Strange Bedfellows

County Executive Jim Smith is out of the comptroller’s race, and the conventional wisdom is that he’s going to use his war chest of more than $1 million to set himself up as a king maker.

If he does, Steve Bailey, a Republican state’s attorney candidate in 2006, thinks influencing the 2010 election and Smith anointing his own successor would violate the rules of fair play.

“It’s not a Republican or Democratic issue,” said Bailey, who acknowledged that if Republicans were in power they would use the laws to their advantage. “It’s a good government issue.” (more…)

A fundraising event for Jon Cardin has sparked talk that the two-term delegate might be considering a run county executive.

Cardin, the nephew of Sen. Ben Cardin, said he is not “an unofficial or unannounced candidate” but acknowledged that an event scheduled for next month has caused tongues to wag.

“I’ve asked people if they think it’s a legitimate thing,” Cardin said. “I’ve had lots of people tell me they think that it’s possible. I certainly have teased this idea a little bit.” (more…)

In Baltimore County, vetoes of County Council bills are rare.

Unanimous passage of most bills usually signals that the council — with two more votes than the five required for a veto override — can overturn any attempt to thwart its legislative will. (more…)

A week into the official start of the 2010 campaign season and already we’ve had our first surprise announcement: that Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith isn’t running for an office for which he never officially said he was a candidate.

Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some criticism in the blogosphere and in political circles has surfaced on where Smith’s announcement originated, rather than the fact that he will not run for state comptroller.

The question centers around how the announcement was made as part of a county press release — and not a campaign release. Smith first e-mailed the announcement to the media on Monday afternoon from his county communications office. That same announcement was also put up on the county Web site. (more…)

County Executive Jim Smith’s recent announcement raised questions pertaining to his future and what might happen to the more than $1 million he has raised since being re-elected in 2006.

Smith’s statement (you can read it here) is all we have to go on officially. The county executive declined to be interviewed on the subject before leaving town to visit a daughter (who was expecting to give birth this week).

But sources within the Smith campaign were willing to shed some light on the subject. (more…)

Former County Executive Don Hutchinson may or may not be seriously considering a run for his old office, but the mere mention of the possibility has raised an interesting question involving the County Charter.

Baltimore County executives have been restricted to two consecutive term limits since 1978, when Hutchinson was elected. Since then no executive has served more than two terms. Now the question arises as to what one tiny little clause in the County Charter may really mean. (more…)

The Baltimore County Revenue Authority publicly supported a Senate bill that would require a public hearing before the quasi-governmental agency can close, sell or transfer facilities. But, that support doesn’t mean there weren’t concerns.

Don Hutchinson, a current board member and former state senator and county executive, wondered aloud during the board’s March 26 meeting if hearings “cause complications with communicating with the county.” (more…)

Budgets are the guiding star for local governments. The playbook for what an administration has in mind for the coming 12 months.

But getting them done is often as challenging as it is for many of us to get our taxes done by the April 15 deadline. This is especially true this year for Baltimore County, but procrastination is not the issue.

The budget for county, and other jurisdictions in the state, is tied into what happens in Annapolis during the 90-day session that ends April 13. (more…)

Who’d have thought a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new library could stir up hard feelings?

David Marks and other representatives of the Perry Hall Improvement Association showed up to a ceremony to officially open the new library branch in Perry Hall armed with an oversized $20,o00 check — money raised from community residents and business to support on-going programs at the long-anticipated facility.

Marks, president of the association, said he was disappointed when the group wasn’t mentioned during a 30-minute ceremony featuring County Executive Jim Smith and library officials. (more…)

County Executive Jim Smith held a fundraiser at Martin’s West on March 25 and left some in the audience wondering if his remarks telegraphed his intention to run for state comptroller. (more…)