Say hello to Maryland’s newest state senator. He will likely be one of the shortest-serving senators in history.
Without fanfare or publicity, former state Rep. Christian Miele (Republican) was sworn in Thursday morning by Senate Speaker Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore) and held out until noon Wednesday when a new Senate term was called. Represented District 34 in Ford County.
Miele was elected Harford County Administrator in November and assumed the office in early December, replacing former Senator Robert Cassily (Republican), who abandoned his seat in the Senate.
The swearing-in video, which lasted less than three minutes, was posted to the General Assembly’s YouTube page on Thursday afternoon and was first reported on Twitter by The Daily Record’s Legislative Correspondent Bryan Sears. The Senate did not pre-publish the oath. The office of Governor Larry Hogan (R), who appointed Miele to fill the vacancy, did not announce the appointment.
The recommendation to appoint Miele had to come from the Harford County Republican Central Committee. I missed it.
Miele represented the Baltimore County District in the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. However, he ran for Senate there in 2018 and has since moved to Harford County, where his wife grew up. He raced to replace Cassie in the Senate, but was narrowly defeated in the general election by another former delegate, Mary Duraney, who was a Democrat.
Barring some unforeseen catastrophe that requires the entire Congress to be brought together quickly before the next legislative session begins, Miele has zero chance of doing any work as a Senator. But it’s a nifty title for someone young and politically ambitious to own one for future racing.
For the record, two members of Congress who were elected to other offices in November also gave up their legislative seats early because they took up new posts before their terms in Congress ended. Prince George County Rep. Wanika Fisher (D) and Carroll County State Attorney Haven Shoemaker (R). But these county central committees didn’t bother to replace them for such a short period of time, and Hogan made no move to fill the vacancies.
Call to Eastern Shore Environment
The Sierra Club’s Lower Eastern Shore Group, along with the Maryland Legislative Coalition and the ShoreRivers’ Climate Justice Wing, will virtually host the 4th Annual Environmental Legislative Summit on Saturday and Sunday from 2pm to 5pm.
Governor-elect Arna Miller, a Democrat, will address the summit on Saturday to outline the top environmental priorities of the incoming Moore Miller administration.
Josh Tulkin, director of the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club, will discuss the implementation of the 2022 Climate Solutions Now Act. Several MPs will discuss some of the proposed environmental bills for the next General Assembly session, which starts next Wednesday.
The main topic on Sunday’s agenda is environmental law, which is of particular interest to residents of the Eastern Shore. These bills cover rainwater infrastructure, recycling, composting, well water testing, offshore wind power and energy storage, community he solar, providing energy efficiency to low-income wage earners, and more. .
Speakers include House Speaker Pro Tem Sheree Sample-Hughes (Democrat), the only Eastern Shore legislator to vote on the Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019 and the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022.
Salisbury Mayor Jake Day will conclude the meeting on Sunday. He will speak about his administration’s environmental initiatives, including running city facilities on renewable energy and a “green team” of business owners he has assembled who want to adopt environmentally safe business practices.
