Maryland Politics

Smith as Ehrlich blocker

2009-07-09T18:36:39Z

Democratic Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. said he changed his mind about running for comptroller because he didn’t think the statewide job would be a good fit for him. The sudden nature of announcement has political types guessing about his future, and about how he might spend his more than $1 million bankroll. Among those who should keep an eye on the money: former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Baltimore County native who is waiting on the sidelines, possibly contemplating his best route for a return to politics. Speculation is building about what position Ehrlich will run for, if any, in 2010. While he'd instantly be the most viable Republican in any race he decides to enter, the former congressman and Arbutus native is nothing if not a pragmatist. He doesn't get into races he doesn't think he can win. Some believe Ehrlich is pondering a run for comptroller, a job that would put him back in Annapolis and allow him to serve as a thorn in the side of his arch-rival, Gov. Martin O'Malley. That's a role that was perfected by Ehrlich's ally and role model, former Gov. William Donald Schaefer, who ended his career as the irascible comptroller and all-around gadfly. Political columnist Blair Lee IV recently wrote that Ehrlich's chances of getting into the comptroller's race are 50-50. Others wonder whether Ehrlich might be interested in becoming Baltimore County executive, the job Smith now holds but is leaving because of term limits. A clear front-runner has not yet emerged, and Ehrlich, with his name recognition and broad base in the county, would be a more-than-viable contender. But in both scenarios, Smith's recent decision comes into play. Smith and Ehrlich don't get along. The county executive was miffed that Ehrlich never returned phone calls when he was governor and didn't include him in decisions. It was no surprise that when the 2006 election rolled around, Smith threw all his support -- as well as money and his campaign apparatus -- behind O'Malley, a longtime ally. In 2002, Ehrlich carried Baltimore County by 65,000 votes en route to a victory over Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, basically his margin of victory statewide. In 2006, Smith helped keep the margin down to about 8,400 votes. Ehrlich still carried the county, but by nowhere near enough to carry the state. Smith is now poised to deny Ehrlich more victories. By bowing out of the comptroller race, Smith helps clear the way for incumbent Peter Franchot, a fellow Democrat, to retain the seat. A Democratic primary between Smith and Franchot would have been a bruising affair, leaving the victor (the incumbent, most likely) battered by negative advertisements and a lot poorer. If Ehrlich enters the race, he'll now face a stronger, better-funded incumbent -- and he knows how unlikely it is that incumbents lose, especially in such a Democratic state. If Ehrlich decides to make a play for the Baltimore County executive seat (a job he has never really indicated he wants), Smith could deploy his formidable war chest -- he has raised over $1 million in donations that he now doesn’t seem to need -- to help the strongest Democrat vying for the county executive job. There's no doubt he would take great pleasure in once again helping orchestrate an Ehrlich defeat. So as Ehrlich ponders his next move, he needs to ask himself not just, "Can I win?" There's another question that's nearly as important: "What will Jim do?" -- with David Nitkin

No one is headed to Hollywood, but maybe someone will get paid

2009-07-09T17:03:10Z

No one’s acting career will be launched by Comptroller Peter Franchot’s latest YouTube ad, but it might reconnect some Marylanders with their long-lost property. The ad is a parody of the GEICO insurance adds featuring a wad of cash and Groucho Marx glasses. Franchot’s version is intended to promote the agency’s unclaimed property program. Franchot’s latest video ad on the much-trafficked Web site debuted Thursday before a group of residents at Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville. Just some captive elderly viewers and no red carpet or paparazzi — in keeping with the low-budget, viral nature of the ads. According to the comptroller’s office, Maryland Public Television produced the 3-minute, 42-second spot at no charge. The actors include state Sen. John C. Astle, an Anne Arundel County Democrat; the official Annapolis Town Crier, Squire Frederick; and Franchot aide Joseph Shapiro. And, of course, Franchot himself makes an appearance. Franchot comes on screen at the end (like a candidate in a political ad) to lay out the stakes: “Every year my office gets unclaimed property from bank accounts and from safety deposit boxes. When property isn’t claimed for three years, it’s turned over to the state of Maryland. And we try to reunite it with its rightful owners.” A government official trying to reunite residents with their money? Novel concept. The agency has records on about 787,000 accounts worth more than $795 million. To see if any of it is yours, go to www.marylandtaxes.com or www.missingmoney.com. Oh, and to see the ad, click here. NOTE: Michael D. Golden of Maryland Public Television called to say that his outfit produced the spot for Franchot's office in exchange for graphic design services.

