Hogan Addresses Baltimore Violence, MTA's BaltimoreLink, Redistricting

Gov. Larry Hogan on Thursday defended the roll-out of the BaltimoreLink transit overhaul, and answered questions on what the state is doing to combat Baltimore violence.

Hogan spoke on WBAL NewsRadio 1090 from Annapolis for his regular chat with the C4 Show.

MTA BaltimoreLink:

The bus service overhaul was a pet project of Hogan's after he canceled the Baltimore Red Line. In the nearly three weeks since the new bus lines went live, there's been some confusion and frustration among riders. Hogan downplayed that, saying that Baltimore's bus service had been a "disaster for 50 years" and highlighting the shortened drive times and easier commutes of his plan.

"Obviously whenever there's change, you're going to hear some folks that are not comfortable with the changes, they hadn't gotten used to the changes yet," Hogan said. "It's just going to take a little while to get everybody accustomed to it and get everything straightened out."

Listen to the segment:

Violence in Baltimore City:

Hogan calls the 180 homicides in Baltimore in 2017 "outrageous," and that he plans to meet with Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh on Monday to "talk about just this issue, about violence in the city."

"The police in Baltimore City are doing incredibly difficult jobs, but I don't think people appreciate them the way that they should," Hogan said.

He noted the state has provided $64 million to crime prevention in the city, including policing and prosecution. He said that just passing more laws isn't going to cut it.

"Drug dealers don't follow gun laws. They don't follow gun laws. They don't follow murder laws," Hogan said. "If they're committing crimes with guns on the streets, we need to get them off the streets."

Asked about the suggestions of some that Hogan send in state troopers, he said that day-to-day local policing work isn't what Maryland State Police train for,

"The state police have entirely different skill sets than the city police. It's a different type of policing. First of all, the state police are spread pretty thin all over the state," he said. "They don't train for walking a beat."

Hogan took issue, however, with the mayor's decision to take money out of the police budget in favor of helping to plug a hole in the city schools budget.

"They need more money, not less," Hogan said. "They need more resources."

Listen to the Segment:

BWI Flight Plans:

One listener called in to raise concerns about the Federal Aviation Administration's NextGen flight routing plan, which has planes flying different, lower and louder paths to BWI Marshall Airport. Hogan said his administration is talking with affected counties and mulling legal action.

"This thing was a terrible decision in my opinion by the FAA, without really getting the proper input from the state and local authorities," Hogan said, noting that Martin O'Malley administration officials signed off on the idea.

Listen to the Segment:

Redistricting:

Hogan also cheered the Supreme Court decision to hear a Wisconsin case on partisan gerrymandering, one that could have fallout in Maryland. Maryland's most recent redistricting is still being challenged in federal court and Hogan has pushed for nonpartisan redistricting reform, but to no avail. In Maryland, lawmakers and the governor have large sway in drawing district lines.

"It's some of the worst in the country and we have worked really had for three years to try to get nonpartisan redistricting in Maryland and it's supported by most people in Maryland," Hogan said,

In Maryland, Democratic voters outnumber Republicans roughly 2-to-1, but a Republican occupies just one of the state's eight House seats. Hogan pointed to a recently released deposition of his predecessor admitting that the goal of the last redistricting process was to unseat Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. Bartlett lost to Rep. John Delaney, a Democrat, in 2012.

Listen to the Segment:

Hear the full Interview: