Yesterday, the Maryland Court of Appeals postponed the date for primary elections that had been scheduled for June 28th. They will now be held on July 19th. The deadline for candidates to file to be on the ballot has also been pushed back from March 22nd to April 15th.

The delays are related to the fact that various courts are hearing challenges to the re-districting maps for Congressional districts and State House and Senate seats that were passed by Democrats in the General Assembly, and which are opposed by Governor Larry Hogan and Republicans. Election officials worried that they wouldn’t be able to get ballots ready in time for the earlier dates.

Today on Midday, a conversation with a gentleman whose name will be on the ballot in the Democratic primary for Governor, whenever the election is held. In this latest installment of our series of Conversations with the Candidates: 2022, Tom's guest is Tom Perez, who has had a career in politics in elective office and in the executive branches of both the state and federal governments.

Mr. Perez served in the Civil Rights Division of the US Justice Department in the late 1980s, and he led that division during the Obama administration. He was elected to the Montgomery County Council for one term before his appointment as the Maryland Secretary of Labor during the O’Malley administration. In 2013, President Obama tapped him to be the US Secretary of Labor. He was also the chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2017-2021.

Tom Perez holds an undergraduate degree from Brown University and a law degree from Harvard. He and his wife are the parents of three adult children.

Mr. Perez has chosen former Baltimore City Councilwoman Shannon Sneed as his running mate.Tom Perez joins us on Zoom from Takoma Park, Maryland.

You are welcome to join us as well. Call us at 410.662.8780. Email: [email protected] or Tweet us @MiddayWYPR.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.