Strange Bedfellows

Today’s local government lesson: You have to be fast if you want to claim credit for something good.

That comes courtesy of Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, who was one of a half-dozen county officials who were present to announce that crime in Baltimore County decreased during the first six months of 2009. The decrease is a continuation of a trend that stretches back more than a decade and has resulted in crime rates per 100,000 people that are as low as the rates in 1976, when the county had fewer people within its borders, according to Police Chief Jim Johnson. (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…)

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…)

If Councilman Kevin Kamenetz runs for Baltimore County Executive in 2010 and ultimately wins, the county could be in for at least four years of heightened fashion sense.

Kamenetz’s wife, Jill, appeared in the “Glimpsed” column in The Baltimore Sun on Sunday talking about her favorite designers and her personal style.

Regarding her fashion sense,  Jill Kamenentz, 40, told Sloane Brown, “I don’t think it’s classic, and it’s not too trendy.”

The mother of two boys and wife of the four-term councilman said she likes “to look sexy. I don’t like to look like a mom. I never want to look like a worn-out mom. I want my boys to look at me and say, ‘THAT’S my mom.’ ” (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…)

Frustration boiled over during Thursday’s council budget hearing on the school system budget, as councilmen attempted to find out if air conditioning was ever planned for the recently renovated Ridgely Middle School. (more…)

Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder is on the board with what may — or may not — be the first ad of the 2010 election season.

Bartenfelder has announced his intention to run for county executive in 2010, though he has not officially filed. Councilman Kevin Kamenetz is also on the list of likely candidates. Both have been raising the kind of money one needs to mount such a campaign. (more…)

The 18 months or so before an election, especially one that promises to be particularly exciting or filled with change, generates a lot of chatter.

Last week, several e-mails popped up in my in box containing messages claiming that Councilman John Olszewski Sr. had endorsed fellow Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder’s bid for county executive. Olszewski, the e-mails said, did this at an eastside Democratic club meeting last week. The endorsement would essentially mean Olszewski had removed himself from the race. (more…)

Mike Gimbel, the former longtime substance abuse czar for Baltimore County, appears to be looking at a return to county government — this time as a county councilman.

Gimbel confirmed his interest after being asked about a campaign account he registered last year with the Maryland State Board of Elections. (more…)

Sometimes a reporter writes a story and gets the facts right but unintentionally opens the possibility for a misunderstanding.

Such is the case in a Feb. 19 article about several councilmen who are raising money for a possible run for county executive. Councilman Kevin Kamenetz left me a voice mail to say that the language in the story could lead the casual reader to believe he raised money this year during the comprehensive rezoning process. (more…)