“As a father with a kid in Maryland public school, and a lifelong educator who has improved the educational opportunities for millions of students across Maryland and our country, John King is the most qualified candidate to address our state’s educational needs and is committed to bettering the lives of all Maryland families. King’s broad coalition and common-sense platform are why he is so well-positioned to win the Democratic primary in the summer and the general election this fall. I have seen the enormous good John King has already done and plans to do for Maryland. I look forward to working with him to ensure he wins the July 19th primary and is elected our next Governor in November.”- Jared Schablein, LSPC Chair.
With the passage of the Kirwan Commission, the next Governor of Maryland will have much work to oversee in order to retool our state's education system. However, for those efforts to succeed and ensure every child in our state – from the Lower Shore to Western MD and everywhere else – gets the world-class education they need to succeed, Maryland needs to elect someone with both the vision and the experience.
The candidate who is best qualified to lead on education - the top issue for MD voters, is our very own endorsed candidate for Governor John King. President Obama trusted John King so much that he put him in charge of his Department of Education. As Secretary of Education for President Obama, John King oversaw schools that served tens of millions of students across our country in grades K through twelve and higher education institutions.
As our next Governor, John King will raise teacher salaries, hire more teachers and school counselors, diversify our teacher workforce, help teachers in high-needs schools, and improve our students' access to mental health services.
John King is also the best candidate when it comes to protecting our environment and fighting the climate crisis we are currently in. As Governor, John King will pursue an ambitious and much-needed goal to achieve net-zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2035. John King has the most comprehensive plan to fight climate change and reach this goal, which includes ensuring Maryland becomes one of the first net-zero states in the country by transitioning all state vehicles to electric by 2030, mandating that Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard only includes clean renewable energy, and achieving a carbon-free electricity sector in Maryland by 2030, among other programs.
John King’s commitment to fighting climate change will be an economic boon for the Eastern Shore by expanding the solar and offshore wind projects currently being built on the Shore. The construction of this green economy will create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, result in more investment for our community colleges/trade schools, and build wealth for Marylanders in every corner of the state. A lot of this development will be located right here on the Lower Shore due to our ideal conditions for green energy projects.
Finally, John King has an agenda committed to improving economic conditions for working families across our state. As Governor, John King will push to speed up Maryland’s path to a minimum wage that is a living wage and indexed to inflation. This is key to ensuring every working Marylander can have a livable wage they can survive on no matter their job title, achieving the dream set forth by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt when he implemented the minimum wage during the New Deal.
As Governor, John King will also be a champion for union rights. His administration will push for pro-union legislation that ensures every Marylander has the right to collectively bargain in their workplace and strengthen Maryland’s anti-retaliation laws for workers who rightfully speak up about everything from workplace conditions to overtime pay. These policies will protect workers' rights and allow unions a better opportunity to flourish in our state.
John King also supports establishing a Maryland state bank through which we can provide higher levels of consumer protection and consumer assistance to those that reside within our state. Most importantly, a state bank would improve access to capital for entrepreneurs and allow the creation of more small businesses. This would have an overwhelmingly positive effect on people of color and women entrepreneurs as well as developers of mixed-income and affordable housing.
These are just a few of the many policies that make up John King’s common-sense plan to build an economy that works for working families in our state. It is for these reasons and more that Lower Shore Progressive Caucus proudly supports John King for Governor, and we hope that you will join us in voting for him during the July 19th primary.