2022 Maryland Governor Candidate Profiles: Baron, Sefcik, Segal, Ficker & Jaffe

BALTIMORE -- With Maryland's primary set for Tuesday, lesser-known gubernatorial candidates are making their final pitch for last-minute votes.

Many of these candidates took part in last week's debate hosted by the Baltimore Teacher Network and Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools, which was focused on their plans for the future of public education in Maryland.

During that debate, Democrat and former nonprofit executive Jon Baron said Maryland needs to stop spending money on educational programs that do not work and focus instead on programs that have a track record of success.

"We will expand high-quality tutoring to every struggling first and second grader in the entire state of Maryland because that has been shown to move them up to grade level early, before their problems get serious in later grades," Baron said.

Kyle Sefcik, a small business owner who is running for the state's top elected office as an unaffiliated candidate, said he believes a student's overall health should be a priority.

"I want to make these kids not only look healthier but feel healthier," Sefcik said. "When we see that, these kids are going to get along better, feel better about their lives and, like I said, have more respect for the people that want to teach them and help them grow."

Democrat Jerome Segal, a former research scholar for the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, weighed in on school violence, which has been top of mind for many parents. He said conflict resolution needs to be taught at a young age.

"What the schools can and should do basically is to teacher the resolution of the dispute through reason," Segal said. "So at the earliest grades...children should be brought into debate and discourse and challenging in argumentation and back-and-forth and internalize it, the idea of which we resolve things is by deliberation and discussion."

Another topic that has come up is taxes. Republican Robin Ficker, a recently disbarred attorney, said he plans to attract businesses to Maryland by lowering the state's sales tax.

"I'm the only candidate for governor that's going to cut your taxes every day by cutting the state's sales tax two cents, giving you $780 a year in your pocket more every single year," he said. "That will act as a lure to all the big businesses that are shunning Maryland."

Ralph Jaffe, a retired teacher who is running as a Democrat, said corruption is one of his biggest concerns.

"We have politicians that only are about money, power and fame, and that's why we're so messed up," Jaffe said.

All five of these candidates are on the crowded list of individuals vying to become Maryland's next governor.

To learn more, visit the candidates' websites: Jon Baron | Ralph Jaffe | Kyle Sefcik | Jerome Segal

Note: There were no campaign websites available for Ficker.