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News
Novemeber 11, 2014
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Commentary: Why Brown lost
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November 1: A non-affiliate was cited for disorderly conduct and released. A denial of access was issued. November 1: In Prettyman Hall, a resident student was referred to Student Conduct & Civility for alcohol intoxication. November 1: In Douglass House, a resident student was referred to Student Conduct & Civility for alcohol intoxication. November 2: In Newell Hall, two non-affiliates were denied access to TU due to the possibilty that they had smoked CDS in a resident’s room. November 2: In Tubman House, a resident student was referred to Student Conduct & Civility for alcohol intoxication. November 2: In Tower A, a resident student was referred to Student Conduct & Civility for alcohol intoxication. November 2: At Tower D, a resident student was transported to a local hospital after threatening self-harm. November 3: A commuter student was taken to the hospital for observance following an off campus incident. November 3: In Newell Dining Hall, staff reported obscene writing on a bathroom stall. The writing has since been removed. November 4: At the Glen Garage, there was an elevator malfunction. November 4: In the University Union, an employee lost two state keys. The Towerlight’s “Police Blotter” is a representative sample of crimes occurring on and off campus. The blotter is not intended to be all inclusive. For a list of all crime reports, visit www.towson.edu/police.
Jonathan Munshaw/ The Towerlight Supporters of Larry Hogan celebrate after an announcement that Hogan was retaining his lead of Lt. Governor Anthony Brown in the gubernatorial election last Tuesday. CODY BOTELER News Editor @codyboteler
Voters on Tuesday elected a Republican majority in congress and a Republican governor in Maryland. In Maryland. A state where there are twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans. So what happened? Why did Anthony Brown lose in Maryland? I can tell you that Anthony Brown’s campaign wasn’t always the most cooperative with the media, and many voters had seen video of Brown dismissing reporters. Larry Hogan, on the other hand, was more than happy to speak with The Towerlight when we reached out to him, and his staff invited us to cover election night in Annapolis. Not to toot our industry’s horn or anything, but politicians need a healthy relationship with the media. My direct experience only offers so much perspective, though. Looking at voter turnout numbers helps to highlight some of what happened. Brown didn’t play to the Democrats’ natural advantage in Baltimore City or Baltimore County. There are more than twice as many
registered Democrats in Baltimore County than there are Republicans, yet Hogan carried Baltimore County by over 50,000 votes. In Baltimore City, there are over 290,000 registered Democrats, yet Brown just barely broke 102,000 votes. In all, Hogan captured 867,742 votes — or 51 percent of the vote, while Brown got 792,961 — or 46.9 percent of the vote. But why did that happen? Some are saying that it’s in how the two candidates approached the election. “Unfortunately, Lt. Governor Brown ran with a sense of complacency and was simply unable to energize Democratic voters, especially young progressives who were quickly disillusioned with his campaign,” Corey Brown, co-president of Towson’s College Democrats, said. He’s not wrong. Instead of focusing on issues, Anthony Brown’s camp ran ads that focused on attacking Hogan rather than discussing his own vision for the state. This is in stark contrast to the campaign that was run by Heather Mizeur, whom I previously worked for, in the primaries. Mizeur’s campaign was particularly effective at energiz-
ing young voters, a demographic that doesn’t often turn out on election day. During the campaign, while Hogan talked about his plans to cut taxes in Maryland, most saw that Anthony Brown wasn’t saying much. “I don’t recall seeing any advertisements that talked about Anthony Brown and the issues,” Kelsey Fielder, president of Towson’s College Republicans, said. That’s why Anthony Brown lost. He didn’t always cooperate with the media, he didn’t address the issues and he didn’t energize his base. Larry Hogan, on the other hand, was open with the media and continually talked about the issues. And that’s why, a week ago, the Republicans were partying in Annapolis while Democrats licked their wounds in College Park. Fielder, who was at the election night celebration held by the Hogan campaign, called the night “surreal.” The celebration took place in a packed ballroom, with a live band, wedding-style buffet, and at least three cash bars. Republicans in Maryland got to celebrate a successful campaign. “It was a really great experience,” she said.