Last week, a supermajority in the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate voted to approve placing a referendum question on the November general election ballot. The question is approval of an amendment to the Maryland Constitution on the guidelines to be used when the General Assembly draws the boundaries of Maryland’s eight Congressional districts.
Supporters of the constitutional amendment have said repeatedly that the proposed amendment is to help ensure the boundaries of Maryland’s district are, in their words, “fair.”
Many political observers, me included, recognize this constitutional amendment referendum effort for what it is, not what its supporters say it is.
Referendum supporters have two goals. They want to redraw the current boundaries of Congressional District 1 to increase the odds that CD1 voters will elect a Democratic candidate in the 2028 election cycle. They also want to advance Governor Moore’s national political aspirations. Nothing more, nothing less.
That was affirmed with the votes for and against the redistricting referendum in a Special General Assembly Session where the General Assembly leadership decided the referendum legislation would be the only item on the agenda.
Every Republican in the House and Senate voted “no” on the legislation. Every Democrat in the House and Senate voted “yes” on the legislation with one notable exception.
The only Democratic “no” vote was cast by Delegate Sheree Sample-Hughes.
Sample-Hughes has been a member of the State House representing parts of Dorchester and Wicomico Counties since 2015. She has also served as the House of Delegates representative to the Rural Maryland Council. That council focuses on bringing together citizens, community-based organizations, federal, state, county, and municipal government officials, as well as representatives of the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, to collectively address the unique needs of rural Maryland communities.
Following her “no” vote on the bill on the constitutional amendment referendum, Sample-Hughes spoke with a reporter at WYPR radio. Sample-Hughes said, while she doesn’t support incumbent District 1 Congressman Andy Harris, discussions with her constituents are largely what led to her “no” vote.
She also told WYPR, “I just want to let you know that standing for the Eastern Shore is important for me, and it means a lot to our citizens just to be able to have a voice. But at the end of the day, they are very much concerned.”
She said she believes actions from the Trump administration will not last forever and therefore does not see any perceived negative impacts by the federal government to warrant redistricting guideline changes.
This is not the first time Delegate Sample-Hughes has broken ranks with the Democratic leadership in the State House.
In a previous legislative session, she voted “no” on gun control legislation favored by the House Democratic leadership. When asked why she did so, she said simply that she was being respectful of and responsive to the views of her constituents who opposed that legislation.
That answer was not good enough for the House Democratic leadership. She was dismissed from her position as House Speaker pro-tem, the second highest leadership position in the House of Delegates, just one position below the Speaker of the House. To add insult to injury, she was replaced in that position by a Delegate from Baltimore.
When asked for a reaction to this punishment, Sample-Hughes said simply that she had stood up for her constituents. She said, “The phone calls and the emails that I received last session on three bills that were, you know, top bills in the state, but I still had to vote my district.”
In another previous legislative session, Delegate Sample-Hughes was one of only three Democratic members in the House of Delegates to join all the House Republican members in voting “no” on the House version of a state budget.
In a floor speech described by one observer as passionate and fiery, she spoke against the House version of a $67-billion state budget that required new taxes, tax increases, new fees, fee increases, and budget cuts to meet a constitutional mandate that the budget be balanced.
Following that vote, Delegate Sample-Hughes said bluntly in an interview with Maryland Matters, “This institution (the Maryland House of Delegates) is not for everybody. This proposed budget will disproportionately impact rural counties, like those on the Eastern Shore.”
As one example, she noted the Dorchester County Public Schools had cut summer school programs in order to fund state mandates to implement the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, often referred to as the Kirwan plan.
In another media interview following her speech, she was asked if she feared retaliation for voting against legislation crafted and supported by her party’s leadership.
She replied with a blend of disheartening realism, resignation, and defiance to those who choose to punish her, rather than respect her commitment to be responsive to the concerns and opinions of her constituents.
She reiterated the belief that she expressed earlier in her floor speech: “History repeats itself. I’m sure there will be retaliation. But at the end of the day, I’m going to be fine. I’m going to continue to be me. I’m not going to change who I am.”
Now more than ever, we need majorities in both the Maryland House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate to embrace the commitment of Sheree Sample-Hughes to do the right thing.
In future discussions, deliberations, and decisions they need to stop focusing on advancing a governor’s national political aspirations and even more gerrymandering in Maryland.