Maryland State Senator Paul Corderman Stopped Answering Our Questions After We Asked About Data Center Developer Diversified Capital

Senator Corderman answered twelve questions and accused us of dishonesty. Four attempts to ask about his contact with Diversified Capital have gone unanswered.

Maryland State Senator Paul Corderman answered our questions about the proposed Williamsport ICE detention center, data center development, and tax exemptions. He also took the opportunity to call the premise of our inquiry “dishonest and inaccurate.” But when we thanked him for taking the time to answer our list of questions promptly and asked whether he had ever had contact with Moshe Rubin, Diversified Capital, or anyone representing the company, the conversation stopped.

We asked that question four times between October 8 and October 12. We sent it to the personal email address he had already used to respond, then added his official Senate address in case our follow-ups had somehow escaped his attention. We requested an answer by October 13. As of publication on October 14, Corderman has not answered.

Twelve Questions Got Answers. Diversified Capital Got Silence.

Our original inquiry went out October 6. Corderman asked for our deadline the following day and supplied his answers October 8. Later that day, we thanked him and asked:

Have you ever had any communications, meetings, or other contact with Moshe Rubin, Diversified Capital, any of its subsidiaries or affiliated entities, or anyone representing them, whether in your official, campaign, business, or personal capacity?

We did not ask him to produce years of records or reconstruct every conversation of his political career. We asked whether contact had occurred. That includes contact through his office, campaign, business, or personal dealings, because residents deserve an answer that does not depend on which email account or phone someone happened to use.

After receiving no response, we repeated the question October 9 and October 11. On October 12, we sent it again to both email addresses and included an unanswered follow-up asking him to clarify his position on the ICE detention center. He had been able to promptly respond to our original list of twelve questions, but this very simple follow-up remains unanswered

Former State Senator and Lobbyist Chris Shank Connects Corderman’s Campaign to the Developer’s Project Team

This question matters because Corderman has received campaign contributions from former Maryland State Senator Chris Shank and his consulting company. Shank has also appeared directly alongside Diversified Capital representatives in the development activity we have been investigating.

The campaign contribution records we reviewed, reported through the Maryland State Board of Elections’ campaign finance system, list $100 from Christopher Shank on January 4, 2021; $250 from Christopher Shank on October 9, 2024; and $250 from C Shank Consulting LLC on May 14, 2026. That is $600 from Shank and his consulting company to Corderman’s campaign.

Shank previously represented Washington County in the Maryland Senate and held senior positions in Governor Larry Hogan’s administration. As we reported from Washington County’s closed-session records, the county identified Shank as part of the “Project Team” that appeared at the confidential December 9, 2025 presentation alongside Diversified Capital executive Moshe Rubin. Shank is therefore someone with a documented connection to both Corderman’s campaign and the developer’s dealings with local government. As we reported yesterday, Shank also signed paperwork as a witness to Diversified Capital CFO Moshe Rubin’s execution of annexation paperwork for a Diversified Capital subsidiary on August 20, 2026.

These examples give us a concrete reason to ask what Corderman knows about Diversified Capital or whether he has spoken with its representatives. Has Shank discussed the company or its proposed development with him? Has Corderman met Rubin? Has anyone approached his office about legislation, infrastructure, or other government action affecting the developer? His silence leaves those questions open.

Diversified Capital is behind the Martin Farm development at 12440 Burkholder Lane, a property marketed for data center use and now seeking annexation into Hagerstown. We have also reported on Hagerstown’s refusal to release records concerning an NDA with the company. With private presentations, confidentiality agreements, and politically connected people involved, asking a state senator whether he has had contact with the developer should hardly require four emails.

The Original Questions We Sent Corderman

We will publish Corderman’s responses to our original questions in a follow-up post soon, along with our examination of those answers. For now, readers should see the questions he was willing to answer before we mentioned Diversified Capital:

1. Will you release all communications between your office and DHS concerning the ICE detention center, including the talking points they provided you, and your responses?

2. Did you request the DHS talking points about the proposed Williamsport detention center, or did DHS approach you? Who contacted you, when, and what did they ask you to do?

3. Did you use those talking points in public statements, constituent responses, or conversations with other elected officials? What did you independently verify before passing along DHS’s claims?

4. Do you support opening the Williamsport detention center? If your support is conditional, what specific requirements must DHS meet, and what would cause you to oppose it?

5. When did you first learn that DHS was considering this property, and when did you inform your constituents? Did you discuss the project with county officials, the property owner, or prospective contractors before the purchase became public?

6. Who asked you to introduce SB 193’s tax exemptions for Mount Aetna Technology Park? Which property owners, developers, lobbyists, or organizations helped draft it or met with you about it? Will you release those communications?

7. How was Gordon’s selected as one of the few approved vendors at Meritus Park?

8. Were data centers discussed as a potential use of Mount Aetna Technology Park while you were developing SB 193? If so, why weren’t those plans clearly explained to the public when you promoted the tax breaks?

9. Will you support requiring data center developers to pay the full cost of the electricity, water, sewer, and other infrastructure their projects require? What specific protections would you put in law to keep those costs off household bills?

10. Who requested the stadium property tax exemption enacted through SB 596? What role did Greg Snook or the Hagerstown Multi-Use Sports and Events Facility, Inc. have in developing the legislation?

11. Why did you support giving Hagerstown Multi-Use Sports and Events Facility, Inc. a permanent property tax exemption without requiring payments that fully replace the lost revenue, and who do you expect to make up the difference?

12. How much revenue will Hagerstown and Washington County lose from the stadium exemption, and how much will a payment in lieu of taxes actually replace? If there is a shortfall, who pays for it?

We Are Still Waiting for an Answer

Corderman’s decision to stop responding raises further questions about his contact with Diversified Capital and the people working on its development projects. We are still asking him to explain that contact, if any, and we will report his answer if he provides one.

He found time to answer twelve questions and lecture us about honesty. After four follow-ups, residents still cannot get an answer about whether their state senator has spoken with a developer whose project team includes one of his campaign donors. Corderman wanted us to report fairly and accurately. The unanswered emails are part of that record, too.