Tax liens put Hyattsville and Laurel delegates under scrutiny before primary

Tax liens totaling $705,998.58 against Del. Kym Taylor and her husband, Steve, and a separate $56,140.86 lien that Del. Diana M. Fennell settled last year have pushed financial accountability to the front of two Prince George’s County legislative contests before the June 23 primary. For voters in South Laurel and the West Hyattsville area, the question is no longer only who can win a seat, but who has kept up with the most basic obligations while asking to help oversee public money.

Capital News Service reviewed court records for all 235 people running in Maryland’s General Assembly primaries and found only five candidates with tax liens in the past decade, all Democrats. Its review excluded liens tied to a prior marriage and liens older than 10 years. That makes the Prince George’s cases stand out in a crowded primary, not as routine campaign chatter, but as a test of judgment that voters can weigh against each candidate’s record.

Taylor, whose District 23 includes South Laurel, and Steve Taylor accumulated liens over 10 years and still owe money to the state. Taylor said the debts were tied to business losses, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the couple co-founded Family Choice Healthcare, a home care agency. Fennell, whose District 47A includes developments near the West Hyattsville Metro area, resolved her state lien last year. The difference in scale and outcome is sharp: Taylor’s case involves nearly $706,000 in accumulated liens that remain outstanding, while Fennell’s lien has been paid off.

The state treats a lien as a claim used as security for a tax debt. Maryland’s Comptroller says a recorded lien is public record and may affect credit, access to new credit or even security-clearance eligibility, and Maryland Judiciary records liens and judgments in the clerk’s office, with some records available through Case Search. That transparency is part of why the issue has landed so hard in Prince George’s County, where delegates are asking residents to trust them with decisions on schools, roads, courts and other public services.

The broader report also identified former New York state Sen. Antoine M. Thompson, now a Maryland House candidate, as another candidate with a tax record. He settled a $2,947.15 federal lien in January after unpaid New York tax bills totaling $56,289. In a race where only five candidates out of 235 were flagged, the scrutiny on Taylor and Fennell underscores how personal financial conduct can become a public question long before ballots are counted.