u/Current-Calendar-821

I wanted to share this in case anyone was interested. Just a reminder, MD has closed primaries and Election Day for the primary is on 6/23/26 so this is a good opportunity to meet the people running to represent you on the federal level. Not everyone in AA County is in MDs 3rd district, but it does include Annapolis, Glen Burnie, Severn, Pasadena, etc. I included a map of the 3rd district for reference.

“This public service event is sponsored by the nonpartisan Leagues of Women Voters of Anne Arundel, Carroll & Howard Counties.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

WHEN
May 18, 2026 at 6:30pm - 8:30pm

WHERE
Village Commons Community Center
1326 Main Chapel Way
Gambrills, MD 21054
United States
Google map and directions

The following candidates for U.S. Representative from Maryland's 3rd Congressional District have been invited to participate:

Ray Bly
Jennifer Cross
Austin Dyches
Sarah Elfreth
Berney Flowers
Sean Hammond
Robert Gerald Morrison
Felix M. Seier
John White”

I found this information on the Anne Arundel County League of Women Voters website here, https://www.lwvaacmd.org/26may18\_d3open?

Allison Pickard and Pete Smith (along with 3 other council members) killed Bill 23-26 on Monday, 4/20/26. Allison and Pete are both running to be the Democratic nominee for County Executive.

Bill 23-26: Restricted developers with business before the County Council from donating more than $250 during a single campaign cycle. This was not a radical bill, this was the bare minimum.

Money in Politics is the Issue. Allison and Pete are both running to be the Democratic nominee for County Executive. If neither can vote to support such a basic initiative, how can they be trusted on issues that are far less clear?

Impact to Democracy. 14 people testified in favor of this bill on Monday. 0 people testified against it. It still failed. How can we call this democracy when it feels like corruption?

Side Note: It’s worth mentioning that another candidate for County Executive, James Kitchin, has shown greater clarity on this issue. He has chosen to run using public campaign financing (like Mamdani did in NYC) instead of the traditional donor-backed campaign strategy. He also testified in favor of the bill on Monday.

Additional Information

Bill - https://www.aacounty.org/county-council/legislation/bill-no-23-26

Council Meeting Recording - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPjAQJv9e7M&t=9345s

Timestamp - 02:35:45 to 3:07:20

Below is how every member of the council voted, plus a link to their contact information if you want to share your thoughts on how they voted:

Peter Smith (D) - No

District 1 - https://www.aacounty.org/county-council/council-districts/district-1

Allison M. Pickard (D) - No

District 2 - https://www.aacounty.org/county-council/council-districts/district-2

Nathan Volke (R) - No

District 3 - https://www.aacounty.org/county-council/council-districts/district-3

Julie Hummer (D) - No