By Adam Pagnucco.
Part One explained how this survey was conducted. Part Two started the list of elected officials. Let’s continue today.
All comments are from my sources except for those specifically made by me.
11 (tie). Senator Will Smith (17 votes)
One of two Montgomery County Senate Committee chairs putting him in a lot of action.
Potential next Attorney General when Anthony Brown retires.
The chairmanship of Judicial Proceedings is a big deal.
Being chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee is no small thing. He runs the committee smartly and with a velvet glove.
Powerful chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He’s a very big part of senate leadership.
Huge public safety issues go through him.
Pagnucco: Hits the sweet spot between the left and the far left and has the credentials for bigger things down the line.
11 (tie). Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (17 votes)
Potential next Congresswoman when Jamie Raskin retires.
A powerful voice among the General’s Assembly’s most important voting blocks, her voice is an essential one in Annapolis. She’s also become a leading voice for local progressive causes, especially renter protections which are at the center of the conversation at the state and local levels.
Influences a large block of votes in the General Assembly and is single handedly blocking special elections in the entire state during a moment when everyone is clamoring to defend democracy.
She wears several important hats in Annapolis: president of the Legislative Black Caucus, which has laid out a far more activist agenda than it had under previous leaders. She’s the vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and she personally sandbagged special elections for legislative vacancies this year. She’s one of a handful of talented young Black women who have been empowered by Speaker Adrienne Jones — and she may be in the mix to succeed Jones whenever Jones departs.
Chair of the Black Caucus, and the County’s best prospect in the House, she has taken the Black Caucus in a bold new direction, has steered complicated policy, and has found some small but key places to put her finger on the political scale. Watch and learn.
Is on the speakers’ short list of favorites and has a huge impact on one the issues people talk so much about these days- appointments.
A rising talent, strong progressive leader.
Pagnucco: If a sign of influence is an ability to block something important, then Wilkins has plenty of it since she is the biggest obstacle to special elections in Annapolis.
9 (tie). Senator Brian Feldman (18 votes)
Adult county voice in the State Senate.
Quietly one of the most effective and respected legislators who now oversees one of the state’s most powerful committees.
The committee that he chairs has a tremendously important portfolio, and he’ll be involved in every discussion about the future of Maryland’s energy portfolio, climate change, grid reliability and more. He may be too close to the utilities he oversees — he wouldn’t be the first committee chair in Annapolis you could say that about.
Chair Feldman is an expert on energy policy and an important part of the Senate President’s inner circle.
Pagnucco: Feldman is a regular on the most influential list. His current chair reinforces his long-time role as a responsible adult on policy issues and an asset for the county in Annapolis.
9 (tie). Governor Wes Moore (18 votes)
Still not entirely convinced he’s real but is magical at everything he does.
He created lots of new state legislators, plus he is paving the way housing reform in MoCo.
Very much moves the needle and highly respected. The shine has only increased since his election.
He is a rock star in all ways.
Pagnucco: The governor of Maryland will always matter a lot to MoCo. What makes Moore different for us is his interest in housing, which has been regarded primarily as a local issue in the past. As the housing shortage becomes an ever larger problem in MoCo, it’s a good thing for our county to have a governor whose administration is heavily engaged on the issue.
More to come next!