Martin O'Malley's big D.C. adventure

2009-07-08T21:15:03Z

It would probably be easy to make fun of Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's field trip to Washington today. So, let's give it a try. This was supposed to be one of those times when the guv could make a splash in D.C. He was all lined up to testify before Congress this morning, along with two other bigtime Democratic governors, Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. Their assigned topic: a state's eye view of the implementation of President Barack Obama's stimulus package. Not a very heavy lift, especially since all three are huge Obama supporters. But sometimes things don't come as easily as they might on Capitol Hill--the kind of place where, if you're not a senator or a congressman, you might as well be just another tourist from Pocomoke City, even if your title is governor. (Of course, the exact reverse might well be true at the Statehouse in Annapolis, but that's another story.) The first clue that things might not be going O'Malley's way on this fine July day came during a chance encounter with Rep. Carolyn Maloney. The New York congresswoman happened upon O'Malley in a hallway outside the House hearing room, where the governor was obliging a local TV reporter with an interview. "Mr. Governor! Mr. Mayor! What do we call you now?" Maloney said, by way of greeting. Whatever. "Call me anything you want," the governor replied, graciously. Maloney is a senior member of the very committee that O'Malley was about to address, but that was as close to the hearing as she got. In fact most of the panel's members, Republicans and Democrats, steered clear of the meeting. In her defense, Maloney probably can't be bothered with details like job titles or committee hearings these days. She's quite busily engaged in a far more exciting venture: sticking it to the leaders of her party by threatening to challenge appointed New York Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand in next year's Democratic primary (Maryland-based consultant Joe Trippi is among Maloney's advisers and can probably straighten her out on O'Malley's job). One of the reasons O'Malley was out in the hallway at that moment, instead of at the witness table, was that his scheduled appearance had repeatedly gotten postponed. Members of the committee who did bother to show up managed to take longer than expected to question a pair of officials from the Office of Management and Budget and the Government Accountability Office. Finally, just when it seemed as if the governors would get their turn, the congressmen had votes to cast over at the Capitol, so the governors' appearance was pushed back another hour. O'Malley, politely declining an offer to cool his heels outside the House floor while the votes were being cast, said he might grab a sandwich with his mother, who works in Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski's office, instead. By the time O'Malley finally got sworn in as a witness, it was the dreaded lunch hour for members of Congress. No offense, governors, but a lunch appointment is a lunch appointment and a hearing, well, is just another hearing. Gov. Patrick gave the event about what it was worth at that point: 10 minutes of his time. Then he begged off with a "prior commitment" of his own. That left Rendell and O'Malley to deal with the handful (literally) of congressmen who bothered to stick around. Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Montgomery County showed up just long enough to introduce O'Malley and catch the governor's seven-minute opening presentation. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the other Marylander on the panel, slipped into his seat only a few minutes before the hearing ended (he'd been there in the morning, then had some prior commitments). As a result, the Baltimore congressman missed O'Malley's high-tech presentation of his StateStat web site that allows Marylanders to enter their address and zoom in on stimulus project spending in their neighborhood (or any place else around the state). Sadly, for O'Malley, most of the five committee members present for that portion of the hearing weren't interested enough to even glance at the TV screens as he narrated the demonstration. But Pennsylvania's governor was watching intently. And in a playful jab at O'Malley, Rendell claimed a few minutes later that, because his Commonwealth is "much more fiscally conservative than the State of Maryland, I don't have a fancy Power Point presentation about what we're doing." That produced a rare chuckle during the hourlong Rendell-O'Malley Show, which played to a grand total of two congressmen (Cummings and Chairman Edolphus Towns of New York) and 37 empty seats for the other members of the committee when the curtain mercifully came down at about 2 in the afternoon. Afterward, O'Malley patiently stuck around to answer reporters' questions. Then he headed back to a place where he gets the respect he deserves, or more, at any rate, than in D.C. At least he managed to eat lunch with his Mom.

Don't call it a comeback; Miller's been here for years

2009-07-08T17:55:17Z

It’s Miller time again. In Annapolis, of course, that’s a reference to Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. But it also could refer to Ron Miller, an information technology consultant and conservative Republican who tried unsuccessfully to unseat the other Miller in 2006 when then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich recruited him. Now Ron is back, announcing this week that he plans to run again next year. Winning against Mike would be no easy feat. He sailed to re-election with 70 percent of the vote three years ago. And he ranks as the longest-serving president of that chamber in history, after first being elected to the House of Delegates in 1970 and moving to the Senate in 1975. So why does Ron think he has a shot in 2010? In a press release, he highlighted what’s sure to be a recurring theme in GOP campaign camps — that Democrats raised taxes during the 2007 special session and have mismanaged the state’s budget. But Ron also has another arrow to aim at the Senate president — that the powerful politician is talking about raising the gas tax. (Mike Miller has long said a gas tax increase may be needed to meet transportation priorities, though in a recent interview he said he would only support such a proposal when the economy improves.) Of course, there’s also the issue of the Miller surname. Some politicos theorize that voters may be confused by two Millers, especially if Ron Miller appears first on the ballot, allowing the Republican to siphon some votes intended for Mike. It should be noted that in 2002, Mike faced a primary challenge from Juanita Miller. But if such a voter phenomenon didn’t steer a victory Ron’s way last time, there’s no reason to think it would this time. Nonetheless, the Ron v. Mike race for the district that includes Prince George’s and Calvert counties could become a proxy for how well the Republican message resonates among recession-weary voters in the heavily Democratic state. P.S. Still no word on whether Ehrlich also will stage a comeback.

