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SILVER SPRING While most people are winding down for the holidays, Progressive Maryland is gearing up.

The liberal grassroots organization held their first phone bank of the season on Dec. 18 to fundraise $20,000 before the start of the legislative session on Jan. 14, according to Deputy Director Larry Stafford. The group has 31,000 members and supporters throughout the state, with Montgomery County as one of the most active areas.

But going into a new session with a Republican Governor, Stafford said they have to mobilize.

We understand that the best way to (reach Governor-elect Larry Hogan) and to also hold accountable any elected officials in this state is to build a grassroots groundswell of support and thats what youre seeing tonight, Stafford said. Were calling through a list of about 1,000 or so of our members and supporters and we want to get those people in for other phone banks and have that build on itself, and then next thing you know theyll be in Annapolis walking around.

The group is focusing on two issues: campaign finance and keeping programs for working families in the state budget.

Montgomery County recently passed its own local public campaign finance legislation, and Stafford said he hopes that is one reform to which Hogan is receptive.

He ran and won using the public campaign financing system. I would hope that he could find some value in it. I think what he really should have seen is that it gives a fair opportunity to candidates of all kinds that may not have as much of a fair shake, Stafford said.

Progressive Maryland also plans to focus on the budget. The latest numbers show a predicted $1.2 billion budget shortfall over the next two years throughout the state, even more than predicted when Hogan ran on a platform of cutting state spending.

We believe we may have to do a lot of defense for working families in Maryland because we see the prioritization that this Governor-elect already has toward more wealthy individuals, Stafford said. So we want to encourage him as greatly as we can to prioritize the needs of working families and fund projects like the Purple Line and keep up our funding for our education system, which has been one of the best in the nation.

The importance of transportation is one reason Linda Saffell, a new Progressive Maryland member and Prince Georges County resident, decided to help with the phone bank. She said she wants to see more people from her county step up, particularly with a Republican governor.

Original post:
Progressives rally for new legislative session