Hogan positive about election chances

Hogan was upbeat about his chances in the upcoming election, citing a recent poll showing he and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown are in a “statistical tie” in the race. A June Washington Post poll had Brown with an 18 point lead, but an OnMessage poll recently released by the Maryland Republican Party shows Brown up by only 3 percentage points, at 45-42 percent.

“We’re putting miles on the bus,” Hogan said. “We’re not going to take anything for granted. We’re working as hard as we can ... we are challenging every vote, like we are spending a ton of time in Prince George’s County, and Baltimore City, Montgomery County, places where some Republicans wouldn’t even go.”

Hogan said his message is resonating with people from all parts of the political spectrum.

“People are really frustrated, and they are very concerned about the direction of the state, and they are looking for a change. An overwhelming majority of them are not happy with where we are,” he said.

His message on Monday focused on the economy, slamming the O’Malley and Brown administration on tax increases and spending, and calling for a more business-friendly climate in the state. When asked about issues like gay marriage and the death penalty, he said, “I don’t have a social agenda at all.” Those issues are already decided, he said, and he has no desire to readdress them.

“I’ve said repeatedly since I got in the race ... we’re not going to repeal the gun laws, we’re not going to do anything with abortion access in Maryland, we’re not going to go back and revisit gay marriage ... it’s already been decided by the voters.”

On business and the economy, Hogan said state government can do several things to help. One is dealing with what he framed as Maryland’s perception problem. The perception is that Maryland is unfriendly to small business, he said, and he can change that on day one.

He also said that while regulations are needed, the pendulum has swung too far toward regulation and the state’s regulations are currently very cumbersome and not implemented fairly. Departments need to be streamlined, he said.

The third thing the state can do for business is adjust tax policy, he said. Maryland has the highest taxes in the region, he said, and is losing businesses to other states. “We have to be more business-friendly, we have to do something about regulations and taxes.”

One of Hogan’s plans to allow for rolling back taxes is to reduce spending.

“We want to get the spending reined in without cutting services,” he said.

Hogan said independent audits have shown nearly $2 billion in waste and fraud in Maryland government that could be eliminated. That would be a good start, he said, but that amount would probably not be enough. He said he has called for outside audits of every state agency. “There’s a lot more that can be found.”

On education, Hogan called the new Common Core standards a half-baked plan that students, teachers, and parents all hate. “The rollout of Common Core has been really an unmitigated disaster,” he said, and a Hogan administration “would hit the pause button” and try to figure out how to make some improvements without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Hogan also said it’s not enough to pour money into schools. He wants to be able to reward good teachers and get rid of bad ones, he said, but teacher unions have been obstructing that. “It has to be merit-based,” he said.

He called for more charter schools, saying they have brought some dramatic turnarounds in poor neighborhoods and the inner city. Maryland has some of the best schools in the country, but some of the worst as well, he said.

“I can’t say I really have the magic wand ... but I think we have to try new ideas, because what we’ve been doing isn’t really working that well,” he said.

On cleaning up the Bay, Hogan said his campaign has focused on the issue. “Obviously, the Chesapeake Bay is not only Maryland’s greatest treasure, but it’s a national treasure.” Despite good efforts, “quite frankly, we’ve failed ... you’re not seeing any dramatic improvement.”

“The No. 1 issue is the Conowingo Dam,” he said, calling it the biggest contributor of pollution and sediment.

“Watermen have been trying to bear the brunt, they’ve been mistreated ... farmers have made tremendous efforts,” he said. “They’ve gone above and beyond.”

Phosphorus management regulations, he said, “would basically decimate an entire way of life on the Shore and could’ve crippled the entire poultry and grain industry and crushed the economy of the Eastern Shore, while they’re doing nothing about this problem up north coming down the Susquehanna (at the Conowingo).”

Watermen and farmers need a seat at the table, he said, but have been treated in a hostile manner in what he called, quoting former Sen. E.J. Pipkin, a “war on rural Maryland.”

Hogan said he can work with Democrats.

“That’s the million-dollar question, and I hear it every day ... ‘How are you going to get anything done?’” he said. “I’m not going to kid you, it’s not going to be easy.”

He said he isn’t trying to turn Maryland from a “blue” state into a “red” one, because that’s not going to happen, but “you can disagree without being disagreeable.”

He has longstanding relationships with a lot of members of the legislature, he said, and he thinks he can get along with state Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch.

“I think when I’m elected in November, it’s going to send a message to those guys ... maybe we can’t keep increasing spending 36 percent, maybe we can’t raise taxes 40 times in a row.”