‘Carpetbagger?’ Smith’s plan draws reaction
County Executive Jim Smith is moving from Reisterstown, where he has lived his entire life, to Cockeysville.
Smith says he and his wife, Sandy, are downsizing from their current large home to a smaller one. A side benefit is the new home is in the 7th District, which happens to have an open Senate seat in 2010. Smith said the move gives him the opportunity to consider running for the seat.
Does that make him a carpetbagger? Depends on whom you ask.
Republican Del. J.B. Jennings, who has declared he is running for the senate seat that represents Cockeysville, Honeygo, Middle River and part of Harford County, called the move “carpetbagging.”
“It’s what people don’t like,” Jennings said. “It’s what Hillary Clinton did in New York.”
Hillary Clinton was ultimately elected.
“It’s not about winning,” Jennings said. “It’s about what’s right.”
Republican Del. Pat McDonough, who represents the same district, told Douglas Tallman of The Gazette last week, “This sounds like a future unemployed political carpetbagger who’s looking for a fourth government pension.”
In addition to being county executive, Smith was a county councilman and a Circuit Court judge.
Smith said last week that he has been active in the east side of the county and believes the “carpetbagger” tag is unjustified.
“I think it’s premature to talk about, but I’d be surprised if people bought into that particular slogan,” Smith said.
Chris Cavey, chairman of the county Republican Central Committee, called the relocation from the 11th District in Reisterstown to the 7th District in Cockeysville “Smith’s move to opportunity.”
But Cavey rejected the idea that the county executive’s move was carpetbagging.
“I’m not sure how it can be carpetbagging when an elected official who has represented the entire county moves from one area of the county to another,” Cavey said. He added that it’s legitimate for opponents to question the timing of the move and Smith’s connections to the area he might seek to represent.