The “No Developer Money Pledge” of Election Cycle 2022 (hereafter referred to as the “Pledge”) 

As a candidate running for office in, or in part of, Howard County Maryland, representing constituents at the local level or in Annapolis, I pledge to not accept campaign donations from the following “Prohibited Entities”:

1. Real estate development companies, partnerships, proprietors (or their entities) with projects in, or have had previous projects in, or have pending applications or currently planned future projects in, Howard County Maryland. (Planned future projects may be defined as any correspondence between two persons, either written or verbal, of a specific project to be built within Howard County at any future time)
2. Principals of these aforementioned real estate development entities
3. Law firms for the aforementioned real estate development companies, including employees, partnerships, proprietorships or the principals of these law firms.
4. Public Relations or marketing companies with clients falling into the aforementioned real estate development category or their principals
5. Any contributions from any group or organization, including a PAC, that accepts direct or indirect funding (including but not limited to intermediary or “pass through” organizations or entities) from the development lobby and their affiliates as listed herein, or does not disclose its source of funding
6. Donations or transfer amounts greater than $250 in a single 4 year election cycle from other candidates who have not signed this Pledge
7. State or local Central Committees, insofar as they serve as conduits for developer funds
8. Contributions from a sole proprietors, LLCs or LLPs or similar entities that are or represent the land development lobby
9. Anonymous contributions (also referred to as “Dark Money”) as prohibited by Chapter 8.10, #2 of the Maryland Candidacy & Campaign Finance Laws Summary Guide, § 13-239 of the MD Election Law Article
10. In-kind donations from real estate development entities, law firms and lawyers who represent real estate developers, PACs working on behalf of developers, etc. Examples include but are not limited to hosting fundraisers for candidates or covering the cost of food, supplies, etc. for candidate events, purchasing mailers or ads, or paying for office space.

By signing on to this Pledge I understand that the contributions to my campaign cannot include contributions from the aforementioned prohibited entities for the current election cycle, which began January 1, 2019. Therefore, if I have received money during the current election cycle from these prohibited entities, I understand that I must return these funds to the contributor before I may sign this Pledge. I understand that when I sign this Pledge I will be included in a Developer/Dark Money-Free Champion list, and that if I renege on this Pledge and accept money from these prohibited entities after signing, the Pledge sponsors have a right to alert me to discuss the prohibited or questionable contribution(s). After understanding the issue, if I do not remedy the contribution by returning the full amount(s) I understand that I may then be removed from the Pledge Signer list.

I understand that this Pledge is designed and carried out by constituents/voters of Howard County, for the purpose of better informing other constituents/voters of Howard County. With this understanding, I will make every effort to be transparent, honest and forthcoming with my contributions as they relate to this signed Pledge. My level of transparency and accountability may be viewed as a reflection of my relationship with the constituents I am seeking to serve.