Slated for cash

2009-07-08T14:04:20Z

This morning, we reported that out-going Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith has a nice chunk of political change to donate to other candidates, about $1.2 million, sources close to him report. And we explain a way he could circumvent the $6,000 candidate-to-candidate limit. He could transfer an unlimited amount to his Baltimore County Victory Slate, established for the 2006 gubernatorial election. The slate could then transfer virtually any amount to any other candidate on the slate. Right now, Smith is one of 21 members, though other candidates, even if they have nothing to do with Baltimore County, can be added at any time. Common Cause, a Maryland group that favors campaign finance reform, says such intra-slate transfers are tantamount to a “slush fund.” Here are the current Baltimore County Victory Slate members, all Democrats: Andrew Belt, sought Baltimore County delegate seat Jon Cardin, Baltimore County delegate Patricia Foerster, former president of Maryland State Teachers Union Linda Hart, Baltimore County Democratic State Central Committee elected member Delores Kelley, Baltimore County senator Katherine Klausmeier, Baltimore County senator Stephen Lafferty, Baltimore County delegate seat Tracy Miller, sought Baltimore County delegate seat Joseph Minnick, Baltimore County delegate Dan Morhaim, Baltimore County delegate Martin O’Malley, governor Kenneth Oliver, Baltimore County councilman John Olszewski, Baltimore County delegate (Johnny O’s son) John “Johnny O” Olszewski, Baltimore County councilman Todd Schuler, Baltimore County delegate * Scott Shellenberger, Baltimore County state’s attorney James T. Smith, Baltimore County executive Norman Stone, Baltimore County senator Jack Sturgill, sought Baltimore County delegate seat Michael Weir, Baltimore County delegate Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore County senator Note that neither Kevin Kamenetz nor Joe Bartenfelder, considered the leading candidates to replace Smith as county executive, is on the list. * Shellenberger, as we reported this morning, has already greatly benefited from this slate. In 2006, Smith transferred $585,000 to the slate, and Shellenberger, a first-time candidate in a tight race, received $435,000 from it.

Waiting for E.J.

2009-07-08T13:18:19Z

The First District congressional seat in Maryland is on everyone's radar screen for 2010. A pair of powerful Marylanders, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen and House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, will be going all out to protect one of their most vulnerable colleagues. And Republican National Chairman Michael Steele, a former Maryland lieutenant governor, just might want to help his party capture one of the juiciest pickup targets in the country. The district covers mainly Republican portions of Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Harford counties, then jumps the Bay and takes in the entire Eastern Shore, one of the most conservative parts of the state. The current congressman, Democratic freshman Frank Kratovil, holds one of several dozen House seats nationwide from districts that voted for the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin in 2008. Republican state Sen. Andy Harris of Baltimore County, who lost to Kratovil by fewer than 3,000 votes in a district that McCain carried by 20 percentage points, is already on the rematch trail. He's raising campaign funds and hoping for a clear shot at the incumbent in a year when Barack Obama's name won't be on the ballot to pump up the district's anemic Democratic vote. Of course, Harris's primary triumph over Republican Rep. Wayne Gilchrest--unseating a veteran congressman in a classic conservative-moderate intraparty fight--was among the factors that helped Kratovil win. Gilchrest crossed party lines to endorse the Democrat, and in a race that close, it's easy to imagine that a divided Republican Party contributed to Kratovil's victory. Next time around, for many reasons, Harris wants a straight path to the general election, allowing him to focus all of his time, money and effort on Kratovil. Whether he gets it will depend, most likely, on what state Sen. E.J. Pipkin decides to do. Pipkin was the odd man out in the 2008 Republican primary, finishing a fairly distant third behind Harris and Gilchrest. But with Gilchrest no longer a candidate, the odds will improve for Pipkin. How far they'll tilt in his direction is part of what makes Pipkin's decision a tricky one. The former Wall Street bond trader has deeper pockets than Harris, an obstetric anesthesiologist, and he's not afraid to spend it, even on lost causes like a 2004 challenge to Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (there went $2 million of the Pipkin fortune). But to run in 2010, he'd have to give up his state Senate seat (so will Harris). A new analysis of the First District race by Nathan L. Gonzales of the respected, non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report repeats what state Republicans have been saying for some time: Pipkin "may seek to avenge his loss to Harris." Rothenberg also reports that former Del. Al Redmer of Baltimore County could decide to run. Eastern Shore Del. Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio, "viewed as a rising star," is less likely to jump into a contested primary. But it is Pipkin who is grabbing most of the attention, as Republicans--and Democrats--wait to see if he'll get in. The Eastern Shore state senator, whose deep pockets mean that he can afford to take his time, has not been returning phone calls from the Maryland Politics blog seeking first-hand information about his thinking. According to the Rothenberg Report, Pipkin "is not happy about the way the primary played out last cycle." In particular, he didn't like the fact that Harris tried to tag him with the same liberal label he hung on Gilchrest, or that the Harris forces tried to tie Pipkin, a populist conservative, to Gov. Martin O'Malley, a liberal Democrat. "If Harris and Pipkin face off, it's unclear who would have the upper hand," concludes the Rothenberg Report. It points out that the Club for Growth, which helped fund Harris' challenge against Gilchrest, has less interest in the First District race now that Gilchrest has been removed. Democrat Kratovil "has the opportunity to solidify his position by using incumbency to demonstrate 'independence,' providing good constituent service, and raising a lot of money," the Rothenberg Report concludes. But he "doesn't have much room for error and will need to maintain an independent image to get re-elected." Of course, Kratovil probably won't mind if the Republicans beat each other bloody in a September primary for the privilege of opposing him in November. Rothenberg doesn't express an opinion about which Republican would stand a better chance of unseating Kratovil, but it does say that if Harris is the nominee "he'll have to do a much better job connecting with voters on the Eastern Shore."

