Strange Bedfellows

If Mike Gimbel decides to seek the council seat held by Democratic Councilman (and soon-to-be county executive candidate) Kevin Kamenetz, he says it will not be a typical campaign.

“Everything that is traditionally done, I’m going to do the opposite,” said Gimbel, who served as the county’s drug treatment czar for nearly three decades. “I’m not going through all that crap of taking money from people who can’t afford it. There won’t be any bumper stickers or signs. I’m just going to go door-to-door and talk to people and see if my name holds up.” (more…)

Councilman Kevin Kamenetz’ s nascent county executive campaign picked up another eastside endorsement Thursday morning.

In a video posted on Youtube, Democratic former state Sen. Michael Collins praises Kamenetz for his management of the county budget and said the councilman who represents Owings Mills, Pikesville and Ruxton, has demonstrated a “dedication, an understanding, and concern for our natural resources, particularly our waterways.” (more…)

Suzanne Mensh ended months of public speculation about her political future and the 2010 elections on Tuesday.

Mensh, 80, has served the county in elected office for 12 consecutive terms since 1962 — first as an Orphans Court judge and later chief judge of that court from 1962-1986 and then as clerk of the court from 1986 to present. (more…)

Members of a newly-minted “Court House Ticket” for Baltimore County are slated to meet outside the Old Courthouse in Towson around 11 a.m. Tuesday to pose for campaign photos before going together to Catonsville to register as candidates for their respective offices.

R. Jay Fisher, a Democrat running for his third term as sheriff, said the ticket will consist of other Democratic incumbent candidates including State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger, Register of Wills Grace Connolly and the three incumbent Orphans Court judges — William Evans, Colleen Cavanaugh and Theresa Lawler.

“We want people to know we’re coming back and we want constituents to know we want to serve another four years,” Fisher said Monday afternoon, adding that he believes such a ticket in the primary is unprecedented.

Fisher said the group is doing it as “a symbol of unity.”

The group is not a formal slate — a designation that would allow the candidates to pool money that could be spent to benefit all of them.

And one long-time Democratic court house denizen is missing from the list. (more…)

Last week I wrote that the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association wasn’t tickled about Councilman John Olszewski Sr.’s “endorsement” of Kevin Kamenetz for county executive, and that the union was officially backing fellow Democratic Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder.

It’s easy to see how one might make that leap since the union was clearly irked by Olszewski’s move and they’ve only donated money to one county executive candidate — Bartenfelder.

But Mike Day, president of the union, told me Monday that the support is somewhat less than official — at least for the moment. (more…)

Sorry for the delay in posting but here’s my weekly conversation with Maryland Morning News Anchor Bill Vanko about county politics including last week’s endorsement of Kevin Kamenetz for county executive by fellow Democratic Councilman John Olszewski Sr. We also talk about how other eastside elected officials are lining up and what that might mean.

This three minutes literally left me struggling to catch my breath.

The head of one county union said he and his members are not pleased with last week’s pseudo-endorsement of Kevin Kamenetz by fellow Democratic Councilman John Olszewski Sr.

Mike Day, president of the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association, said union leaders were so displeased with Olszewski’s plans that not only did they not attend an Olszewski fundraiser two days before the endorsement, they voted not to make a donation to his campaign.

And Day didn’t have much nice to say about Friday’s announcement, either. (more…)

Kathy Szeliga, Republican Sen. Andy Harris’ chief of staff, said she will put her House of Delegates campaign on hiatus for about six weeks after her fundraiser Wednesday night.

Szeliga, who is running as a Republican, came under fire last week by Democrats who claimed her campaign violates personnel rules for legislative staff, which prohibit employees from running for office while employed by the General Assembly.

Szeliga has announced her intention to run for the House of Delegates in the 7th District. Since May, Sezeliga has raised more than $43,000 and has more than $34,000 cash on hand. Her Web site declares her intentions. It should be noted that Harris, who is running for Congress, is Szeliga’s campaign finance chair.

Democrats balked, saying Szeliga regularly meets with lobbyists as part of her job and could use her position to leverage campaign contributions — sometimes called pay-to-play. (more…)

Republican former Del. Ken Holt said Tuesday afternoon he is not ready to announce a decision about his intentions for the 2010 election.

Holt said in January that he was considering a run for county executive and hoped to make a decision by early February.

“It’s a big decision — kind of a life decision,” said Holt, adding that he has been attending various community meetings and functions around the county, including a recent meeting in Hereford as well as two on Tuesday in Arbutus and Middle River.

“We’re definitely moving closer,” Holt said. He would not provide a timeline for an announcement.

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…)