Watching the 2024 election, it’s been disheartening to see how certain candidates attack individuals rather than discuss the issues that would help to balance the wealth and opportunities in America.

Recently, CNN published a report describing how Prince George’s County Executive and Democratic Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks received unearned property tax credits. Through a Baltimore Sun article, we learned that there were other elected officials in Maryland who say they received the same improper homestead tax credit unknowingly, as Alsobrooks did, due to a fault in the system that does not autocorrect the error or alert homeowners of any changes that need to be made.

When Alsobrooks’ opposing candidate in the race, former Governor Larry Hogan, began to push the issue as one of integrity, the hypocrisy became alarming. The Hogan campaign’s claim that Alsobrooks took advantage of a tax credit that was meant for the poor and disadvantaged was a blow that was way below the belt.

The accusation went too far, especially when we consider that under Hogan’s administration during the pandemic, one of the most vulnerable times for Americans in history, Maryland spent $12.5 million for personal protective equipment that never arrived, and the state was served with two federal subpoenas related to the case. The contract was with Blue Flame Medical, “a company founded by two politically connected Republicans,” according to the Associated Press. Maybe the former governor didn’t know.

It is equally interesting how Hogan canceled a $1.5 billion plan to redevelop the State Center project in Baltimore that could’ve bolstered the disadvantaged and neglected communities surrounding it. Meanwhile, according to a 2020 article in The New Republic titled “The Most Popular Crook in America,” Hogan “repeatedly steered state transportation development money to projects that would increase the value of his real estate holdings.” But maybe the former governor didn’t know.

Or maybe the former governor didn’t know that neglected and disadvantaged communities of color would be disproportionately affected by his decision to block the Red Line rail project through Baltimore in favor of more road projects. The Red Line would have given so many economically disadvantaged people an opportunity to get to work and access other amenities without taking two to three buses and hours of travel time a day away from their families, proper rest and quality of life. Moreover, if there were an emergency that required evacuation, inner-city neglected communities would have the most difficulty in navigating the city’s transportation grid to highways because of limited access and other constraints. But maybe the former governor didn’t know.

This is not the time to attack individuals and exploit the poor and disadvantaged in order to paint a false narrative about an opponent’s integrity. This election and its campaigns should focus on the issues in need of reform to make Maryland an equal-opportunity state for all. It is imperative that our elected officials stay focused on what truly matters for the benefit of the least, the lost and the left out and not this disingenuous and hypocritical analysis of technical errors instead of materially, socially and economically impactful oversights. Marylanders have a right to expect more of our elected officials, who should focus on the issues that would serve all of us so that no one is left behind.

Bishop Donte L. Hickman is pastor of Southern Baptist Church, which has three locations in Baltimore and Harford County.