Maryland Gov. Candidates Fight On Education Battlefield

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Maryland candidates for governor are fighting on the battlefield of education, with Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and Democrat Ben Jealous going toe-to-toe by way of campaign events and campaign ads.

"I still want to make Maryland schools better and make sure every kid has an opportunity to get a world-class education," says Hogan in one of three campaign ads.

Against a backdrop of schools forced to close due to heat, Jealous argued that the Hogan administration has failed in its mission.

"Parents across our state know we could be doing much better. In the last three years, our schools have dropped in the rankings every single year and that causes us concern," said Jealous.

Most controversial is Hogan's ad in which he takes credit for a ballot issue on locking down casino revenue for schools.

"I want to take a minute in support of my important ballot initiative that requires casino revenue to be placed in a lockbox dedicated to education," he says in the ad.

Ballot question 1 is actually a constitutional amendment to appear on the ballot passed by the general assembly, although Hogan is calling it his own.

Democrats call the ad misleading.

"I've been campaigning on the need to keep the broken promise on the casino money for more than a year," said Jealous. "The governor tried to convince people for most of that time that the promise had been kept. I think he's finally willing to admit that we've got to shift direction..."

Despite the controversy over who takes credit, both sides are backing ballot question 1.

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