Strange Bedfellows

County Administrative Officer Fred Homan, not County Executive Jim Smith, will meet with members of the county’s House delegation Friday to answer questions about the county’s projected $144 million budget deficit.

The delegation asked Smith to meet with them last month regarding the budget at the request of Republican Del. Pat McDonough, who represents the 7th District including Cockeysville, Middle River and part of Perry Hall.

The political ramifications of such a request must also be noted since McDonough is mulling a run for county executive in 2010, and Smith is  considering a run for state senate in McDonough’s district. (more…)

The state is not the only one with budget woes.

Baltimore County is facing a $138 million budget shortfall due to income tax and property tax revenues being less than anticipated in the budget that was passed last spring.

The only question that remains is how the county will deal with the shortfall. (more…)

This week’s chat with Maryland Morning News anchor Bill Vanko. This week, we talk about recently passed legislation to reform pensions for county council members and Ken Holt and Del. Pat McDonough, two top GOP prospects for county executive

Del. Pat McDonough said Wednesday that a poll conducted by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies suggests that the county executive’s race “is a winnable seat for me.”

The poll, released Wednesday, shows that McDonough has a name recognition of 44 percent among likely voters in Baltimore County. Twenty percent of those polled said they have a favorable opinion of the two-term Republican delegate who also served one term in the House as a Democrat. Only six percent of those polled had an unfavorable opinion and 18 percent remained neutral. (more…)

Republican Del. Pat McDonough said after Wednesday’s opening General Assembly session that he’s no longer considering a run for governor and is setting his sights again on running for Baltimore County executive in 2010.

Earlier this year, McDonough said he was considering a run for county executive only to change course a few months later and announce was testing the gubernatorial waters. The caveat was that he wouldn’t run if Republican former Gov. Robert Ehrlich sought a rematch with Democrat Gov. Martin O’Malley.

“I believe (Ehrlich) is running, that’s my opinion,” McDonough said in an interview. “I see a lot more activity, a lot more enthusiasm and a lot more commitments for fundraising. I see the intensity is there.” (more…)

Del. Pat McDonough returned five days of his $43,500 annual legislative salary late last year. McDonough, a two-term Republican who represents the 7th District, released documents showing he participated in a furlough program requested by House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller.

The 7th District includes Cockeysville, Honeygo and Middle River.

Both Busch and Miller returned five days’ salary and asked fellow legislators to also give up between one and five days’ pay at the same time 67,000 state employees were being furloughed for up to five days based on individual salary levels. (more…)

Is Del. Pat McDonough looking to become the king of Baltimore media?

The 7th District Republican already has a radio show on WCBM and makes regular appearances with Ed Norris on 105.7 FM The Fan.

Now McDonough is branching out to television.

The half-hour show, “Pat McDonough, Rally for America,” will air at noon on Saturdays beginning tomorrow on Fox 45. McDonough also serves as a public affairs analyst for the station. (more…)

County Executive Jim Smith is moving from Reisterstown, where he has lived his entire life, to Cockeysville.

Smith says he and his wife, Sandy, are downsizing from their current large home to a smaller one. A side benefit is the new home is in the 7th District, which happens to have an open Senate seat in 2010. Smith said the move gives him the opportunity to consider running for the seat. (more…)

Republican Del. Pat McDonough is expected to officially announce his “testing the waters” campaign for governor in the next day or two.

In addition to more fully explaining that concept — and some of his issues he’ll be running on — the delegate said he will clarify his statement that he would not run for governor if Republican former Gov. Robert Ehrlich decides to run.

There’s apparently some fine print to that statement.

“The caveat is that I will not run if (Ehrlich) supports all the issues I care about,” McDonough explained this morning.

McDonough said he plans to sign a pledge promising to not raise taxes while he is governor. He said he is concerned that Gov. Martin O’Malley, if re-elected, will  surprise voters with “an ambush tax” in 2011 to cover state budget deficits.

McDonough said he plans to run on a platform that includes education issues and criminal justice issues including gang-related crime. And yes, illegal immigration will continue to be a part of his campaign as well.

McDonough said he believes Ehrlich, if he runs, would have similar views on issues.

“Other than Constellation Energy, which we might differ on a little bit, I don’t see why (Ehrlich) wouldn’t,” McDonough said.

Del. Pat McDonough says people are talking to him about running for governor and he’s decided to listen — up to a point.

McDonough said he is beginning a “testing the waters” process, which he defined as “something less formal than an exploratory process.”

McDonough, a Republican who represents the 7th District, has previously expressed an interest in running for county executive.

But over the past few months, the three-term delegate said he has been getting calls from listeners to his radio show on WCBM, and also comments from people he meets encouraging him to run for governor. (more…)