Strange Bedfellows

A look back at the politics and government stories of 2008 in the words of those involved. Look for part three of four tomorrow.

April

  • “The highlights are slim,” County Executive Jim Smith said April 16 about his proposed  $1.72 billion budget for fiscal year 2009.  Smith called called it “austere” as it offered no cost of living raises or other frills. The budget is on pace to produce a $14 million surplus and the county is not furloughing employees this year as is the state and other local governments. (more…)

If you happened to be in Cafe Troia in Towson today for lunch you might have seen Democratic Sen. Jim Brochin lunching with John Fiastro, president of the 42nd District Republican Club.

Politics was not only on the menu, it was the reason the two were there as Fiastro was making good on a wager the two made about the outcome of one precinct in the Sen. Andy Harris - Frank Kratovil congressional race. (more…)

One final piece of business from the Nov. 4 general election.

Blaine Taylor, a Towson resident, author and presidential candidate, received three votes, according to information available on the State Board of Elections Web site. Those votes came from Carroll, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, respectively. (more…)

If Sen. Andy Harris is bitter about his recent defeat in the 1st Congressional District, he certainly isn’t showing it.

“You don’t get in the game if you can’t take a loss,” Harris said after a Nov. 11 press conference in White Marsh where he conceded the race to Democrat Frank Kratovil.

Harris came up more than 2,000 votes short against Kratovil, a state’s attorney from Queen Anne’s County. The vote was so close on election night (just 916 votes between the two) that both sent teams of watchers to observe absentee and provisional ballot counts at election boards from Baltimore County to the Eastern Shore. It wasn’t until last Thursday that Harris ultimately conceded. (more…)

Early voting, absentee voting, provisional ballots. Who can blame someone, even a lawyer representing the 1st Congressional District candidate Frank Kratovil, for not being able to keep it all straight.

Teams of lawyers representing both Kratovil and Republican Andy Harris descended on the Baltimore County Board of Elections and election boards in 11 other counties to observe absentee ballot counts in the 1st Congressional District race.

(more…)

Maryland Democrats have trained their sights on Pennsylvania as Election Day moves closer to its conclusion.

Leading the charge and thanking the troops was Gov. Martin O’Malley.

O’Malley, just back from a late night in Pennsylvania was on a swing of polling precincts and several Democratic Party headquarters. It’s a statewide tour that he referred to more than once as “Obama-rama.” (more…)

Common Cause Maryland and the Election Protection Network have a nifty little Web site for those of you interested in tracking problems at polling places around the county, state and country.Well, it would be nifty if it worked as advertised. (more…)

Katie Brown, director of the Baltimore County Board of Elections, has a piece of advice for Election Day: “Vote between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.”

Brown and elections officials are expecting voter turnout to hit 85 percent for the Nov. 4 election. Most voters are likely to show up at the polls in the morning, before work, or in the evening, as people make their way home. (more…)

County Republicans and two Democratic clubs in Baltimore County have one thing in common - opposition to the referendum that would authorize video slot machines in Maryland.

Members the the Central Baltimore County Democratic Club and the Young Democrats of Baltimore County held a debate on slots in Towson on Oct. 14. Afterward, they voted 57 percent to 34 percent to oppose the expansion of gambling in Maryland. (more…)

A Towson author who is running a scaled-down presidential campaign now has a mock news video courtesy of an unknown fan.

Blaine Taylor, who is running in Maryland, is the star of a video made on a Web site that allows anyone to put themselves or friends into a mock-news report. Currently, he is only on the ballot in Maryland. (more…)