Peter Franchot

Peter V. R. Franchot (born November 25, 1947) is an American politician who is the 33rd Comptroller of Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party, Franchot served for 20 years in the Maryland House of Delegates representing Takoma Park and Silver Spring. He was elected comptroller in 2006, and has subsequently been re-elected three times. Franchot confirmed in January 2020 that he will run for governor of Maryland in 2022.[1]

Peter Franchot
33rd Comptroller of Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office January 22, 2007
Governor	Martin O'Malley Larry Hogan
Preceded by	William Schaefer
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 20th district
In office 1987–2007
Preceded by	Ida Ruben
Succeeded by	Tom Hucker Heather Mizeur
Personal details
Born	(1947-11-25) November 25, 1947 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Anne Maher
Children	2
Education	Amherst College (BA) Northeastern University (JD)
Website	Official website

Education and early career

Franchot obtained a B.A. in English from Amherst College in 1973, after serving in the United States Army from 1968 to 1970. He graduated from Northeastern University School of Law with a J.D. in 1978. After graduating from law school, Franchot worked as legislative counsel for the Union of Concerned Scientists. He then served as staff director for then-Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts from 1980 to 1986. After his election to the legislature in 1986, Franchot was a self-employed business development consultant.

State delegate

From 1987 to 2007, Franchot served in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing the 20th legislative district, which includes Takoma Park and Silver Spring. Franchot was a member of the Appropriations Committee and chaired the Public Safety and Administration Subcommittee, as well as the Transportation and the Environment Subcommittee.

In 1988, while serving his first term in the House of Delegates, Franchot ran for Maryland's 8th congressional district against incumbent Connie Morella (R-MD). Morella defeated Franchot, 63% to 37%, in the general election.

During the years leading up to his 2006 bid for comptroller, Franchot opposed Governor Ehrlich's efforts to expand slot machine gambling in Maryland.

Comptroller of Maryland

Franchot ran in the Democratic primary for Comptroller of Maryland against incumbent William Donald Schaefer and Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens. In the primary, Franchot edged out Owens by 15,000 votes, pushing Schaefer into third place. Franchot won the Washington, D.C., suburbs (Montgomery County and Prince George's County), Owens won in Central Maryland (Howard County and Anne Arundel County), and Schaefer won in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Franchot defeated the Republican nominee, Anne McCarthy, in the general election on November 7, 2006. Franchot was sworn into office on January 22, 2007. In 2018, Franchot defeated Republican challenger Anjali Reed Phukan.[2]

Franchot considered running for the 2014 Democratic nomination for governor. In December 2012, he announced he would instead seek re-election as comptroller.[3]

Tenure

Franchot took office on January 22, 2007, and was re-elected in 2010, 2014, and 2018. As comptroller, Franchot has supported adding toll lanes on the beltway and I-270, requiring schools to open after Labor Day, and reducing restrictions on craft beer sales in Maryland.

In an interview with WYPR in July 2018, Franchot announced that he would not endorse his party's nominee for governor, Ben Jealous, and will instead remain neutral in the gubernatorial contest. "I think I'm probably going to remain neutral in that race—simply because it's important for me to get along with whoever is elected," Franchot said.[4]

Board of Public Works

Franchot, along with the governor and the state treasurer, compose the Board of Public Works—a constitutionally appointed body that is charged with reviewing and approving most state contracts, issuing wetlands licenses, approving the expenditure of general obligation bond funds and funds for capital improvements, among other duties.

During his tenure on the Board, Franchot has worked to advance initiatives that reform the state's procurement process and practices,[5] including the reduction of single-bid contracts,[6] increased participation among minority and women-owned enterprises,[7] and opposing contracts that he deems to be wasteful of taxpayer dollars.

Air-conditioning in Baltimore-area schools

Franchot has used his seat on the Board of Public Works and his high-profile political position to publicly pressure officials in Baltimore City and Baltimore County to immediately install air-conditioning units in aging school facilities that lack HVAC systems.

He frequently sparred with school system leaders and elected officials from Baltimore County, a jurisdiction that in 2011, had 65 school buildings without air-conditioning.[8] His public spats with County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, a fellow Democrat, over this issue has alienated Franchot from members of his own party.

Towards the end of the 2016 Legislative Session, top legislative leaders, who objected to Franchot's frequent criticism, inserted language in budget bills to prevent the use of state funds for portable air-conditioning units in schools, which aligned with Kamenentz's view. In the same legislative session, lawmakers sought to end a practice—known as "beg-a-thon"—where school system leaders appear before the Board of Public Works to request additional school construction funding.[9]

Later that year in May, the Board of Public Works reversed the General Assembly's ban on using taxpayer dollars for window air-conditioning units. At the same meeting, Hogan and Franchot voted to withhold $15 million in school construction funding from Baltimore City and Baltimore County until the two jurisdictions came up with plans to address the lack of air-conditioning in dozens of their schools.

