Strange Bedfellows

It’s no surprise that Councilman Vince Gardina, a Perry Hall Democrat, supports two other Democrats: presidential candidate Barack Obama and congressional candidate and Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney Frank Kratovil, a candidate in the 1st District congressional race.

But placing the stickers on his county-owned Ford Escape Hybrid is a violation of county rules governing the use of the vehicle, which bar the display of political paraphernalia. Drivers of county-owned vehicles are also prohibited from affixing other types of bumper stickers or otherwise altering the vehicle without permission.

The photo above was taken by a reporter in July outside the Old Courthouse in Towson after a council meeting. The vehicle shown is assigned to Gardina, according to county records. Since then, Gardina has added a Kratovil sticker , according to a recent e-mail from David Nawrocki, president of Republican Club of Northeast Baltimore County.

“There are many of us Baltimore County taxpayers that live in Perry Hall that do not want this partisan display on a Baltimore County owned car,” Nawrocki wrote. Nawrocki is a Perry Hall Republican who has worked for various campaigns, including Wayne Skinner’s council run against Gardina in 2006 and is volunteering for Republican state Sen. Andy Harris, Kratovil’s opponent in November.

Gardina, the first councilman in county history to win five terms, did not return a call from a reporter seeking comment about the issue.

Gardina is believed to be interested in running in 2010 for the 7th District Senate seat currently held by Harris.

It’s not the first time Gardina has violated this rule. In 2006, Gardina was asked by his fellow councilmen to remove a bumper sticker supporting Martin O’Malley’s run for governor from the county-owned Jeep Liberty he was driving. He did remove that bumper sticker.

Former-Del. Al Redmer is expected to formally announce his interest in replacing Republican state Sen. Andy Harris should Harris be elected to Congress this November. Redmer confirmed that he plans on making the announcement tonight at a meeting of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee.

Redmer joins three other Republicans who are also interested in the seat - Dels. J.B. Jennings and Pat McDonough and restauranteur Sergio Vitale.

Harris, who is in his third term the 7th District, is the Republican nominee in Maryland’s District 1 congressional race against Democrat Frank Kratovil.

Two-thirds of the 7th District is in eastern Baltimore County stretching from Cockeysville to parts of Perry Hall and Middle River. The remaining third of the district is contained in an adjoining portion of western Harford County.

Should Harris win, GOP Central Committee members from Baltimore and Harford Counties will be called upon to submit the name of a replacement to Gov. Martin O’Malley.

Redmer previously served from 1991 to 2003 in the House of Delegates, including three years as House minority leader, representing the 8th District which includes Perry Hall, Parkville and Overlea. In 2003 he was appointed state insurance commissioner.

He and his wife now live in a home in Middle River.

Redmer has been informally meeting with Republican Central Committee members in small informal gatherings for some time.

“The reason I’ve been doing it quietly is that I did not want a lot of focus to be on who’s going to replace Andy Harris,” Redmer said in a phone interview. “Quite frankly, I think the focus and attention and work should be on getting Andy Harris elected to Congress.”

But Redmer said he was encouraged to make an appearance at a meeting of the county central committee and make some sort of an official announcement. Such an announcement also allows Redmer to begin to hold fund raising events for a senate campaign.

The ability to raise money now could be key since a replacement senator would likely be named just weeks before the opening of the 2009 General Assembly session and 18-months before the 2010 election. Legislators are legally prohibited from raising money during the session.

It is likely that Harris’ replacement will face a strong challenge from Democrats. Councilman Vince Gardina has nearly $150,000 cash in his campaign account, according to the most recent report filed with the State Board of Elections, and is considered to be a likely Democratic candidate for the seat.

Redmer said he believes he is best suited to keep the seat in Republican hands no matter who the Democratic candidate is “based on my experience, name recognition and ability to raise a competitive amount of money.”

No pressure on state Sen. Andy Harris’ bid to win Maryland’s 1st District Congressional seat. Really.

It’s 137 days from the Nov. 4 election (as of this post) and Chris Cavey, the elected chairman of the county Republican Central Committee, is predicting a win for the senator from Cockeysville over Frank Kratovil, a Democrat and Queen Anne’s County state’s attorney. (more…)