Summer is winding down and the talk of Don Hutchinson running for a third term for county executive not only won’t go away, they’re heating up.
Hutchinson, the two time county executive, isn’t saying he’s in.
“I’ve just let the rumors fly,” Hutchinson said, acknowledging the talk. “I”ve had a nice summer.”
In June, Hutchinson, 63, tried to play down any talk of another run. (more…)
Republicans appear to be attempting to use the speed camera issue as a wedge issue in the upcoming 2010 election to unseat Democratic Del. Steve Lafferty in the 42nd District.
Lafferty was first elected in 2006 to the seat that represents Towson, Timonium and part of Pikesville. The seat was previously held by one-term Republican Del. John Trueschler, who decided not to run for re-election citing concerns about the toll the job was taking on his family. The remaining two delegate seats have been held by Republicans since the district was created in 2002.
John Fiastro, president of the 42nd District Republican Club, handed out fliers criticizing Del. Steve Lafferty during the Aug. 19 public meeting on speed cameras, held at the Baltimore County Public Library branch in Towson.
The bright yellow leaflet declares in bold letters “Lafferty voted for speed cameras.” On the reverse side, the group reprinted a blog post that appeared here on July 23 in which Lafferty called for public hearings on the bill. The reprint has several passages underlined with hand-written notes criticizing the delegate.
It should be noted the reprint was done without the permission of Patuxent Publishing Co., which owns this Web site.
Lafferty addressed the flier briefly at the meeting just before speaking about his reasons for supporting speed camera legislation.
“I really love that my opponents have put this piece of crap out,” said Lafferty, who was holding a copy of the flier as he spoke to the crowd of about 60. “Because if you read the other piece, the other side to it, this meeting is about public information. As I’ve walked neighborhoods and talked to voters, people do not fully understand the intent of the legislation and certainly no one has had the opportunity up until now, other than what the county has rightfully put on its Web site, gotten any kind of insights on how (the county) expects to proceed.”
Kevin Carney, a house builder and Towson resident, said this week he will run as a Republican for the 42nd District Senate seat and challenge two-term incumbent Democrat Sen. Jim Brochin next November.
The 42nd District includes Towson, Timonium and part of Pikesville.
Carney, president of Columbia, MD-based Thomas Builders, lives at the far end of the district near the city line with his wife Marla. The couple has two adult children.
“Annapolis is broken,” Carney, 58, said during an interview in his Columbia office. “People are worried that the state is over-spending.” (more…)
Del. J.B. Jennings will give up the District 7 House of Delegates seat he has held since 2002 and will instead run for that district’s state Senate seat in 2010.
Jennings, a Republican, confirmed his intentions in an interview. He made a more formal announcement at his fundraiser Friday night, an annual event that includes a polo match.
Sen. Andy Harris, who currrently represents the district, announced earlier this year he will give up his Senate seat for a rematch against Rep. Frank Kratovil, a first-term Democrat.
Jennings is the only officially-announced candidate for the Senate district that stretches from Cockeysville and parts of Perry Hall and Middle River to part of western Harford County.
Two others, Democratic Councilman Vince Gardina and Republican former delegate and state Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer, are also said to be considering campaigning for the seat.
The folks over at Maryland Politics Watch have published a bunch of photos taken at various parties during the Maryland Association of Counties conference, which took place in Ocean City last week.
According to the politics blog, the photos were posted on a Facebook page by a staffer who works for Gov. Martin O’Malley. Some of the photos were later removed and access to the Facebook page was eventually restricted, according to Maryland Politics Watch.
But the blog downloaded many of the photos and posted them on its own Web site. Some of the photos appear to have been taken at a reception hosted by County Executive Jim Smith.
A fledgling group that advocates smaller government is weighing in on events surrounding the engagement of Del Jon Cardin.
David Schwartz, state director for Americans for Prosperity — Maryland, criticized Cardin in a statement released this morning calling the marriage proposal prank “another example of a “culture of entitlement” coming from local elected officials here in Maryland.” (more…)
Just a note to our readers: I’ll be live blogging a meeting regarding speed cameras in Baltimore County tonight at the Towson library. You can follow along tonight at Twitter.com/bpsears. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.
If you can’t attend, feel free to e-mail me at bsears@patuxent.com or direct message me on Twitter with any questions you’d like me to ask. I’ll try and answer questions during the live blogging event, in my story or here on the blog.
Look back here at explorebaltimorecounty.com for stories and updates.
Del. Jon Cardin got the answer he was looking for when he proposed to Megan Homer on Aug. 7.
But questions remain about the couple’s engagement cruise that involved an unknown number of Baltimore City Police officers, a police boat and a police helicopter. City police have launched an internal investigation into the matter.
So far, the owner of the boat remains unknown other than Cardin’s explanation that it was a friend. Who is that person and what were the connections, if any, that made the police involvement possible? (more…)
Republican Del. Pat McDonough is expected to officially announce his “testing the waters” campaign for governor in the next day or two.
In addition to more fully explaining that concept — and some of his issues he’ll be running on — the delegate said he will clarify his statement that he would not run for governor if Republican former Gov. Robert Ehrlich decides to run.
There’s apparently some fine print to that statement.
“The caveat is that I will not run if (Ehrlich) supports all the issues I care about,” McDonough explained this morning.
McDonough said he plans to sign a pledge promising to not raise taxes while he is governor. He said he is concerned that Gov. Martin O’Malley, if re-elected, will surprise voters with “an ambush tax” in 2011 to cover state budget deficits.
McDonough said he plans to run on a platform that includes education issues and criminal justice issues including gang-related crime. And yes, illegal immigration will continue to be a part of his campaign as well.
McDonough said he believes Ehrlich, if he runs, would have similar views on issues.
“Other than Constellation Energy, which we might differ on a little bit, I don’t see why (Ehrlich) wouldn’t,” McDonough said.
Del. Jon Cardin didn’t announce his intentions to run for county executive during the Maryland Association of Counties conference last weekend — but another announcement involving the Baltimore County Democrat did make news.
Alan Brody at The Gazette reports that Cardin “was the toast” of the MACo conference for the way he became engaged to his girlfriend Megan Homer. You can read Brody’s account here — which includes a city police helicopter and police officers boarding a boat the couple was cruising on.