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Almost all political donations from University of Maryland salaried employees in 2021 and 2022 went to Democrats, according to a Diamondback analysis of federal and state data.

Of the more than 7,200 donations made in the two years, just 55 went to Republican candidates and groups.

Some Democratic donations came from this universitys highest ranking employees. University President Darryll Pines donated $1,300 over the two years, with $1,000 going toward Maryland Gov. Wes Moores campaign. Maryland football coach Mike Locksley donated $500 to a Democrat running for Maryland lieutenant governor, and Gregory Ball, the former dean of this universitys behavioral and social sciences college and current research vice president, gave $675 to top Democratic groups.

The data, which included more than 43,000 donations since 2013, indicates employees are becoming more politically active and lean heavily Democratic. Last year marked the second most amount of money donated for a midterm election year, only behind 2018. 2020 saw the most money donated of any year, surpassing 2018 by more than $600,000.

Since 2013, employees have donated more than $715,000 to ActBlue, a main Democratic Party fundraising organization. WinRed, a key GOP fundraising platform, received just more than $7,100.

Employees donated more than $290,000 in 2021 and 2022, with just more than $7,000 going toward Republican candidates and groups.

That any location in the country is that lopsided in terms of the engaged, contributing, electorate, is quite eye-opening, James Gimpel, a professor in the government and politics department, wrote in an email.

[Key takeaways from UMDs salaries report]

Few university departments donated in large numbers to Republican causes. Employees in the public policy school gave $3,900 to Republican candidates and groups in 2021 and 2022, the only department that donated more than $500 to GOP groups.

We live in such a blue bubble, Gimpel said.

Four colleges made up more than half of all the donations since 2013: the arts and humanities college, computer, mathematical and natural sciences college, engineering school and behavioral and social sciences college.

Sixteen employees have each donated more than $20,000 in the past decade. Norbert Hornstein, a professor emeritus in the linguistics department, donated more than $284,000 the most of any university employee.

The strong Democratic lean surprised political science professors at this university. Political contributions nationwide are generally even between the two parties. In the 2021-22 cycle, Democrats received 51.5 percent of federal political donations from individuals, while Republicans received 48 percent. Other parties received just 0.5 percent of donations from individuals.

Stella Rouse, a government and politics professor at this university, said she thinks the gap could be due to the GOPs rightward shift in recent years.

Youre talking about conservatives in Maryland. Most of them are likely not MAGA conservatives, Rouse said. That distribution there kind of shows me that there is likely not something that the Republican Party is presenting to more moderate or traditional Republicans that they see as a value in contributing their money to support.

[UMD sees record high in sexual misconduct reports during 2021-2022]

The analysis included donors who listed this university as their employer and whose names matched in university records and their donation. The Diamondback has obtained the universitys list of all salaried employees since 2013 for its annual salary guides.

Matt Johnson, the president of this universitys College Republicans, thinks there is more political diversity among students than employees.

I dont think thats good for a college campus, the senior finance major said. A college campus should have political diversity, not just in terms of its student body but in terms of its faculty and staff. Its a shame.

In an interview last month, Pines said he found the data somewhat surprising, but that the university does not seek out any political ideology among its employees.

We look for the best hires for all positions, Pines said. So were inclusive of all people who think in many different ways politically.

Learn more about The Diamondbacks analysis here.

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More than 99% of UMD employee political donations went to ... - The Diamondback

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie didnt say much during Sunshine Week, a yearly commemoration each March of open government and freedom of information.

New Yorkers deserve a government that works for them and does so in an open and transparent fashion, the Brooklyn Democrat said in a news release.

Thats more than he said in defense of a three-year-old Assembly policy limiting reporters access to the state Assembly chambers and the areas surrounding the chambers which used to be a good place for reporters to get information from Assembly members and their staff.

Heastie and his fellow Democrats were silent after voting down a Republican effort to restore press access to pre-pandenic levels. Not one Democrat gave a reason why access should be limited. The silence was, in our opinion, deafening.

For years reporters had access to legislators in the state Capitol chambers as long as they didnt interrupt the work of the Senate or Assembly. Often, that meant impromptu queston-and-answer sessions outside some influential legislators offices because that was the best way for reporters to be able to ask questions when those legislators didnt return phone calls. Of course, Heasties office was a popular place for the press since that was the best way to ask questions of the Assembly speaker.

When COVID-19 hit, access was limited. That made some sense at a time when the full Assembly or Senate couldnt be in the chamber at one time under rules meant to allow lawmakers to be socially distant from each other. When the Assembly chamber reopened to the public, reporters have been limited to seats in the back of the chamber and in front of its rostrum. But now, with natural immunity and vaccines available, there is no reason for COVID-19 limitations on the press to remain. But remain they do, Republicans recently introduced changes to the Assemblys rules that would have restored reporters access to the Assembly chamber and areas near the chamber, but they were defeated in a party line vote.

His actions, and those of his fellow Democrats, show its easier to pay lip service to open government than it is to actually provide open government.

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Former Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. (WJAR File Photo){}

Former Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza will lead Democrats for Education Reform, a national political advocacy group.

The group backs candidates who are committed to changing the public education system.

Elorza will serve as their new CEO and also lead it's affiliate non-partisan think-tank, Education Reform Now.