In response, Kamenetz released a plan that accelerates the county's installation timeline by one year.[10]

A few months later, the Board restored the funding to the jurisdictions.

In September 2016, Franchot and the president of the Maryland State NAACP chapter, Gerald Stansbury, wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the lack of air-conditioning in public schools in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. They wrote that the sweltering conditions in these schools, predominantly in financially depressed communities, amounted to a "blatant neglect" of students' civil rights.[11]

Franchot continued to spar with legislative leaders and local officials over this issue.

During the 2018 legislative session, top Democratic leaders voted to strip the Board of Public Works of its oversight and management of the state's public school construction program. Despite a veto from Hogan, the legislature overrode the governor along party lines. Del. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee and floor leader for the legislation, directly cited Franchot's outspokenness about the air-conditioning issue as a reason contributing to this decision.

The legislation established a task force whose membership is appointed by the governor and the legislative presiding officers to oversee and disburse taxpayer dollars for school construction investments.[12]

Opposition to slots and expanded gambling in Maryland

Franchot campaigned against bringing slot machine gambling to Maryland. As a member of the House of Delegates, he led a successful coalition of lawmakers to oppose the Constitutional amendment to legalize slots. The coalition succeeded in placing before the voters a Constitutional amendment to legalize slots.

In 2008, Franchot, along with hundreds of others, launched Marylanders United to Stop Slots to encourage a 'no' vote on the referendum. Franchot argued that the high social costs of increased crime, broken families and bankruptcies would outweigh any revenue gains.

Franchot's opposition to the slots referendum put him at odds with fellow members of his own party, including Gov. Martin O'Malley and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, both of whom were prominent proponents of the slots referendum.[13]

The 2008 slots referendum passed by a narrow margin, 52 percent to 48 percent.

In 2012, another gambling referendum was placed on the ballot that sought to expand gambling in Maryland with the addition of a new casino in Prince George's County and the addition of table games.

In an interview with the Washington Examiner in 2012 on gambling expansion in Maryland, Franchot expressed heavy skepticism about the promise of casino revenue being used for educational purposes. "Any education funding that goes into the Education Trust Fund is subject to being raided by the legislature," Franchot said. "That is what's happened historically; that inevitably is what will happen again."[14]

In the 2018 Legislative Session—six years after proponents of the casino gambling claimed that casino revenue would support Maryland's public schools—the General Assembly passed legislation that would allow voters to place a lockbox on gambling revenue that was promised to be dedicated to education, essentially acknowledging that earlier claims of increased education funding did not come to fruition.[15] In an interview, Franchot said, "The Governor back then. The legislative leaders. All of them knew this was fundamentally a lie… It was a crass, cynical effort to dupe people."[16]

Support for school only after Labor Day

Franchot—citing benefits to tourism-dependent businesses, families, and teachers—was a strong proponent of having a post-Labor Day start for Maryland public schools. Local school boards of education previously had the authority to determine the start date and end date of school years, and Franchot decried some school systems who started school years in mid-August and ended well into the month of June.

In 2013, a report published by the Maryland Bureau of Revenue Estimates found that a post-Labor Day school start would generate an additional $74.3 million in direct economic activity, including $3.7 million in new wages, and $7.7 million in state and local revenue.[17]

In June 2014, a 19-member legislative task force that included teachers, administrators, parents, business owners, and lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to recommend that the Governor and the General Assembly adopt a post-Labor Day school start. The task force found no evidence that a later school start date would have a detrimental impact on students' learning experience, and teachers' ability to plan and perform their duties.[18]

Franchot launched a petition urging policymakers to adopt a post-Labor Day school start. Nearly 25,000 citizens, including Hogan and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), signed the petition. Public polls have shown that a vast majority of Marylanders—with figures ranging from 92 and 67 percent, respectively—support the measure.[19]

Despite legislation being introduced to implement a post-Labor Day school start, the bills stalled and never passed.

In August 2016, Hogan—with Franchot and a host of elected officials present—signed an executive order during a press event on the Ocean City Boardwalk mandating that public schools start after Labor Day.[20]

Craft beer regulation

During the 2017 Legislative Session, Maryland legislators passed a bill that imposed restrictions on the sale and distribution of craft beer products in the state. While legislators who advocated for the measure argued that the legislation was a step in the right direction, Maryland craft brewers viewed it as too restrictive.

