With recent decisions by the Supreme Court, state legislatures will have unfettered power to resolve contentious issues including abortion and guns safety.
Because of this, elections to Maryland’s state legislature now matter profoundly to our way of life. We need to look past the happy news about our state legislators’ presence at community events to what they are actually doing and how they are voting in Annapolis. Now more than ever. The stakes are way too high in the post-January 6th and post-Roe v Wade world not to.
Today Johnny Mautz is out of step with political trends in Talbot County. And he knows it. He knows that Talbot County rejected Donald Trump in 2020. So when you see the Far Right clown car of Republican candidates this fall (Dan Cox for Governor, Gordana Schifanelli for Lt. Governor, Michael Peroutka for Attorney General and, of course, Andy Harris for Congress) know that Johnny is in the middle of the back seat trying not to be visible.
He’ll want to talk about anything but those issues and positions his supporters and endorsing organizations will hold him accountable to vote for if he’s elected.
Johnny saw his political path differently a few years ago. I remember in 2018, when Johnny dropped by the Democratic Party Headquarters to say hi and extend a welcome. He seemed to see his future as a Hogan style bipartisan, who would reach across the aisle and seek common ground, representing Republicans and Democrats alike.
This was the tenor of his candidate forum presentation at the Brookletts Place Senior Center that year. Highlighting this non-partisan theme, he befriended Democratic candidate for delegate Dan O’Hare and to emphasize their bipartisan approach, they posted pictures of each other on their websites. And he cast differences on gun safety as a cultural issue.
When election night 2018 came, I remember leaving a watch party at the Talbot Democratic Party Headquarters on Dover Street after it was clear that Donald Trump had won. As I walked past the Republican Headquarters also on Dover, I heard chants of “Lock her up” “Lock her up”.
Today, these chants have become “Stop the steal” “Stop the steal”. Larry Hogan has distanced himself from Donald Trump and Maryland’s Far Right. Quite the opposite, Johnny Mautz has become entrenched in it.
Most startling, and to me unforgivable, was what Johnny Mautz did one month after the death and desecration of our capitol caused by the January 6th insurrection. On February 8th he added fuel to the stop the steal narrative by sponsoring a bill to investigate Maryland’s mail in ballots in the 2020 election (HB1205).
Even before the January 6th insurrection, Johnny was parting ways with Governor Hogan and Senator Addie Eckhardt on the serious public health concerns raised by the pandemic. Johnny opposed many of the state and county requirements governing facilities, gatherings and mask wearing. His Carpenter Street Saloon had to suspend operations for a weekend because of violations by the Talbot County Health Department (Star Dem 12/19/20).
With regard to COVID vaccination policy, he sponsored a bill to restrict the ability of a business to have employees be vaccinated as a condition of their employment (HB1376).
Johnny has represented the Far Right’s invented concept of Critical Race Theory, by sponsoring a bill to restrict the teaching of social science regarding race (HB1256).
The endorsements on johnnymautz.com are instructive.
Stand for Health Freedom (standforhealthfreedom.com) is an anti-mask anti-vax organization that has endorsed Marjorie Taylor Green and is currently suing Dr. Fauci and the CDC for including deaths of persons with COVID as COVID deaths even if they have underlying health conditions.
Radio Free Oxford (radiofreeoxford.com) sees a government conspiracy to separate children from their parents in the public school curriculum on race and gender.
Johnny’s website says he’s “100% Gun Rights”. We know he sponsored a bill to repeal Maryland’s historic Firearms Safety Act of 2013 (HB0306). Johnny also says he’s “100% Pro Life”. If elected he may sponsor a bill to repeal Maryland’s historic 1991 Abortion Right’s Act which is the only thing today that protects reproductive freedom in our state.
Think of Johnny Mautz as Andy Harris with social skills: the same agenda, the same supporters, the same wrong direction for Talbot County, Maryland and our country.
Holly Wright
Easton