Del. Rachel Muñoz (R-Anne Arundel) in a photo from Dec. 7, 2023. Muñoz announced this week that she will resign from her seat on Jan. 1, with two years left in her term. File photo by Bryan P. Sears.
Del. Rachel Muñoz (R-Anne Arundel) announced Wednesday that she will step away from the legislature so she can “spend more time with my young family.”
In a letter to the Anne Arundel County Republican Central Committee, Muñoz to said she intends to resign effective Jan. 1, 2025.
“I have truly appreciated the opportunity to represent and serve the people of both District 33 and District 31 for so many years. It has been a great honor,” she wrote in her one-paragraph letter to the committee. “I pray that the legislature passes laws to keep Marylanders safe and prosperous in the coming years.”
Muñoz was appointed in 2021 to a District 31 House seat and elected in District 33 in 2022. She is one of just eight Republican women in the House, and was considered a rising star in some Republican circles. She serves on the House Judiciary Committee and on the Joint Committee on the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area.
Muñoz, a lawyer, has five children, according to her official state bio. She received an outpouring of support last year, after she was diagnosed with Stage 1 skin cancer.
Muñoz becomes the 12th lawmaker to leave the job since this General Assembly was seated in January 2023. A number left early in the term to take positions in the then-new administration of Gov. Wes Moore (D), often creating a chain reaction when they were replaced by other lawmakers, opening even more seats.
Nowhere was that more pronounced than in District 16 in Montgomery County, where Sen. Susan Lee left to become secretary of state and was replaced by Del. Ariana Kelly, whose seat was filled by Sarah Siddiqui Wolek. When Kelly announced her departure this year, she was replaced by Del. Sarah Love, whose empty seat was filled last month by Teresa Saavedra Woorman.
Until Muñoz’s announcement, there was only one vacancy in the House that had not been filled. Del. Carl Anderton (R-Wicomico) resigned in July to take a job with the administration. The Wicomico County Republican Central Committee nominated Salisbury businessman and county GOP Chairman Barry Beauchamp to fill the vacancy, but he has yet to be sworn in, though the speaker’s office said the governor has ratified the appointment.
Inspired by Michele Obama, Adrian Boafo creates a federal PAC
Del. Adrian Boafo (D-Prince George’s) has launched a federal political action committee that he will use to endorse and fund congressional candidates — and boost his own political profile in the process.
Boafo said GenBlue PAC will focus on helping elect a new generation of leaders who share his progressive values and will bring fresh voices to Congress. He’s especially hoping to help candidates of color, women and those from immigrant families who don’t have easy access to the resources they need to compete.
“I’m launching GenBlue PAC to ensure that the next generation of elected leaders has the tools they need to get up and do something,” said Boafo, who said he was inspired to create the PAC after hearing Michelle Obama tell Democratic National Convention viewers to “do something.”
Del. Adrian Boafo (D-Prince George’s). Campaign photo.
“I know firsthand how hard it is to run for office, to run a campaign, and to raise money if you don’t come from a wealthy background,” Boafo said. “And yet so many candidates across the country are stepping up to do their part this cycle. I’m inspired by their candidacies and want to support them as they seek to bring fresh, diverse voices to Congress.”
Boafo, 30, is the son of immigrants from Ghana, who fled to the U.S. after their country’s democratic political system crumbled. He was elected to the House of Delegates in 2022, where he is the assistant majority leader. He previously spent a term on the Bowie City Council.
“My story is only possible here,” Boafo said. “But the beauty of America is not how unique my story is, but how many Americans are just like me.”
Boafo is also no stranger to Capitol Hill: He has worked for the House Democratic Caucus and for U.S. Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nevada) and was twice campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th). Boafo is considered a possible contender for Hoyer’s seat whenever the veteran congressman moves on — and probably won’t be the only Hoyer protege to look at running for the seat.
