Free State Politics

Are you still reading this?

2007-06-12T15:59:00.000-04:00

Thanks for your interest in our effort to put together a Maryland progressive political collaborative web log -- Free State Politics.

Since March 2007 we've stopped blogging here, so if you want more insights on local and state politics and policy in Maryland take a look at the blogs listed in the right sidebar, at FreeStatePolitics.us or if you're a real junkie, at the archives (via the links in the right sidebar).

-- the blogger of OnBackground.blogspot.com

FreeStatePoltics.us

2007-03-07T17:32:00.000-05:00

Thank you for reading Maryland's progressive political collaborative web log -- Free State Politics! I am excited that one of our contributors, Isaac Smith, wants to take progressive Maryland blogging to the next level. As announced recently, Isaac is moving us over to a more integrated platform that allows true community blogging and has a variety of other online capabilities, making possible a real step in the growth of Free State Politics. As we've seen from the Rangers and Pioneers, from the Dean Campaign, and from the decentralized organizing and campaign projects across the country, only by engaging more people and giving them the initiative and responsibility to make change can we really grow and make progress. And by adding functionality and encouraging reader participation, we can build readership and energy.

Take a look at the first draft of FreeStatePolitics.us

FreeStatePolitics.us needs your insights on local and state politics and policy, your information and ideas. So please, join the new platform (signup on FreeStatePolitics.us on the upper right corner) and share your writing. Also, FreeStatePolitics needs your help to let other Marylanders know about us, so please share links to FreeStatePolitics.us with your readers, friends, contacts, and colleagues. Help promote it on other web sites and lists.

We are discontinuing the use of freestatepolitics.blogspot.com, except as an archive. We appreciate you reading FreeStatePolitics and look forward to working with you to make our collaboration at FreeStatePolitics.us work!

-- OnBackground

Hop right over to the new home of FreeStatePolitics

A SPECIAL CITY COUNCILMEMBER FOR ANNAPOLIS BUSINESS OWNERS??

2007-03-06T23:19:00.000-05:00

From the roll your eyes category, The Capital reports today that the Annapolis Business Association (ABA) wants its own City Council seat to represent downtown businesses.

CP agrees with Mayor Moyer who reacted by saying, "They need to have an agenda as to what are some of the things they want to accomplish.” This must come directly from the Please Tell Me Something I Need to Hear But Don’t Want To Hear Department. Downtown businesses should get their act together and put their money where their mouths are. If they want to have a say, get organized and get active, but business owners already vote where they live, and if that’s not here, that’s too bad. Move here or let me vote where you live. After all, if I spend my money in your store which helped you buy your home, should I vote where you live? Actually, as with most Annapolitans, downtown stores are almost irrelevant in CP‘s daily life-which may account for some of the “problem". What if a downtown business owner also lives in town? Why should he or she get to elect two Aldermen? How will we define exactly what is a business owner? If CP rents a stall in an antique store, will he get a vote?

CP has in fact rented store space on West Street, in West Annapolis and on Maryland Avenue and is well aware of many of our local business challenges. Having grown up in a family in the retail business, CP is sympathetic to business owners who are working hard to earn a living and who sometimes feel at the mercy of local elected officials. But hey-that’s why they have trade associations, and chambers of commerce. When they work, they can be powerful and effective. When they have leaders who are willing to participate with their time and money, they are free to have a say. This does not give them a right to their own lawmaker. CP is of the opinion that businesses in general often have a great deal of access to lawmakers, and if they can’t get their own seat, let them buy their votes! (just kidding-but it happens in Congress)

Downtown business owners have rarely stepped forward with real money and real conviction. They work on many things, but do not always agree either, and as the Mayor says, they need an agenda. They have an Alderman representing downtown, The ABA, and they even have the headquarters of the Maryland Association of Retailers downtown. They have a Chamber of Commerce and a conference and visitors bureau (one of its vp’s is apparently leading this effort). There is also an Eastport Business Association, a West Annapolis Business Association, an association representing Maryland Avenue and State Circle merchants and there is an Inner West Street Business Association. CP figures two of those are “downtown”. And now with Main Street jeweler Ron George, they even have one of their own in the House of Delegates.

