running for county
executive in 2026.
I'm sure she would put her hatin the ring for the county
executive position for specialelection.
I'm also pretty certain that atlarge council member Calvin
(23:18):
Hawkins is interested in runningfor county executive in the in
2026, and I'm pretty for sure hewould put his hat in the ring
as um a uh candidate for thecounty executive.
I'm not a hundred percent aboutCalvin, but I'm definitely sure
(23:38):
that Angela would do it.
And just recently, um thecandidates for this current
at-large seat with the specialelection that I just mentioned,
um one of the candidates is ourcounty council chairwoman, and
we had a candidates forum at theCollington, which is a um
(24:00):
senior 55 plus community resortthat um they had an in-person
meeting and we were all askedpoint blank as a yes or no
question.
We couldn't provide anyexplanation or anything, but a
yes or no question whether ornot if uh the county executive
(24:21):
won her seat and there was aspecial election, um would you
seek to run for the countyexecutive?
All of the candidates answeredno, with the exception of the
county council chairwoman,Jolene Ivey, she said yes, she
would run for county executive.
(24:42):
She said it emphatically withan exclamation point loud and
clear.
So um it's it's a it's just amaze of musical chairs.
It's like, okay, well, you'realready on the council, and now
um in your and you're runningfor the at-large seat.
(25:02):
You're you're already on thecouncil, so you're running for
the same position.
It's just a it's just that it'sat large.
And you're cre if you win, youcreate a vacancy.
You create a vacancy in yourdistrict, which will trigger
another special election.
Jessie Brown (25:20):
Oh, interesting.
Okay, that's uh that'sinteresting.
That that I mean, of course, wewant Miss Tamara Davis Brown to
win the at-large seat.
Sorry, these are my opinions,Jessica Brown here.
Um but uh a Jolene Ivey win atthe at-large seat, but she also
(25:42):
has emphatically said that shewanted to run for county
executive if that seat isvacated by Angela also Brooks.
So you're saying if Angela alsoBrooks wins her Senate seat,
then there's a vacancy in thecounty executive, and if Jolene
(26:02):
Ivey wants to run for that, andshe wins county executive, then
there's a vacancy in theat-large seat, and so we're
we're back in a domino effect,and now there's another special
election that needs to go on.
Is that what you're saying tome?
Basically, yes.
Tamara Davis Brown (26:20):
So we we got a special election, right?
Yeah, exactly.
So yeah, we got a specialelection going on now due to a
resignation of a council memberfor integrity reasons.
And then if our council chairwins, there'll be a special
(26:43):
election to fill her seat uh uhonly at the district level.
So at least at least it won'tbe as many people.
Jessie Brown (26:51):
I missed that one.
Tamara Davis Brown (26:52):
Yeah, you missed one.
Jessie Brown (26:53):
You missed that domino.
I missed the district.
Okay, so she's district five uhcouncil person.
So that's another branch inthis domino effect.
We got got the domino splittingif you guys are imagining this
with me.
Okay.
And then we get to the if shewould have won her at large
seat, you know, that wow, okay.
Tamara Davis Brown (27:17):
Then she would abandon that she would
abandon that seat, she wouldhave served it, you know, for
all of a couple of days, maybeand abandon that seat to run for
county executive, yes.
Jessie Brown (27:31):
You know, all these things cost money, right?
To put on however many days ofearly voting and staffing poll
volunteers and not volunteers,poll workers.
Um, and send out everyone got aa mail mail in ballot this
time, I think.
Um, so that's a lot if you'rehaving to put a special election
(27:56):
for a district level seat onthe county council, and then of
course hypotheticals, but alsouh at-large seat, which we
already just adjudicated inAugust, and then to have to have
a special election out ofseason for county executive.
That's technically for specialelections.
Tamara Davis Brown (28:18):
Technically, technically technically for
elections.
So you well, the f the thefirst one I I was about to say
the first one was unavoidable,but the first one it was
avoidable just the lack ofintegrity of of the p the
person.
But these other two are justyou know political stepping
(28:38):
stones.
And so there has been a quotethat this current special
election for this at-large seatcosts anywhere between one point
three million and two point sixmillion dollars.
And that is, as you said,because it's countywide, we've
got nine voting centers, they'reopen from ten in the morning to
(29:03):
eight in the evening for uhfive days with the exception of
t um tomorrow, Sunday which isfrom twelve PM to six PM.
So you gotta staff that andthen you have to staff a full
day of early voting.
I mean election day, whichstarts the polls open at seven
(29:23):
a.m.
and end at eight PM.
So those nine places all haveabout ten people working.
Um we had to you know, you wehave some voting machines, but I
think you still have to the thecost of the voting machines or
to rent them or what have you.
And the cost of um the dropboxes, I I believe the state
(29:45):
owns all the drop boxes, so thatwas an extra expense.
But what is an expense is allof the drop boxes are being
monitored remotely by camera,which I think that's a good idea
because uh if we everyoneremembers.
members when we were votingduring the py pandemic, all the
drop boxes were being monitoredlive by state police, um parking
(30:07):
planning police.
And so um that costs a lot ofmoney personnel wise.
And then you've got to, youknow, count the ballots and do
the actual canvassing, count theballots and, you know, print
the ballots and then w those whowin in the primary go on to the
general, which means there'sanother new ballot that has to
(30:28):
be made up to add for thegeneral election, even for this
first general election, which isthe presidential election, the
everybody will be voting on thisfirst special countywide
election between whoever wins asthe Democratic nominee versus
whoever wins as the Republicannominee.
And so you have to repeat thatcycle potentially three more
(30:53):
times.