The legislation, then designated as House Bill 1283,[21] contained provisions such as prohibiting breweries from selling beer on-premises unless the products were brewed and fermented entirely on site; prohibited contract brewing, which helps startup breweries gain their footing in the market; rolled back taproom hours of operation; and included language that required any additional 1,000 barrels—beyond the 500-barrel annual limit on taproom beer sales—be bought from wholesalers at a marked up cost. The bill, heavily amended after heavy criticism from stakeholders and the public, was eventually passed by the legislature.[22]

Towards the end of the legislative session, Franchot criticized the General Assembly for adopting House Bill 1283.

A day after the legislature closed its 90-day session, Franchot traveled to a craft brewery in Frederick to announce that he was a forming the "Reform on Tap" task force to study Maryland's craft beer laws and propose reforms to what he considered to be "antiquated, dysfunctional, anti-small business, and anti-consumer."[23]

Franchot's task force, which was composed of 40 members from the craft brewing industry and also included four lawmakers, met over a nine-month period and culminated with a release of a report and an announcement that the comptroller would introduce legislation seeking to loosen existing restrictions on the craft brewing industry in Maryland.[24]

In response to Franchot, delegates Ben Kramer (D-Montgomery County) and Warren Miller (R-Howard County) introduced legislation forming a task force to study which agency is best suited to regulate the alcohol industry in Maryland.[25]

After a hearing in the House Economic Matters Committee that lasted several hours and featured dozens of brewers, elected officials, and other stakeholders who testified in support of Franchot's bill,[26] the committee voted 17–4 to reject the comptroller's legislation. After learning of the bill's defeat, Franchot once again lambasted legislators by saying, "The corporate beer lobbyists did their job and got their money's worth… Our independent craft brewers ... have once again received the message that our state's leaders are fundamentally hostile to their line of work."[27]

Franchot has stated he will continue his advocacy for the craft beer industry until reforms are adopted.[28]

Personal life

Franchot, born in New Haven, Connecticut, attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Franchot resides in Takoma Park, Maryland with his wife, Anne Maher. They have two children.

Electoral history

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Democratic Primary Election, 1986
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Peter Franchot	6,912	17
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	5,921	14
Democratic	Dana Lee Dembrow	5,341	13
Democratic	Robert Berger	5,068	12
Democratic	Louis D'Ovidio	4,956	12
Democratic	DeVance Walker, Jr.	3,904	10
Democratic	Mary Dunphy	2,449	6
Democratic	Fredrica Hodges	2,179	5
Democratic	Jeffrey King	2,051	5
Democratic	John Mennell	1,403	3
Democratic	Evan DuQuette	706	2

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Election, 1986
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Peter Franchot	17,596	24
Democratic	Dana Lee Dembrow	17,457	24
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	17,255	23
Republican	Stuart Eisen	7,483	10
Republican	James Gordon Bennett	7,431	10
Republican	Ronald Richard	6,572	2

Maryland's 8th Congressional District Election, 1988
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Connie Morella (inc.)	172,619	62.7
Democratic	Peter Franchot	102,478	37.3

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Democratic Primary Election, 1990
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	8,202	22
Democratic	Dana Lee Dembrow (inc.)	7,959	21
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	7,553	20
Democratic	Robert Berger	7,221	19
Democratic	Diane Kirchenbauer	6,879	18

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Election, 1990
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Dana Lee Dembrow (inc.)	18,303	34
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	17,958	33
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	17,871	33

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Democratic Primary Election, 1994
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Dana Lee Dembrow (inc.)	8,276	27
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	7,312	24
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	7,307	24
Democratic	Steven Silverman	4,979	16
Democratic	Michael Graham	3,082	10

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Election, 1994
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Dana Lee Dembrow (inc.)	19,679	30
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	19,423	29
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	18,854	28
Republican	James Harrison	8,248	12

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Democratic Primary Election, 1998
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Dana Lee Dembrow (inc.)	7,758	30
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	7,558	29
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	6,487	25
Democratic	Diane Nixon	3,117	12
Democratic	Robert Bates	1,276	5

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Election, 1998
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Dana Lee Dembrow (inc.)	22,396	27
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	21,895	27
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	21,208	26
Republican	John Leahy	6,020	7
Republican	James Harrison, Jr.	5,602	7
Republican	Franklin Hackenberg	5,163	6

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Democratic Primary Election, 2002
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	9,720	28.3
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	8,278	24.1
Democratic	Gareth Murray	4,125	12.0
Democratic	Dana Lee Dembrow (inc.)	3,601	10.5
Democratic	Diane Nixon	3,556	10.3
Democratic	Luis Alvarez	2,444	7.1
Democratic	Richard Rosenthal	1,674	4.9
Democratic	Robert Bates	968	2.8

