BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — As Baltimore County’s three state’s attorney candidates took to the debate stage on Thursday, attention after the event quickly shifted from what was said at the podium to who’s spending money behind the scenes.
Following the May 21 debate, FOX45 News questioned candidates about a recent surge of outside spending in the race.
“That’s an independent expenditure group, so, they can’t coordinate with our campaign at all,” Deputy State Prosecutor Sarah David declared.
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While David is publicly listed on the Working Families Party website as an endorsed candidate, she denies having any direct affiliation with the group. The progressive political organization has previously received financial support from groups connected to billionaire George Soros, who has spent millions of dollars nationally on criminal justice reform efforts.
According to campaign filings, in just the last month alone, the Working Families Party spent half a million dollars on David’s behalf. Records show roughly $260,000 went toward television advertising, while another $240,000 was spent on mailers, many of them critical of longtime Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger. Among them was a widely circulated flier criticizing Shellenberger over his office’s involvement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
What they don’t tell you is in that case where my prosecutor called ICE, the defendant had sexually assaulted an 11-year-old child,” Shellenberger said.
On Thursday, FOX45 News asked David about the messaging being used in advertisements supporting her campaign and concerns surrounding national influence in a local race.
I think that there’s a lot of people who want change in Baltimore County, and I think that Scott Shellenberger has made a lot of statements that have made a lot of people in this community feel less safe,” David said.
When pressed again, specifically about outside groups influencing the race, David continued to point to local concerns.
“I think there’s a lot of people in Baltimore County who feel that way, and a lot of people in Baltimore County that want to make sure that we are engaging with these issues in our state’s attorney’s office,” she said.
David also stopped short of distancing herself from ideas or policy positions associated with groups supporting her campaign.
“When we talk about changes that we can make to the state’s attorney’s office, there are a lot of important places to listen, and I’m not rejecting any ideas out of the bat,” David said.
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Meanwhile, both Shellenberger and fellow candidate Baltimore City Prosecutor Lauren Liscomb argued the outside spending raises serious concerns, saying voters should consider not just the message itself, but who is paying to deliver it.
“I think so, because that means people outside of Baltimore County, who don’t know a thing about fighting crime in Baltimore County, are trying to influence who’s going to fight the crime,” Shellenberger said.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for individuals who don’t live in the area and are not impacted by these day-to-day crimes to weigh in by way of funding,” Liscomb said.
FOX45 News also reached out to Open Society Foundations, founded by Soros, which acknowledged supporting organizations within the broader Working Families network, but denied any involvement in this local race.
“Our grants prohibit the use of funds to support or oppose candidates for office, and the Open Society Foundations is not involved in decisions regarding support for candidates in this race,” the organization said in a statement.
Ultimately, with election day only a month away, it will soon be up to voters to decide how much weight to give the voices and dollars behind the race.
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