Jessie Brown (30:53):
Okay.
Tamara Davis Brown (30:54):
That's that's make my head once at the
district level, which is a newit's okay.
Jessie Brown (31:01):
Cause I um that's a lot.
You know, I know a lot ofpieces have to be put in play
but I think for for yourlisteners like you know whether
the person has a a true ambitionfor the the position itself
like you know why they arerunning for what they're running
for and how that affects peopleum versus a political a
(31:26):
political stepping stone.
And you know just like anycareer you do things so you can
get to the next step but I thinkit's really important for for
people who are in politics andin these elected positions to
really be dedicated and focusedon you know the constituents
that they serve right now.
And so you know political stepsare are not you do have a a
(31:51):
duty to to those people thatelected you and to vacate your
seat for integrity reasons orfor political stepping stones or
you know that's a big deal andyou have to account or that
person has to you know holdthemselves accountable to the
voters that elected them um forthem to do their job.
So that's a really veryinteresting domino effect and
(32:17):
I'm excited for for what's tocome uh it's a lot of popcorn
eating I've been eating a lot ofpopcorn over the last three
weeks from a lot of popcorn anda lot of tea a lot of tea you
know a lot of tea tea drinkssome tea gets stones and uh yeah
let's see how that's gonna howthat's gonna play out so yeah
(32:38):
and I found I found this quoteum it's from the University of
Maryland Diamond the Packnewspaper and it's interviewing
uh chair chair ivy just askingher about the seat um the
special election seat for thiscountywide council position uh
she says I'm not acting likethis is no expense in order to
(33:01):
have this election orpossibility of another election
but the cost of letting thewrong person win this race it
would have a profound economicimpact and that's actually why
I'm running valid reasons havingthe wrong person in how do you
feel about that quote how how doyou feel about that cup quote I
mean but like I like you knowwe we went over the domino
(33:25):
effect and I think that's whatshe's referring to in terms of
she's there's an expense thatthe time expense and economic
expense um the wrong person winthis race I I don't know I just
it it's a short term like the atlarge seat goes in I mean two
(33:45):
years is a is a lot of time butin a sense it's not so if you're
putting trust in in the votersthat the voters of the whole
county know what their interestsare um just like you would do
for any election I'm thinkingabout you know the the national
election and I'm aligning myselfwith candidates that have pol
(34:06):
just like the policies I talkedabout the policies and and
institute things that I careabout.
So I think it's kind of a lackof trust of the people of Prince
George's county and she'ssaying the wrong person like the
people would elect the wrongperson and I'm putting the wrong
person in air quotes for thosewho can't see me but the people
(34:27):
are electing this said wrongperson.
So you know this uh Chair Ivywould have to work with this
potential person on the councilbut that's essentially telling
the re whole resident all ofPrince Rose County residents
that voted for this this nextperson that you don't trust the
choice that they made.
(34:48):
And you know special electionsare special.
You have to go out of your wayto uh vote it's not like on your
regular election cycle so youknow the people that are voting
in this election are the peoplethat are paying attention.
So for her to say that thepeople of Prince George's county
are potentially choosing gonnachoose the wrong person kind of
(35:09):
is an affront to our politicalprocess and you know who's to
say that she's the right personlike I think right and wrong is
a little subjective um opinionand so I I don't know I think
that that quote just kind ofkind of doesn't put trust her
(35:35):
saying that she trusts thepolitical process and trusts the
residents of Prince George'scounty but you know let me take
it one step further because Iwas thinking about I was
thinking about this again she'salready on the council and she
she's just one vote.
Tamara Davis Brown (35:55):
She vacates her District 5 seat so does she
have an in on who's going to beher replacement?
I'm sure she does and is thatreplacement person going to be
the right person to to to votethe way she thinks that they're
gonna vote?
So it you know it pre it it itraises another level of question
(36:16):
like do you have some politicalin on who's gonna be who's
gonna replace you at theDistrict 5 level and are they
going to vote the right the thequote unquote right way?
Are they the right person andthey're gonna vote the right way
and you know you up you'vealready you know you've already
knighted somebody knighted K N IG H T somebody to be your
(36:40):
replacement and that they'regonna vote the way you want them
to vote.
Um so it presupposes a a lot ofthings.
First it presupposes that anyof the can in any of the twelve
other candidates that arerunning are not, as you say, if
the people select them are notthe quote unquote right person
(37:02):
for the job.
To me it's a personal affront.
Yeah, yeah.
But more importantly I thinkpeople are missing the fact that
she still would have to knowwho is going to replace her at
Dist district five and is theresome kind of political um back
(37:22):
gaming that's going on in thebackground about who has that
seat and then are they gonnavote the way she thinks that
they're gonna vote.
And so it's a lot of politicalgamership going on here that you
know people aren't aware of.
Jessie Brown (37:38):
And so I I will say that it's like it's a it's a
balance um because I think alot of people you know pulling
it back up to the the nationallens is like a lot of people
upset that Joe Biden was thechoice that we had um c coming
up in November.
And so that that level ofsuccession planning I guess is
(38:00):
valuable but at the same time itis a people oriented process.
And I do think especially atthe local level where you know
there's a lot more similar a lotmore Democrat Democrat races
like the people Maryland is moreof a blue state except what you
were talking about earlier inthe show about you know those
(38:23):
parts of Western Maryland thatare a little purple red um but
when when it comes down to itthe policy and the people and
the policy is like what peopleare voting for.
You know we're not necessarilylike voting for personalities or
voting for how the theconglomerate want us to vote.
We're voting for you knowthings and issues that we care
(38:46):
about.
