Republican gubernatorial candidates prioritize safety in public television interviews

The Republican candidates to be Maryland’s next governor put forth different potential solutions to make the state safer in Maryland Public Television interviews ahead of the July 19 primary election, less than four weeks away.

“Without the idea of safe streets and safe communities nothing else matters,” said Kelly Schulz, a former state secretary of commerce and the two-term Republican Governor Larry Hogan’s pick to succeed him in Annapolis.

Schulz led all Republican candidates with 27 percent in a June Baltimore Sun/University of Baltimore poll. A plurality of those polled (42 percent) were undecided.

Schulz’ plan for safety was scant on details during the approximately eight-minute recorded interview with MPT host Jeff Salkin. Her campaign website features a video of seven county sheriffs in support of her candidacy and the sentence: “My policy is simple: support law enforcement and hold criminals accountable.”

Montgomery County resident and real estate broker Robin Ficker advocated a different deterrent when asked about violent crime--jobs.

“If we had a $20 billion plant from Intel outside of Baltimore, some of these guys, who would be playing around otherwise with guns and fentanyl, would be earning $60 an hour making semiconductors,” the former state delegate said. Ficker, who polled at 5 percent, also lamented the investment from Nucor Corporation in West Virginia, constructing a steel plant that he said would have been great for Maryland counties like Allegany and Garrett.

Baltimore County resident and lawyer Joe Werner said as governor he would put violent repeat offenders in prison and named “safety and schools” as his top priorities.

Werner, who polled at 4 percent, also said he supports increasing the age limit for an assault weapon from 18 to 21, a topic that has come into the national spotlight after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. While Maryland generally prohibits the purchase of handgun or assault weapon by those under 21, rifles and shotguns may be sold to those over the age of 18.

Similarly, Del. Dan Cox, who represents Frederick and Carroll counties, focused on school safety, a topic he has worked on in Frederick County schools as a delegate.

“We need to make sure our schools are hardened,” said Cox, advocating for schools to have doors with automatic locks, bulletproof glass, and school resource police officers. Cox, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, polled at 21 percent.

The interviews with Republican candidates were recorded this month and aired on MPT’s program State Circle. Eight Democratic candidates for governor appeared in a debate hosted by MPT on June 6.

The deadline to register to vote for the primary election in Maryland is Tuesday, June 28 and the primary election is Tuesday, July 19, 2022.

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Safety a top priority as GOP candidates vie for governorship