The Washington Post - 18.09.2019

B4 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 , 2019

that “the heroin and opioid crisis

in Maryland is by no means over.”

The state plans to spend

$747 million in fiscal 2020 on

opioid-related programs, up from

$674 million this fiscal year. State

spending on opioid-related pro-

grams has jumped by nearly

68 percent in the past three years.

“While we know there is still

much work to be done with

regard to this epidemic, the de-

cline of heroin- and opioid-relat-

ed deaths over the first two quar-

ters of 2019 gives us hope that we

are on the right track,” Lt. Gov.

Boyd Rutherford (R), who leads

the state Heroin and Opioid

Emergency Ta sk Force, said in a

statement.

The six-month tally is similar

to the 12-month total in 2015,

when 1,089 people died, and

nearly double the number of

fatalities in 2009. Last year, 2, 143

people suffered opioid-related

deaths.

Maryland also experienced a

drop in the deaths caused by

fentanyl, a powerful synthetic

opioid, in the first six months of

2019 as compared with the same

period in 2018.

There were 942 fentanyl-relat-

ed deaths from January to June

2019, 7.8 percent fewer than in

the first half of 2018.

[email protected]

BY OVETTA WIGGINS

While opioid-related deaths re-
main at nearly an all-time high in
Maryland, preliminary data
shows a decline in fatal overdoses
for the second straight quarter —
the first six-month drop in the
last decade.
State officials released a pre-
liminary report Tuesday that
found that there were 1,060
opioid-related deaths in Mary-
land in the first half of the year,
133 fewer — or an 11 percent
decline — than in the first six
months of 2018.
Steven R. Schuh, executive di-
rector of Maryland’s O pioid Oper-
ational Command Center, said 13
of the state’s 24 jurisdictions saw
fewer opioid-related deaths. Te n
jurisdictions reported increases,
including Ta lbot County, with six
more deaths than a year ago, and
Baltimore City and Kent County,
each with five more deaths than
in the first half of 2018.
Baltimore City, Baltimore
County and Anne Arundel Coun-
ty had the highest number of
opioid-related fatalities, collec-
tively accounting for 66.8 percent
of all such deaths in Maryland in
the first half of 2019.
Schuh said in a statement that
he was encouraged by the prelim-
inary data, but he acknowledged

BY GREGORY S. SCHNEIDER

AND LAURA VOZZELLA

richmond — Virginia Demo-
crats surged in fundraising over
the summer, building a lead over
Republicans in total cash reserves
heading toward this fall’s crucial
legislative e lections.
Democratic candidates for the
House of Delegates reported a to-
tal o f $8.6 m illion cash on hand a s
of Aug. 31, compared with
$7.7 million for Republican House
candidates, according to the non-
partisan Virginia Public Access
Project.
On the Senate side, Republi-
cans reported a slight overall lead,
with $5.3 million on hand com-
pared with $5 million for Demo-
crats.
All 140 seats in the legislature
are on the ballot this year, as Re-
publicans defend razor-thin ma-
jorities in the House (51-48) and
Senate (20-19), with one vacancy
in each chamber. With the balance
of power up for grabs, Virginia is
drawing enormous attention —
and m oney — f rom national i nter-
ests in both parties.
The top overall fundraiser for
July and August — the two-month
period covered by campaign fi-
nance reports due at midnight

Monday — i s a candidate w ho isn’t

even on t he b allot. Del. Nicholas J.

Freitas (R-Culpeper), who missed

deadlines for filing campaign pa-

perwork, posted contributions of

$513,000 for his write-in cam-

paign for reelection against Dem-

ocrat Ann Ridgeway, who raised

$30,000. Freitas’s haul included

$500,000 from conservative

megadonor Richard Uihlein of

Wisconsin.

Otherwise, the big money gen-

erally flowed to hotly contested

seats where Democrats are hoping

to m ake gains. The most e xpensive

race involves House Speaker Kirk

Cox (R-Colonial Heights), whose

district was among more than two

dozen redrawn this year by a fed-

eral court seeking to correct for

racial gerrymandering. His dis-

trict, which had favored Republi-

cans by 26 points, n ow t ilts Demo-

cratic by six under the new map,

according to an analysis b y VPAP.