So kind of yeah that setup issuccession planning I think is
valuable at the the federallevel um but at the local level
I think it really does matter tokeep the power with the people.
Tamara Davis Brown (39:00):
Absolutely I agree with you 100% on that and
um I hope everyone that'slistening it's only a couple of
days left in this specialelection primary that you take
this into account and take intoconsideration this domino effect
of what we're talking about.
But it's this political gamethis you know stepping stone
(39:25):
musical chairs it's it'sinteresting but to me it's sad.
And I say that because you wantpeople to run for office
because they really care aboutthe county and they really want
to see our quality of lifeimprove not to run for some
(39:46):
political gamanship or steppingstone in your political career.
Well said well said all rightwell I think we've unpacked that
pretty well lots of tea arethere any other final comments
from our guest hosts I I enjoyedhaving this this conversation
with you.
Jessie Brown (40:05):
It's uh yeah a lot to unpack as you said um I I
had my tea with me I eaten thepopcorn as well um up close in
this um race you know as thecandidate is a relative um for
the count countywide councilseat so I'm excited for the next
(40:26):
couple of days um and then youknow running into November and
just seeing how our localpolitics works and how our state
uh elections and congressionalelections roll out and then
finally our national election soit's an exciting time a lot to
consider you know people of mygeneration kind of get
(40:48):
overwhelmed by politics and I'moff Instagram Facebook all the
all the social medias becauseit's become a lot but I think
it's important to tune in umbecause integrity matters policy
matters um and all politics islocal well said well said well
thank you for joining me as myguest host today it's been a
(41:11):
delightful conversation we canprobably could have gone on for
another 30 minutes hours or whathave you but I'm glad that we
got together and unpacked thisand once again I I thank you for
being the brainchild of thispodcast and uh initiating for me
(41:32):
to do it.
Tamara Davis Brown (41:33):
I'm glad that I did it I've getting you
know very positive feedback fromit so thank you thank you thank
you so this uh concludes ourepisode for today part two
here's the tea if there are anyepisodes or or content that
you'd like to hear and like forme to discuss and do some
research on I'll be happy to doso but thank you for joining us
(41:56):
today where all politics islocal come back please uh like
share uh but please do um joinus again on another episode of
All Politics is local theMaryland edition with me your
host Tamra James Brown
Hi, and welcome to another edition of
All Politics is Local with me,your host, Tamara Davis Brown.
I am so excited today becausewe are coming back with part two
of Here's the Tea.
As you know, we are in anelection cycle at the national
level, at the congressionallevel, and even at the local
(00:33):
level here in Prince George'sCounty.
There is just so much to unpackabout how the national
election, the congressionalraces will impact us locally
here in Prince George's County,and that's why we always say
that all politics is local.
So I'm so excited today.
I have a guest host with metoday.
(00:56):
She is a dynamic young woman.
She is a 2022 graduate ofUniversity of Southern
California with a degree incivil engineering with the
emphasis on transportationengineering.
She works for a civilengineering firm dealing with
transportation issues such as uhtransit, roadways, anything
(01:20):
regarding transportation andmoving people safely from one
place to another.
And she is a young person, as Isaid, a 22 graduate college
graduate, so she's of thisgeneration, a millennial, uh,
very educated in things thatimpact her and her generation.
(01:41):
And she takes the time toresearch and do some due
diligence on not only localelections, federal elections,
congressional elections, but shehas some very strong opinions
and statistical data andresearch to back it up on her
opinions.
And so I'm so excited to haveher here.
(02:03):
And she just so happens to bethe brainchild of this podcast,
All Politics is Local.
She's the executive producer ofthis podcast, and so I'm
excited to have our co-hosttoday, my daughter, Jessica
Brown.
Hey, baby girl.
Jessie Brown (02:22):
Welcome to All Politics is local.
Hey, mommy.
Thank you so much for havingme.
I do have to clarify, I am nota millennial.
I am Gen Z, Generation Z.
I'm a Zoomer.
Went through the pandemic onZoom, so I am Gen Z and a
Zoomer.
Tamara Davis Brown (02:40):
All right.
Well, thank you for thatclarification.
I I don't I get those alphas,Zen G, Zen, Zen Z, X.
I get them all mixed up.
I I know baby boomers and maybemillennials.
So all right.
Well, we have a Gen Z as ourco-host guest.
So let's jump right into andunpack what's happening at the
(03:05):
national election.
Um, as we know, this is apresidential year and it's been
a lot going on.
Um and particularly now, what'sdominating the conversation is
the fact that President JoeBiden has decided not to run for
re-election, and he has thrownhis support behind our soror,
(03:29):
vice president Kamala Harris.
We talked originally, and youcan explain to our listeners
that, you know, how you werefeeling about the Democratic
nominee before President of theUnited States decided not to run
versus how you're feeling rightnow.
So uh unpack that for us andand and let's let's talk about
(03:51):
um the national election first.
Jessie Brown (03:53):
Definitely.
I mean, the Kamala nominal, thephenomenon that is Kamala
Harris, I I'm excited.
Um, of course, yeah, she's amember of the first and finest.
Um, so I'm always going tosupport her.
But I I just think um a newgeneration, a generation that is
a little closer to mine, youknow, I'm Gen Z, she is Gen X,
(04:14):
so it's a few letters away inthe alphabet.
Um, but someone who has theenergy and someone who has um
the policy ideals that are alittle are similar to mine.
Um, I I'm like definitelyexcited, you know.
