Wired Maryland 11/01/2026

Nov 01, 2026

🏛️ Wired Maryland

Sunday Edition | Statehouse Intelligence & Leadership Profile

Sunday, November 1, 2026

The Week in the Village

Week of October 25—31, 2026 — the Saturday-night countdown of the week’s biggest Maryland government-relations stories.

Counting down the week’s GR stories — Bill Ferguson’s new Senate, Cheryl Kagan’s demotion read from the public record, a $1.45 billion Board of Public Works docket, the quietest registration deadline in months, and Tuesday’s Election Day setup.

#7. The feds are in the frame.

Anne Arundel County schools are facing a Department of Justice lawsuit — FERPA and PPRA claims, covered by the Banner and Reuters — and that is not the only Washington shadow over Tuesday. The Justice Department is deploying 1,000 election monitors with the locations undisclosed, and the Banner had federal agents’ poll-day preparations October 29. Whatever Tuesday looks like on the ground, part of it will be federal.

#6. ‘The Battle Lines over the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project’ (via The Maryland Wire).

My Friday paid piece ran the MPRP fight: the 500-kV, 67-mile line, Constellation and the Pennsylvania generators on one side, Virginia data centers on the other, David Lapp’s Office of People’s Counsel in the middle. The rest of the energy week: BGE’s $156 million rate case, with Jonathan Cohen calling it ‘a complete money grab’ and the PSC deciding in January; the $200 million Megawatts for Maryland auction; and the OPC asking the PSC for $36.7 million-plus in penalties against unlicensed Empower.

#5. The registration year closed — quietly.

The 2026–27 lobbying year ended today with 237 records and no new registrations since the October 26 sweep — the top ID is still R032200, submitted October 23. The 2025–26 year sits at 4,135. My post-deadline sweep runs Monday morning at 9:30, and the evergreen hub pages kick off Monday too — energy first. If you were waiting on the deadline, the clock resets November 1 and the new year is 2027–28.

#4. The BPW’s $1.45 billion Thursday.

The Board of Public Works moved about $1.45 billion across 93 items Thursday, and the tell was Brooke Lierman’s 2-1 dissent on the roughly $100 million MTA/Aon Purple Line contract. My paid BPW piece Thursday covered the $8 million Inner Harbor capital grant trim — Item 72-CGL-MOD, DGS modifications locked in ahead of the session. Twenty-three ag cost-share grants ($441,200) and a $418,124.78 job-order award to First Fruits Excavating at MCI-Hagerstown filled out the money week.

#3. ‘What To Do About Kagan’ — the demotion, read from the public record (via The Maryland Wire).

My Friday paid piece read Cheryl Kagan’s situation the only way I read a thing like that — off the documents: the mgaleg vice-chair listing against the release’s invented ‘Senate liaison’ title. Nothing from the room where it happened. The paper tells the story.

#2. Tuesday is Election Day — and early voting just set the table.

Early voting ended Thursday up 67 percent over 2022, and early plus mail-in is on pace to top a million (Maryland Matters, October 31). Polls are open 7 to 8 Tuesday with same-day registration. The GR-world stakes: Question 3 — Wes Moore’s Bowie rally and the Obama ad against the Harris/Trump opposition, plus Roger Kaul’s $20,000-plus radio buy; comptroller — Brooke Lierman against Sonya Dunn; Ocean City mayor — Matt James against Rick Meehan, where my comment requests on the helicopter angle are due back Tuesday; Baltimore’s Question I, the Baby Fund; Chuck Cook’s District 33B bid against Stuart Schmidt Jr. — my free piece Friday; D30 — Henson against Haire, with Democratic leaders behind Henson; the Frederick county-executive race with data centers driving it; the Dundalk council free-for-all; and Detroit, where my ‘Nobody Owns Detroit’ piece is staged for the vote, the courtesy check still open.

#1. Ferguson’s new Senate (via The Maryland Wire).

My Friday paid piece laid out Bill Ferguson’s slate, and this is the one that matters most to this readership: Brian Feldman as Majority Leader and Chief of Policy — with the Rules chair and the late-bill gatekeeping that comes with it — David Hayes at Finance, the first Black chair in the chamber’s history, McCray as vice chair, Sarah Gile at EEE. Beidle’s retiring; Rosapepe’s being succeeded. The piece also did the correction work: the Sun’s ‘economic chief’ framing was wrong, and my Thursday Feldman piece had already built the real read from the public documents. The process story is not done — Seidman went in July, and Schuhlein is departing with no communications successor named.

THE WEEK AHEAD — November 1–8

Sunday, November 1: this piece runs — and the SC Wire’s Sunday merger piece publishes: the $67 billion NextEra/Dominion fight, with the Aiken hearing briefing folded in.