Cox narrowly outraised Demo-

crat Sheila Bynum-Coleman,

bringing in $390,000 to her

$330,000. She was third in House

fundraising, behind Freitas and

Cox. Yet C ox, a 29-year veteran and

the s tate’s m ost powerful Republi-

can, had a hefty advantage in cash

on hand — $590,000, compared

with Bynum-Coleman’s $ 341,000.

Both parties found something

to crow about in the latest finance

numbers.

“Republicans are getting out-

raised and outworked,” D emocrat-

ic Party of Virginia spokesman

Jacob Rubenstein said. “Their

house is on fire.”

Republicans argued that Dem-

ocrats owed their big-money haul

to a few “megadonors” a nd o ut-of-

state activists, whose small online

donations masquerade as local

grass-roots support.

“We knew Virginia Democrats

would be well funded by million-

aires and liberals from California,

New York and DC,” Cox spokes-

man Parker Slaybaugh said in an

email. “This reporting period has

shown Democrats care more

about their big money special in-

terest groups and out of state do-

nors than they care about hard-

working f amilies h ere in V irginia.”

Aside from Cox, the other pow-

erful Republican running in a dis-

trict remade by the new map is

Del. Chris Jones of Suffolk, chair-

man of the House Appropriations

Committee.

Jones, whose remade district

greatly favors Democrats, raised

$165,000 over the summer and

headed into September with

$603,000 on hand. His Democrat-

ic challenger, Clint Jenkins, did

not file a campaign report by the

midnight deadline. He had

$56,000 on hand on June 30, the

end o f the p revious filing period.

In Northern Virginia, the Dem-

ocrat v ying to replace retiring Sen.

Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun)

raised more than his GOP rival.

Del. John J. B ell (D-Loudoun) took

in $207,000, while Republican

Geary Higgins raised $118,000.

But Republican Del. Tim Hugo

(Fairfax), who was nearly unseat-

ed two years a go, raised more than

his challenger — $ 297,000 to Dem-

ocrat D an Helmer’s $192,000.

A number of Democratic House

freshmen from Prince William

County who won in a 2017 anti-

Trump wave substantially out-

raised Republican challengers.

They include: Jennifer D. Carroll

Foy (with $31,000 to Republican

Heather Mitchell’s $7,000); Dani-

ca A. Roem (with $143,000 to Re-

publican Kelly McGinn’s

$86,000); Del. Elizabeth R. Guz-

man (with $162,000 to Republi-

can D.J. Jordan’s $71,000); and

Hala S. Ayala (with $243,000 for a

rematch with the Republican she

unseated, Rich Anderson, who

raised $48,000.)

Fundraising was closer in an-

other rematch, with freshman

Del. Wendy Gooditis (D-Clarke)

raising $164,000 and the Republi-

can she unseated, Randy

Minchew, with $169,000. Fresh-

man Del. Lee J. Carter (D-Manas-

sas) raised $74,000, while his Re-

publican r ival, I an Lovejoy, t ook i n

$68,000.

Democrats outraised Republi-

cans in key suburban Senate dis-

tricts outside Richmond, all long-

time GOP strongholds that have

turned blue since the election of

President Trump. Freshman Del.

Debra H. Rodman (D-Henrico),

who is trying to unseat Sen. Siob-

han S. Dunnavant (R-Henrico),

raised $408,000. Dunnavant took

in $273,000. Democrat Ghazala

Hashmi raised $270,000 for her

challenge to Sen. Glen H. Sturte-

vant Jr. (R-Richmond), whose to-

tal was $ 138,000.

In r ural-suburban territory o ut-

side Richmond that Democrats

consider a stretch, Democrat

Amanda Pohl raised $150,000 for

her challenge to Sen. Amanda F.

Chase (R-Chesterfield), who took

in $100,000.