I was a little nervous atfirst, honestly, you know, her
being a black woman, and we'veseen this week with you know the
(04:34):
NABJ whole conversation um justabout how she's going to be
attacked, and we know she'sgoing to be attacked, and the
attacks have already beencoming, and it's almost two
weeks in.
But I'm just excited for theenergy that she's bringing.
And I I don't know if you'veseen or you've probably seen,
you know, all of the Zoom calls.
(04:54):
It started with black women forHarris, and I'm in some group
chats, and there was black womenwhen I uh I got some of those
messages.
I'm I'm sad that I wasn't oneof those 44,000 that got to
attend.
Um, but I'm super excited, theenergy that she's bringing, you
know, uh, you know, Gen Z, welove the memes.
And so, you know, the coconutmemes, I don't know if you know
(05:16):
that one, but you know,basically she's talking about
how there's a story of her momsaying, like, you didn't just
fall out of a coconut tree.
You exist within the co thecontext of all that you that is
and was before you.
And so a lot of people havebeen putting coconut trees and
coconuts in their Twitter biosand stuff like that.
(05:37):
Um, you know, she had Meg theStallion come, um, and I'm a big
Hottie for Harris now.
I will claim that a hot girlMeg.
So it's just it's reallyexciting to see how everyone's
kind of coming together.
And I do, I mean, it's hard tobe older, of course, but when
(05:57):
you provide that energy and thatfire, um, it really does
inspire people to take actionand to move.
So I'm just excited to see howKamala's momentum and like as
she defines her own policy, um,that it really will bring the
nation together and will havegreat to do some great things
(06:17):
coming up in the election,hopefully, if she gets elected
um in November.
Tamara Davis Brown (06:22):
That's great to hear because I was a little
concerned when I heard you talkabout how you just really wasn't
feeling President Joe Biden.
And I knew it was not just you,but your entire generation.
And and you even spoke, youjust like, we're not, we're not
feeling it, just like you, youknow, told me you were the the
(06:45):
impetus of this podcast.
You're like, mom, I'm not,we're not reading you emails,
we're not, you know, we're justnot doing that.
You need to start a podcast andtalk about all this stuff.
And so I'm glad that to hearthat you're excited about her um
candidacy and potentialascension to the highest office
in the United States.
(07:06):
But I'm even more excited thatthere is a generation of people
your age and younger that areexcited and want to go out and
vote for for Kamala.
So that that gives me, youknow, hope that, you know, we
can save our democracy.
And so I'm I yeah, no, I I'mthinking that, you know, if
(07:28):
President Joe Biden didn't winagainst um Trump, then, you
know, our democracy was sh is shwas surely in peril.
And not to say it's with withher, you know, everything is
fragile.
And so we have to protect therights, we have to protect uh
our civil rights, we have toprotect our constitutional
(07:50):
rights, we have to protecteverything that uh this nation
was supposedly well theprinciples, I'll put it like
that, the principles that thisnation was supposedly founded
on.
I won't get into other thingsthat you know that's that that
has a stain on our history um asa as a nation.
So but nevertheless, I'mexcited, so we should um look
(08:14):
forward to her candidacy andsupporting her candidacy.
So tell me um what about um theHarris administration and maybe
even the under the what whatyou saw under the Biden Harris
administration that excites you?
Jessie Brown (08:34):
I mean, uh I think from day one, uh I definitely
was a f a fan of Joe Biden.
Um, but from day one, he hadreally, I think, innovative
policies.
Um his executive order numberone was the Justice 40
initiative, which is essentiallya goal that sets 40% of the
overall benefits of certaincertain um federal investments
(08:57):
in climate, clean energy, cleantransportation, and other areas
that flow directly todisadvantaged communities, um,
which have been marginalized byunderinvestment and overburdened
by pollution.
And you know me, I have a greenthumb.
I've always um, you know,supported things that affect our
climate, but I think climatechange uh directly impacts um
(09:22):
marginalized communities.
And so it was really excitingfor me to see Justice 40 as like
a blueprint of like, okay, wereally want whatever investment
that we make, like we reallywant that to affect people the
least of East, as we always talkabout.
And I think like kind of howthat trickles down a little bit,
like I know I work in thetransportation space, and so a
(09:43):
lot of what the work that I dois not just doing the actual
engineering work, but like howwe can we get our clients, you
know, funds for these things.
Um, and so there's a grantprogram called Through the
Infrastructure Bill, which waspassed in the fall of 2021, um,
the low-no emissions program.
So essentially funds that giveuh local municipalities access
(10:05):
so they could purchase um zeroemission buses.
So those are buses that eitherare hybrid or electric and that
reduce emissions.
Um so I was really excited tosee that.
And I think they're on theirlike fourth round of funding.
And actually, Prince RogersCounty um got some funds in this
most recent round.
They actually got $25 million.
So our Prince Rogers CountyDepartment of Public Works and
(10:26):
Infrastructure can go out andreplace those, you know, old the
buses with ones that are umelectric or hybrid, things like
that.
So I I'm really excited how youknow those type of policies,
especially around climate changeand and and helping people who
may not be able to helpthemselves through federal
(10:46):
investment, can get there.
Um and I I really do thinkthat, you know, pulling it back
to all politics as local, Ireally do think that policies
like that um and having leaderswho are going to advocate for
those type of funds is is reallyimportant.
And I know that there's a youknow, the Senate race in
Maryland coming up.
And so we have some leadersthat are hopefully advocating
(11:09):
for those same type of policiesand making sure that their
administrations can, you know,get those funds that we need so
we can continue to change ourcommunities for the better.
So, what do you think aboutthis, you know, upcoming U.S.
Senate race in Maryland withwith Angela Olsobrooks?
