WHAT’S HAPPENING
Events
Get in the room. Ask the questions that matter.
Be part of the process.
The Good Trouble Circle hosts candidate roundtables, voter education forums, and community fundraisers throughout Queen Anne’s County. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. You don’t have to be a Democrat to attend—just a neighbor who cares about what happens here.
An Evening of Jazz—A GTC Fundraiser
Join us for a soulful evening of live music featuring The Vaughn Bratcher Project. Celebrate community, support democracy, and enjoy a spectacular night of jazz in Queen Anne’s County.
Sunday, June 28, 2026 | 5:30 - 8:30 PM
Cult Classic Brewing, Stevensville, MD
Doors open at 5 pm.
WHAT’S NEXT
Upcoming Events
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Summer Jazz Concert Fundraiser
Sunday, June 28, 2026
5:30 - 8:30 pm (doors open at 5)
Cult Classic Brewing
1169 Shopping Center Rd
Stevensville, MD
The Vaughn Bratcher Project -
Good Trouble Lives On -- National Day of Action
TEACH: Building our QAC Strategy
featuring
Dr. Taure Brown, Director
James Lawson Institute of Nonviolent Movement and Research
Thursday, July 16, 2026
6:00 - 8:00 pm
New United Methods Church
Chester, MD -
Good Trouble Lives On National Day of Action
REACH: Taking It to the Streets
Saturday, July 18, 2026
10:00 am- 12:00 pmAcross the Community
Queen Anne’s County, MD -
Good Trouble Lives On National Day of Action
PREACH: A Message from Pastor Emanuel L. Johnson
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Morning Service - 9:30 amNew United Methodist Church
Chester, MD
OUR HISTORY
Past Events
They Came to Meet the Candidates. They Left Knowing the Court.
Good Trouble Circle hosted its Judge of the Orphans' Court Candidate Roundtable — and what unfolded was something we didn't fully expect.
Residents filled the room at New United Methodist Church ready to meet the three candidates running for the bench. Don McKeough, Barry Schwartz, and Jeff Starling are running as a slate — all three seeking seats on a court with three seats to fill. There was no jockeying, no positioning against one another. Just three people who each believe they have something to offer this community, sitting side by side and answering the same hard questions together.
And the questions were hard. How do you bring compassion to a courtroom built around grief? How do you make a process most people have never heard of feel accessible to the people who need it most? What happens to a family when there's no will, no plan, no roadmap for what comes next? The candidates didn't dodge any of it. They leaned in.
Here's what we didn't expect going into the evening: the room left smarter. The Orphans' Court touches nearly every family in Queen Anne's County at some point — usually during one of the hardest seasons of their lives — and most residents have never had a reason to think about it until that moment arrives. By the end of the night, that had changed. People who walked in not knowing what probate even meant walked out understanding exactly why this race matters.
That is the kind of night that reminds us why we do this work. Down-ballot races rarely get this kind of attention. They should. The people sitting on this bench will, one day, sit across from someone in our community at their lowest moment. Last night, our neighbors made sure they'll know exactly who that person is before they cast a vote.
Early voting runs through June 18. Primary Election Day is June 23. We'll see you there.
The Last Word
More than 55 neighbors filled New United Methodist Church in Chester for The Last Word — our pre-primary candidate roundtable and one of the largest GTC gathering yet.
The room was electric. Candidates for US Congress, County Commissioner, State Delegate, and Board of Education stood before the community and made their case — and the community came ready. Questions were sharp. Participation was high. Nobody sat on the sidelines.
The moment of the night belonged to the two candidates contesting the US Congress seat. In front of a full room, each committed to supporting whoever wins the primary. No bitterness. No division. Just a shared promise to put community first. That is what leadership looks like — and the room knew it.
The candidates have had their last word. Now the voters get theirs. Early voting runs June 11 through June 19, and Primary Election Day is Tuesday, June 23.
Thank you to every candidate who showed up, to New United Methodist Church for opening its doors, and to every neighbor who gave us their Monday night. This is what democracy looks like in Queen Anne's County.
Not Everywhere. But Here.
Good Trouble Circle hosted its District 36 Delegates Roundtable — and the energy in the room said it all.
Thirty-two people showed up ready to engage. Four of them were brand new to GTC. And every single one of them came to learn, to listen, and to get involved. The conversation was lively, the questions were real, and the commitment in that room was clear.