Ex-O'Malley campaign manager failed to register as lobbyist

2009-07-06T19:17:14Z

Rite of Passage, a for-profit juvenile services provider, fought hard to defeat a Maryland bill to limit the capacity of private facilities such as the one it is opening this month in rural Carroll County. But one of the Nevada-based company's most important advocates -- a former government aide and campaign manager for Gov. Martin O''Malley -- failed to register with the State Ethics Commission. Josh White, who works for Annapolis powerhouse Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan and Silver, said the missing lobbying registration for the legislative session was an unintentional paperwork oversight that he is working to correct. "The firm had every intent to disclose my clear and highly visible advocacy for this important juvenile services facility," White said in an e-mailed statement. "All fees and expenses were reported and disclosed. The firm submitted paperwork to fix the administrative error." White left the O'Malley administration to become a lobbyist in late 2007. White personally lobbied lawmakers and spoke to reporters on Rite of Passage's behalf throughout the January to April legislative session, though the company is officially the client of Michael Johansen, another Rifkin employee. Everything Rite of Passage has paid to the firm for the session -- $27,100 -- is documented on Johansen's filings, White said. The company has paid Rifkin lobbyists about $50,000 in the past year, according to disclosure forms. The State Ethics Commission can levy fines and other penalties on unregistered lobbyists. According to its Web site: "If the Ethics Commission determines that the respondent has violated the law, it may issue an order of compliance or issue a reprimand. The Commission may require a respondent to file any additional reports or information and has the power to impose a fine not to exceed $5,000 for each violation." The site also notes that unintentionally late registrations, which White said is the case here, can result in up to $250 in fees. "From the commission's perspective, when people voluntarily come forward to acknowledge a problem, it doesn't make sense to severely sanction them" said Robert Hahn, executive director of the ethics commission. "We know that mistakes can happen and do happen." Rite of Passage succeeded in batting down Sen. Bobby A. Zirkin's bill to limit all private juvenile facilities to 48 beds -- a law already on the books for state juvenile facilities. The company's lobbyists were the only ones to testify against Zirkin's bill. White said he "look(s) forward to working with them for years to come."