The group announced Elorza's appointment Monday, pointing to Elorza's work in Providence where he backed school building repairs and expanded charter schools.

"What I admire most about Jorge is his unwavering commitment to put the interest of students above adult politics, DFER Interim CEO Shakira Petit wrote in a statement. There is a tremendous opportunity right now for leaders to utilize historic investments in education to advance the innovative approaches that we know work for students."

Elorza served two terms as mayor of Providence. He is the co-founder of the Latino Policy Institute Roger Williams University School of Law, where he previously worked as a law professor.

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Former Mayor Jorge Elorza to head up Democrats for Education Reform - WJAR

Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and more than 100 other House Democrats raised serious concerns on Tuesday about the prospect of reviving migrant family detention, the latest to join a chorus of Democrats who have spoken out against the policy proposal.

Jayapal, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committees immigration panel, and the other lawmakers urged President Joe Biden in a letter first obtained by CQ Roll Call to maintain your commitment to not detaining families and children and not return to a cruel policy of the past.

Instead, the Democrats called on the administration to invest more in case management programs that allow migrant families to pursue their immigration cases from outside of a detention center.

The lawmakers noted that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements family case management program, which was ended by the Trump administration, cost $36 per family per day, while family detention costs $319 per person per day. They also highlighted the psychological harms that detention can pose to children.

We urge you to consider these important and proven alternatives to detention and reject resurrecting family detention, they wrote.

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House Democrats urge Biden not to revive migrant family detention - Roll Call

A Manhattan grand jury voted last week to indict former President Donald Trump on 34 counts of business fraud and, much like those of the Mueller special counsel investigation into election interference or the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, reactions to the news have come with the typical partisan divide.

Democrats and Republicans nationally and locally have different opinions on the indictments, with the former generally believing Trumps actions are catching up with him and the latter insisting these legal proceedings are a politically motivated attack orchestrated to hurt the 45th presidents reelection chances. The indictment pertains to an alleged $130,000 payment Trump made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair.

Its not a surprise, right? Trump is a constant swirl of drama and potential crime, Pete Brown, former chair of the Greenfield Democratic Town Committee, said Monday. I dont know why anyone would be surprised that [the indictment] happened.

Brown said he is pleased to see the legal system working but he is unhappy the nation is in this situation to begin with. He said he hopes Trump faces consequences if found guilty.

Trump is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in New York City.

Greenfields Precinct 8 Councilor Doug Mayo said the indictment disappointed him because he believes Trump has committed crimes far greater than business fraud.

I felt that they should have gone for a much higher charge of inciting a riot, or something of that nature, connected to Jan. 6, rather than a porn star, he said. I would have preferred that they go after him for inciting a riot against a nation.

Mayo said he has heard some Trump supporters plan to travel to New York City to support him.

Thats perfectly fine, but dont make it a circus like Jan. 6 was, he said. Essentially he was caught with his pants down and had to pay $130,000 to cover it up.

Mayo also said it bothers him that Trump was recorded in January 2021 asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find 11,780 votes to swing that state in his favor as opposed to Joe Bidens.

But David Lewis, who chairs the Greenfield Republican Town Committee, said he was shocked and frustrated when he learned of the indictment. He said liberals and Democrats are focused on distracting the American public from other issues, like the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.

I know why its being done. People dont like Trump, so theyll go after him, he said. There are forces out there that are afraid of Trump. Theyre afraid hell run again and theyre afraid hell win.

When asked if he thought Trump committed a crime, Lewis said anythings possible.

He also said there is a good possibility that this whole thing could blow up in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs face.

Trumps former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges of tax evasion, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and campaign finance violations.

Ray Younghans, Lewis counterpart for the Orange Republican Town Committee, attended a pro-Trump rally in Fitchburg on Sunday and said he feels the vast majority of Republican and Independent voters support Trump in his legal fight.

You wouldnt believe the number of people that were honking their horns about 75% of cars going by, he recounted on Monday. The average person that votes is behind Trump, from what I can see. Most people feel that the trial is a kangaroo court.

Younghans said he doesnt understand why Bragg and the Manhattan District Attorneys Office is so focused on Trump as opposed to combating violent crime in New York City. Online sources, however, indicate the city is one of the safest in the world.

Younghans said people on the political left and right concentrate too much on scandals plaguing the other side.

Were turning into this I-got-you system, he said. These things go back and forth and they dont resolve whats going on in this country.

He said the indictment could ultimately boost Trumps popularity if the former president is eventually exonerated.

Athol resident Louis Lou Marino, a lifelong Republican before becoming a Libertarian four years ago, said he fully supports law and order but thinks this indictment was a politically motivated witch hunt.

Doesnt the New York grand jury have anything better to do? he said.

Marino, who announced last month he is running to unseat U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, said he doesnt think Trump should run for president again, but he also feels he deserves no jail time.

On the other hand, Orange resident Genevieve Fraser said she feels the indictment is justified, adding that Trump has always believed he is above the law. She, like Mayo, referenced Trump saying in January 2016 that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and wouldnt lose any voters. Fraser said Trump has committed far worse than business fraud and she hopes this is just the beginning of his indictments.

He needs to be held to account for all that he is responsible for and involved with, she said. And that is not a partisan statement. If he was a Democrat, I would be doubly enraged.

Fraser, like Brown, said the indictment is proof the American justice system can work.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

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