Monday, November 2: Baltimore County votes on Bill 100-26; the 9:30am post-deadline lobbying-registration sweep; the evergreen hub pages kick off (energy first); the Aiken PSC pre-registration deadline (hearing Thursday at 6pm); the Rutool recheck.

Tuesday, November 3: Election Day — polls 7am–8pm, same-day registration; Ocean City mayor (James vs. Meehan); Baltimore Question I (my Baby Fund piece is in the editing queue); Baltimore County D4 (Kamenetz vs. Schuman); Detroit, where ‘Nobody Owns Detroit’ is staged.

Wednesday, November 4: the NY Wire cast-paragraph refresh check, 9am; PSC meeting — watch the BGE docket.

Thursday, November 5: the Aiken PSC hearing, 6pm (North Charleston November 12, Columbia November 17).

Just past the window: the Dickerson incinerator’s tentative council vote, November 10 — my Thursday paid piece carries the tonnage, trucks and jobs numbers.

Tune In: Len Foxwell Joining WJLA Channel 7 for Live Election Night Analysis

Veteran Maryland political strategist and communications expert Len Foxwell will serve as a featured analyst for Washington, D.C.’s WJLA Channel 7 during its live Election Night coverage this Tuesday.

Foxwell, founder of Tred Avon Strategies and former chief of staff to Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, brings decades of state and regional political experience to the desk. He also serves on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University as a lecturer in the Center for Leadership Education and Director of HopStart.

How to Watch Live:

On TV: Channel 7 (WJLA-TV) in the D.C. metro area.
Online & Out-of-Market: Stream live via web browser at wjla.com/watch, download the free ABC7 WJLA app on smart TV platforms (Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV) and mobile devices, or tune in nationwide on the NewsON platform.

STATEHOUSE & POLICY WIRE

Early Voting Period Concludes: In-person early voting for Maryland’s 2026 Gubernatorial General Election officially wrapped up on Thursday, October 29. Local election boards across the state are now preparing assigned polling locations for Election Day on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Mail-in Ballot Deadlines: Voters choosing to return mail-in ballots must have their ballots postmarked or deposited into a designated local ballot drop box by 8:00 PM on Election Day, November 3, 2026.
Capital & Infrastructure Pipeline: Following October’s Board of Public Works decisions—including $12.7 million in Department of Natural Resources grants and critical Bay Restoration Fund approvals—county and municipal administrations are finalizing local project timetables for the upcoming fiscal cycle.

Detail of a Maryland Matters image by Ford

Delegate Lorig Charkoudian (District 20, Montgomery County) brings a distinct combination of academic rigers and grassroots activism to the Maryland General Assembly. Holding a Ph.D. in Economics from Johns Hopkins University, she pairs data-driven policy solutions with deep commitment to community advocacy.

As the Executive Director of Community Mediation Maryland and the Vice Chair of the House Economic Matters Committee, Delegate Charkoudian has stood out as a leader who addresses systemic challenges—from environmental sustainability and economic justice to restorative practices and food accessibility.

Woman of Distinction: Del. Lorig Charkoudian

Profile OverviewKey InformationDistrictMaryland House of Delegates, District 20 (Takoma Park & Silver Spring)Leadership RolesVice Chair, Economic Matters Committee; Executive Director, Community Mediation MarylandEducationB.A. in Mathematical Economics (Pomona College); Ph.D. in Economics (Johns Hopkins University)DistinctionsFirst Armenian American member of the MD House of Delegates; The Daily Record Circle of Excellence (Three-time Top 100 Women Inductee)

Key Legislative & Community Impact

Clean Energy & Environmental Leadership: Championed legislation aimed at building electrification, clean energy purchasing for local counties, and expanding renewable energy infrastructure in Maryland.
Dispute Resolution & Restorative Justice: Led statewide initiatives using mediation to reduce mass incarceration, divert individuals from the criminal justice system, and foster community-led restorative practices.
Economic Security & Health Access: Authored groundbreaking legislation to connect unemployed residents directly to health coverage via the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange.
Food Sovereignty & Micro-Entrepreneurship: Spearheaded local food security initiatives, including the TPSS Community Kitchen, which provides shared-use commercial facilities for emerging local food entrepreneurs.

Honors & Leadership Recognition

Circle of Excellence Member, Daily Record Maryland’s Top 100 Women
Leon G. Billings Environmental Achievement Award, National Conference of Environmental Legislators
Consumer Advocate of the Year, Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition
Judge Robert M. Bell Award, Maryland State Bar Association (Dispute Resolution Section)
Community Leadership Award, Maryland State Chapter of NOW