GenBlue PAC is making 10 endorsements initially, four in U.S. Senate races and six in House races. They are:
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), who is competing for Maryland’s open Senate seat
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D), who is running for Michigan’s open Senate seat
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D), who is challenging Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R)
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who is running for the open Senate seat in the Grand Canyon State against MAGA favorite Kari Lake
Yassamin Ansari (D), a former Phoenix City Council member running for Gallego’s House seat
Attorney Shomari Figures (D), who is running for a newly drawn seat in Alabama’s 2nd District
Will Rollins (D), a former federal prosecutor who is challenging veteran U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.)
U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes (D), who is seeking her second term in Ohio’s 13th District
Eugene Vindman (D), a retired Army colonel and former National Security Council official, who is seeking the open seat in Virginia’s 7th District
Rebecca Cooke (D), a small-business owner who is challenging freshman U.S. Rep. Derek Van Orden (R) in Wisconsin’s 3rd District
“I believe that together, with all of us doing our part, we can continue marching forward towards a more inclusive, more just, and more free America,” Boafo said.
Boafo is the latest ambitious young Maryland politician to create a federal PAC in recent months. Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando (D) launched a PAC called Will of the People after he dropped out of the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. It has been funneling money and attention to candidates across the country. And former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn converted his congressional campaign account into a PAC called Dunn’s Democracy Defenders after coming in second in the 3rd District Democratic primary earlier this year.
They’re just wild about Harry
The Annapolis Democratic Central Committee on Tuesday night appointed a former central committee member, Harry Huntley, to fill a vacancy on the Annapolis City Council. He’ll replace former Alderwoman Elly Tierney (D), who resigned earlier this summer because she is moving out of state.
Huntley, an environmental policy analyst, beat a handful of other candidates who were seeking the appointment, including Ron Gunzburger, a onetime top aide to former Gov. Larry Hogan (R). Huntley will serve on the council representing the 1st Ward through at least December 2025; the election for a full four-year term will take place in November 2025.
“I’m grateful and honored to be selected as the next Ward 1 alderman,” Huntley said in a text to Maryland Matters. “Starting on September 9, I will hit the ground running, spend the next 14 months working tirelessly to support Ward 1, and run right through the tape to earn every resident’s vote next November.”
MABE hires two senior staffers
Two new staffers joined the Maryland Association of Boards of Education on Wednesday.
Brian Dulay will serve as MABE’s government relations director after working as executive director of the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education, with knowledge on the state’s legislative process and the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan.
Dulay has also worked for the state Department of Education, served as adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University’s Middle School reading program and taught English in Baltimore City Public Schools.
Another senior staffer joining the association is Sam Mathias, who will serve as legal and policy services director. Mathias worked for eight years focusing on law and advocacy with the Chicago Public Schools.
Prior to Chicago, he worked as a litigation associate with a focus on real estate and commercial litigation in the New York office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. He also handled the firm’s pro bono legal assistance program for schools in underserved communities.
“MABE is fortunate to have two professionals so committed to education, advocacy and equity,” MABE Executive Director Milt Nagel said in a statement. “Given the significant challenges of key legislative initiatives like ongoing implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, their respective skill sets and existing education industry ties will quickly be put to good use.”
Talking trash
The environmental group Trash Free Maryland has a new director, Kelly Doordan, who took over this week. She’s a biologist by training who most recently chaired the environmental impact working group of the Montgomery County Food Council, where she convened stakeholders to identify barriers and opportunities for an environmentally sustainable food system in the county.
As a volunteer, Doordan worked with the East Silver Spring Elementary School Green Team as part of its PTA, while professionally she has worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9 office on the west coast, where she served as a Tribal Solid Waste Team Leader and Tribal Liaison in EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Solid Waste.
“Her experience and drive, and passion for creating strong relationships, emphasis on learning from others and dedication to creating smart policy make Kelly just the right fit,” said Sean Cosgrove, board chair of Trash Free Maryland.