Md. Unions, GOP Push To Be Heard In House Speaker Race

Eleven Maryland unions and progressive groups are urging the Democrats in the House of Delegates to unite to elect the next Speaker of the House in Annapolis.

Groups — including the Maryland State Education Association, Progressive Maryland and Service Employees International Union locals — signed letters sent to house delegates urging them to back the nominee chosen by the Democratic caucus.

The letter states, “Efforts to splinter the caucus will put the priorities of working families and our shared Maryland values at risk,” and it says that the Democratic caucus should speak with a unified voice.

The letter comes one week before the General Assembly holds a special session to elect a new House leader. Michael Busch, the longest-serving Speaker of the House in Maryland history, died April 7, one day before the end of the 90-day legislative session.

Steve Hershkowitz, with the Maryland State Education Association, said the call for unity is strategic. “If you got elected on the House floor with just 29 Democratic votes, you might have a hard time pulling together a coalition that could pass, for instance, a new funding formula that will be recommended by the Kirwan Commission” — the state commission that recommended increased spending for education.

Click here to read the rest of the article written by Kate Ryan over at WTOP

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