Conduit Street Podcast

As Maryland heads into the 2026 General Assembly session, county governments are confronting a familiar challenge, but with sharper edges. In this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, MACo’s Kevin Kinnally, Michael Sanderson, and Dominic Butchko break down why affordability is the defining theme of the upcoming session. From rising construction and labor costs to housing shortages, energy prices...

As Maryland heads toward another consequential legislative session, energy policy is once again front and center, and counties are feeling the pressure. In this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, hosts Kevin Kinnally and Dominic Butchko are joined by Valencia McClure , Senior Vice President of Governmental, Regulatory, and External Affairs at Exelon , for a wide-ranging conversation on energy...

What does it take for a county to move toward functional zero for homelessness? In this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast , hosts Karrington Anderson and Dominic Butchko sit down with Kelly Cimino , Director of the Howard County Department of Housing and Community Development , to unpack The Path Toward Zero, Howard County’s ambitious five-year plan to end homelessness. Kelly walks through wha...

In this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast , our host Dominic Butchko is joined by Zach Schafer, Assistant Secretary at the Maryland Department of the Environment, for a wide-ranging conversation on the environmental issues shaping county decision-making ahead of the 2026 General Assembly session. Drawing on his experience at both the federal and state levels, including time at the U.S. EPA, Sc...

Recorded live at MACo’s 2025 Winter Conference, this episode features an in-depth, candid conversation with Alex Donahue, Executive Director of the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC), on one of the most pressing challenges facing Maryland counties: school construction. Joined by MACo Executive Director Michael Sanderson, Donahue breaks down why school construction costs have risen...

As Maryland heads into a challenging budget year and an election cycle legislative session, Professor Todd Eberly of St. Mary’s College of Maryland joins the Conduit Street Podcast to unpack the forces shaping the state’s political and economic landscape. Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson talk with Prof. Eberly about the ripple effects of federal government shutdowns, trade and tariff policy, d...

Housing will take center stage in the 2026 legislative session, and counties are ready. This week, Kevin Kinnally, Michael Sanderson, and Dom Butchko walk through MACo's major legislative initiative, the BAMBY Act (Build Affordably in My Backyard). Together they trace the recent history of housing policy in Maryland, unpack the 2025 session, and outline the solutions counties are bringing to...

In this week's episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Karrington Anderson talks with Sarah Sample to break down the rapidly evolving world of Public Information Act (PIA) requests in Maryland and why counties are feeling the pressure. They talk through the effects of the rise of automated and anonymous AI-generated PIA requests, cybersecurity threats entering through the request funnel, and h...

This week on the Conduit Street Podcast , Kevin Kinnally, Michael Sanderson, and Karrington Anderson debut a new recurring segment – Conduit Street Podcast Hot Takes , where our hosts break down what’s “news” and what’s just… “noise” in Maryland policy and politics. In this episode, the trio tackles the ongoing federal government shutdown , exploring how it’s straining Maryland’s economy, threaten...

This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson sit down with Congressman Johnny Olszewski, Jr., a former Maryland Delegate, Baltimore County Executive, and 2025 MACo President, now serving Maryland’s Second Congressional District. Congressman Olszewski discusses the federal shutdown and the strain it places on Maryland communities, particularly those where federal pa...

This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Michael Sanderson...goes solo? Just kidding! He does set the stage, however, for a special recording from St. Mary’s County, where MACo President and Queen Anne’s County Commissioner Jack Wilson joins Michael for a briefing with St. Mary’s County leaders to talk all things local governance.  It’s a lively, conversation that hits the big levers counties are...

This week on the Conduit Street Podcast, Dominic Butchko sits down with Jason Stanek of PJM Interconnection for a deep dive into Maryland’s evolving energy landscape. From the state’s growing dependence on imported electricity to the backlog of clean energy projects waiting to connect to the grid, Jason breaks down the challenges and opportunities shaping Maryland’s energy future. The conversation...