Tamara Davis Brown (11:25):
So I'm uh excited about the Senate race
with Angela Olso Brooks, as youknow or recall, I supported
Angela in the primary race umagainst when she was against
David Trone.
And even though we had quite afew um political leaders that
actually supported Trone, I wasone of as a regular citizen uh
(11:48):
supporting Angela, but therewere quite, you know, there are
a lot of of a lot of us thatthat were supporting her.
So I'm excited that um she madeit past the primary.
There was a question at onepoint whether or not she could
beat Larry Hogan because he is atwo-term elected Republican
(12:10):
governor in the state, and he'smore moderate than uh most
Republicans, and so he was quitepopular when he left office,
and so there was some questioneven in the primary race, and I
believe Trone um had a uh TV adthat said that he was the own,
you know, based on polling, hewas the only candidate that
(12:30):
could beat Larry Hogan.
Well, he's not our Democraticnominee, Angela also Brooks is.
And so I just think that thethe the negatives of the
Republican Party outweighwhether or not we had President
Joe Biden or Vice PresidentKamala Harris at the top of the
ticket.
I thought the negativesoutweigh um whoever is at the
(12:53):
top of the ticket and thatAngela would still win in in
Maryland because Maryland is aheavily blue state in its
majority counties.
And that would include PrinceGeorge's, that would include
Montgomery County, that wouldinclude Baltimore City, and for
the most part Baltimore County.
Some of the other countiesalso, you know, are heavily blue
(13:15):
as well, Howard and Arondo.
Um but we do have some, youknow, some some purple slash uh
red parts of you know WesternMaryland, for example, is is
mostly Republican, but we dohave you know some pockets of of
Republican.
And I just thought the party,the GOP has gone so shifted so
(13:36):
far to the right that I s stillthought that Angela's chances of
beating Larry Hogan, regardlessof who's at the top of the
ticket, was still veryplausible.
Now that Kamala is at the topof the ticket, I think it's even
more of a greater chance thatshe'll she'll win.
And so I'm excited about thatbecause it brings I I think
(14:00):
Kamala's candidacy raises thelevel of all women uh that are
running for office, or allDemocrats for for that mo for
for the most part, allDemocrats, because people will
be inclined to vote straightDemocratic ticket because
Kamala's at the top of theticket.
And so I'm excited about that,and I think it certainly raises
(14:23):
Angela also Brooks' chances ofbeating Larry Hogan in a state
where he was very popular andhad a high approval rating when
he left office, and again wasvoted, you know, twice by the
the Maryland electorate asgovernor of the state.
Um I'm excited to f for thefact that we will finally once
(14:44):
again have a black woman in theSenate.
Yes.
I was, you know, when Kamalaleft the was was running for
president the first time beforeshe became vice president.
I was like, gosh, we need weneed a black woman in the
Senate.
We need a black woman.
Why is she running?
We really need to.
I really wish she would stay,because we need that voice in
the Senate.
So um I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'mexcited that she decided to run
(15:11):
for the vice, I mean forpresident and got the vice
presidency, but it still left uswith that void that we didn't
have a black woman's voice inthe Senate.
And we really need a diversegroup of voices in the Senate.
So I think Angela will do agreat job carrying that mantle
and representing that mantle.
You know, she's, you know, avery intelligent woman.
(15:33):
Not not only is she anattorney, but you know, she's
been an executive of a major umcounty.
We're close to a millionpeople, if not over a million
people, with all the townhousesand other things that they're
building in the county.
So we if we're not if wehaven't cracked that million, we
we were close to it at the lastcensus 2020, so now it's 2024,
(15:56):
so I'm sure we've cracked that.
But anyway, um, yes, um, I'mexcited about that.
Jessie Brown (16:03):
So Angela, hopefully she wins, but what is
her like role, like what is shegonna be able to do in the
Senate?
What do you think?
You know, having a black woman,of course, but advocating for
the state of Maryland, like whathow is that gonna help a future
President Harris or help thestate of Maryland as well?
Tamara Davis Brown (16:23):
Well, I would say two things.
One, we're gonna have a 50-50split, and I believe that
Angela's presence will be that51st vote that will help the the
Harris administration to getsome of the policies passed,
number one, and any appointmentsthat have to be passed, whether
(16:43):
it's in in cabinet positions,but specifically federal judges,
even Supreme Court justices,Angela will be able to make that
tie-breaking vote bymaintaining, you know, having,
you know, it's a 50-50 splitnow, so if we maintain Maryland,
we can certainly ensure thatwe'll have the Senate majority.
(17:08):
So I'm excited about that.
Um two, I'm I'm hopeful that asyou mentioned about some of the
federal grants, and this issome of the things that I've
been talking about on thecampaign trail, is that we will
have greater access to federalgrants.
Um she'll know about those,she'll um help signal and help
(17:29):
us to, you know, get to where wecan apply, maybe even earmark
some funds that can help us herein the state of Maryland and
particularly in Prince George'sCounty, to bring whether it's
we're we're getting the FBI, butwhether it's uh you know
another federal installation,that would be um very helpful
(17:51):
for the state of Maryland.
So I I'm hopeful that she'llshe'll see that and as our
current county executive andknowing what our budget um and
potential budget deficit lookslike, that she will steer a lot
of federal funds our way.
Um programs like that lowemission that you talked about.
You know, there's there's justso much that we need to do in
(18:12):
order to make sure that we canclose our budget deficit,
maintain our AAA bond rating,and um, you know, continue to
fund everything that we needwithout raising taxes on our
residents and particularly ourseniors who have you know
shouldered the the burden interms of property taxes and and
(18:35):
income taxes and so forth.
