Incoming Maryland Director of Rural Economic Strategy Carl Anderton talks new role

Maryland’s new director of rural economic strategy is scheduled to start the role this month in the state’s Department of Commerce, taking on a portfolio that includes 15 counties across the state.

During a July 17 interview at the State House in Annapolis, Del. Carl Anderton Jr., R-Wicomico, cited his love of home and conversations with Gov. Wes Moore as reasons why he is resigning his seat of nine years in the Maryland General Assembly to join the administration of the Democratic governor and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller.

“When he talked to me about the focus he wanted to make in the rural sections of the state, the ones that, historically, we always have a feeling that were kind of left behind,” he said, “all of our conversations have been wanting to find ways to have more of a presence in those areas, and so they asked me if I’d be interested in doing this, and I love my home, so it was a no-brainer.”

The new role, however, will likely take Anderton, who has spent his political career in elected roles on the Lower Shore, far away from Delmar, which he once called the “most incredible place to call home.”

During an interview in the Governor’s Reception Room after a Board of Public Works meeting in Annapolis this month, Anderton said in his new role that he’d work with 15 counties. (Maryland has 23 total counties.)

Asked to specify, he cited the nine counties on the Shore, two in Southern Maryland, three counties in Western Maryland (Washington, Allegany, Garrett), and Harford County.

“It’s a lot more traveling, but it’s an opportunity to really glean from other parts of the state things they’re doing that are well, and then sharing them,” the former mayor of Delmar said.

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State's new director of rural economic strategy to work with 15 counties

The Republican joins the Democratic administration, which has sponsored 26 bills, all passed into law with votes from members of both parties, over the past two General Assembly sessions. Anderton co-sponsored over 60 percent of those bills, providing Moore’s legislation a bipartisan start.

Earlier this month, Anderton sent Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne Jones, D-Baltimore County, a letter of resignation . Anderton is scheduled to transition to the appointed role on July 24 after nearly two decades serving in elected office. He started in elected office during a stint on the Delmar Town Commission in the early 2000s.

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His start in the newly created Department of Commerce role comes not long after one poverty metric (the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, also known as the ALICE , measure) identified two rural counties as ranking among the top three of the state’s poorest. On the Lower Shore, Somerset County ranked first, according to the metric , and Western Maryland’s Allegany County ranked third.

“We look forward to leveraging Carl’s wealth of experience and relationships across our state to direct our efforts and support economic development, job creation, and growth in our rural communities,” said state Department of Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson, in a press release .

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As for his soon-to-be old seat in the House? Current law states that the governor must make an appointment to fill an empty seat in the Maryland General Assembly “within thirty days after the occurrence of the vacancy.”

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Incoming Maryland Director of Rural Economic Strategy Carl Anderton talks new role