Wynn lobbying for company accused of ties to Sudan genocide

2009-07-06T16:53:41Z

Sarah Palin’s surprise decision to walk away from her job as governor of Alaska held special resonance for at least one group of Marylanders. Not long ago, their congressman did pretty much the same thing. Rep. Albert R. Wynn, one of the state’s senior lawmakers in Washington, abruptly quit his post last year. Shortly after earning lame-duck status, he announced that he was abandoning the job, even though he still had more than one-fourth of his term left to serve, to join a big-time lobbying firm. Unlike Palin, who made a personal decision not to seek re-election, Wynn became a lame duck involuntarily. He was resoundingly unseated by the voters of his own party, who picked Donna Edwards over Wynn in the 2008 primary. After announcing his decision to quit and join one of Washington's biggest lobby firms, Wynn said his decision to quit early would enable his successor to get a head start on seniority in the House. Critics blasted the decision, in part because it forced taxpayers to shell out money to pay for a special election to choose his replacement. Published estimates pegged the cost between $500,000 and $2 million. For the departing congressman, however, the decision was a win-win. First, it allowed him to escape a job he’d been forced to give up eventually. Second, and more important, it gave Wynn a head start on lining his pockets in his next, more lucrative, career: peddling influence to his former colleagues in Congress. Under House ethics rules, an ex-representative must wait a full year before stepping through Washington’s revolving door and registering as a lobbyist. Of course, though there was nothing in those rules to prevent Wynn from helping clients in his new job as a “special advisor” at Dickstein Shapiro. Wynn grabbed that job almost immediately after he failed to persuade voters in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties to return him to Congress for a ninth term. Had he served out his term, as defeated representatives usually do, he could not become a lobbyist until 2010. Instead, he’s perfectly positioned to grab a share of this year’s biggest lobbying bonanzas. One potential money pot: the high-stakes fight over rewriting the rules of the road for energy companies. As Democrats try to pass sweeping climate change legislation, companies who stand to win or lose big from the proposed legislation are shelling out hefty bucks for Washington lobbyists to help them carve out special provisions. Wynn has registered as a lobbyist for Wartsila North America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wartsila OYJ, a Finnish company that manufactures power generating systems and ship engines. Wartsila is also a U.S. defense contractor that does business with the Navy. Wynn is not specifically listed as a lobbyist on the energy bill. But he registered in the "energy/nuclear" area. According to the lobbying registration form, filed by Dickstein Shapiro and dated June 30, 2009, Wynn became a lobbyist for Wartsila on May 18. That is exactly one year to the date of the election held to replace him. However, it is slightly earlier than the official May 31 resignation date announced by Wynn last year, when the one-year "cooling off" period for lawmakers headed for the lobbying world was expected to begin. Joining Wynn as a lobbyist for Wartsila is Curt S. Clifton, who was Wynn’s top aide in the House. Clifton became a lobbyist for Dickstein Shapiro in 2008. Neither Wynn nor Clifton responded immediately to emailed requests for comment. Wartsila, the company Wynn now represents, has been criticized for its business dealings in Sudan, where violence in the country’s Darfur region has been condemned as genocide. The Genocide Intervention Network, a human rights group, has said that business transactions by Wartsila OYG and other international companies have helped the Sudanese government. Wartsila OYJ has sold power plants for oil projects in Sudan. Last week, after a two-year review of its investments with companies that failed to provide adequate responses about their dealings with Sudan and Iran, the New York State pension fund announced plans to divest more than $86 million in holdings from nine companies, including Wartsila OYJ. “We don’t expect our investments to benefit regimes that support genocide and terrorism,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. In a strange coincidence that brings this story full circle, last fall Palin announced that she was divesting herself of an investment in a mutual fund from Legg Mason, Inc. of Baltimore that owned shares in Wartsila OYJ. Palin held shares in the Legg Mason International Equity fund, with a value of up to $15,000, when it was brought to her attention that the fund’s holdings included companies that human rights activists said were assisting the government of Sudan. The Republican vice-presidential nominee immediately said she would dump the investment. Palin “is committed to doing everything she can to stop the genocide and atrocities in Darfur,” a campaign spokesman told ABC News at the time.

Kratovil pays FEC fine

2009-06-30T15:10:14Z

Rep. Frank Kratovil of Maryland has been fined $3,860 by the Federal Election Commission for failing to report more than two dozen last-minute donations to his successful House campaign last fall. The FEC assessed the penalty under its administrative fine program. The commission uses the program for less serious violations of federal election law, especially the late filing of disclosure reports. A Kratovil spokesman, Kevin Lawlor, blamed an “administrative backlog” for the failure to disclose 26 contributions within 48 hours after they were received, as required by FEC regulations. Lawlor said the campaign made on-time disclosures of contributions totaling more than $200,000 in the weeks leading up to the November, 2008 vote. “There was such a large amount of donations coming in at that time. There was an administrative backlog and not all of them were filed on time,” he said. The unreported donations included $5,000 from the Congressional Black Caucus, $2,000 each from the campaign accounts of Democratic House candidate Ben R. Lujan of New Mexico and Democratic Rep. Xavier Becerra of Los Angeles, Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle’s political action committee and $1,000 each from Democratic Rep. Gary Ackerman of New York and Illinois Rep. Mellissa Bean's PAC, the Boilermakers union, Washington lobbyist Thomas H. Boggs Jr. and the U.S. Sugar Association’s political action committee. Kratovil’s campaign did not contest the FEC enforcement action. It paid the fine in late April. The FEC announced the enforcement action in its more recent weekly report. In the 2008 campaign, Kratovil raised and spent nearly $2 million to win one of the closest House races in the country. He defeated Republican state Sen. Andy Harris of Baltimore County. Harris, who unseated moderate Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest in last year's primary, spent almost $3 million and is seeking a rematch with Kratovil in next year's election. Kratovil, a former Queen Anne's County state's attorney, "campaigned on his rule-of-law credentials, then got caught violating campaign finance rules," said Andy Seré, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee. "It’s a bit like campaigning as a Blue Dog, then voting like a lap dog for the National Energy Tax and the so-called ‘stimulus’ plan." Kratovil, of Stevensville, is the first Democrat in 18 years to represent the First Congressional District, which takes in the entire Eastern Shore, plus portions of Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Harford counties. The Baltimore Sun previously reported that Kratovil, who campaigned as an outsider, attracted more than $20,000 in post-election campaign donations from political action committees representing some of the nation's most powerful interests. They included the banking industry, pharmaceutical manufacturers, broadcasters, Realtors, dairy farmers (Kratovil was given a seat on the Agriculture Committee) and companies such as Verizon, Microsoft and Disney.