Fundraising mostly favored

Democrats in House races over-

lapping with those Senate dis-

tricts. Democrat Larry Barnett

raised $159,000 for his bid to un-

seat veteran Del. Roxann L. R obin-

son (R-Chesterfield), who raised

$45,000. Freshman Del. Dawn M.

Adams (D-Richmond) took in

$87,000 for her race against the

GOP’s lone African American re-

cruit, Garrison Coward, who

raised $36,000. She had $236,000

on hand to his $23,000. Another

freshman, Del. Schuyler T. Van-

Valkenburg (D-Henrico), raised

$170,000, compared with

$110,000 f or Republican challeng-

er GayDonna Vandergriff.

One exception was Republican

Mary Margaret Kastelberg, who i s

running for the seat being vacated

by Rodman. She outraised Demo-

crat Rodney Willett $163,000 to

$100,000.

In Virginia Beach, another big

battleground this year, fundrais-

ing for two Republican-held Sen-

ate seats is close: Sen. William R.

DeSteph (R) raised about

$175,000 and had about $261,000

on hand, while Democratic chal-

lenger Missy Cotter Smasal raised

almost $241,000 and had

$285,000 in cash.

The candidates vying to suc-

ceed retiring Sen. Frank W. Wag-

ner (R-Virginia Beach) w ere about

even. Democrat Cheryl B. Turpin,

looking to make t he j ump from the

House seat she won two years ago,

raised $222,000 and had almost

$261,000 on h and. R epublican J en

Kiggans raised $271,000 and had

$266,000 in cash.

Democrats have a cash advan-

tage in t hree H ouse seats at t he top

of their list for flipping from r ed to

blue.

In Newport News, Democrat

Shelly Simonds outraised Repub-

lican incumbent David E. Yancey,

$216,000 to $72,000. The gap is

not as stark in cash on hand:

Simonds had $346,000 in the

bank, while Yancey had $ 291,000.

Their race is a rematch of one

that was a tie two years ago; Yan-

cey won when his name was se-

lected in a random drawing. The

new map has made the district

bluer, according to VPAP’s analy-

sis.

Nearby in Hampton, Democrat

Martha Mugler raised nearly

$211,000 compared with $47,000

for Republican Colleen Holcomb.

They’re running for an open seat

that had been held by a Republi-

can.

In Stafford County, Democrat

Joshua Cole raised $189,000,

while Republican Paul Milde

brought in less than $51,000. Cole

ran for the seat two years ago and

lo st by just 73 votes to now-Del.

Robert M. Thomas Jr. (R-

Stafford). Thomas lost a primary

this year to Milde.

laur [email protected]

[email protected]

BY FENIT NIRAPPIL

D.C. lawmakers on Tuesday

proposed sweeping measures to

curb the rise of youth vaping,

including a ban on flavored

e-cigarettes and requiring a pre-

scription to buy other electronic

smoking products.

A bill introduced by D.C. Coun-

cil member Vincent C. Gray (D-

Ward 7) would ban the sale of

vaping products at any location

that is not a medical marijuana

dispensary or a pharmacy. The

District would be the first U.S.

jurisdiction with such stringent

restrictions on e-cigarette sales.

“We are quite literally watch-

ing a new generation of young

people get hooked on nicotine

through vaping,” said Gray, who

chairs the health committee.

The anti-vaping bills come a

week after President Trump an-

nounced plans to ban most fla-

vored e-cigarettes unless the

products are approved by the

Food and Drug Administration.

Michigan became the first state

to ban flavored e-cigarettes earli-

er this month, and on Tuesday,

New York state enacted a ban that

became effective immediately.

On Monday, Montgomery

County announced legislation

that would ban vape shops and

delivery of e-cigarettes to stores

within a half-mile of middle or

high schools.

“A ll this underscores the extent

of the public health emergency

presented by e-cigarettes, and the

District cannot wait for the feder-

al government to act,” said coun-

cil member Mary M. Cheh (D-

Ward 3), who introduced the bill

to ban flavored e-cigarettes. “The

industry targets young people

with blatantly youth appealing

flavors like cotton candy and

gummy bears, and the strategy

works.”

