Hutchinson watch
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.
But the talk has continued: He’s polling. He’s close to an announcement — in October or maybe as soon as mid-September.
Hutchinson, speaking after a Revenue Authority meeting, said he has not polled and is not aware of anyone else doing polling on his behalf.
“If someone is, I don’t know about it,” he said, adding that an announcement is not coming soon.
The first step in any possible run would be to get an opinion from the attorney general regarding the wording of the County Charter and the wording on the two-term limit.
“It will almost certainly be an issue,” Hutchinson said, adding that he believes the charter language about a two-term limit restricts anyone from serving three consecutive terms, but does not bar a candidate from serving a third term if there’s a break of at least four years.
Hutchinson does not currently have a campaign finance account, but he hinted that cash would not be an issue if he wants to run.
“That would not be an issue,” he said.
So what about a base of support? Hutchinson came up on the east side of the county but he’s far removed from that now, and lives in Towson. Where would his support come from? Is it still on the east side or maybe in the business community?
Hutchinson laughed at the question.
“Oh I’m not going to answer that,” he said. “You’ll have to figure that out.”