So I think that that's gonna bea plus for us here in the state
of Maryland.
Jessie Brown (18:43):
I definitely think so.
And for and for Prince RhodesCounty.
I mean, Angela also brooks I Ireally hope she does win the
Senate seat because because ofall those benefits, the 50-50
split and just advocating havingsomeone from Prince Rogers
County to advocate, of course,for the whole state, but also
for the county that we we alllove.
(19:03):
Um, but how does so Angela isthe the county executive for
Prince Rogers County currently,so how does her potential win in
November affect um how thecounty is governed in the
future, what happens to to herseat um and things like that?
Tamara Davis Brown (19:22):
Good that's a good question, and I'm glad
you asked that question becauseas this podcast is entitled All
Politics is local, and what willhappen is depending on the
timing of her um resignation orstepping down, so let's let's
let's we're hopeful, right?
We're hopeful that um she'llwin in November.
(19:44):
And if she if she d announcesher resignation um immediately,
and I could I might have thisbackwards, and so forgive me for
not doing my research before Idid this, before we did this
podcast, but I I I forget sheactually depending she won't get
(20:04):
sworn in obviously untilJanuary with the rest of the
class, whether um, you know, forCongress, everybody runs every
two years for the House ofRepresentatives, the Senate is
um different.
Um they have a longer term thanCongress, they don't have to
run every two years.
But when they are sworn intooffice will be in January of
(20:27):
2025.
And so her the timing of herresignation based on our county
um ordinance and the countycharter uh depends, will tell us
whether or not we will have anappointment or a special
election.
unknown (20:44):
Okay.
Tamara Davis Brown (20:45):
An appointment would mean that if
she steps down in in the timeframe where the county council
can appoint a a a countyexecutive, what will happen is
is the county council will meettogether and they will select a
person to represent PrinceGeorge's County as the county
executive until the nextelection, which would be 2026.
Jessie Brown (21:08):
Okay.
Tamara Davis Brown (21:25):
Another one.
And so, yes, another one.
Yes, we're in the midst of oneright now due to the resignation
of one at-large member, as youknow.
Right.
And we would be potentially ithave to have another special
election countywide to fill thevacancy of Angela also Brooks,
(21:45):
if that's her true desire.
And again, that's that's that'sjust a rumor.
Here's the T.
The T is that she really wantsthe people of Prince George's
County to select their countyexecutive and not just hand it
over to the county council tomake that decision.
So, yeah, that would be anotherum special election that we
have.
And so our listeners alreadyknow that we're in the midst of
(22:09):
the special election for theresignation of an at-large
council member.
There are seven Democratsrunning, including yours truly,
Tamara Davis Brown, as well asfour Republican candidates that
are are running as well.
And so early voting is alreadygo uh occurring.
(22:30):
Uh it started on July 31st, itends on Monday the 5th, with uh
primary special election dayTuesday, August the 6th.
Jessie Brown (22:41):
If it is Angela also broke's intention to you
know give the people theirvoice, who who do you think are
the top uh people to kind ofrepla replace her?
What's what's the politicalmachine looking like?
What's the grassroots supportlooking like?
Tamara Davis Brown (22:58):
So I know for certain that our state's
attorney, Aisha Brayboy, isinterested in running for county
executive in 2026.
I'm sure she would put her hatin the ring for the county
executive position for specialelection.
I'm also pretty certain that atlarge council member Calvin
(23:18):
Hawkins is interested in runningfor county executive in the in
2026, and I'm pretty for sure hewould put his hat in the ring
as um a uh candidate for thecounty executive.
I'm not a hundred percent aboutCalvin, but I'm definitely sure
(23:38):
that Angela would do it.
And just recently, um thecandidates for this current
at-large seat with the specialelection that I just mentioned,
um one of the candidates is ourcounty council chairwoman, and
we had a candidates forum at theCollington, which is a um
(24:00):
senior 55 plus community resortthat um they had an in-person
meeting and we were all askedpoint blank as a yes or no
question.
We couldn't provide anyexplanation or anything, but a
yes or no question whether ornot if uh the county executive
(24:21):
won her seat and there was aspecial election, um would you
seek to run for the countyexecutive?
All of the candidates answeredno, with the exception of the
county council chairwoman,Jolene Ivey, she said yes, she
would run for county executive.
(24:42):
She said it emphatically withan exclamation point loud and
clear.
So um it's it's a it's just amaze of musical chairs.
It's like, okay, well, you'realready on the council, and now
um in your and you're runningfor the at-large seat.
(25:02):
You're you're already on thecouncil, so you're running for
the same position.
It's just a it's just that it'sat large.
And you're cre if you win, youcreate a vacancy.
You create a vacancy in yourdistrict, which will trigger
another special election.
Jessie Brown (25:20):
Oh, interesting.
Okay, that's uh that'sinteresting.
That that I mean, of course, wewant Miss Tamara Davis Brown to
win the at-large seat.
Sorry, these are my opinions,Jessica Brown here.
Um but uh a Jolene Ivey win atthe at-large seat, but she also
(25:42):
has emphatically said that shewanted to run for county
executive if that seat isvacated by Angela also Brooks.
So you're saying if Angela alsoBrooks wins her Senate seat,
then there's a vacancy in thecounty executive, and if Jolene
(26:02):
Ivey wants to run for that, andshe wins county executive, then
there's a vacancy in theat-large seat, and so we're
we're back in a domino effect,and now there's another special
election that needs to go on.
Is that what you're saying tome?
Basically, yes.
