Politics & Government
Progressive Maryland Takes A Bow, LGBTQIA+ Panel Wants Input, BGE Gets New VP, In Notes
"We're celebrating 25 years of Progressive Maryland, the progress we have been able to make as a state," Director Stafford said Friday.
November 4, 2025
When it celebrates its 25th anniversary next week, Progressive Maryland will be looking back on its successes in the state, but in the current political climate it’s hard to imagine there won’t be a fair amount of looking forward, too.+
Find out what's happening in Across Marylandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Executive Director Larry Stafford said the Nov. 13 gala at the DoubleTree hotel in Columbia will celebrate the organization’s history, but also serve as a call to action.
“We’re celebrating 25 years of Progressive Maryland, the progress we have been able to make as a state,” Stafford said Friday. “In doing so at a time while we are facing … incredibly turbulent times.”
Find out what's happening in Across Marylandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The organization has several chapters in the state, including some in more conservative areas, like Harford County and the Lower Shore. In the last legislative session, it threw its support behind proposals for renter protections and criminal justice reforms. It is currently pushing for the state to redraw its congressional districts map in hopes of picking up a Democratic seat in response to Republican states that have redrawn their districts for partisan gain.
That move is opposed by Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), who called mid-cycle redistricting “too risky” because it could wind up costing Democrats a seat. That drew a rebuke from Progressive Maryland, which called on the Senate to “pick up this fight on … redistricting.”
“Sen. Ferguson needs to recognize that these are unprecedented times that we’re living in right now,” Stafford said. “Currently, as we’re seeing Republicans and many states are rushing to redraw maps to rig the mid-term elections, we can’t take chances here in Maryland to not do everything within our power to make sure that we’re in this national fight to save our democracy.”
In political campaigns, Progressive Maryland has backed Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy (D) and it helped former NAACP president Ben Jealous emerge from a crowded Democratic field to win the 2018 gubernatorial nomination. It supported Marc Elrich, an avowed Democratic Socialist, in his successful bid for Montgomery County executive, and has backed Dels. Shelia Ruth (D-Baltimore County) and Jamila Woods (D-Prince George’s), Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) and several current county, municipal and school board members.
The guest speaker for next week’s gala will be U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who’s being recognized for his work pushing for lower prescription drug costs and affordable health care, among other topics. Van Hollen has also emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of the Trump administration, for its action against offshore wind projects, its treatment of federal workers and its immigration policies, including the high-profile deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
“We’ve had great success in the electoral arena in the last 25 years that has completely changed the landscape of Maryland politics,” Stafford said. “Progressive Maryland exists as a place where multiple organizations that make up the left in Maryland come together to do work to guide the state in a more progressive direction.”
Shake-up at BGE
The utility last week named John Haysbert its next vice president of governmental and external affairs. Haysbert has served in similar roles at Hitachi Energy and Duke Energy Corp. Most recently, he was managing partner of public policy and external affairs at the Achis Group, where he handled external affairs for Fortune 500 companies.
“We are very happy to welcome John as VP of Governmental and External Affairs at BGE,” said Valencia McClure, senior vice president of governmental, regulatory and external affairs at Exelon.
“John’s expertise in energy policy, stakeholder engagement, and external affairs will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our relationships with policymakers and communities in Maryland,” she said. “His leadership will help ensure BGE remains a trusted partner by delivering timely, accurate information and advocating for policies that support our customers and the communities we serve.”
Haysbert, who started Monday, replaces Charles Washington, a BGE spokesman confirmed. Earlier this year, Exelon named McClure to her current position for BGE, Pepco and Delmarva Power, Exelon’s Maryland utilities. She replaced Alex Nunez in the role at BGE, the spokesman said.
LGBTQIA+ survey
The Maryland Commission for LGBTQIA+ Affairs opened a survey last month for individuals in the state who may need housing, mental health or any other supports.
The anonymous survey for those 18 and older is being conducted in partnership with the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. Among the questions, the survey asks whether a person “changed or attempted to change” their sex or gender on a Maryland birth certificate; how familiar they are with “state policies and legal protections for LGBTQIA+ Marylanders”; and “To what extent do you feel connected to an LGBTQIA+ community (or communities) in MD?”
Lee Blinder, a member of the commission and founding executive director of Trans Maryland, said in an interview Monday that the survey comes at a time when Trump administration continues to target the LGBTQIA+ community. Maryland is seen as having some of the best protections in the country for the LGBTQ community, but Blinder said more work must be done, which is part of the reason for the survey.
“We know how important access to accurate data is for our community in such a targeted time that the federal administration is very specifically targeting the LGBTQIA+ community, in particular the trans community,” Blinder said. “We’re anecdotally hearing really desperate situations for community members, for families with LGBTQIA+ people here in Maryland.”
The survey will be open until Dec. 1. Once done, results will be reviewed and tabulated with the goal of presenting some of the data to the General Assembly when it convenes Jan. 14.
One bill that didn’t advance in the 2025 legislative session was the Birth Certificate Modernization Act, which sought to make it easier for transgender people to make changes to their birth certificates, among other measures. Transgender advocates have been pushing that bill for the last few years.
“I don’t have a single day that goes by a trans community member is reaching out to tell me that they are scared, that they are really worried about their ability to move around in public life,” Blinder said.
“That’s a weighted burden to go around with, so what we want to be able to do is empower those individuals and our community to say this is what resources we need and we have to have tangible investment in this community.”
