The debate over the debate, and Magruder steps down from green bank, in political notes

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and two-time Republican nominee Dan Cox (R) are set to square off during a televised debate about a month before Election Day.

In a news release Wednesday, Moore’s campaign spokesman Carter Elliott said the campaign is “glad” that Cox accepted “our challenge to debate Governor Moore this fall on Maryland Public Television.” Marylanders will see firsthand the MAGA agenda Dan Cox threatens to bring to Maryland, and a reminder of why they overwhelmingly rejected him four years ago,” Elliott wrote.

But Moore’s opponents aren’t satisfied with the debate, which is scheduled for Oct. 6 on Maryland Public Television.

Cox didn’t just accept the MPT invitation, he urged Moore to schedule two additional debates, suggesting Maryland universities as potential hosts.

“What is he afraid of? Let’s let the people hear from both candidates,” Cox said in the news release.

Cox isn’t the only one. Green Party candidate Andy Ellis has called for a four-candidate debate focusing specifically on data centers, already a central issue this campaign season.

Ellis took issue with a candidates’ forum hosted by the Maryland Association of Counties earlier this month. It only featured Moore and Cox — who were never on the stage at the same time — not Ellis or Working Class Party candidate Cathy White, who will also appear on the ballot in heavily Democratic Maryland on Election Day.

“If Dan Cox thinks data centers are a key part of his campaign, and Wes Moore thinks they are key to Maryland’s future, then they should show up on a stage with all four candidates for governor and have an in-depth debate about this,” Ellis said. “We can do it in Adamstown, or Lusby, or Landover, or Newburg. We should have an audience and questions informed by the communities’ concerns.”

Magruder retiring after 17 years at green bank

When Kathy Magruder took the helm of Maryland’s new statewide green bank in 2009, it was an organization with “a broad mission” — and an “itty bitty little budget,” she says.

During Magruder’s tenure, the Maryland Clean Energy Center has grown tremendously. During the 2025 fiscal year alone, it earned more than $35 million in federal and state grants for renewable energy projects.

And now, Magruder is calling it a career.

She told the organization’s board back in May that she would be stepping down, though she plans to stay on while the center searches for a new executive director. Magruder said she expects to leave MCEC by the end of the fiscal year in June 2027.

Magruder said her proudest accomplishments include helping to establish numerous dedicated funding streams for the green bank to help grow clean energy businesses in Maryland.

“The state has always had a very clear vision for the environment, and the desire to protect the environment, but less of a strategy for how to finance the desired outcomes,” Magruder said in an interview.

That list of funding streams includes the Climate Catalytic Capital Fund, established in 2022 with the passage of major climate legislation in Maryland, which committed over $41 million to the center for green energy initiatives.

“That was a lift of government. But now that those things are in place, the boat should be able to sail on,” Magruder said.

The center has also received numerous federal grants, but some were lost amid pullbacks by President Donald Trump’s administration, including $62 million from the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Solar for All Program,” and millions in funding for electric vehicle chargers. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown has filed or joined suits challenging the federal decisions.

Magruder said receiving the grants was “a proud moment, and it was just as devastating to have those funds pulled back by the Trump administration.”

Her retirement announcement earned words of praise from Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery), chair of the Senate’s Education, Energy and the Environment committee.

“Kathy has the unique expertise to blend technical policy with economic solutions. Her work has earned her bipartisan respect from my colleagues in Annapolis,” Feldman wrote. “Kathy’s legacy will serve Marylanders for decades to come.”