Tamara Davis Brown (26:20):
So we we got a special election, right?
Yeah, exactly.
So yeah, we got a specialelection going on now due to a
resignation of a council memberfor integrity reasons.
And then if our council chairwins, there'll be a special
(26:43):
election to fill her seat uh uhonly at the district level.
So at least at least it won'tbe as many people.
Jessie Brown (26:51):
I missed that one.
Tamara Davis Brown (26:52):
Yeah, you missed one.
Jessie Brown (26:53):
You missed that domino.
I missed the district.
Okay, so she's district five uhcouncil person.
So that's another branch inthis domino effect.
We got got the domino splittingif you guys are imagining this
with me.
Okay.
And then we get to the if shewould have won her at large
seat, you know, that wow, okay.
Tamara Davis Brown (27:17):
Then she would abandon that she would
abandon that seat, she wouldhave served it, you know, for
all of a couple of days, maybeand abandon that seat to run for
county executive, yes.
Jessie Brown (27:31):
You know, all these things cost money, right?
To put on however many days ofearly voting and staffing poll
volunteers and not volunteers,poll workers.
Um, and send out everyone got aa mail mail in ballot this
time, I think.
Um, so that's a lot if you'rehaving to put a special election
(27:56):
for a district level seat onthe county council, and then of
course hypotheticals, but alsouh at-large seat, which we
already just adjudicated inAugust, and then to have to have
a special election out ofseason for county executive.
That's technically for specialelections.
Tamara Davis Brown (28:18):
Technically, technically technically for
elections.
So you well, the f the thefirst one I I was about to say
the first one was unavoidable,but the first one it was
avoidable just the lack ofintegrity of of the p the
person.
But these other two are justyou know political stepping
(28:38):
stones.
And so there has been a quotethat this current special
election for this at-large seatcosts anywhere between one point
three million and two point sixmillion dollars.
And that is, as you said,because it's countywide, we've
got nine voting centers, they'reopen from ten in the morning to
(29:03):
eight in the evening for uhfive days with the exception of
t um tomorrow, Sunday which isfrom twelve PM to six PM.
So you gotta staff that andthen you have to staff a full
day of early voting.
I mean election day, whichstarts the polls open at seven
(29:23):
a.m.
and end at eight PM.
So those nine places all haveabout ten people working.
Um we had to you know, you wehave some voting machines, but I
think you still have to the thecost of the voting machines or
to rent them or what have you.
And the cost of um the dropboxes, I I believe the state
(29:45):
owns all the drop boxes, so thatwas an extra expense.
But what is an expense is allof the drop boxes are being
monitored remotely by camera,which I think that's a good idea
because uh if we everyoneremembers.
members when we were votingduring the py pandemic, all the
drop boxes were being monitoredlive by state police, um parking
(30:07):
planning police.
And so um that costs a lot ofmoney personnel wise.
And then you've got to, youknow, count the ballots and do
the actual canvassing, count theballots and, you know, print
the ballots and then w those whowin in the primary go on to the
general, which means there'sanother new ballot that has to
(30:28):
be made up to add for thegeneral election, even for this
first general election, which isthe presidential election, the
everybody will be voting on thisfirst special countywide
election between whoever wins asthe Democratic nominee versus
whoever wins as the Republicannominee.
And so you have to repeat thatcycle potentially three more
(30:53):
times.
Jessie Brown (30:53):
Okay.
Tamara Davis Brown (30:54):
That's that's make my head once at the
district level, which is a newit's okay.
Jessie Brown (31:01):
Cause I um that's a lot.
You know, I know a lot ofpieces have to be put in play
but I think for for yourlisteners like you know whether
the person has a a true ambitionfor the the position itself
like you know why they arerunning for what they're running
for and how that affects peopleum versus a political a
(31:26):
political stepping stone.
And you know just like anycareer you do things so you can
get to the next step but I thinkit's really important for for
people who are in politics andin these elected positions to
really be dedicated and focusedon you know the constituents
that they serve right now.
And so you know political stepsare are not you do have a a
(31:51):
duty to to those people thatelected you and to vacate your
seat for integrity reasons orfor political stepping stones or
you know that's a big deal andyou have to account or that
person has to you know holdthemselves accountable to the
voters that elected them um forthem to do their job.
So that's a really veryinteresting domino effect and
(32:17):
I'm excited for for what's tocome uh it's a lot of popcorn
eating I've been eating a lot ofpopcorn over the last three
weeks from a lot of popcorn anda lot of tea a lot of tea you
know a lot of tea tea drinkssome tea gets stones and uh yeah
let's see how that's gonna howthat's gonna play out so yeah
(32:38):
and I found I found this quoteum it's from the University of
Maryland Diamond the Packnewspaper and it's interviewing
uh chair chair ivy just askingher about the seat um the
special election seat for thiscountywide council position uh
she says I'm not acting likethis is no expense in order to
(33:01):
have this election orpossibility of another election
but the cost of letting thewrong person win this race it
would have a profound economicimpact and that's actually why
I'm running valid reasons havingthe wrong person in how do you
feel about that quote how how doyou feel about that cup quote I
mean but like I like you knowwe we went over the domino
(33:25):
effect and I think that's whatshe's referring to in terms of
she's there's an expense thatthe time expense and economic
expense um the wrong person winthis race I I don't know I just
it it's a short term like the atlarge seat goes in I mean two
(33:45):
years is a is a lot of time butin a sense it's not so if you're
putting trust in in the votersthat the voters of the whole
county know what their interestsare um just like you would do
for any election I'm thinkingabout you know the the national
election and I'm aligning myselfwith candidates that have pol
(34:06):
just like the policies I talkedabout the policies and and
institute things that I careabout.
