TODAY @ NOON: Matthews, Madaleno, Advocates Call on Hogan to Divest from Real Estate Business

Annapolis, MD—TODAY, Monday, July 16, 2018 at 12:00 noon, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Matthews will join Senator Richard Madaleno, Armando Tema of CASA In Action and Faizan Shahid of SEIU on a press call to renew their demand for Larry Hogan to divest from his real estate business and urge the governor to focus on governing and increasing wages for Maryland workers, who have seen their wages fall behind the nation and the region. 

In his three years as governor, Hogan has been profiting handsomely from his real estate businesses, according to a Baltimore Sun report published on Friday. Meantime, wages for the average Marylander have been flat. Maryland Democrats say it’s time for the governor to divest and be transparent with taxpayers by making public all properties in which the Hogan Companies has a financial interest.

Hogan is following in the footsteps of the leader of his party, Donald Trump, by putting his own family members in charge of his businesses and refusing to divest from his assets. The Sun also reported that “several projects have been met with controversy in the communities where they’re being built.”

Ethics leaders from across the state have questioned the ethics of Hogan’s current involvement with his companies:

• “[Divestment] is the only way to absolutely avoid a possibility of a conflict of interest,” Damon Effingham, acting Director of Common Cause Maryland said. “The governor has a good deal of say over state policy decisions including transportation projects. There’s going to be a concern when you’re in the real estate industry about how your companies might be benefited from canceling or approving a transportation project.”
• Alfred H. Guy Jr., director of the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics at the University of Baltimore, said Hogan should erect a stronger wall between himself and the trust. The governor, ideally, shouldn’t receive any information about his real estate business until he leaves office, Guy said. “When you’re in a big position in a small state, everything can be seen or perceived as a conflict of interest. The blind trust is the best way to go. He should say, ‘I trust you guys to do it. Let’s keep it clean and separate.’”
• State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr., said he’s concerned there isn’t a blind trust separating Hogan from the firm now headed by his brother. “How do you not have a conversation during Thanksgiving?” Madaleno asked.
• State Sen. Bill Ferguson said “You’re either governor, or you’re a developer. Unfortunately, the governor appears to have struggled with this decision. Your focus has to be on the people of Maryland, not the returns from your investments.”

“It’s the exact same as Donald Trump’s sons running the Trump Organization,” he added.