A change in Wicomico
Part of Salisbury and environs will get a new state Delegate.
It was a bit of a surprise, but the bipartisan tendency of Delegate Carl Anderton has paid off by garnering an appointment to the State Department of Commerce as their Director of Rural Strategy, according to a report in Maryland Matters.
Anderton, who was mayor of the Maryland side of the Town of Delmar prior to running for the House District 38B seat in 2014, was an advocate for Wicomico County during his term. I wouldn’t say he was the most conservative Republican out there, but his centrist stance seemed to insure his political tenure would continue: neither party put up a primary or general election opponent in the two elections since his 2014 victory (although one Democrat withdrew days after filing for the primary in 2022.)
And while the Democrats may be licking their chops at the prospect of getting the seat, they’ll have to wait until 2026. Unlike Delaware, which holds a special election for their legislative vacancies (Valerie Jones Glitner was the last winner in such a contest late last year), Maryland fills its legislative vacancies the old-fashioned way: the proverbial smoke-filled room. It’s likely that the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee will decide at its regular meeting next month which name it will send to Governor Wes Moore (technically, his Secretary of Appointments) to make the succession official. Since Anderton was a Republican, it’s the legislator’s party from the county or counties where the district was contained who make the decision. Fortunately, the entire district is in Wicomico County so only one body is involved. (A similar decision is being made by Democrats across the bridge in Montgomery County for another House vacancy.)
I’ve been out of the Wicomico GOP loop long enough that a) I was surprised as anyone that “Cornbread” was leaving for a job like that, and b) I have no idea who they would pick as his successor. Now it’s not like Anderton had never sought to move on, as he was the conventional wisdom pick to succeed the late Bob Culver as County Executive in 2020 after Culver died in office. But Wicomico County Council decided to go in a different direction and maintain John Psota - who was fairly new to county government - as the acting County Executive for the remainder of Culver’s term. (Psota, a Republican, was defeated in seeking a full term in the 2022 primary by current CE Julie Giordano.)
Since the job has opened up, it’s a sure bet that the Democrats won’t give whoever succeeds Anderton a pass in 2026. There’s no shortage of ambitious Democrats in that area of the county, as his district takes in most of the city of Salisbury - a town with five Democrats on its city council, although not all live in that district. It’s reflective of a city that is increasingly diverse to the point where white-to-black ratio is almost equal but the county schools are majority-minority. (Many of the white students have fled to one of several parochial schools in Wicomico County.)
But that’s two years in the future. Having gone through this process a number of years ago, sometimes there’s an obvious pick (as there was when we had that opportunity) but oftentimes there are a number of factors to consider, with the key one being whether the hopeful can hold on to the seat when it comes up for election. Certainly the Wicomico GOP will be taking names as the process begins.
Whether I always agreed with him or not, Carl was a likeable guy. I wish him the best of luck in his new job. Hopefully he will be able to retain it no matter who the governor is.
Programming note: over the next couple weeks I’ll begin looking at those major Delaware races which have a September primary. There are some surprising names in there and a blast from my past.
Until next time, remember you can Buy Me a Coffee since I have a page there.