So I think it's kind of a lackof trust of the people of Prince
George's county and she'ssaying the wrong person like the
people would elect the wrongperson and I'm putting the wrong
person in air quotes for thosewho can't see me but the people
(34:27):
are electing this said wrongperson.
So you know this uh Chair Ivywould have to work with this
potential person on the councilbut that's essentially telling
the re whole resident all ofPrince Rose County residents
that voted for this this nextperson that you don't trust the
choice that they made.
(34:48):
And you know special electionsare special.
You have to go out of your wayto uh vote it's not like on your
regular election cycle so youknow the people that are voting
in this election are the peoplethat are paying attention.
So for her to say that thepeople of Prince George's county
are potentially choosing gonnachoose the wrong person kind of
(35:09):
is an affront to our politicalprocess and you know who's to
say that she's the right personlike I think right and wrong is
a little subjective um opinionand so I I don't know I think
that that quote just kind ofkind of doesn't put trust her
(35:35):
saying that she trusts thepolitical process and trusts the
residents of Prince George'scounty but you know let me take
it one step further because Iwas thinking about I was
thinking about this again she'salready on the council and she
she's just one vote.
Tamara Davis Brown (35:55):
She vacates her District 5 seat so does she
have an in on who's going to beher replacement?
I'm sure she does and is thatreplacement person going to be
the right person to to to votethe way she thinks that they're
gonna vote?
So it you know it pre it it itraises another level of question
(36:16):
like do you have some politicalin on who's gonna be who's
gonna replace you at theDistrict 5 level and are they
going to vote the right the thequote unquote right way?
Are they the right person andthey're gonna vote the right way
and you know you up you'vealready you know you've already
knighted somebody knighted K N IG H T somebody to be your
(36:40):
replacement and that they'regonna vote the way you want them
to vote.
Um so it presupposes a a lot ofthings.
First it presupposes that anyof the can in any of the twelve
other candidates that arerunning are not, as you say, if
the people select them are notthe quote unquote right person
(37:02):
for the job.
To me it's a personal affront.
Yeah, yeah.
But more importantly I thinkpeople are missing the fact that
she still would have to knowwho is going to replace her at
Dist district five and is theresome kind of political um back
(37:22):
gaming that's going on in thebackground about who has that
seat and then are they gonnavote the way she thinks that
they're gonna vote.
And so it's a lot of politicalgamership going on here that you
know people aren't aware of.
Jessie Brown (37:38):
And so I I will say that it's like it's a it's a
balance um because I think alot of people you know pulling
it back up to the the nationallens is like a lot of people
upset that Joe Biden was thechoice that we had um c coming
up in November.
And so that that level ofsuccession planning I guess is
(38:00):
valuable but at the same time itis a people oriented process.
And I do think especially atthe local level where you know
there's a lot more similar a lotmore Democrat Democrat races
like the people Maryland is moreof a blue state except what you
were talking about earlier inthe show about you know those
(38:23):
parts of Western Maryland thatare a little purple red um but
when when it comes down to itthe policy and the people and
the policy is like what peopleare voting for.
You know we're not necessarilylike voting for personalities or
voting for how the theconglomerate want us to vote.
We're voting for you knowthings and issues that we care
(38:46):
about.
So kind of yeah that setup issuccession planning I think is
valuable at the the federallevel um but at the local level
I think it really does matter tokeep the power with the people.
Tamara Davis Brown (39:00):
Absolutely I agree with you 100% on that and
um I hope everyone that'slistening it's only a couple of
days left in this specialelection primary that you take
this into account and take intoconsideration this domino effect
of what we're talking about.
But it's this political gamethis you know stepping stone
(39:25):
musical chairs it's it'sinteresting but to me it's sad.
And I say that because you wantpeople to run for office
because they really care aboutthe county and they really want
to see our quality of lifeimprove not to run for some
(39:46):
political gamanship or steppingstone in your political career.
Well said well said all rightwell I think we've unpacked that
pretty well lots of tea arethere any other final comments
from our guest hosts I I enjoyedhaving this this conversation
with you.
Jessie Brown (40:05):
It's uh yeah a lot to unpack as you said um I I
had my tea with me I eaten thepopcorn as well um up close in
this um race you know as thecandidate is a relative um for
the count countywide councilseat so I'm excited for the next
(40:26):
couple of days um and then youknow running into November and
just seeing how our localpolitics works and how our state
uh elections and congressionalelections roll out and then
finally our national election soit's an exciting time a lot to
consider you know people of mygeneration kind of get
(40:48):
overwhelmed by politics and I'moff Instagram Facebook all the
all the social medias becauseit's become a lot but I think
it's important to tune in umbecause integrity matters policy
matters um and all politics islocal well said well said well
thank you for joining me as myguest host today it's been a
(41:11):
delightful conversation we canprobably could have gone on for
another 30 minutes hours or whathave you but I'm glad that we
got together and unpacked thisand once again I I thank you for
being the brainchild of thispodcast and uh initiating for me
(41:32):
to do it.
Tamara Davis Brown (41:33):
I'm glad that I did it I've getting you
know very positive feedback fromit so thank you thank you thank
you so this uh concludes ourepisode for today part two
here's the tea if there are anyepisodes or or content that
you'd like to hear and like forme to discuss and do some
research on I'll be happy to doso but thank you for joining us
(41:56):
today where all politics islocal come back please uh like
share uh but please do um joinus again on another episode of
All Politics is local theMaryland edition with me your
host Tamra James Brown
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