Meet the candidates for Maryland Comptroller
Salisbury, Md. – As the Midterm election approaches, legislators are not the only ones up for election. This year’s Comptroller race is between Democrat candidate Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Republican candidate Sonya Dunn.
Lierman is the first woman to be elected comptroller in Maryland and says she has brought an independent, data-driven approach to the office, acting as an economist for the state government. She told WMDT the Board of Revenue Estimate, which she chairs as comptroller, will soon release a report on the future of Maryland’s economy, analyzing which sectors the state’s revenue comes from, and how to optimize them.
“No previous comptroller has ever done economic reporting like that before,” she said. “It’s something that we’ve undertaken. So we know that we are providing the data and economic intelligence that leaders across the state need to do good things.”
For Dunn, she said in an email statement to WMDT the focus should be on better revenue forecasting, stronger procurement oversight through the Board of Public Works and greater transparency.
In a statement to WMDT, Dunn said in part:
“Maryland doesn’t simply need a Comptroller who knows how to collect taxes. We need a Comptroller who understands how to forecast revenue, recognize financial risk, help grow the economic base that produces sustainable revenue, and provide a fully integrated technological public financial management system.”
Lierman said some of the biggest challenges facing Marylanders is affordability coupled with the loss of over 30,000 jobs due to cuts to the federal government and stressed the need to diversify the state’s economy.
“Now, to do that, there’s a lot of different tactics we need to take, and so of course, the governor, the Department of Commerce, and our local governments are working on that,” she said. “My job is to make sure we have the data undergirding all those decisions to do it.”
In Dunn’s perspective, the main challenge to tackling affordability is expanding the economic base while “managing state resources more responsibly.”
“We have to become a more tax-friendly and competitive state for businesses,” she said. “We cannot sustainably increase revenue if businesses are struggling to survive, choosing not to expand here, or deciding that another state provides a better environment for investment.”
Maryland Economic Development Corporation CEO Tom Sadowski encouraged voters, and especially business owners, to learn about the candidates and vote.
“Don’t just look at the things that impact you and just hope things get better. Understand them,” he said. “Get to get to know who the people are that are key to making those decisions. And, you know, have your voice heard.”
