I am thrilled that our former Prince George’s County Executive and current candidate for Governor, Rushern Baker, plans to release the most comprehensive equity, opportunity, and inclusion agenda for Prince George’s County families that I have ever seen. It is a true privilege for me to be one of the leaders in helping craft this agenda and I’m truly excited that he will build a stronger and greater Maryland as our next Governor. From the Baker-Navarro “Black Business Agenda” to their bold plans to empower black communities in the areas of jobs and generational wealth, higher education and public schools, access to health care and housing, transportation and addressing environmental racism, Rushern Baker and Nancy Navarro will create unprecedented opportunities for predominantly black communities across our state in ways never seen before in our history. Read some of the highlights of the Baker/Navarro Roadmap for Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity here: https://medium.com/@BakerforGovernor/baker-navarro-road-map-for-equity-inclusion-and-diversity-in-maryland-e7a72d6127dc.

Beyond my endorsement, I’m reaching out today to ask for your help. The Baker-Navarro campaign has made a commitment to participate in the Maryland Fair Campaign Funding program, which means they are exclusively funding their campaign with grassroots donations from real people, not corporations or special interests – and that is a good thing!

When I began serving with Rushern in December of 2010, he as Prince George’s County Executive and me as a County Council Member, our County had been hammered by the Great Recession, we had zero job creation, and we were experiencing serious spikes in violent crime. By the end of 2018, when Rushern left office as County Executive, we had achieved a 50% drop in violent crime and had led the state in job creation for 5 consecutive years. Every part of our County was touched by the progress of the Baker Era. Because of that record of achievement and his embrace of bold, new ideas, such as those in the Baker Road Map for Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity, I enthusiastically join 9 of the 10 members of the Prince George’s County Council in endorsing Rushern Baker and Nancy Navarro to become our next Governor and Lt. Governor and I hope you will too.

Join us, and help spread the word that “Prince George’s is Baker Country!”

-Mel Franklin

Council Member At-Large

Prince George’s County Council