Scorecards Part Deux: Lawmaker ratings on friendliness to business hit new low

2009-06-29T13:00:00Z

Maryland Business for Responsive Government released this month the 2009 edition of its Roll Call, which measures the voting records of state lawmakers on a number bills that affect business. The nonpartisan group does political research and aims to improve Maryland’s business climate. The General Assembly has a reputation for being decidedly un-friendly to the corporate world, and this year lawmaker scores were the “lowest on record,” according to the group. In the study, MBRG authors describe “an attitude by lawmakers that suggests the irrelevance of business.” Particularly troublesome, the group contends, was passage of legislation giving the state eminent domain rights over the Preakness Stakes. State officials worried the bankruptcy of owner Magna Entertainment Corp. would imperil the horse race’s future in Maryland, and quickly stepped in. MBRG authors said they hadn’t seen anything like it. The bill sets an “extraordinary precedent” by asserting a right to take the private property of a specific corporation and interferes in a bankruptcy, they said. Republicans generally scored well in the MBRG scorecard. But only two Democrats voted 70 percent or better on the business-related legislation that’s highlighted — Sen. Rona E. Kramer of Montgomery County and Sen. James E. DeGrange of Anne Arundel County. Fifteen years ago, 84 Democrats voted at least 70 percent favorably on business-related issues. The full report can be found here. Despite this year’s Roll Call, Robert O.C. “Rocky” Worcester, MBRG’s president, is hopeful that his group can address what he calls a “paucity of leadership” in the business community and in Annapolis. That’s because he has enlisted as the group’s co-chairs former Gov. Marvin Mandel, a Democrat, and Ellen R. Sauerbrey, a two-time Republican gubernatorial candidate who was appointed ambassador by President George W. Bush. Mandel pledged in a statement to expand and grow MBRG’s influence.

Maryland congressmen break along party lines on cap-and-trade

2009-06-26T23:57:55Z

Maryland lawmakers voted along party lines as the House of Representatives narrowly approved a massive energy and climate-change measure this evening. The vote was 219-212, with 44 Democrats opposing the legislation and 8 Republicans providing the support that Democrats and President Barack Obama needed to send the legislation on to the Senate, where its prospects are cloudy. The legislation, which includes a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is the first of its kind ever to gain approval in either house of Congress. Democrats opposing the measure included rural conservatives and liberal mavericks. The Republicans who backed the bill included moderate Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware and Mary Bono Mack of California. The votes of all House members can be seen here. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, the state's lone Republican, whose district takes in northern portions of the Baltimore metro area and extends to the state's western border, was the only Marylander to vote "No." The remaining congressmen, all Democrats, voted "Aye." House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, in supporting the legislation, prepared the following floor speech: “This is a transformative moment. This is a moment to build a clean energy future for our country. This is a moment to create jobs. This is a moment to take on, at long last, a defining challenge of our time: global warming. I know that my colleagues can seize this moment; I know they can look back from a future in which America is independent of foreign oil and leading the fight against climate change and be able to say that, on this day, they were on the right side of this vote. “This bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, is a true turning-point. It is a complex bill, but we can sum up its outcomes simply: new American jobs, less dependence on foreign energy, and a reduction in the carbon pollution that causes global warming. “How does this bill accomplish those goals? Among its most important provisions are a requirement that utilities meet 20% of electric demand through renewable sources and energy efficiency by 2020; significant new investments in renewables, carbon capture and sequestration, electric vehicles, and cutting-edge energy research; and energy-saving standards for buildings, appliances, and industry. This bill also creates a Clean Energy Bank to fund promising energy projects across America; and it invests in high-tech transmission lines to build the essential foundation for a more efficient grid. New transmission lines, comprised of superconducting cable and other efficient wires, will carry more power within existing rights-of-way, with less land use. The result will be a more secure, environmentally-friendly grid. I worked with the Chairman and Rep. Inslee to ensure that those transmission provisions were included, because they are such an important part of a more cost-effective, energy-efficient future. “Of course, the bill also includes the reduction of our carbon emissions by 17% by 2020 and more than 80% by 2050. We can fight global warming with the same kind of market-based, cap-and-trade solution that was so effective at combating acid rain at minimal cost in the 1990s. Global warming threatens every one of us; it will affect the kind of lives our children will lead and the kind of prosperity our country, and our world will enjoy. “To those who complain about the cost of this bill, I answer that we are all paying the cost of carbon emissions already. The longer we wait to act, the more we will pay every year. But if we take action now, we can get jobs, growth, clean energy and energy independence for less than the price of a postage stamp a day, for each of us, according to the EPA. And with this bill passed and signed, the United States will finally be able to argue persuasively and credibly for global action on a challenge that knows no borders. “At the same time, action on global warming will send a powerful, job-creating price signal to the private sector, spurring innovation in every part of the renewable energy economy. That is one of the reasons why the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a business coalition dedicated to fighting climate change, has argued that ‘the way we produce and use energy must fundamentally change, both nationally and globally’—and that this coming change represents an excellent opportunity for economic growth. “And that is why another coalition of 19 businesses, including the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Duke Energy, National Grid, H.P., Starbucks, and Nike, wrote to President Obama that this bill ‘will drive investment into cost-saving, energy saving technologies…create the next wave of jobs in the new energy economy…[and] will provide the predictability we need to plan for future business success.’ “It’s long been understood that acting on global warming is a moral necessity—but now, more and more of us are realizing that it makes powerful economic sense, as well. “Madam Speaker, a future of clean energy is well worth the price. My children, my grandchildren, and the generations to come will be either the beneficiaries of our stewardship, or the victims of our neglect. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill and put themselves on the side of progress and responsibility.” Bartlett, who has crusaded for years on the energy issue, issued the following statement: “I’ve never voted for a tax increase and that is the main reason why I could not support this bill. The Congressional Budget Office found this bill would force a massive redistribution of $1 trillion and increase federal government revenues by $24 billion. My constituents clearly understood that the cap and trade system in this bill is a gigantic hidden tax that they would end up paying. That’s why they were overwhelming opposed to it.‬‪ “I’m a scientist and I’ve studied this issue very carefully. I agree that emissions from burning fossil fuels pose a threat to our global environment by contributing to climate change. However, our dependence upon oil, especially imported oil poses a far graver and urgent threat to America’s economic prosperity and national security. “It is a shame that the House majority chose to pursue a purely partisan process that produced a complex, convoluted, monstrosity of a bill. It grew by 600 pages in the past three days alone. It deserves to die from the weight of the games and back room deals. This bill is a monument to everything Americans hate about business as usual politics in Washington, DC.”‬‪ Actually, the CBO, whose analysis Bartlett cited, determined in a recent report that the House cap-and-trade legislation would cost the average American family about $165 a year. The nation's wealthiest families would pay more. The nation's poorest families would actually benefit from the measure, by $40 a year, according to the recent CBO analysis. Bartlett, of Frederick, is a leading spokesman for the "peak oil" movement, which maintains that most global petroleum supplies have already been tapped, or will be shortly. He is promoting a "green energy" event Monday in his district.

