Strange Bedfellows

Add 2nd District County Council candidate Vicki Almond to the list of candidates interviewed by Michael Paul Smith, the son of County Executive Jim Smith, and David Gildea, a former law clerk to Smith during his time as a Circuit Court Judge.

Almond said she interviewed with Smith and Gildea in October. The pair, who each has a land-use practice, are throwing high-priced fundraisers for select candidates in open council districts in the 2010 election.

Almond said the meeting, which took place in Gildea’s Towson law office, covered a wide range of subjects, such as public safety, education and development. The meeting sounded much like a conversation Towson Democrat Mike Ertel said he had with Smith and Gildea around the same time last year.

I asked Almond, a self-described “community person,” if she had concerns about attorneys with land-use practices putting together a slate of candidates who could be friendly to development interests if elected. (more…)

Democrats and Republicans got together in a day of volunteer service Saturday. By Sunday, the gloves had come off and it was politics as usual.

Chris Cavey, chairman of the county Republican Central Committee, issued a statement late Sunday night criticizing David Gildea and Michael Paul Smith for their development of a ticket of candidates that will run for at least three of the expected four open council seats next year. (more…)

Long-time community activist Donna Spicer doesn’t see the withdrawal of a bill that would have changed the county’s Planned Unit Development law as a win for communities.

County Executive Jim Smith had hoped to add language to the law that would allow the county hearing officer to remand a failed PUD back to the 15-member county Planning Board. County officials said the change was needed because of two recent Board of Appeals decisions that effectively struck down two such developments in the Bowleys Quarters and Millers Island areas. (more…)

A 9.8-acre parcel of county-owned land in Dundalk isn’t going to pass into private hands until March, but that’s not stopping developer John Vontran from seeking County Council approval for a proposed Planned Unit Development plan for the property.

Councilman John Olszewski Sr. will introduce a resolution seeking preliminary approval for the plan at tonight’s council meeting. The resolution is a necessary step before such a plan could be considered by the county Planning Board. (more…)