ANNAPOLIS- Maryland Young Republicans Chairman Brian Griffiths issued the following statement today on the upcoming Special Session of the Maryland General Assembly.
“When the Maryland General Assembly returns to Annapolis tomorrow, it will serve as a reminder of the Democrats failure to lead in this state.
“For far too long Democrats have been trying to avoid the consequences of their reckless spending. For too long they have ignored the warning signs that prove that their philosophy of governance is unsustainable, even more so in the current economic climate. And the inability of Maryland’s Democratic leaders to effectively govern our state came to a head with their inability to balance the state budget during our regular General Assembly Session.
“Martin O’Malley, Mike Miller, and Mike Busch are completely feckless. They have proven to be incapable of leading their party, and unwilling to lead Maryland in the direction it needs to be successful in the modern age. These feckless leaders are insistent on raising taxes on middle and working class Marylanders so that they can continue to grow the size of government and to provide handouts to their special interest supporters. Such irresponsible measures will continue to create a climate that makes it harder and harder for young professionals to live and work in Maryland.
“If the Governor and the General Assembly truly wish to improve the plight of Marylanders, particularly our young professionals, they will work to cut spending and lower our taxes in order to help jump start our job market and our economy. The Maryland Young Republicans are looking forward to working hard to send more common sense leaders to Annapolis in 2014.”
The Maryland Young Republicans are the leading organization of Republican youth in the Old Line State. We are Maryland’s officially chartered affiliate of the Young Republican National Federation. But we are so much more than that. Our clubs consist of active members of our communities. They are members of local central committees, active in community leadership, and running campaigns for office across Maryland. All young professionals who wish to help us in this cause are invited to join us at our 2012 Convention being held in Annapolis on June 2nd.
May 14, 2012 – Washington, DC – The College Republican National Committee and the Young Republican National Federation and have partnered with American Crossroads and the Republican State Leadership Committeeto launch an unprecedented youth initiative, Crossroads Generation, to mobilize young people for Republicans.
Crossroads Generation, which will be structured as an Independent Expenditure Only Committee, will begin with an initial $750,000 in start-up capital. The project is is funded through CRNC, RSLC, and American Crossroads, which have each contributed $250,000 to the project.
With young people facing high unemployment, a grim job market and record high student loan debt, the youth vote is up for grabs.
Crossroads Generation will tap into the CRNC’s membership of more than 250,000 college students on over 1,800 campuses nationwide and the YRNF’s membership of 100,000 young professionals throughout the country.
“President Obama won young people in 2008 with a message of hope and change that just did not pan out. My generation has been disproportionately hurt by the policies of President Obama, which is precisely why we need Crossroads Generation,” CRNC Chairman Alex Schriver said.
“The college students who voted for President Obama four years ago are now recent graduates who are 53% un- or under-employed. These young professionals are desperate for economic policy that can deliver a pro-business, pro-job environment that can help them establish themselves as they look to build careers and families,” said Lisa Stickan, Chairman of the Young Republican National Federation.
Visit www.crossroadgeneration.com, Twitter (@CrossroadsGen) and Facebook (www.Facebook.com/
ANNAPOLIS- Maryland Young Republicans Chairman Brian Griffiths issued the following statement today on the ethics troubles of State Senator Rob Garagiola.
“The revelation that State Senator Rob Garagiola failed to disclose his lobbying efforts on his financial disclosure forms are yet another sad example of the Culture of Corruption that the Maryland Democratic Party has nurtured in our state.
“What Senator Garagiola has done is eerily similar in nature to the ethics troubles of State Senator Ulysees Currie, with one noticeable difference; while Senator Currie was removed from leadership and censured for his actions, Senator Garagiola was rewarded with an gerrymandered district to create a streamlined path for his ascension to Congress. Senator Garagiola is being rewarded, not punished, for doing the wrong thing.
“The ethical troubles of Senators Currie and Garagiola are one of the many reasons that the Maryland Young Republicans have proposed a package of common-sense ethical reforms to restore the faith of Marylanders in their government.
“I urge the State Senate to launch a full investigation of Senator Garagiola’s failure to disclose his lobbying activities, and take all appropriate actions against the Senator. Furthermore, Senator Garagiola should withdraw from the Democrat primary for Congress in the 6th District, seeing as his failure to disclose his lobbying efforts make him unfit to serve in Congress.”
Maryland YR’s Chairman Brian Griffiths was a guest this week on The Marc Steiner Show, discussing the South Carolina Primary as well as reaching out to new Republican voters. You can listen to his appearance at http://www.steinershow.org/radio/the-marc-steiner-show/january-23-2012-hour-2.
ANNAPOLIS- The Maryland Young Republicans today introduced a legislative package designed to bring more transparent government and stricter ethics laws to Maryland Government.
“For far too long, ethics laws in Maryland have been flaunted by elected officials who have exploited loopholes for persona and political gain,” Maryland Young Republicans Chairman Brian Griffiths said. “Young Marylanders want to ensure that their elected leaders are held to the highest ethical and moral standards possible. We should expect nothing but the strictest compliance with ethics laws so that Maryland has government that is both open and clean.”
Maryland’s ethics laws have come under fire for their lack of stringencies, and for the loopholes that allow for legislators to lobby government agencies on behalf of Maryland companies. Two recent events have highlighted the laxness of these ethics laws; the recent acquittal of State Senate Budget Committee Chairman Ulysses Currie on charges of failing to disclose his lobbying for a supermarket chain, and this disclosure that several legislators, including House Environmental Matters Committee Chairman Maggie McIntosh, are using their legislative positions to solicit business for their lobbying firm.
The Maryland Young Republicans Legislative Ethics Reform Proposal consists of a seven-point platform:
Electronic Databases: Electronic access to financial disclosure forms for the public. Create an online database with downloadable PDFs of financial disclosure forms.
Notifications: Eliminate notification of filer when someone looks up their disclosure form.
Conflicts of Interest: Alter campaign finance laws to prohibit committees from using vendor companies that are owned wholly or in part by other legislators. Or is another legislator is employed by that vendor.
Lobbyist Disclosures: Enhance lobbying disclosure requirements, require:
Sunset Period: Prohibit legislators, legislative staff, and executive branch staff from lobbying on state issues for a period of five years after their employment with the state ends.
Budget Databases: Require the Department of Budget and Management to:
“Ethics reform is the only way that the citizens of Maryland can feel secure that our government is being run by people putting the best interests of the people of Maryland before the interests of their personal financial growth,” Griffiths said.
Welcome to the website of the Maryland Young Republicans, the leading organization of Republican youth in the Old Line State. We are Maryland’s officially chartered affiliate of the Young Republican National Federation. But we are so much more than that. Our clubs consist of active members of our communities. They are members of local central committees, active in community leadership, and running campaigns for office across Maryland.
The work is hard, but we need your help to make a better Maryland. Contact Chairman Brian Griffiths at chairman@mdyr.org to get more involved!
Past News:
MDYR Chairman Brian Griffiths addressing the Tea Party Caucus Rally, October 18, 2011
- 10/12: Chairman Griffiths’ appearance on WFSI discussing redistricting
- 10/11: Chairman Griffiths’ appearance on The Mark Steiner Show discussing redistricting
- 10/4: MDYR Statement on Redistricting
- 6/29: Chairman Griffiths’ Baltimore Sun Op-Ed on Young Voters
- 6/16: MDYR Statement on Proposed Toll Increases
Click here to view the MDYR Calendar of Events!
