Strange Bedfellows

Council Chairman John Olszewski Sr. didn’t use the word endorsement at a Friday morning announcement, but the message was clear: When Kevin Kamenetz announces his run for county executive, Olszewski will support him.

Olszewski stood in front of Dundalk High School, his alma mater, with a handful of supporters behind him holding signs. Some were hand made, proclaiming an “East - West” partnership. Others were more professionally made and were clearly from Kamenetz’s as yet undeclared campaign, proclaiming Kamenetz as “The next era of excellence.” (more…)

County Council Chairman John Olszewski Sr. is holding a news conference outside Dundalk High School at 11 a.m. today (yes, regardless of weather) to “make an important announcement regarding his intentions in the 2010 County Executive race for Baltimore County,” according to a cryptic one-sentence e-mail sent out on the councilman’s behalf Thursday night.

The announcement of a county executive run is not out of the question but certainly a long shot. There are other possibilities for today’s event each with their own upsides and downsides. (more…)

All that snow is adding up to a lot of additional red ink for the county.

Maryland Morning News anchor Bill Vanko and I talk about the bill for the two February blizzards and how the county hopes to pay for including a possible reimbursement from FEMA.

“I just turned off the lights and shut down my computer. We’re all screaming uncle over here. We’re trying to figure out who did what and offer him up as a sacrifice.”

~ Baltimore County Bureau of Highways Chief Tim Burgess on Wednesday afternoon, after being asked for his reaction to an updated weather forecast that day that warned of 20 to 30 inches of new snow.

Maryland’s Morning News Anchor Bill Vanko and I talk the politics of snow removal on this week’s chat.

Democratic state Sen. Jim Brochin, who represents the 42nd District, is known for his stamina when it comes door-to-door campaigning.

But I’m pretty sure even he has never tried what Jordan Hadfield and Todd Crandell did last weekend during the Blizzard of 2010.

Hadfield and Crandell, two Dundalk Democrats running for Senate and House of Delegates respectively, took door-to-door to the next level. The two candidates put out the word on Facebook and Twitter and their Web sites that they would be going out in the district shoveling out anyone who wanted it. (more…)

Let’s face it, nothing is as political in any county as snow removal.

County executives have been nearly run out of town on a rail because of it. That’s why executives hold annual press conferences to tell county residents how they are preparing to keep the streets clear when the snow arrives.

Add to the political fodder a Monday night press release from county Republican Central Committee Chairman Chris Cavey, who criticized County Executive Jim Smith and the County Council for what he desribed as a failure to properly plan for last weekend’s blizzard.

“Everyone knew it was coming,” Cavey said. “They were calling it Snowmageddon and stuff like that.” (more…)

The County Council’s regularly scheduled work session Tueday will be held at 12 p.m.

This is two-hours earlier than usual and a result of the impending snow storm that is expected to bring more snow to the area.

The last thing a county with a $144 million revenue shortfall needs is a blizzard.

Don Mohler, a county spokesman, said he and County Executive Jim Smith tried to ward off the impending storm with a little anti-snow dance.

“Last week I used all my bad dance moves,” said Mohler. “I even had the county executive doing a little butter-churn move.” (more…)

Maryland joined the Powerball drawings last night but that might not help Baltimore County, which just saw its projected budget deficit for the current year grow $6 million to $144 million.

Maryland Morning News Anchor Bill Vanko and I talk about it in this week’s chat about Baltimore County politics.