Candidate For Lt. Gov. of Maryland Candace Hollingsworth Talks To Us About The Campaign - Issue #26

Candace Hollingsworth is running for Lt. Gov. of Maryland. She is running alongside candidate Gov. Doug Gansler. Recently, the campaign has announced it has a little over $1 million to spend. You can view their campaign page here. Back in May, Hollingsworth reached out to Black media journalists to talk to them about her campaign, and about “the role Black journalists can play in holding candidates and elected officials accountable to the needs of Black voters.” Hollingsworth talked about a range of issues with reporters from the Washington Post, The Bowie Sun, and The Washington Informer. She talked about Black people in the cannabis industry, starting an organization that seeks to provide support for Black candidates in America, the Black vote, voters, crime and much more. Some of those topics are not covered in this published interview. This interview has been edited to the questions I directly asked Hollingsworth.

Delonte, The Intersection Mag: Why did you choose to run for Lt. Gov. of Maryland. I know that you stopped being mayor of Hyattsville and you started your political organization. I think it was a nonprofit. You can correct me if I'm wrong. 

Candace Hollingsworth: Our Black Party is not a nonprofit organization, although it's a tax-exempt organization. It's a super pack. When attempting to start a party of any kind, you start as a pack. Our goal is to create a space primarily for state and municipal-level elected leaders to have a base of support that will help push them towards maintaining accountability to their constituencies. We see a lot of organizations or communities that might say, “Hey, this is what we want you to do for us. This is what our community needs. And you know, you go out and do it. Don't worry. We got you.” 

And that “we got you” might be in votes because there's a powerful community of voters behind it, or “we got you” could be community members funding the organization. A lot of times, Black candidates do not have the same robust level of networks to get, at the local level, the sort of funding they need to be able to support their campaigns and battle any opposition. So that was why we started. I stepped down as mayor to nurture that because at that time I knew that Hyattsville could survive without me. This new venture really required a bit more of my time in a volunteer capacity, and so that was the rationale for stepping down. When I stepped down as mayor, I did not intend to get back into politics. My name has often appeared on those kinds of lists. So it wasn't out of the blue for me to be considered for this type of role. Yet, I still didn't think anybody would even want to consider me because of my politics. However, as my conversations with Doug matured, the first thing that was important to me was whether any potential partner would fully accept and embrace the fact that my politics are making sure that Black communities and people receive what they should through political processes; that they feel there's accountability with their elected leaders to them; and that we can actually talk about it truthfully, instead of trying to hide the way we talk about race. We usually talk about race using these proxies like low-income or, you know, HBCU graduates.

Although I finished my work politically as a mayor and I saw launching and working with Our Black Party as an extension of that platform and the work that we needed to do, I didn't need to just focus on Hyattsville. I needed to focus on areas beyond Hyattsville. I see running for lieutenant governor as an extension of that work. This is an opportunity to demonstrate what a government that’s accountable to its people can look like. To be able to lead in this way and have the opportunity to shift the way that we currently do business that is more favorable to people is exciting to me. 

Delonte: What are your politics? Are you afraid that, during this campaign, people will use your politics against you?

Hollingsworth: A big part of my politics means taking care of Black communities. I wouldn’t classify that as purely progressive. You know, a lot of times we throw that word around. I do think that the majority of my politics is considered progressive politics, but I also know that just because something is progressive doesn't mean it's not anti-black. My approach to policymaking is about helping versus harming. I want to make sure that we're not harming groups that we didn't intend to. We make and shape policies in ways that meet the unique needs of the communities that we serve in Maryland. I think that black life, in general, is political. 

This touches every single aspect of life: health care, education, workforce employment, and housing. Within every sector of Maryland, there is an intersection of race and institutional racism and perceptions of race embedded within all of that. When you lead with a black agenda or center the needs of black communities, in particular, your policymaking is stronger. I don't believe that there's anything in a black agenda that isn’t good for everyone.

Things that are good for, let's say, middle-class families are not always necessarily good for Black families, but things that are good for middle-class Black families or working-class Black families tend to be good for everyone.

It doesn't always operate in reverse. You know, folks can say what they want, but I think we can demonstrate through history as well as through our historical narratives and data that when you address the things that are affecting black people, it helps others.

Delonte: How would you all help to fund local media organizations so that they can help to educate, inform, and empower the communities that have been marginalized?  

Hollingsworth: I have seen firsthand the role that local media plays in keeping residents informed. In Hyattsville, we contracted with our local paper to advertise community events, meeting summaries, and other opportunities for residents to get involved and connected with their government. Although the purpose of this contract was to disseminate information to an inquisitive public since the paper hit every single household, the result is that the local government became one of the primary sources of revenue for the paper. You can imagine the challenge that poses if the government were to alter its advertising spending in order to achieve greater value or service for residents–it would become an argument about whether the extrinsic value of the paper’s existence was greater than the monetary value and stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

 I think a policy governing how we share and disseminate information about the government’s activities is an important one and worth consideration. However, I stand by my belief that journalists play a key role in keeping the government and its actors accountable. I would be interested in finding ways to support local, independent, and nonprofit journalism in ways that a) maintain discretion on the expenditure of government funds, and b) creates or maintains a firewall so that papers can maintain a critical lens, even about the administrations that fund them. 

 Delonte: You highlighted that you and Mr. Gansler had talked to Black women 50 years old and older, and their number one concern was a crime. Did you talk to Black people younger than 50 years old? If so, what were their concerns?

 Hollingsworth: We are talking with voters every day, and safety cuts across all demographics. However, it is more urgent for some than others. In my conversations so far, Black voters of all ages are also concerned about affordability, public education, and–honestly–having elected officials that do their jobs. 

 Delonte: We are still in a pandemic. Cases are rising in Maryland. What are your thoughts on masks, and mitigation strategies (ventilation in schools, and social distancing) to slow the spread of COVID in Maryland?

 Hollingsworth: The single most effective intervention we have so far against severe outcomes from COVID, by orders of magnitude, is vaccines. I believe that the severity of our mandates should always be aligned with the public health risk and our emergency response capacity. 

 We should invest in ventilation in schools and throughout our society regardless because improved indoor air quality is good for learning, good for preventing illness, and will be good if and when the next pandemic occurs. But I truly believe that where we have failed in our COVID prevention strategy is that we have stopped pushing vaccination and boosters, and we need to renew our emphasis on them. We also must make it easier for people to obtain life-saving therapeutics. 

 Delonte: How would you help to strengthen local health departments so that they can give communities of color tools to educate about COVID-19 and the tools to aid with data collection on health disparities? 

Hollingsworth: Some questions in politics are hard, but some answers boil down to a simple answer: money. We need to fund local health departments so that they can collect data and communicate with their communities. 

We also have to recognize that many cities and towns do not operate a health department and rely on their county government for such services, and the reality is that government services are not always delivered equitably. Part of a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion means making sure that we know that services are reaching where it’s needed. We will also be working with local jurisdictions to ensure that all of Maryland’s communities receive the information and tools they need.