Three other Democratic candidates joined us that evening. What stood out was the spirit they brought with them. There was no competition in that room — only collaboration. These candidates are all fighting for the same thing: the people of Queen Anne's County. That kind of unity is rare. It is also exactly what this moment calls for.
Michelle Ravert and Nevin Crouse made a strong impression. Both spoke directly and honestly about what they would do differently than the current incumbents. They came with clarity, with purpose, and with a vision for what real representation looks like for District 36.
The evening was made even more special by the presence of a very important guest — Tamara Robinson. Tamara has been with Good Trouble Circle from the very beginning. She knows how far we have come. And on Monday night, she told us so. She reminded the room that what we are doing here in Queen Anne's County is not happening everywhere. Her words were a gift — an affirmation that this work matters, that this community is rising, and that we should be proud of the progress we have made.
We are. And we are just getting started.
Raising the Bar.
The Good Trouble Circle welcomed Shelly Frank to our candidate roundtable series. Shelly is running for Board of Education At-Large — the school board seat that speaks for every student in Queen Anne's County.
She came with a background that turns heads. Retired Navy officer. Former Department of Defense Intelligence officer. One-time French teacher. That mix of discipline, service, and classroom experience shapes everything about how she thinks about our kids' future.
Shelly shared her vision for QAC students: preparing them for a world shaped by AI, building critical thinking skills, and strengthening the foundational skills every child needs to succeed. Big goals — and she made a convincing case for why QAC students deserve nothing less.
The conversation was honest, grounded, and community-driven — exactly the kind of Good Trouble we're here for.
County Commissioner Candidates: Lamont Wright, Liz Filter, Andrea Alduino
3 Seats. 3 Candidates.
1 Community.
Candidate Roundtable — QAC County Commissioners May 4, 2026 | New United Methodist Church, Chester, MD
Some evenings you can feel the energy before a word is spoken. May 4 was one of those nights.
With over 55 community members filling the room at New United Methodist Church — the largest turnout in GTC's young history — it was clear that Queen Anne's County was ready to talk about who runs it. The candidates on hand were running for three distinct seats: Liz Filter for the At Large position, Andrea Alduino for District 2, and Lamond Wright for District 3. Together they represented something rare in local politics — genuine diversity of background, experience, and perspective, all competing for the chance to serve the same community.
What made the evening exceptional wasn't just the number of people in the room. It was what they brought with them. Community members arrived with real concerns and real stories — lived experiences that no policy brief can capture. They asked hard questions and expected straight answers. And the candidates delivered. Each brought expertise rooted in their own lane, but demonstrated a knowledge of the county as a whole that gave the room confidence that whoever wins in June will be ready to govern.
It was exactly what democracy is supposed to look like — loud, engaged, and alive with possibility.
Candidate Roundtable - John Queen
April 20, 2026 | New United Methodist Church, Chester, MD
On Monday evening, fifteen people walked through a door, sat down, and asked hard questions of a man who wants to represent them in Annapolis. In Queen Anne's County, that is not a small thing. That is democracy working.
The evening opened with Pastor Emmanuel Johnson — grounded in faith, unapologetically urgent — reminding the room that showing up for democracy is itself a moral act. The energy shifted the moment he spoke.
John Queen, Democratic candidate for Maryland State Senate District 36, came with a clear framework: the Three Bridges Plan. County-to-County — coordinating resources across Kent, Queen Anne's, Cecil, and Caroline so no community is left behind. Institution-to-Community — holding schools, healthcare systems, and employers accountable to the people they serve. Present-to-Future — making decisions today with tomorrow's Eastern Shore in mind. The room pushed back. Asked for specifics. He didn't dodge.
Good Trouble Circle exists to create moments — where ordinary people and the people asking for their votes are in the same room, at the same level, having the same honest conversation.
The June 23rd primary is coming. If you weren't there Monday, your next chance is on the calendar. Follow us, bring a neighbor, and show up. Because democracy doesn't just need your vote — it needs you in the room.
Candidate Roundtable—Dan Schwartz
April 6, 2026 | New United Methodist Church, Chester, MD
On Monday evening, the Good Trouble Circle gathered at New United Methodist Church in Chester for a community roundtable with Dan Schwartz, Democratic candidate for Maryland's 1st Congressional District. Fifteen neighbors showed up — including two first-time attendees, one of whom is brand new to our community — and the room was engaged and receptive from start to finish.