Where in the world is Martin O’Malley, Kathy Griffin asks

2009-06-26T15:17:43Z

Kathy Griffin, the trash-talking comedienne, took the stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion Thursday night and had a scintillating question for the audience: “Do you know where your governor is tonight?” As it turns out, the attendees might not have known, the governor isn't in Annapolis but on vacation. And no, he’s not in Argentina or hiking the Appalachian Trail — he’s in the Adirondacks. O’Malley has been on a fishing trip with his 12-year-old son Will since Father’s Day, according to his press office. The duo has been throwing lines into Cranberry Lake in New York's Adirondacks State Park for their annual bonding retreat, spokesman Shaun Adamec said. O’Malley’s press office has fielded several calls from the media in recent days about the governor’s exact whereabouts in light of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s disappearing act that sparked a national scandal. Adamec said most inquiries about O’Malley have been “tongue-in-cheek.” Maryland's governor returns Saturday — just in time for another trip to a vacation spot, Ocean City. This time, O’Malley will be traveling for work to attend the Maryland Municipal League conference, an annual gathering of local leaders from around the state. Though, aides say, he also will get some beach time with this family. Ahhh, summer.

Michael's Steele's latest poll numbers are a positive surprise

2009-06-25T20:44:43Z

Lee Atwater, a master of attack politics and onetime Republican national chairman, had this rule of thumb: Drive up your opponent's negative poll ratings high enough and you make that person unelectable. So the following question might be particularly relevant as a severely battered Republican Party looks for someone who might be electable in 2012: Which nationally known Republican has the lowest negatives in the latest Pew Research Center opinion survey: Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Michael Steele or Mitt Romney? The answer: Maryland's Mike. Surprised? Okay, what if we narrow the focus and take the temperature of Republican voters only? Palin goes from polarizing to highly popular. Her negatives drop sharply. Only 17 percent of Republicans rate her unfavorably, compared with 44 percent of all voters. And which of our quartet of nationally known Republicans has the lowest negatives among Republican voters? Once again, it's the Chairman. But wait. These are trick questions, or misleading ones at best. Let's look at the other half of the picture, the "favorable" ratings of the same nationally known politicians. This time, Palin comes out on top. Steele, on the other hand, winds up in last place. And that's the catch. Steele isn't nationally known. At least not very much. Almost two out of three people aren't familiar enough with his name to venture an opinion A majority of Americans (51 percent) said they'd never heard of Steele. Another 12 percent said they couldn't rate him. Even among Republicans, a clear majority (58 percent) didn't know the man or couldn't rate him one way or the other. That's a useful reality check for close followers of politics (and cable TV news) who have this crazy idea that Michael Steele is a household name. For the record, Steele got a favorable rating from 23 percent of all adults and 28 percent of Republicans. Among all independents, Steele has two-to-one positives to negatives (26 percent favorable to 13 percent unfavorable). And even Democrats are no worse than evenly divided (19 percent favorable to 17 percent unfavorable). But among Republicans, Steele's positive-to-negative ratio is weaker than that of either Gingrich (55-22), Romney (57-18) or Palin (73-17). Only 10 percent of Republicans, incidentally, didn't know Palin or couldn't rate her. Younger voters and blacks are slightly more likely to be able to identify Steele, according to Pew. And conservative Republicans view the former Maryland lieutenant governor more positively (31 percent favorable versus 14 percent unfavorable) than moderates do (23-13). By comparison, Palin got a thumbs up from 45 percent of all Americans and 73 percent of Republicans. But Romney got the headline in Pew's analysis because his image has improved since earlier this year, and now is net positive by 12 points among voting-age Americans. Perhaps Steele's relative anonymity is why he wants to get together with the leader of the other party at the White House. That might help raise his profile. Steele's, that is. