November 8, 2014 - November 8, 2014, www.afro.com
Volume 123 No. 14
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NOVEMBER 8, 2014 - NOVEMBER 14, 2014
Hogan Beats Brown
New Voting Limits, New Difficulties
By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent
Thousands of voters from across the nation reported problems with voting during this General Election, stemming not only from a rash of restrictive voting laws but also from the administrative deficiencies of an outdated voting system, according to the Election Protection coalition of civil rights groups. “Every election should be a celebration of democracy. Instead, what we’re hearing today from too many polling places around the country is that voters are having problems casting their ballots,” said Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, during a press call on Nov. 4. Some of the problems were the outcome of controversial election laws—such as voter ID requirements, reduced early voting, elimination of same-day registration, citizenship requirements and more—that have erected barriers to the ballot box.
By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO
“Today, and for the past several weeks during early voting, we have been witnessing the most unfair, confusing and discriminatory voting landscape in almost 50 years. And, it’s a disgrace to our citizens, to our nation and to our standing in the world as a beacon of
“Voting should make us truly equal, whether we are rich or poor; young or old; famous or unknown; male or female; gay or straight; White, Black, Asian or Latino.” -Wade Henderson
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democracy,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. But, added Henderson, it came as no surprise. “This is the predictable outcome of the first major election since the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County vs. Holder last year, when a bare majority voted to gut Continued on A4
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown failed to generate badly needed enthusiasm in important Democratic strongholds, receiving 48,453 fewer votes in the 2014 gubernatorial election than Gov. Martin O’Malley did in 2010 in Baltimore City, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County, contributing to his defeat at the hands of Republican Larry Hogan. That loss of almost 50,000 votes for Brown is only one side of the enthusiasm gap that ultimately sank his candidacy however, as Hogan gained 57,117 over his 2010 Republican counterpart in those same counties, suggesting that many Democratic voters opted Continued on A3
Why We Voted For - Who?
Ken Patterson
Tamara Purnell
Donna Wiggins
Bobby Dixon
BUILD Reached Almost 7,000 Voters in 26 Hours By AFRO Staff Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development (BUILD) more than tripled its goal of reaching 2,000 city voters between Election Eve and the close of polls on Nov. 4 with an eye to making sure Baltimore made a difference in Maryland’s elections. “Those running for office right now think they can write off Baltimore because Baltimore
doesn’t vote. We are here to tell them something different. We are here to remind the candidates and the residents of this city: Baltimore counts because Baltimore votes,” said the Rev. Glenna Huber, BUILD clergy co-chair, in remarks on Nov. 3. In 26 hours, 300 BUILD volunteers contacted 6,824 people in 15 precincts of North Baltimore’s Ward 27, where there are 22,131 registered voters. Continued on A4
Sen. Barbara Mikulski encouraged BUILD workers in their outreach plan.
Photo by Katir DiSalvo-Thronson
City College Alums Celebrate Coalition Works to Prevent Rental-Voucher Discrimination 175 Year Legacy By Roberto Alejandro Special to the AFRO
By Zenitha Prince Senior AFRO Correspondent On a day in the fall of 1956, West Baltimore teenager Frank Coakley stood with a feeling of awe before his new school, a Gothic-style edifice dubbed the “Castle on the Hill,” located in Northeast Baltimore. “I was all wide-eyed,” said Coakley of his first day at Baltimore City College, which was, back then, the Ivy League of public high schools nationally. “It was really something to see.” More than a half-century later, Coakley, who graduated in 1960, said he feels a similar wonder at his induction into City College’s Alumni Hall of Fame during the school’s recent 175th anniversary celebrations. “I was truly honored, flattered, surprised—what other words can I use to
Continued on A4
Courtesy Image
Walter Gill, the first African American to graduate from Baltimore City College, addresses the school’s 175th anniversary gala.
Being forced to live in areas of concentrated poverty and far from work are just some of the consequences many Marylanders face because of the state’s lack of source of income (SOI) protection laws, which require landlords to accept any legal form of income for the purpose of renting their properties. New, if limited, protections are now in place in Baltimore City, but the fight to pass an SOI law in the General Assembly continues, with advocates waiting to see how November’s election might affect prospects for passage. SOI laws protect renters from being discriminated against on the basis of the types of legal income they use to pay their rent. While one of the most vulnerable groups that such laws protect are recipients of Housing Choice Vouchers (formerly Section 8), they also protect renters who rely on disability or social security payments, among others. Under an SOI regime, potential renters are still subject to any other requirement a landlord may have, such as a clean credit history or lack of a criminal background. SOI laws only prohibit arbitrary discrimination based on the source of income. Currently, only Frederick, Howard, and Montgomery counties, as well as
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the cities of Frederick and Annapolis, have SOI protections. Just this summer, Baltimore City passed a bill which would extend SOI protections to any developments receiving municipal subsidies, including but not limited to Baltimore’s inclusionary housing subsidy. Since 2010, the Maryland HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Equal) Act Coalition (MHAC), representing approximately 80 organizations, has been fighting for passage of SOI protections statewide. In 2013, Senate Bill 487, the Maryland HOME Act, came within one vote of passing the Senate, and the coalition believes it has the votes in the House necessary for passage if the Senate can come together behind a version of this bill. For Antonia Fasanelli, executive director of the Homeless Persons Representation Project and the leader of MHAC, SOI laws ensure that people have the option to live near their jobs or families, but they also protect renters from unscrupulous landlords. “We know that people, because of this kind of (income) discrimination, pay hundreds of dollars in application fees for buildings that never intend to take them because of the kind of income they have,” said Fasanelli. For Rabbi Bruce Kahn, former executive director and current board Continued on A3