This week on the Conduit Street Podcast , Kevin Kinnally and Michael Sanderson unpack Maryland’s fiscal outlook. They break down the State’s year-end budget results, the new revenue forecast, and looming structural deficits. They also dig into the crunch in transportation funding — with local road dollars set to plunge off a fiscal cliff — the threat of a federal shutdown, and the squeeze these pr...

From literacy programs to telehealth pods, Maryland’s libraries are evolving far beyond bookshelves. Join this week's Conduit Street host, Sarah Sample, as she sits down with Maryland State Librarian Morgan Lehr Miller to explore how local libraries serve as community hubs, connect residents to vital resources, and adapt to funding challenges at the state and federal levels. Hear how Maryland...

On this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast , host Michael Sanderson sits down with Zachary Markovits, Vice President & Local Practice Lead at Results for America, to explore how data and evidence can transform government decision-making. From Maryland’s efforts in using evidence-based budgeting and grantmaking to success stories from across the country, the conversation highlights how local...

This week on the Conduit Street Podcast , Michael Sanderson and Policy Associate Sarah Sample sit down with Anne Arundel Deputy County Attorney Hamilton Tyler to unpack a local case now headed to the Maryland Supreme Court on September 9 . At the center of the case: whether counties can bring public nuisance claims tied to the staggering costs of the opioid crisis. How did this case start? What do...

The opioid epidemic continues to devastate communities across Maryland, and Baltimore City remains at the forefront of both the crisis and the response. In this episode, Karrington Anderson from the MACo policy team sits down with Baltimore City Councilwoman Phylicia Porter to discuss the city’s evolving strategies for confronting opioid misuse, saving lives, and investing in long-term recovery. C...

This week on the Conduit Street Podcast we bring you a special treat from the 2025 MACo Summer Conference, and it might involve MACo Executive Director Michael Sanderson singing karaoke!  The highlight of this episode, however, features a sit-down with Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Michael Sanderson, where they tackle some of the most pressing fiscal issues facing the state and its count...

This week on the Conduit Street Podcast , we dive deep into the complexities of housing policy with Professors Christopher Serkin and Ganesh Sitaraman from Vanderbilt University. While zoning reform dominates the national conversation, our guests argue that the housing crisis demands a broader, more nuanced approach. From industrial policy and public housing options to creative tax incentives and...

In this timely episode of the Conduit Street Podcast , Michael Sanderson and Karrington Anderson sit down with Gene Ransom, Executive Director of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, to break down how federal legislation and Medicaid changes could affect health care delivery across Maryland.  From work requirements and uncompensated care to rural hospital challenges and the state’s unique M...

In this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Dominic Butchko is joined by Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) Director Paul Pinsky and Program Manager Lacey Allor for a wide-ranging conversation about Annapolis, MEA's $64M county grant program (L-GEM), and Maryland’s energy future. Together, they explore an insider’s perspective on the inner workings of Annapolis, Maryland’s current energy...

The Conduit Street Podcast shifts its focus to county best practices. Here, hosts Michael Sanderson and Karrington Anderson welcome Beverly Churchill from Queen Anne’s County and Stuart Sutley from Bolton to talk about a groundbreaking advance in employee health care. Queen Anne’s County, and others across Maryland, are using dedicated health centers to provide better care, improved customer exper...

On this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, Karrington Anderson and Sarah Sample from the MACo Policy team are joined by Special Secretary Emily Keller of the Maryland Office of Overdose Response. They discuss opioid remediation efforts and outcomes at the state and local level as well as recent legislative initiatives from the General Assembly session for combating the opioid crisis. Show Note...

In this episode of the Conduit Street Podcast, we team up once again with our counterparts at the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) for Part 2 of our policy exchange. Dominic Butchko of MACo and Joe Lerch of VACo dive into the complex world of housing legislation, comparing how Maryland and Virginia address affordable housing, zoning reform, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). They unpack M...

In this special crossover episode of the Conduit Street Podcast , Dominic Butchko of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) teams up with Joe Lerch of the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) to explore how Maryland and Virginia are tackling the complex challenges of clean energy policy at the local level.  Together, they unpack the parallels and contrasts between Maryland’s Climate Soluti...