Political notes: A Prince George's concession, a drug board convergence, a Wicomico court ruling
Sen. Nick Charles (D-Prince George's), left, chats with At-Large County Councilmember Calvin Hawkins at Election Night watch party in Largo. Hawkin on Friday conceded the county executive's race to Aisha Braveboy. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
It's unofficially official: Prince Geroge's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy will be the Democratic nominee in June's special election for the next county executive.
At-large County Councilmember Calvin Hawkins conceded Friday, after initially refusing to do so in the wake of Tuesday's special primary election. Official results won't be known until at least Wednesday, when provisional ballots will be counted, according to County Election Administrator Wendy Honest-Bey said in an email Thursday. But Hawkins said in a statement that, 'After reviewing the information shared by the Prince George's County Board of Elections, I see no path to victory.'
'Congratulations to Aisha Braveboy on her victory in the Democratic primary. I look forward to working alongside her in moving our County forward,' his statement said.
Unofficial results posted Friday evening showed Braveboy with 36,952 votes, 46.6% of the crowded Democratic field, followed by former County Executive Rushern L. Baker III with 15,111 votes and Hawkins with 7,542 votes. County Council Chair Jolene Ivey – who pulled out of the race three weeks ago – still managed to finish fourth, with 7,904 votes.
Hawkins had been endorsed by former county executive and now U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D), while Braveboy touted the endorsement of Gov. Wes Moore (D).
The rest of the Democratic field was state Sen. Alonzo Washington, with 3,933 votes; Tonya Sweat, with 1,149; Ron Hunt, 543; Marcellus Crews, 424; and Albert Slocum, 158.
Braveboy will face off against the Republican nominee in a June 3 special election. No winner had been declared among the GOP candidates Friday, when Jonathan White led with 1,211 votes to Jesse Peed's 1,123 votes and George E. McDermott's 936. Because of Democrats' overwhelming voter registration advantage in the county, the winner of the Democratic primary is largely considered the favorite to win the general election.
Braveboy, in a statement Friday from the group Progressive Maryland, said she is 'ready to get to work building a county that uplifts every resident, strengthens our economy, and ensures fairness in every part of our government.'
Voters in Council District 5 also voted Tuesday for a replacement for Ivey, who was elected to an at-large seat last fall. Former school board member Shayla Adams-Stafford declared victory in the Democratic primary, with 4,262 votes, just under half the total. She was followed by Ryan Middleton, with 2,428 votes; Kendal Gray with 487; Theresa Mitchell Dudley with 594; and Christopher Wade, with 346. Cheverly Mayor Kayce Munyeneh had pulled out the race, but still got 116 votes.
Republican candidate Fred Price Jr. ran unopposed and will face the winner of the District 5 Democrats primary on June 3. The winners of the county executive and council races will serve out the remaining two years left on the terms for those seats.
A Senate committee passed a slightly different version of a House bill that would expand a state board's authority to help bring down prescription drug costs – but not so different that the bill's supporters are worried about its future.
Thursday's vote by the Senate Finance Committee came two weeks after the full House considered and passed its own version of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board bill. The differences are not big enough to throw the bill off its current momentum, said Vincent DeMarco, president of Maryland Health Care for All.
'We're thrilled about the Finance committee action,' DeMarco said Friday. 'They passed a very strong bill that gives the board the full authority it needs to make high cost drugs more affordable to everyone.'
Senate Bill 357, sponsored by Sen. Dawn Gile (D-Anne Arundel) and Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery), would expand the authority of PDAB, which is currently tasked with finding ways to reduce the cost of prescription drugs on the state's health plan, saving some taxpayer dollars in the process.
The bill would expand the board's authority to set what are called upper-payment limits on prescription drugs in the commercial market. Doing so would limit how much drug purchasers could spend on certain medications, which supporters hope would result in savings for Marylanders.
The Finance Committee on Thursday adopted House amendments to its version of the bill to exclude certain federal programs from upper payment limits and ensure that the board's actions do not conflict with federal rebate programs or Medicaid.
But the committee added an amendment to add three members to the already large 26-person PDAB stakeholder council – representatives of the rare disease community, of oncologists and from a patient-advocacy organization. The committee also increased some reporting requirements in the year after the board issues an upper payment limit on a drug, to ensure that there are no significant adverse effects on patient access or out-of-pocket costs as a result of the board's actions.
Despite its creation in 2019, PDAB has not yet brought down the costs of any prescription drug under its current authority, leading some lawmakers to believe it is premature to expand the board's scope this session. The Finance Committee voted 7-3 for the bill, with Republicans opposed, setting the stage for a Senate floor vote next week.
Despite some dramatics and partisan fighting, the House voted Feb. 22 to approve House Bill 424 on party-line vote of 94-38.
'This year we're making great progress,' DeMarco said. 'We feel very confident that the full Senate will pass the bill next week.'
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