Annapolis, MD — Today, the Maryland Democratic Party and concerned Marylanders spoke out in Silver Spring against Hogan’s failure to develop a relationship with Discovery Communications and keep 1,300 jobs. Today’s event was in response to Bethesda Magazine’s bombshell report that that Hogan failed to develop a relationship with Discovery at the beginning of his administration, then did not contact the company for several months following its July 2017 merger announcement with Scripps, based in Tennessee. While Hogan was sitting on his hands, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam successfully courted Discovery in the months following the merger announcement.
Last January, after Discovery announced that it was moving its headquarters from Silver Spring to New York, Hogan dismissed the impact of Discovery’s departure, saying that it was “not the end of the world.” Days later, Democrats launched NotTheEndOfTheWorld.org to call attention to Hogan’s tone-deaf comments. The website is designed to provide Marylanders with information about Governor Hogan’s record as the first Maryland governor to lose a Fortune 500 company to a rival state in decades, and his callous reaction to that news. It is also home to a web video that puts his heartless reaction in contrast with that of concerned Silver Spring community members.
“When Discovery employees needed him most, Governor Hogan’s office was closed for business,” said Maryland Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews. “Real economic development requires open communications with the businesses and employers and advocating for Maryland workers, not empty slogans. This situation has been a monumental failure of leadership on the part of Governor Hogan, and Maryland deserves better.”
See below for photos from today’s event.
