Comptroller Peter Franchot has endorsed Baltimore Del. Brooke E. Lierman in her bid to replace him as the state’s tax collector following November’s General Election.
Lierman praised Franchot in a statement Wednesday, saying she’s “excited to hit the campaign trail … with a message of being an independent voice for Marylanders, ensuring taxpayers receive the best value for our tax dollars, preventing waste and fraud, and unlocking opportunities for every Maryland resident, family, and business.”
Both are Democrats.
The comptroller oversees state income tax collection; imposes state taxes on gasoline, alcohol and tobacco; and has a seat on the three-person Board of Public Works, which approves major state contracts. The position comes with a salary that ranges between $145,500 and $149,500 annually.
Franchot, who is leaving the position after 16-years in the wake of an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign, announced his support via video, where he stood alongside Lierman on the Ocean City boardwalk.
“How great it is that I’m able to deliver a well-run agency that everybody respects, not just in Maryland, but around the country, to someone like Brooke who can take it to new levels of creativity and vision,” Franchot said in his endorsement video.
A civil rights attorney and second-term delegate in the Maryland House, Lierman says she wants to transform the office into a more policy-driven position. If elected, she would become the first female comptroller and the first woman directly elected by voters to a statewide office in Maryland.
Lierman bested Bowie Mayor Timothy J. Adams in the primary election and will face off against Republican Harford County Executive Barry Glassman in what could be the closest statewide November race. Glassman, a moderate in comparison to Republican gubernatorial nominee Del. Dan Cox and Michael Peroutka, the nominee for attorney general, has rejected party unity, stating he will run an “independent” campaign.
