PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — After the death of longtime Maryland Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, his Senate vacancy led to former Delegate Michael Jackson [27-B] to fill the seat. This left another vacancy open in Prince George’s and Calvert county, for Jackson’s previous seat.

The Democratic Central Committees of both counties put out an application for candidates on Jan. 16, with the deadline to file by the 30th. Several candidates have already announced their application for the delegate seat and they range from a former delegate candidate, an attorney and professor, and a Capitol Hill liaison.

Rachel Jones, a field liaison for U.S. Senator Ben Cardin[D-MD], announced her bid in a Facebook post.

“I believe that I am the best candidate to meet the necessity of this time. To fairly stand up for and shape policy that best serves the needs of residents of a diverse district, straddling two counties that I’m deeply invested in and love,” Jones said in her post, along with a description of her background working within the U.S. Senate. Jones went on to emphasize her time serving as an advocate for Southern Maryland, saying that she would continue this work in the House of Delegates.

Jason Fowler also announced his intention to pursue the vacancy. Fowler had previously run on the Democratic ticket for delegate in District 27C in 2018 but lost in the General Election to Delegate Mark Fisher[R]. Fowler says his legislative priories include helping Maryland move to renewable energy by 2035, universal Pre-K, and transportation priorities such as a Southern Maryland transit system and replacing the Thomas Johnson Bridge.

Russel Butler has also applied for the vacancy. Butler is an attorney and adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore’s law school. He formerly served as an attorney and executive director at the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center. He stated that his three top legislative priorities if appointed to the House would be improvements to Maryland’s criminal justice system, better technology and data usage in legislation, and redistricting.

These three candidates all have unique backgrounds and experiences, and four additional candidates are applying, leaving the central committees with a wide range of choices for what direction they want to take the seat.

One aspect that is playing a major role in how the committees will choose the future delegate is their ability to represent the dual nature of the district, which currently encompasses both portions of Calvert and Prince George’s county. Question 8 of the application asked candidates “How will you balance the needs of Calvert with the needs of Prince George’s counties?” Other issues inquired by the application include criminal justice reform, the COVID-19 pandemic, organized labor, education, and healthcare.

The committees are holding special public hearings via Zoom on Feb. 2 and Feb. 4 regarding the vacancy, giving candidates time to speak on their qualifications for the position. Each candidate will have two minutes to speak and can call on two other people to speak in support of them being granted the seat. We will have more coverage of the hearing and the vacancy as the democratic central committee’s decision in the coming weeks who will fill the crucial delegate seat.

See a full list of candidates below:

Contact Tyler at tylerchesser@thebaynet.com