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked at today's White House daily briefing about Steele's ambition to meet with the president. Steele wants to talk "about health care and a whole host of issues, especially since this administration has had such a wonderful Republican outreach. He wants to be one of those that the public and the President reaches out to," a reporter informed Gibbs. Responded the Obama spokesman: "You know, I think the president has Republicans here at the White House today. I'd be interested to know what -- whether Mr. Steele believes that we can make progress working together or if the tone of his rhetoric is something that might prevent him from working constructively with the President of the United States."

Maryland nearly flunks disclosure of state lawmaker finances

2009-06-25T16:06:32Z

Maryland still rates a “D” and when it comes to financial disclosure requirements for members of the General Assembly, according to the Center for Public Integrity, a national watchdog group. The Old Line State hasn’t improved its grade in the last several years. The center has been reporting on disclosure in state legislatures since 1999, using a 43-question survey that measures public access to information on lawmakers’ employment, investments, personal finances, property holdings or other activities outside the legislature. Maryland has a citizen legislature, so most members return to their regular jobs when the 90-day regular session ends in April. Maryland scored a 68.5 on a 100-point scale and ranked 23rd out of 50 states. That represents a slipping in the rankings from 2006 when Maryland was 21st. One aspect of Maryland’s disclosure laws that has irked watchdog groups is the requirement that citizens appear in person at the State Ethics Commission to obtain copies of financial reports. Some states offer the forms online. Responses from Maryland to the center’s survey questions can be found here.

Husband of blog post author comparing Obama to Hitler defends wife's views

2009-06-25T10:00:23Z

The husband of an Anne Arundel County Republican woman who wrote a blog plosting comparing President Obama to Hitler said his wife's comments have been misunderstood, and that criticism is piling up. Responding to a message for comment, Charles Thomann, the husband of Joyce Thomann, the president of the Anne Arundel County Republican Women's Club, said his wife was in Denver caring for her ailing 96-year-old mother and could not immediately comment. A Republican member of the five-person Maryland State Board of Elections and an adjunct history professor at Anne Arundel Community College, Charles Thomann, speaking on behalf of his wife, defended the online letter comparing Obama and Hitler and said "It wasn't meant in the way people are taking it." Thomann conceded that "maybe she wasn't as artful as she could have been," referring to his wife's comments, but said he and his wife view Obama's push of what they deem socialist programs similar to the way Adolf Hitler spread the Nazi ideals in Germany. "The methods that [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and [President] Obama are using to get the socialist view point across, is similar to what Hitlder did. And the German people regretted it. I just happen to be up on it. I happen to be a history teacher." Thomann said his wife's email inbox is piled high with messages and he has been fielding angry calls from the public since news of the letter broke online. It has been linked from the Huffington Post and other outlets. "We've gotten a lot of calls," Thomann said. "The liberal Democrats have really been pushing it. Most of it is very vitriolic. I think it's been completely misunderstood ... Once black woman, who said she was black, called and said, 'I really resent this because you're racist.' I told her we're not racist. We're delighted to have a black president. Heck, we'd like to see a woman president, too." Kory Blake the chair of the Anne Arundel County Democratic party, said "That they would compare the president of the United States to the worst mass murderer in the history of the world, it's uncalled for and it's unncessary. It enforces, for me, the belief that the Republican party has been overtaken by an ideology of hate and they will do anything to try to discredit this president. Unfortunately, they carossed the line on this comparison. People all around the country are looking at Anne Arundel County and scratching their heads. It's appaling." -- Nicole Fuller