Strange Bedfellows

When the County Council meets tonight, the first order of business will be to select a new chairman.

Democratic Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder served his fourth, and by his account final, year as chairman in December. Three Democrats, including Vince Gardina, Ken Oliver and John Olszewski Sr., have expressed an interest in the job that pays $60,000 annually — about $6,000 more than the salary for a councilman who is not chairman.

Odds are that the councilman who is sometimes known as Johnny O will be elected to serve for the third time in as many terms, according to council observers.

Four councilmen have controlled the position since 1996 — Bartenfelder, Olszewski, Kevin Kamenetz and Sam Moxley.

“It’s worked out ahead of time,” said Republican former Councilman Wayne Skinner, who served on the council from 1998 to 2002. “Those four decided.”

Those who have served previously as chairman have denied there is a deal in place or that Olszewski is a lock for the position.

Here’s part two of my top five list of Baltimore County political stories for 2009. (Part one can be found here).

2. Pensions and Salaries. Pocketbook issues continued to dominate the news in the county after it was reported by the Baltimore Sun that five-term Democratic Councilman Vince Gardina was eligible to retire at age 53 and earn a pension equal to 100 percent of his $54,000 annual salary. Four other councilmen have served four terms each and are eligible to collect 80 percent of their salaries immediately at the conclusion of the current term.

A month later, the county Personnel and Salary Advisory Board proposed raises of 8 percent and 2 percent respectively for the county executive and council that would take office in 2010. The reason for the difference between the two was apparently hashed out in a closed door meeting that violated the state’s Open Meetings Act, but clearly was influenced by the ongoing pension flap.

Then-council Chairman Joseph Bartenfelder said he would not introduce the salary increase bill as long as he was chairman. Later, County Executive Jim Smith announced he would not send such a bill to the council.

Next month, the council will consider two pension reform bills — one sponsored by Councilman Kevin Kamenetz and the other by Councilmen Joseph Bartenfelder.

Watchdog groups aren’t happy with either, and are expected to call for publicly-funded defined benefits pension plans to be replaced with 401K-style plans.

1. Council Kingmakers. The fact that developers and their attorneys give money to county executive and council candidates in Baltimore County is as surprising as the faux outrage of Claude Raines — as the corrupt gambling Capt. Renault –  shutting down Humphrey Bogart’s club because he is “shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” … just as a club employee hands the captain his winnings for the night.

What IS news here is the way in which Michael Paul Smith, the son of County Executive Jim Smith, and David Gildea, a former law clerk to Smith when the county exec was a Circuit Court judge, have gone about backing unknown and untested potential candidates in three open council races, and are said to be seeking a candidate for at least one more race (but possibly two). The private fund raising events in Smith and Gildea’s homes, with their suggested $1,000 per person donations, caught the attention of other candidates and the public.

The council wields a great deal of power when it comes to zoning and development decisions, and community associations and activists didn’t need 20-20 vision to make the connections between those open seats and attorneys with land use practices who might be interested in seeing friendly faces making those calls.

So there it is, my list of the top five political stories for the county for 2009.

Do you agree, disagree? Did I overlook something that should have been on the list? Feel free to leave me a comment below.

Happy new year to everyone and I’ll see you in 2010.

Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder hasn’t officially announced his intentions (OK, OK, we all know he’s running for county executive), but he made it clear Monday night that he won’t be coming back to the council after the 2010 election.

The four-term Democratic councilman ended the last meeting of the year with a brief farewell.

“This is the last meeting that I’ll ever chair as chairman of the County Council,” Bartenfelder said. (more…)

“She told me I’d have to pick an extra bag of corn.”

— Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder, on the teasing he received from his wife after he said he would oppose raises for the county executive and County Council that were recommended by the county Personnel Advisory and Salary Board. Bartenfelder is a farmer, four-term councilman and an announced candidate for county executive.

Del. Todd Schuler announced Saturday that he will run for the County Council rather than seek a second term in the House of Delegates.

The announcement, made over the weekend at a campaign fundraising event, was not entirely unexpected. Schuler talked to me about running for the seat back in February 2008.

Schuler, a Democrat from Overlea, now represents the 8th District in the House of Delegates. He said he will run in 2010 for the 6th District council seat currently held by four-term Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder, who is running for county executive in 2010. (more…)

People who can, do — and those who can’t, teach. Or so goes the old adage. But what happens to those who give up teaching?

Apparently, they become farmers.

Or so goes the story as told by Don Mohler, who briefly spoke Thursday about Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder’s brief tenure as a teacher.

Bartenfelder taught from 1979 to 1981. The last year was spent as a long-term substitute at Chesapeake High School, in Essex, where he taught drafting and business (he was also involved in the family farm at the time). (more…)

Sen. Jim Brochin’s call for night-time County Council work sessions met with little argument from current council Chairman Joseph Bartenfelder.

Bartenfelder, who will complete his one-year term leading the council at the end of the year, said he agrees with his felllow Democrat that night meetings would make it easier for the public to attend and participate.

“The thing of it is, it sounds strange coming from a legislator whose meetings are all during the day,” said Bartenfelder, who served three terms in the House of Delegates from 1983 to 1994.

“It’s a double standard with what they do in Annapolis,” said Bartenfelder.

Clearly, Bartenfelder never served on the House Judiciary Committee under chairman Del. Joseph Vallario. The eight-term Democrat, who represents Calvert and Prince George’s counties, is known for his marathon meetings that frequently begin after lunch, but sometimes run into the late evening hours.

Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder today restated his support of moving work sessions to a time later in the afternoon — or possibly in the evening.

The issue came up earlier this summer when some community activists said they’d like to see the change in order to make it easier for the public to attend.

Bartenfelder, who is chairman of the council for another four months, said that while he has not had formal conversations with the other six councilmen, he has had some preliminary discussions with folks in the county executive’s office. (more…)

State Del. Steve Lafferty is calling on county officials to hold public meetings to explain how speed camera legislation will be implemented in the county.

Lafferty, a Democrat and supporter of speed cameras, said “it is incumbent upon the county to use (the meetings) as an educational session.”

“I’ve not heard from any community that doesn’t feel (speed cameras) will be a valuable tool if used correctly,” said Lafferty, who represents the 42nd District including Towson, Lutherville-Timonium and part of Pikesville. (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…)