Owen Silverman Andrews is the Green Party nominee for lieutenant governor of Maryland in the Nov. 3 general election. He is running alongside gubernatorial candidate Andy Ellis. Potomac voters will see this statewide race on their ballot.

Andrews faces Democratic nominee Aruna Miller, Republican nominee Rob Krop and Working Class Party nominee Cathy Permut. He is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady election data.

Andrews lives in Baltimore's Ednor Gardens-Lakeside neighborhood, according to The Banner. He was nominated following the Green Party's online primary conducted from July 8 through July 22, FOX45 News reported.

Candidate information

  • Office sought: Maryland lieutenant governor
  • Party: Green
  • Residence: Ednor Gardens-Lakeside, Baltimore
  • Education: Bachelor's degree, University of Maryland (2009); master's degree in teaching English as a second or foreign language, University of Maryland (2016)

Experience and public service

Andrews has held roles in education and community organizing, according to BallotReady profile data and his own published accounts.

He served as a faculty member in English as a second language at Prince George's Community College from 2013 to 2014. He worked as an English language acquisition instructional specialist at Strong City Baltimore from 2016 to 2017. He served as an academic advisor at the Community College of Baltimore County in 2018.

Andrews said he worked as an ESOL instructor at CASA and as a legislative organizer at School of the Americas Watch, according to a Medium post he authored. He said he co-founded Hinenu: the Baltimore Justice Shtiebl, where he served as board member and chair of the membership committee. He also said he became co-chair of the Baltimore City Green Party in 2017.

Andrews said his grandfather, Abe Silverman, ran as an independent third-party candidate and was elected mayor of Sedalia, Missouri, in 1958, according to a Green Party US announcement. Andrews has cited his grandfather's legacy as a guidepost for his own civic work, the announcement said.

On the issues

Electoral goals: Andrews and Ellis aim to receive approximately 100,000 votes, or roughly 4% of the total vote, Andrews told The Banner. That would beat the best showing by a third-party gubernatorial candidate in Maryland since the Civil War, he said. Achieving at least 1% would allow the Green Party to maintain official ballot access without collecting 10,000 signatures, he said.

Campaign platform: On the campaign trail, Ellis and Andrews plan to focus on four values: peace, justice, ecology and democracy, Andrews told The Banner. He said top-polling issues like the economy, housing affordability and energy prices fall under those values.

Community organizing: Andrews said his organizing accomplishments include leading a campaign to remove Confederate monuments in Baltimore and renaming the Lee-Jackson statue site for Harriet Tubman. He also said he led a direct-action boycott to remove SodaStream from stores across Baltimore County and Baltimore City, according to the Green Party US announcement.

He said he rallied in Washington, D.C., for immigrant justice and mobilized to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day in Baltimore City. He said he advocated to pass a Maryland law on equal credit for equal work for immigrant college students.

Candidate responses were drawn from published interviews, official party materials and the candidate's own writings. The Potomac Beacon did not interview the candidate for this profile.