Maryland House of Delegates 20th District Election, 2002
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Sheila Ellis Hixson (inc.)	19,841	26.72
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	18,273	24.61
Democratic	Gareth Murray	15,803	21.28
Green	Linda Schade	10,101	13.60
Republican	Jae Donald Collins	5,294	7.13
Republican	Kenneth Klein	4,855	6.54
Write-ins	Write-ins	96	0.13

Maryland Comptroller Democratic Primary Election, 2006
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Peter Franchot	215,192	36.5
Democratic	Janet Owens	200,292	34.0
Democratic	William Donald Schaefer	174,071	29.5

Maryland Comptroller Election, 2006
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Peter Franchot	1,016,677	59.0
Republican	Anne McCarthy	703,874	40.8
Write-ins	Write-ins	3,219	0.2
Green/Write-in	Bob Auerbach	228	0.0

Maryland Comptroller Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	1,087,836	61.1
Republican	William Henry Campbell	691,461	38.8
Write-ins	Write-ins	1,799	0.1

Maryland Comptroller Election, 2014
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	1,061,267	62.7
Republican	William Henry Campbell	630,109	37.2
Write-ins	Write-ins	1,941	0.1
Other/Write-in	Anjali Reed Phukan	595	0.0

Maryland Comptroller Election, 2018[2]
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Democratic	Peter Franchot (inc.)	1,620,264	72.1
Republican	Anjali Reed Phukan	624,871	27.8
Other/Write-ins	Other/Write-ins	3,103	0.1

References

1. Witte, Brian (January 9, 2020). "Maryland Comptroller Says He's Running for Governor". NBC4 Washington. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
2. "Official 2018 Gubernatorial General Election results for Comptroller". Maryland State Board of Elections. December 11, 2018. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
3. Dresser, Michael. "Franchot says he won't run for governor". The Baltimore Sun.
4. Dresser, Michael. "Democratic Comptroller Peter Franchot will not back Jealous over Hogan in Maryland governor's race". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
5. "Md. cracks down on some state contracts over transparency concerns | WTOP". WTOP. 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
6. Dresser, Michael. "Hogan, spending board send message to officials on contracts". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
7. "Franchot blocks $55M Microsoft contract". Washington Examiner. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
8. "Franchot votes against $7 million in school projects because AC is not included". MarylandReporter.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
9. Wood, Michael Dresser, Pamela. "Hogan, Franchot protest legislature's ban on state money for portable AC units in schools". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
10. Hicks, Josh (2016-05-18). "Under pressure from Hogan, Baltimore County accelerates school air conditioning". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
11. Green, Pamela Wood, Erica L. "Franchot, NAACP seek DOJ action on school air conditioning". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
12. Dance, Michael Dresser, Scott. "Maryland Senate set to revamp school construction funding process, angering Gov. Larry Hogan". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
13. and, Gadi Dechter and Laura Smitherman. "Anti-slots leader threatens to quit". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
14. "Casino companies prepare for expansion in Maryland". Washington Examiner. 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
15. Dresser, Michael. "Maryland voters to decide on plan to reserve casino revenue for improving education". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
16. Papst, Chris. "As Casinos Thrive, Lawmakers Take School "Lockbox" Action". WBFF. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
17. Maryland Bureau of Revenue Estimates. "Economic Impact of a Post Labor Day School Start for Maryland Public Schools" (PDF).
18. "Task Force to Study a Post-Labor Day School Start Date for Maryland Public Schools Final Report" (PDF).
19. "Poll: 67 percent support Hogan's post-Labor Day back-to-school order | WTOP". WTOP. 2016-09-26. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
20. [e-mail], VICTORIA WINGATE. "Hogan, Franchot announce post-Labor Day school start". The Star Democrat. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
21. "House Bill 1283, Maryland General Assembly" (PDF).
22. "Governor Larry Hogan - Official Website for the Governor of Maryland". governor.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
23. Staff, WMAR (2017-04-11). ""Reform on Tap" task force to review MD alcohol laws". WMAR. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
24. Yeager, Amanda (2017-11-20). "Franchot unveils legislative package lifting limits on craft beer industry". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
25. Dance, Scott. "Maryland small brewers squaring off in Annapolis with alcohol industry". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
26. Dresser, Michael. "Alcohol regulator Peter Franchot, lawmakers clash in heated hearing on beer regulations". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
27. Case, Michael Dresser, Wesley. "Beer reform taps out as Maryland House panel rejects Franchot brewery bill". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
28. [e-mail], Marcus Dieterle. "In Port visit, Franchot vows to fight for craft beer reform". Cecil Daily. Retrieved 2018-10-04.

External links

• Government website
• Campaign website
• Maryland Archives biography
• Peter Franchot papers at the University of Maryland Libraries
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Profile at Vote Smart

Political offices
Preceded by William Schaefer	Comptroller of Maryland 2007–present	Incumbent