The Anne Arundel County Democratic Party Celebration Dinner’s keynote speaker will be likely 2020 presidential candidate Terry McAuliffe, former Governor of Virginia. The dinner, sponsored by the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee, will be held on Friday, May 11, at the Byzantium Events Center, 2747 Riva Road in Annapolis at 6:00 p.m. The Master of Ceremonies will be Maryland House Speaker Mike Busch and two leading progressive leaders in Anne Arundel County, Chris Trumbauer and Cynthia Carter will be honored. Entertainment will include Anne Arundel resident and nationally known singer Kayla Currie who recently performed at New York’s Apollo Theater. Dinner tickets are $90 and can be ordered at www.annearundeldems.com.
The featured speaker, former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, created hundreds of thousands of jobs, and brought state unemployment down from 5.4% to 3.7%. “Who better to take on Trump than me” he said in the Washington Post. “He has more connections to donors than any 1st time presidential candidate ever” said Politico.
The outstanding service of two Anne Arundel County Progressive Democrats will be honored. Councilman Chris Trumbauer will receive the Legend Award for his success in initiating legislation to strengthen the health of our environment. Cynthia Carter will receive the Chair Award for her exemplary service as the first African-American woman elected as Annapolis City Alderman.
Cynthia Abney Carter was brought up in Annapolis public housing and she was raised not to allow her lower-income status to get in the way of her desire to improve the lives of people of color and people living in subsidized housing. Her family was so well thought of by the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis that when College Creek Terrace was redeveloped, a street was named in their honor: Abney Way in Obery Court.
In 1997 Carter ran for Annapolis Alderman for Ward 6 – a small but diverse Ward with several public or subsidized housing communities side by side with high-income neighborhoods. Remarkably, she ran and won her race as a write-in candidate, and did so by reaching out to people, door to door, throughout the ward. In doing so, she became the first African-American woman ever to serve on the Annapolis city council, and cracked the glass ceiling for others who followed. She has consistently worked to improve services and equity to the underserved people of Annapolis.
Chris Trumbauer is a life-long Marylander, with a life-long commitment to serve his community and to keep Maryland shores beautiful and healthy. He has dedicated nearly two decades of work in the environmental field. After cutting his teeth as a water quality scientist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, he worked as a volunteer for a diverse range of non-profit organizations and coalitions working on sustainability, clean water and conservation issues. As the Executive Director of the West/Rhode Riverkeepers from 2008 to 2013, he learned about as much as anybody could about the impact of area development on health of the Bay and the resources needed to maintain it.
He ran for County Council in 2010 on the belief that at the local level, politics have not yet become totally partisan, making it possible to work across party lines on issues of shared importance. And that he has done, not just in the environmental area, but on issues of policy, budget, and education as well.
Chris has done much to preserve the quality of the Bay watershed. developing and gaining passage of the controversial but extremely important storm water remediation fee. This act has already provided $20 million annually in much needed revenues whose use both improves County rivers and streams and supports local small businesses.
The honorees for whom the Tubman-Remillard Dinner is named are ground-breaking women from the past and the present: Harriet Tubman, who risked her life to free slaves, and Ann-Marie Remillard, who has worked hard over many years to strengthen the Democratic party in Anne Arundel county.
The dinner features a silent auction to raise funds to support local Democratic candidates. The reception is a lively occasion for networking among elected officials, candidates, and voters. All are welcome.
