Progressive Harford to be Formally Recognized as Progressive Maryland Chapter
Milestone marks political shift underway in historically conservative Maryland county.
Harford County, MD – The progressive movement continues to grow in Maryland. Less than 7 months after its founding, Progressive Harford County has reached the membership threshold to qualify as an official chapter of Progressive Maryland, its statewide parent organization.
Progressive Harford, a grassroots group, was established in July 2021 by Harford County native and Edgewood resident Zack Frink. Frink started the group in response to his growing dismay at a sharp right-wing turn he observed in local and national politics. His first move was to start building relationships with other organizing groups and activists in the county.
“Meeting and getting to know all kinds of people throughout Harford taught me that the dominant political narrative about our county isn’t accurate at all,” he said. “I learned that community members felt abandoned by the political establishment. There’s a lot of cynicism and resignation about local politics that keeps people from showing up to the polls, and we want to change that.”
Since its founding, Progressive Harford has held several “happy hour” gatherings to build a sense of political community, as well as regular town halls where members of the public can pose questions to state and local electoral candidates. Recent town halls have hosted Maryland comptroller candidate Brooke Lierman, gubernatorial candidates Doug Gansler and Ashwani Jain, Harford County Council candidates Nolanda Kirby and Jacob Bennett, and Harford County Board of Education candidate Stephen Puopolo. Several other candidate town halls are scheduled for the coming months.
The Progressive Maryland Board of Directors will vote to formally recognize Progressive Harford as a chapter during an upcoming board meeting. “I’m very excited that progressives are organizing for change in Harford County,” said Larry Stafford, Jr., Executive Director of Progressive Maryland. “Progressive Harford has demonstrated why it’s important that we work to grow our movement across the state, not only in known progressive strongholds. I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for their chapter.”
After the Board vote, the chapter will begin work to build coalitions with other organizations in the area. They also plan to endorse and canvass for progressive candidates for office, and to ramp up chapter efforts to register new voters and turn them out to the polls. “Our chapter is here to be a unifier for everyone with progressive political values in Harford County,” said Frink. “I want people everywhere to know they can start a progressive movement in their towns too, no matter how politically ‘red’ their areas might seem.”
###
Learn more about Progressive Harford County at https://www.progressiveharco.org/ and Progressive Maryland at https://www.progressivemaryland.org/.
Progressive Maryland is a statewide grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing racial, social, economic, health, and environmental justice. The organization represents over 120,000 individual members, supporters, and affiliates across Maryland who lead the fight for progressive change through grassroots organizing, public education, and legislative advocacy efforts.