This article was republished with permission from 海角社区app’s news partners at . Read the story at Maryland Matters.
This content was republished with permission from 海角社区app鈥檚 news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for聽听迟辞诲补测.
The political fallout continues from former state Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters鈥� decision earlier this year to聽聽on the University System of Maryland Board of Regents.
Peters鈥� appointed replacement for the Prince George鈥檚 County District 23 Senate seat, Ronald L. Watson Jr. (D), who previously served in the House of Delegates, has begun to assert his authority as the leader of the district鈥檚 legislative delegation 鈥� and will have a well-funded political operation at his disposal. And it appears likely that the district, which has been split between two House subdistricts for the past two decades, will become unified once again, electing three House members from the full district 鈥� scrambling the political calculus in innumerable ways.
鈥淚t鈥檚 high drama,鈥� said one Prince George鈥檚 County political veteran.
In recent weeks, Watson, who was first elected to the House in 2018, was聽聽in the Senate. Cheryl S. Landis, who was serving as chair of the Prince George鈥檚 Democratic Central Committee, was subsequently聽聽Watson鈥檚 District 23B seat, with Watson鈥檚 support.
Now Watson is filling out his political slate for the 2022 Democratic primary 鈥� and Landis does not appear to be on it. But one of the women who was beaten out by Landis during the appointment process for delegate may wind up on Watson鈥檚 ticket.
Watson last week threw his support for one District 23B seat to Jocelyn I. Collins, the government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C., who just entered the race.
鈥淎s a lifelong Prince Georgian, I know the county and state鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses intimately,鈥澛�Collins said in a 90-second聽. 鈥淚 recognize that our circumstances can be better, especially in regards to health care, economic security, education, environmental justice, and justice reform. Maryland is not leading and I want to change that.鈥�
Collins was a central figure in the Annapolis legislative debate to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 and has been involved in other health policy battles as well.
鈥淪he puts our community first and has led the charge on significant legislation in Maryland,鈥� Watson said in a statement released by Collins鈥� campaign. 鈥淪he is the epitome of a public servant and will serve as a great representative to District 23B.鈥�
Del. Marvin E. Holmes Jr. (D), who holds the other District 23B seat, endorsed Collins at the same time 鈥� as did three members of the Prince George鈥檚 County Council and Bowie鈥檚 mayor pro tem, Adrian Boafo.
So why isn鈥檛 Watson putting Landis on his 2022 slate? Is she planning to only serve in the House between now and the beginning of 2023, as a placeholder? What else is changing in the Bowie-based district?
鈥淭hose are great questions,鈥� Watson said in an interview. He expressed a reluctance, at this stage in the campaign, to fully discuss the current District 23 political dynamic or disclose his strategy for putting together a slate for next year.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to give my competition an alert about what鈥檚 about to happen there,鈥� he said.
Landis did not respond to a phone call seeking comment. But while Landis held open the possibility of running for a full term in 2022 when she sought the appointment to the District 23B seat, three Prince George鈥檚 Democratic leaders and one party operative said they expected her to serve in the House only on a temporary basis, as a capstone to her career as an educator and Democratic activist.
But forthcoming political developments could continue to shake the stability of the District 23 legislative delegation.
For the past two decades, the district has been split into subdistricts, to ensure that the demographically fluid area has Black representation. That paved the way for Holmes鈥� election in 2002, and enabled Watson, now the district鈥檚 first Black senator, to oust veteran Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr., the decades-long chair of the House Judiciary Committee, in the 2018 Democratic primary.
But the overall district has followed the rest of Prince George鈥檚 County and is now majority-Black, likely eliminating the need for carved-out subdistricts when the General Assembly redraws the legislative map early next year.
That eventuality creates uncertainty for the district鈥檚 third House member, Del. Geraldine Valentino-Smith (D), who represents the single-member District 23A and has been in the legislature since 2011. Valentino-Smith, who is white, is unlikely to be picked up by Watson鈥檚 ticket 鈥� not a fatal development, necessarily, in the annals of Prince George鈥檚 politics, but not a welcome one, either.
In an interview Monday, Valentino-Smith said she was weighing her options for 2022.
鈥淚 have really found it a privilege to serve in the House of Delegates and I am contemplating continuing to serve,鈥� she said.
Three people who have talked to Valentino-Smith in recent days said her options include seeking reelection in a district that is likely to have several House candidates or challenging Watson in a Senate primary. They also said she has some hope of latching on to a gubernatorial ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor.
Watson already has one Democratic primary challenger, Sylvia L. Johnson, a small business owner who announced聽聽just before Peters revealed he wouldn鈥檛 be seeking a fifth term. Sources said Johnson is considering putting together a ticket of insurgent candidates to run against Watson鈥檚 slate in the primary.
Meanwhile, assuming District 23 is made whole, Watson is expected to add Kym Taylor, a former aide to Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George鈥檚) who competed unsuccessfully against Landis for the House appointment earlier this fall, as the third House member on his ticket, along with Holmes and Collins.
Other candidates have already come forward to run for the House in District 23A and District 23B.
In District 23A, Monica Roebuck, a community activist and teacher with a college readiness program, has filed paperwork to run. And in District 23B, Remi Duyile, a retired Bank of America vice president, is running. It isn鈥檛 clear whether either woman would stay in the race if District 23 becomes a unified district, or if they might get picked up by any ticket Johnson tries to put together.
One thing is certain: The slate Watson assembles will be very well funded. That鈥檚 because Peters was advised to empty his campaign committee account before taking his seat on the Board of Regents.
In an interview Monday, Peters said he donated $50,000 of his campaign fund to a University of Maryland Promise Scholarship to needy students from Prince George鈥檚 County and Baltimore City. And he said he give upwards of $100,000 to the District 23 slate, which he used to head.
鈥淚 was on the slate. I sent my money to the slate. And then I took my name off the slate,鈥� Peters said.