Schwartz came not with talking points but with a commitment. He gave every person in the room his personal cell phone number and pledged to be accessible to the people of MD-1 in a way that Congressman Andy Harris simply has not been. In a district where residents have long felt ignored by their federal representative, that moment landed.
When pressed on specific legislation, he didn't hedge. His first-term priority: free school lunch for every child in the district. In a region where food insecurity touches families across the Eastern Shore and Harford County, it was a direct and concrete answer to a direct question — exactly the kind of accountability the GTC roundtable format is designed to produce.
The floor was alive with questions — pointed, informed, and unafraid. Notably, two of the strongest exchanges of the evening came from the two new attendees. That is the Good Trouble Circle working exactly as it should. Schwartz engaged openly throughout, and by the time the informal networking began, no one was heading for the door.
MBE Business Forum
March 30, 2026 | Queen Anne's County Public Library, Centreville
The Good Trouble Circle hosted its inaugural MBE Business Forum at the Queen Anne's County Public Library in Centreville. The turnout was great and the energy in the room was electric
The evening featured an engaging and informative presentation by Shelly Gross-Wade, Principal Consultant and CEO of Bay Crossing Consulting Services. Drawing on more than 40 years of experience in economic development and minority business finance, Shelly walked attendees through the landscape of resources, grants, and financing options available to minority entrepreneurs in Maryland — including MBE certification, access to capital programs, and state and local business development tools.
Attendees came with questions and left with answers. The Q&A session sparked rich conversation, with participants sharing their business ideas and aspirations and getting real, practical guidance in return. The dialogue made clear that there is both a hunger and a need for this kind of programming right here on the Eastern Shore.
The Good Trouble Circle is committed to continuing these conversations and connecting our community with the resources needed to build generational wealth and economic power.
No Kings March
March 28, 2026
Centreville, Maryland
A Conversation with the Watermen — Randi White
March 25, 2026 | Queen Anne's County, Maryland
The waters of Queen Anne's County have sustained families for generations — and on March 25, the Good Trouble Circle brought those families face to face with Randi White, Democratic candidate for Maryland's 1st Congressional District.
The conversation was direct, practical, and deeply local. QAC's watermen — the crabbers, oystermen, and commercial fishermen who have worked the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for decades — came with real questions about their livelihoods. What does federal representation actually mean for an industry shaped by regulation, environmental policy, and the health of the Bay? Who in Washington is fighting for the people pulling their living from these waters?
Randi White — herself a daughter of Maryland's Lower Shore — listened as much as she spoke. She heard about the pressures facing working watermen: tightening regulations, rising costs, and a Bay whose health is inseparable from the economic survival of the communities that depend on it.
It was a conversation that doesn't happen often enough — and exactly the kind GTC was built to make possible.
Candidate Roundtable—Nivek Johnson
March 23, 2026 | New United Methodist Church, Chester, MD
On a Monday evening in Chester, the Good Trouble circle brought the community face to face with Nivek Johnson, Democratic candidate for Maryland Senate District 36. The room was full—neighbors, first-time participants and longtime civic voices all gathered around one table with one purpose: to ask questions that matter.
The conversation ranged from education funding the the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, to healthcare access on the Eastern Shore, to what authentic representation I Annapolis looks like for Queen Anne’s County residents who have long felt overlooked.
It was exactly the kind of evening GTC was built to create — informed, engaged, and powered entirely by community.
Candidate Roundtable — Randi White
March 9, 2026 | New United Methodist Church, Chester, MD
On the evening of March 9th, the Good Trouble Circle gathered twenty-five community members at New United Methodist Church in Chester for something a little different — and that difference was felt from the moment the conversation began.
Rather than leading with a candidate pitch, the evening opened with the community. Neighbors spoke honestly about the issues shaping their daily lives — affordable housing, access to healthcare, the cost of living, public education, and the livelihoods of the watermen who are the backbone of this county. Real concerns, spoken in real voices, by people who live them every day.
That's the Good Trouble Circle way. Candidates should hear from the community before they speak to it.
Once the community had spoken, Randi White stepped forward. She engaged directly with what the room had shared, addressing each concern with candor and offering her vision for what real representation on the Eastern Shore could look like.
The energy was warm, the exchange genuine, and the format — community first, candidate second — made all the difference.