Gov. Wes Moore has nominated a local attorney to serve as the next chair of the Maryland Stadium Authority board.
The Democratic governor on Friday announced that he has chosen Craig A. Thompson, a partner at Venable LLP and the chair of his campaign for governor, to be the next chair of the agency’s board. Thompson, who would take over as chair as soon as he is approved by the Maryland Senate, would replace Thomas Kelso, who was appointed by former Gov. Larry Hogan and has served on the board for eight years. Moore said earlier this year that he wouldn’t be reappointing Kelso, who had also served as chair for Hogan’s 2018 re-election campaign.
In addition to Kelso, Moore also announced two other board nominees who would begin their terms on July 1: Lee Coplan, CEO of Baltimore-based architecture firm Hord Coplan Macht, and Yolanda Maria Martinez, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who is currently the chief strategy officer at Project Enhancement Corp., a Germantown-based environmental, health, safety and national security firm.
All three appointments are part of Moore’s “Green Bag” list, which includes more than 300 candidates for state boards and commissions. The term green bag refers to a tradition dating back to 17th century England wherein the government’s appointments in Maryland have been delivered to the state Senate on the third Friday in February in a green satchel by a member of the governor’s staff, according to Maryland Matters.
