Strange Bedfellows

Is the topic of pension reform so hot that it can’t be discussed in public?

Depending on who you talk to, it’s an issue that’s already been addressed — or one that should continue to be talked about as a campaign issue leading up to the elections in November.

Steve Bailey, chairman of the Baltimore County Chapter of Americans for Prosperity, is in the latter camp, but says it’s an issue at least one councilman doesn’t want people talking about. (more…)

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…)

Last night’s council meeting might be the fastest on record, clocking in at 4 minutes, 44 seconds.

From the Pledge of Allegiance to the open public forum, the whole meeting took less time than it takes to find a parking space near the Old Courthouse and navigate through the security checkpoint.

Was it the fastest ever? (more…)

Councilman Vince Gardina’s resignation from his job as a substitute teacher has ended a review by the county attorney but hasn’t stopped some from raising questions about whether it is appropriate for a council member to work as a teacher in the county.

Republican former Councilman Wayne Skinner said he believes that an agency that receives “50 cents of every dollar in the county budget” is clearly a county agency. Working for the system is clearly a problem, he said.

Skinner has some experience with such issues. He was an administrator for the state Department of Assessments and Taxation at the same time he served as a councilman — a position we now know is in conflict with holding office as a councilman in the county, according to the County Charter. (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.

Steve Bailey, co-chairman of the county chapter of Americans for Prosperity, said he thinks two Baltimore County councilmen who voted Jan. 19 on the council’s pension reform bills should have abstained — because they stood to benefit financially.

Bailey said Democratic Councilmen John Olszewski Sr. and Ken Oliver both benefited from voting to approve a bill that caps pensions at 60 percent for any freshman councilman sworn-in as of December 2010, while voting to table what has been considered a tougher bill that would have imposed limits on both their pensions almost immediately.

Both Oliver, a two-term incumbent, and Olszewski, a three-term incumbent, would have seen their pensions capped at 60 percent under a bill proposed by Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder. That bill was ultimately killed in favor of Councilman Kevin Kamenetz’s bill. (more…)

The Baltimore County Council’s Spending Affordability Committee has a new chairman —  John Olszewski Sr.

Olszewski took over last week after Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder quietly stepped down.

The committee is charged with setting limits on how much the county can increase its budget each year. It will meet later today to try and set the growth limit for County Executive Jim Smith’s last budget, which will be introduced in April.

Bartenfelder became chairman of the committee late last year — and that’s when  grumbling began. Supporters of Olszewski, the current County Council chairman, and Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, who chaired the spending affordability  committee in 2009, complained that the two were not included on this year’s panel because of politics. (more…)

Everyone ready for the answers to the pop quiz on the County Council and county government that I posted on Tuesday?

If you haven’t had the opportunity to take it you can find it here. Remember, you’re on the honor system — no internet and no lifelines. Hey, I’m not Regis Philbin here.

Here are the answers to all 60 questions. Look for the special bragging rights questions I left in the answers. Feel free to leave the answers in the comments section — if you think you know them. (more…)

Today’s political chat with Maryland Morning News anchor Bill Vanko.

We discussed a county resolution that would impose sanctions on companies that do business with the county if they also hire illegal immigrants, and Councilman Ken Oliver’s fundraising efforts and a Democratic challenger to his seat.

Leronia Josey, a Baltimore attorney, said Wednesday night that she has formally filed as a challenger to two-term Councilman Ken Oliver in the September Democratic primary.

This is the second political campaign for Josey, who ran for the Orphan’s Court in 2006.

“I thought I could do it, but I just didn’t understand that there was an art to running for office county-wide,” Josey said.  “Good lord, the county is huge. I got clobbered.” (more…)