Annapolis, MD — Today, State Senator Will Smith and Delegates David Moon and Jheanelle Wilkins (all D-Silver Spring) condemned Governor Larry Hogan’s callous comments about the loss of 1,300 jobs in Silver Spring, MD, with the move of Discovery Communications to New York. In response to the Governor’s tone-deaf reaction, the Maryland Democratic Party announced that it has filed a Public Information Act request with Governor Hogan’s office to find out what steps—if any—he took to fight to keep Discovery’s jobs in Maryland. Click here for video of Governor Hogan’s comments.
“While Governor Hogan may not think losing 1,300 Maryland jobs is not a big deal, it is for 1,300 employees, their families and the Silver Spring businesses that count on their patronage,” said Maryland Democratic Party spokesperson Fabion Seaton. “We filed this PIA request, because Marylanders deserve to see exactly how Governor Hogan lost a major employer and 1,300 jobs after promising Marylanders that he would keep Fortune 500 companies in the state. Instead of fulfilling his promise, he is now the first Maryland governor to lose a Fortune 500 company to a rival state since at least 1996.”
“The first Fortune 500 company to relocate from Maryland to another state in at least 22 years, Discovery’s decision to leave Silver Spring is devastating for our community and the State of Maryland,” said State Senator Will Smith. “Discovery employs 1,300 people in Silver Spring and generates millions of dollars in tax revenue each year. The company’s arrival was the catalyst for the revitalization of Silver Spring and their presence will be greatly missed. Hearing Governor Hogan downplay the impact of this loss added insult to the injury this loss will cause.”
Hogan spent the entire 2014 campaign citing the debunked statistic that 10 out of Maryland’s 13 fortune 500 companies had left in the preceding 7 years, promising to turn it around. Here are some examples:
- July 23, 2013: “we’ve lost 6,500 small businesses, and now we’ve got 218,000 people unemployed, up 110,000, and we have taxpayers fleeing the state in record numbers, and Martin O’Malley continues to falsely claim that he’s a magician whose magically solved all these problems, rather than the guy who has caused all these problems, and he continually blames the whatever problems that people bring up on Bob Ehrlich and George Bush, after seven years, almost, of his leadership here in Maryland.”
- March 9, 2014: “we’ve lost 10 of our 13 Fortune 500 companies, 100,000 jobs because we’ve taxed them out of here … And that’s just simply unacceptable and something we’ve got to change”
- March 12, 2014: “we’ve lost every single Fortune 500 company out of Baltimore City; we’ve lost more businesses in Baltimore City than anywhere else, and more job losses taking place there. So it’s something we’ve got to focus on…”
- May 13, 2014: “…every single Fortune 500 company in Baltimore has left in the past seven years and ten of the thirteen statewide, so we’ve got to change that attitude. That would change on day one in our administration.”