Baltimore County commission outlines outreach plans for public campaign financing; approves summary guide edits

The Baltimore County Fair Elections Fund Commission on Monday discussed outreach strategies to publicize the county—s new small-donor public financing option and approved minor corrections to its summary guide.

The commission heard from Kevin Gilogli, public finance program manager at the Maryland State Board of Elections, who described the program as a voluntary —small donor progressive match— designed to encourage candidates to solicit a larger number of small contributions from county residents rather than rely on a few large donors. "This program ... encourages you to find small donations from people in your jurisdiction," Gilogli said, explaining that participating candidates must meet transparency and contribution thresholds established by the county and the state implementation rules.

The program—s local rollout and outreach

The commission—s discussion focused on practical outreach steps for the months ahead: sharing an approved flyer, asking commissioners to speak at community and association meetings, contacting local party organizations and civic groups, and using the county website as a fallback resource. Ryan Fried, special assistant to the county executive and the county—s liaison to boards and commissions, said staff would distribute an updated roster and the approved flyer and help coordinate any printed materials.

Commission members and staff agreed to several specific directions: (1) circulate the existing, county-approved flyer to commissioners for use at community meetings and events; (2) post and reference the landing page baltimorecountymd.gov/fairelectionfund as an immediate resource; (3) circulate the Baltimore County Ethics Commission opinion noted in the meeting; (4) share Kevin Gilogli—s contact information so commissioners can request a speaker for local events; and (5) track outreach contacts so the commission can see which community groups have been approached.

Legal and program notes discussed

Gilogli summarized how the local program fits into Maryland—s framework: counties may implement local public financing for county executive and legislative offices under state authorization. He referenced the U.S. Supreme Court litigation that reshaped public-financing designs (referred to in the meeting as the Arizona case) and said Maryland jurisdictions have adopted variations, calling the Baltimore County model a small-donor progressive match. He noted that multiple Maryland jurisdictions now use a version of local public financing, including Montgomery County, Howard County, Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County and Prince George—s County, and that roughly 71% of the state—s population is covered by some local public-financing option.

Betsy (county staff/attorney) told commissioners the Baltimore County Ethics Commission had previously opined that commission members were permitted to contribute to candidates under the county—s rules; Betsy said she would re-circulate that advisory opinion. Gilogli said he would confirm implementation details with the State Board—s administrator and could provide additional legal context if requested by the commission.

Votes at a glance

- Revision to the Summary Guide: Commissioners voted to approve two minor edits to the summary guide (corrections to typographical errors and an update to reflect Maryland state bill 645—s change to the primary date). A motion to approve the revisions was made and seconded; the motion passed by voice vote. (No roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting transcript.)

What commissioners will do next

Commission members volunteered to take flyers to local civic and service organizations, request space on council-member email blasts, and bring the commission—s information to neighborhood association meetings and other local gatherings over the summer. Staff agreed to re-send the approved flyer, the updated summary guide, the Baltimore County Ethics Commission opinion, and contact information for Kevin Gilogli. The commission set its next meeting for Monday, Sept. 8, at 4:30 p.m.

Ending

Commissioners emphasized that outreach is largely dependent on volunteer efforts by commissioners and partner organizations unless donations to the fund are raised for promotional activity. Staff and the state board contact will remain available over the summer to support presentations and to answer candidate and public questions via the county landing page and direct email requests.