Posted on 10/08/24
Baltimore, MD - Oct. 8, 2024 – With the 2024 General Election season in full swing, as mail-in ballots begin arriving (for those who have requested) and Early Voting slated to begin in less than three weeks, the Vaad HaRabbonim/Rabbinical Council of Baltimore met on Monday with two important candidates on the November ballot: former Governor Larry Hogan, running for the Maryland Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Senator Ben Cardin, and current Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., who is running for the 2nd District Congressional seat left by retiring Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger.
As in past pre-election meetings of this type, the forum was coordinated by Agudah Maryland and took place at Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation. In addition to the rabbonim, representatives from Jewish day schools and other community organizations were in attendance. Despite the general reluctance to gather the rabbonim during the Aseres Yemei Teshuva/Yom Tov season, it was felt that the shared appreciation for the long-standing relationship with the two candidates, and the critical role our community's electorate plays in this election, justified fitting in this meeting nonetheless.
Agudah Maryland had been working to set up a pre-election meeting to host not only Gov. Hogan, the Republican candidate, but also his opponent from the Democrat side, current Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. Disappointingly, however, despite initial indications that the Alsobrooks campaign was interested in participating in such a meeting, they did not make her available to meet with the leadership of the Orthodox Jewish community.
Gov. Hogan spoke about his decision to run after having enjoyed retirement from elected office for several years. He attributed his decision to his deep concerns about the direction the country is heading, describing viscerally how he was shocked to see the dangerous rise in antisemitism in the wake of October 7th and the Israel-Gaza war, and the tolerance for it by the general public. Hogan talked about his decision to resign from two Harvard University fellowship posts after seeing what he described as their disgusting tolerance of hateful antisemitic rhetoric and protests. The former Governor also described his resolve to maintain his independence if elected, saying that he would continue to vote according to his convictions rather than serve as a blank check for any one party or politician.
Baltimore County Executive “Johnny O” was the second guest of the gathering and shared brief highlights of his relationship with the community and its leaders in his role as a legislator, then as County Executive (currently halfway through his second term), and his determination to continue to help his constituents if elected to serve as Maryland’s 2nd District Representative. The candidate spoke of his support for Israel, his horror at the atrocities of October 7th, and mentioned his intent to visit Israel in person in the near future. Mr. Olszewski echoed concerns from the audience about the unfortunate rise of extremist voices on both sides of the aisle, pointing out that some of the more media-prominent extremist voices within his own party (the Democrats) had been ejected from their posts by their voters in the primary. He also pointed to his experience working with both Democrats and Republicans in the “purplish” political arena of Baltimore County.
Rabbi Ariel Sadwin, who arranged the event, commented: “We were very pleased with the turnout of rabbonim and community leaders at the meeting, despite the limited time flexibility during the Yom Tov season. We must also reinforce the enormous importance our community’s vote will play in the upcoming election. Please, everyone, go out and VOTE!”
