Here’s the final audio post of the 2009. I joined Maryland Morning News anchor Bill Vanko in studio to discuss the county’s top political stories of the year.
Best wishes for a happy new year to everyone. Strap yourselves in for 2010. It promises to be a lot of fun for political junkies.
Here’s part two of my top five list of Baltimore County political stories for 2009. (Part one can be found here).
2. Pensions and Salaries. Pocketbook issues continued to dominate the news in the county after it was reported by the Baltimore Sun that five-term Democratic Councilman Vince Gardina was eligible to retire at age 53 and earn a pension equal to 100 percent of his $54,000 annual salary. Four other councilmen have served four terms each and are eligible to collect 80 percent of their salaries immediately at the conclusion of the current term.
A month later, the county Personnel and Salary Advisory Board proposed raises of 8 percent and 2 percent respectively for the county executive and council that would take office in 2010. The reason for the difference between the two was apparently hashed out in a closed door meeting that violated the state’s Open Meetings Act, but clearly was influenced by the ongoing pension flap.
Then-council Chairman Joseph Bartenfelder said he would not introduce the salary increase bill as long as he was chairman. Later, County Executive Jim Smith announced he would not send such a bill to the council.
Next month, the council will consider two pension reform bills — one sponsored by Councilman Kevin Kamenetz and the other by Councilmen Joseph Bartenfelder.
Watchdog groups aren’t happy with either, and are expected to call for publicly-funded defined benefits pension plans to be replaced with 401K-style plans.
1. Council Kingmakers. The fact that developers and their attorneys give money to county executive and council candidates in Baltimore County is as surprising as the faux outrage of Claude Raines — as the corrupt gambling Capt. Renault – shutting down Humphrey Bogart’s club because he is “shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” … just as a club employee hands the captain his winnings for the night.
What IS news here is the way in which Michael Paul Smith, the son of County Executive Jim Smith, and David Gildea, a former law clerk to Smith when the county exec was a Circuit Court judge, have gone about backing unknown and untested potential candidates in three open council races, and are said to be seeking a candidate for at least one more race (but possibly two). The private fund raising events in Smith and Gildea’s homes, with their suggested $1,000 per person donations, caught the attention of other candidates and the public.
The council wields a great deal of power when it comes to zoning and development decisions, and community associations and activists didn’t need 20-20 vision to make the connections between those open seats and attorneys with land use practices who might be interested in seeing friendly faces making those calls.
So there it is, my list of the top five political stories for the county for 2009.
Do you agree, disagree? Did I overlook something that should have been on the list? Feel free to leave me a comment below.
Happy new year to everyone and I’ll see you in 2010.
There’s been no shortage of interesting political stories this year, from state delegates and their marriage proposals to anger over speed cameras and a rising tide of voter discontent, the likes of which hasn’t been seen in these parts for nearly 20 years.
But not every story is created equal. Let’s face it, some are more important than others.
As I thought about a top five local political stories in Baltimore County, I made my selections based on both power of the story for the year and the effect these stories might have over the next 12 months. A lot of these stories have legs like Tina Turner. (more…)
Things could be a little uncomfortable in the House Republican caucus when the General Assembly session begins on Jan. 13 after Del. Michael Smigiel said recently that Del. Rick Impallaria suggested that he ignore a subpoena at a court hearing earlier this month.
Smigiel, an attorney and Cecil County Republican, was subpoenaed to testify in a hearing over a contract dispute by Irwin Kramer, an Owings Mills attorney. Kramer had sued Impallaria, claiming the Republican who represents Cockeysville, Kingsville and Middle River and part of Harford County owed nearly $16,000 in back legal fees for his representation of a group known as Democrats for Responsive Government. (more…)
I’ll be on WBAL 1090 AM tomorrow doing two segments talking about my picks for the top five political stories in Baltimore County for 2009.
There’s still time for you to get in on the conversation and add your suggestions.
Bobby Knatz died earlier this month after a battle with prostate cancer, but much of his nearly six decades in county politics, including the stories that come with those experiences, have been preserved thanks to County Executive Jim Smith.
Knatz, who left his position as a special assistant to Smith this past summer as his health began to fail, was a fixture in county politics dating back to when the county was governed by commissioners rather than and executive and council.
“Bobby knew everyone,” said Don Mohler, a spokesman for Smith. “He was a real treasure. he went all the way back to the time of pre-charter government and ‘Iron’ Mike Birmingham and Chris Kahl.” (more…)
It’s that time when we begin to look forward to the year ahead. But before we charge into 2010 let’s pause a second and look back on 2009.
That’s where you come in.
I’m putting together my list of the top five political stories for 2009 and I want to hear your thoughts.
Leave your suggestions, lists and comments below.
We’ll compare notes next Thursday when I run down my list on Maryland’s Morning News on WBAL 1090 AM and here on the blog.
Pick anything you want. The only requirement is that they be local to Baltimore County.
I’ll be taking a few days off as we round out the year but I’ll still try to toss a few things up here and there.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or Kwanza or Festivus and best wishes for a happy new year to everyone.
Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder hasn’t officially announced his intentions (OK, OK, we all know he’s running for county executive), but he made it clear Monday night that he won’t be coming back to the council after the 2010 election.
The four-term Democratic councilman ended the last meeting of the year with a brief farewell.
“This is the last meeting that I’ll ever chair as chairman of the County Council,” Bartenfelder said. (more…)
Councilmen Kevin Kamenetz and Sam Moxley abstained from voting on a batch five of contracts and other fiscal matters during Monday night’s County Council voting session.
At issue was a five-year lease totaling $196,951 with St. John Properties. The county Health Department will use the unidentified 3,000 square-foot space to store emergency preparedness supplies as part of the Cities Readiness Initiative grant program. (more…)
”It’s a man’s world,” the old song says.
Unless your underage and want to buy cigarettes, according to a series of undercover surveys conducted earlier this month by the county Health Department and cadets from the Baltimore County Police.
The survey was part of a discussion about a bill that would require store owners and clerks to require photo ID to ensure that those purchasing tobacco products and paraphernalia are not under the age of 18. Identification would not be required if the clerk “has personal knowledge, whether from personal acquaintance or from a previous demand for verification of age, that the purchaser is not a minor.”
The seven-member council unanimously approved the bill.
This is the second time around for this bill, which a month ago required clerks to card tobacco purchasers if they appeared to be under the age of 26, even though cigarettes and other products may be legally purchased by 18-year-olds. The bill was withdrawn at an October meeting seconds before a scheduled vote.
Stephanie House, bureau director for administrative services at the Health Department, told the council Monday night that the three undercover surveys found that “50 to 60 percent of merchants were not asking for ID from people who obviously appeared to be under 26-years-old.”
“Interestingly, if the purchaser was a female and the merchant was a male, she was rarely asked for her ID,” House said.