By Luke Gentile
University of Maryland College Democrats and Republicans faced off in a state issues debate on Oct. 25 hosted by Maryland Discourse and Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society (PLUMAS) to allow both sides to lay out their platforms as the Nov. 6 midterm elections approach.
The debate started just after 7:30 p.m. in Jimenez Hall, and centered around six main topics: education, the environment, gerrymandering and redistricting, criminal justice reform, healthcare and transportation.
Each topic consisted of two moderated questions, followed by an open Q&A with the audience. While some topics bred mild discussion, others had the two sides butting heads.
Speaking on the topic of gerrymandering, Republican Hunter Petit, a freshman, said Gov. Larry Hogan has done a great job trying to level the playing field in Maryland through his non-partisan redistricting proposal.
“You have to look at how many Marylanders actually want non-partisan redistricting reform, and a poll by George Mason University shows that 68 percent do,” he said. “The problem with that is we have a Democratic super-majority in the legislature, and they have made sure that hasn’t passed each and every time Gov. Hogan has introduced it.”
Petit said he thinks Democrats love to scream that Republicans are gerrymandering, but, in Maryland, it’s the opposite.
“It shouldn’t be, but Democrats have to rig elections in order to win them,” he said.
Democrat David Polefrone, a sophomore, refuted his point, saying Republicans have gerrymandered throughout history, and the governor’s proposal is merely opportunistic.
“Hogan doesn’t care about the national climate, where Republicans have gerrymandered in incredible ways. It’s clear to see that this independent non-partisan redistricting committee is there only to get his own team up a couple more points,” Polefrone said.
Junior Computer Science major Joshua Blume, who attended the debate said the debate started off well but that he liked the second half less, as he felt the two sides tried to win the crowd rather than the argument.
“It felt a little sanctimonious, just a little bit,” Blume said. “You should be focusing on the issues, not on who is going to be happy about you bringing up this issue, this point or that point. They should have tried not to play the peanut gallery so much.”
He said the issues of health care and transportation were examples of such pandering to the audience.
When Democrat Chris Richter, a senior, said the healthcare proposal by gubernatorial challenger Ben Jealous would cost state residents $24 billion, instead of the now $51 billion for healthcare expenses, providing cost-saving health care for all Marylanders, the Republicans shot back.
“Like you said, the plan will cost $24 billion, but you made it kind of misleading,” said Republican Justin Coury, a junior. “It’ll cost an additional $24 billion because each resident will have to be taxed an extra $2,800 a year. I don’t know if you consider those crumbs, but I wouldn’t.”
Blume, an Independent and member of both clubs, said the Democrats should have caught the healthcare mistake, but they hit back hard when the Republicans were unprepared to talk about transportation.
“I ride my bike everywhere, and public transportation is definitely something that matters to me, and I think the wheels kind of fell off the bus for the Republicans at the end,” Blume said.
After Republicans failed to answer a question about the proposed Purple and Red Lines, the Democrats jumped on the opportunity to expose them.
The Red Line was a proposed east-west mass transit light rail line for Baltimore, while the Purple Line is a light rail line under construction to connect Maryland suburbs with Washington.
Democrat William O’Malley, a junior, said he believes the only difference between the Purple Line and the Red Line is that the Purple Line largely benefits wealthy white communities in the Washington suburbs, while the Red Line would have benefited largely disenfranchised black communities in Baltimore.
O’Malley said Gov. Hogan turned down the federal funding to support the Red Line because it would help areas that did not support him.
“He kicked a billion dollars into the can because the communities didn’t vote for him,” O’Malley said. “This is irresponsible on multiple levels, and it’s one the greatest travesties of his administration.”
The debate ended just before 9 p.m. Blume said he felt it was worthwhile, regardless of one’s personal politics.
“Everyone had something important to bring up about their candidate and about how the different parties are influencing Maryland,” he said. “No matter what policies you favor, or what preconceived notions you have about how people are doing on this or that side of the aisle, always try to keep your ears open and talk to people who have something substantial to say.”
Photo by Luke Gentile