Anti-tobacco advocates are

pressing states and localities to

restrict e-cigarettes, even though

the federal government is already

doing so.

“The tobacco industry will do

everything it can to delay, w eaken

and defeat the FDA’s proposal and

is certain to challenge it in court,”

said Matthew L. Myers, president

of the Campaign for To bacco-Free

Kids. “That means it’s more im-

portant than ever for cities and

states to protect kids by prohibit-

ing the sale of all flavored e-ciga-

rettes.”

The District already has some

of the nation’s toughest tobacco

laws with a smoking age of 21,

nearly $5 in taxes on a pack of

cigarettes and a prohibition on

vaping in bars.

E-cigarettes have been pitched

as a safer alternative to tradition-

al cigarettes because vaping in-

volves heating nicotine into

inhalable vapor without tar and

other chemicals. But nicotine re-

mains addictive, and vaping has

been linked to lung disease, ac-

cording to federal data.

Gregory Conley of the Ameri-

can Vaping Association said bans

on flavored e-cigarettes are mis-

guided because the flavors are

also attractive to adults looking to

stop using traditional cigarettes.

“A b an on flavored vaping prod-

ucts will lead to fewer adults

quitting and will not succeed at

impeding youth access,” Conley

said in an email.

Cheh said she is not convinced

that adults need fruity flavors to

make the switch.

“Even if there were some nar-

row slice of adults for whom that

would be determinative, it’s more

important we protect the chil-

dren,” Cheh said.

She said she is also considering

legislation to prohibit vaping and

similar shops from opening with-

in a half-mile of a school, in

response to a store that recently

opened within walking distance

of Alice Deal Middle School and

Woodrow Wilson High School in

her district.

A majority of the council intro-

duced the flavored e-cigarette

ban, including Cheh, Gray, Elissa

Silverman (I-At Large), David

Grosso ( I-At Large), Charles Allen

(D-Ward 6), Jack Evans (D-

Ward 2), Brianne K. Nadeau (D-

Ward 1), Anita Bonds

(D-At Large) and Trayon White

Sr. (D-Ward 8).

Gray’s b ill to restrict e-cigarette

sales to pharmacies and marijua-

na dispensaries had less support,

with Grosso, Cheh, Allen and

Bonds co-introducing it.

Aides to Mayor Muriel E. Bows-

er (D) did not return a request for

comment.

In a statement, Juul said the

company would “continue to

combat youth usage, while sup-

porting reasonable access to va-

por products for adults looking to

switch from combustible ciga-

rettes.”

The council also voted Tuesday

to authorize the city to petition

D.C. Superior Court to enforce

subpoenas in an internal ethics

probe of council member Jack

Evans (D-Ward 2).

Evans is also the target o f feder-

al grand jury investigation into

possible conflicts between his

public duties and his private busi-

ness interests.

Council Chairman Phil Men-

delson (D) said the move was

necessary because key witnesses

in the investigation refused to

comply with subpoenas issued by

a law firm hired by the council to

investigate Evans.

Evans, who has cooperated

with investigators, did not recuse

himself from the vote on Tuesday.

He cast the lone “no” vote, citing

his earlier opposition to the inves-

tigation.

Lawmakers also introduced

bills to overhaul the District’s

minority and local business con-

tract preference program and to

extend rent control rules set to

expire next year.

[email protected]

VIRGINIA

Democrats lead in fundraising as big money flows to hotly contested races

MARYLAND

Opioid-related deaths

decline, but crisis ‘by no

means over,’ o∞cial says

THE DISTRICT

Legislators propose stringent vaping restrictions

STEVE HELBER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

All 14 0 seats will be on the ballot, with control of both chambers at stake. In House races, Democratic

candidates reported a total of $8.6 million in cash on hand, compared with Republicans’ $7.7 million.

BILL O'LEARY/THE WASHINGTON POST

E-cigarette company Juul said it would “continue to combat youth

usage, while supporting reasonable access to vapor products for

adults looking to switch from combustible cigarettes.”

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