Alsobrooks makes play for Baltimore at forum
Trone doesn’t attend event held in city for Democratic US Senate candidates
Democrat Angela Alsobrooks made a concerted play for voters at a candidates’ forum in Baltimore, which is a wild card in a U.S. Senate primary contest that includes no candidates from the city.
Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, stressed her ties to the city — she attended the University of Maryland School of Law — and criticized former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan for scrapping the Red Line, a planned Baltimore transit project, in 2015.
Democratic U.S. Rep. David Trone, Alsobrooks’ principal opponent in polls, campaign money and endorsements, was invited to the Saturday night forum, but did not attend. Trone — who, like Alsobrooks, has called Baltimore a campaign priority — “had a day full of events in different parts of the state and couldn’t make it,” spokesperson Joe Bowen said.
Karenthia A. Barber, the moderator, appeared to allude to Trone and a few others at the forum’s conclusion when she thanked the candidates who “deemed it important enough” to participate. Barber is a past president of the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee, which organized the forum.
Alsobrooks didn’t mention Trone during the roughly 90-minute forum. One of the four candidates who did attend — Brian E. Frydenborg of Montgomery County — said Trone “should be here tonight.”
For years, Maryland congressional Democrats sought funding for the Red Line, which they believed would have spurred economic development in the city. As governor, Hogan called it a boondoggle and balked at its proposed $1 billion construction of a tunnel under downtown Baltimore, Harbor East and
Fells Point.
Democratic U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, along with Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, are trying to revive the Red Line.
Hogan is also a candidate — in the Republican primary — for the Senate seat being vacated by Cardin’s retirement after this year.
The Republican and Democratic primaries are May 14.
“The first thing [Hogan] did was to send back $900 million to the federal government” in Red Line
funding in 2015, Alsobrooks said at the forum, held in front of about 150 people at the 2640 Space, which is in a former United Methodist Church in Charles Village.
“I’ll focus on transportation assets for Baltimore. I cannot express how important it is to have transit as the foundation of economic opportunity,” Alsobrooks said.
Also participating in the forum were Frydenborg, a writer, researcher and consultant; Marcellus Crews, of Prince George’s
County, a small-business owner in the tech sector; and business systems analyst Andrew Jaye Wildman, of Carroll County.
An Emerson College Polling survey on Feb. 15 showed Hogan and Trone tied at 42% in a hypothetical general election matchup as of Feb. 12-13. In a second matchup, Hogan held a 7-point lead over Alsobrooks.
Alsobrooks’ campaign predicts her numbers will rise when voters get to know her better. Trone, who lives in Montgomery County, is the co-founder of the Total Wine & More retail chain and has blanketed the state with ads from his mostly self-financed campaign.
The Emerson College polling showing Hogan even with Trone “should make us all terrified because it’s worrisome,” Frydenborg said during the forum. “We cannot afford to have a Republican voting with Republicans in the Senate.” Democrats currently hold a 51-49 Senate majority.
Baltimore has had at least one senator for 47 years. Cardin, who lives in Pikesville,
had been in the Senate for 11 years and established himself as a staunch Baltimore defender known for his attention to infrastructure, small business and the Chesapeake Bay.
Cardin has said he will not endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary.
Trone, whose 6th Congressional District includes Frederick County and Western Maryland, has been endorsed by House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Katherine Clark, among other lawmakers, and the Maryland State Education Association.
Alsobrooks has endorsements from Moore and Van Hollen. Baltimore-area Democrats who have endorsed her include Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.
Barber, the forum’s moderator, urged Baltimoreans to make their voices heard in the race by voting.
“Baltimore City will not be unappreciated or underrepresented in this election,” she said in her opening remarks.