Why So High? Baltimore County’s Threshold for
Public Campaign Financing Proved Tough to Clear
Black women running for seats on the Baltimore County Council struggled with a new public campaign financing program that has unusually strict requirements.
Under the program, council candidates must collect a minimum of $15,000 in small donations from county residents, far exceeding the requirements of five other Maryland localities participating in public financing programs.
Montgomery, the state’s most-populous county, and Howard, the wealthiest, demand $10,000. Anne Arundel and Prince George’s require $7,500, and Baltimore City, $5,000.
These programs offer public matching funds based on the size of small donations. They can level the playing field, helping underfunded and diverse candidates run stronger campaigns against well-funded rivals. On the other hand, restrictions on donors and the size of contributions can limit competitiveness.
On the campaign trail, Makeda Scott and two other Black women council candidates who signed up for public financing found Baltimore County’s requirements to be challenging when residents in their districts are struggling with higher prices and housing affordability.
The first council candidates to get qualified for public campaign financing were men. Scott, an Owings Mills Democrat running for the new majority-Black District 3, cleared the bar in May.
Arkia Wade, a Democrat from Dundalk in the District 9 race, dropped out of the program after realizing the requirements, paperwork and her late start would make regular fundraising easier. Sharonda Dillard-Huffman says she didn’t qualify and will follow Wade in taking the traditional financing route.
“I can’t do this,” said Dillard-Huffman, a Democrat in the District 8 race that includes a well-financed Republican candidate. “I’m going to have to change to a regular campaign account to get higher donations.”
The council had the opportunity to ease the requirements, Dillard-Huffman said. Instead, it amended a bill in 2021 to increase the minimum to $15,000 from $10,000 for council candidates, and the number of contributions to 150 from 125. The minimums for county executive candidates were also raised.
Councilman Julian Jones, the chair at the time and now a candidate for county executive, said he wanted the threshold raised so candidates could show more support from the community – and so he could get the measure passed. He says it’s worth taking another look at the mandates given the concerns.
Diana Emerson, executive director of the nonprofit Emerge Maryland, which recruits and trains Democratic women seeking office, said she hopes the county will reevaluate the requirements. Women, especially Black women, often have a harder time raising funds, she said.
“It’s so unfortunate that the bar was set so high,” Emerson said.