All of which leads CP to suggest that the real “problem” if there is one in this story are that businesses are not clear about what they collectively want now, or about the future of downtown. Wake up and smell the Starbucks as Parole is looming like an August thunderhead-and it won’t bring a boom to downtown! Let’s not forget, businesses may have some over-arching interests, but they are competing against each other as well and they don‘t always get along. As a longtime resident, activist and former city employee who often worked with downtown business owners and leader, it was clear as a Main Street store window that businesses were never well organized or collectively committed to any big goals. In 1979 when CP worked on a big charter boat and spent beaucoup bucks downtown for liquor and wine to stock the boat, he attended meetings with local business owners who complained about everything even back then from parking to crime to trash removal.

They still are good at pointing fingers at each other, at residents, or at city officials. CP frequently asked why there were so many different business associations. CP asked why they did not really get serious, put their money together, hire an executive director and get an office. When CP was a city employee, he organized a meeting for business owners and brought in an expert from New York to help them set up a Business Improvement District. CP also witnessed similar internal dissent within the other handful of local business associations. CP tried repeatedly to meet with different presidents of the ABA but they were always too busy to be bothered. The Annapolis Business Association has made progress and has accomplished good things, but if it’s serious enough to suggest a special Alderman, why not a business improvement district or an executive director?

Despite inconsistencies in executing it mission, the city’s Economic Development Office has grown and helped in a number of areas. Due to city efforts, many things have improved downtown and along with crowds they bring, businesses have benefitted. If they are not getting what they want, perhaps it is because they cannot agree upon what they want-which of course would put a “special” alderman in a constantly weird position.

Whose next? Eastport will want one, West Annapolis will want one……or maybe taxi drivers will say they need an Alderman. Perhaps the guys who live in Edgewater and sand boat bottoms and drink Natty Bo’s will need a special boat sanding-Natty Bo drinking member of City Council. Maybe all the old timers who were born here and remember Sam Lorea’s will need their own Alderman as will the blue blooded yachties who have million dollar boats but don’t get a vote”. (One man may have one vote, but may one man have one boat?)

We would essentially get a downtown Alderman for residents and one for businesses. This will open a Constitutional can o’ worms! As for the argument that non-resident property owners in some beach resort towns have a vote, CP says those small places have huge seasonal jumps made possible by throngs of non-residents visiting and non-residents owning property. Virtually their entire municipal concerns asnd budgets focus on the resort issues. Even so, those votes are for non-resident property owners and NOT non-resident business owners.

If downtown businesses get a special Alderman, can they make a special seat for bloggers who opine about city issues? CP is definitely a special interest and thinks one of ten votes for its own interests is a good ratio. Take this to its logical conclusion whereby every individual is a special interest and voila, you get total Democracy. Everything voted by plenary, by referendum. Hey, wait a minute, this is a Republic. What was CP thinking?

Libby Guilty (and Some MoCo Stuff, Too)

2007-03-06T14:14:00.000-05:00

Originally posted at MoCoPolitics.

Less than two hours ago, Scooter Libby was found guilty on four of the five counts against him in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Between Walter Reed, the emerging U.S. attorney scandal and this, it's been a bad, bad week for the Bush Administration. How sad -- not. ;-D

Seems like as good a reason to come out of "blogger hibernation" as any.

And while I'm here, a few more choice tidbits:

(1) Peter Franchot throws down on Mike Miller and Martin O'Malley.

Went to the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee annual brunch on Sunday. Saw, was seen and the usual political palaver ensued. Everyone (literally) was there -- O'Malley, Mikulski, Cardin, Wynn (is he still a Democrat?), Leggett, the County Council, and Comptroller Peter Franchot. Chris Van Hollen was both under the weather and mourning the passing of his mom.
It was refreshing to see such MoCo appreciation from Baltimore politicians Cardin and O'Malley; Cardin especially seemed genuinely cognizant and appreciative of the support he received here. One hopes that in 2008 and beyond, the rest of the state's Democratic Party recognizes, as Cardin clearly did, that the road to statewide electoral success runs through Montgomery County.

Then Peter Franchot stood up to speak. And he threw down the gauntlet right in Martin O'Malley's gubernatorial face (literally, as O'Malley was sitting right in front of him). Franchot said, and I am paraphrasing from memory, anyone who supports slots cannot be a real progressive. Slots are evil, slots are exploitative, and we as Marylanders must not allow slots to become a reality. The reaction from the room was, to be as polite as possible, stunned. O'Malley then stood up, and after giving his "thank you very much" bit, proceeded to respond to Franchot, stating that, again paraphrasing, we're not going to do anything about slots this year anyway, and by the way, Mr. Franchot, telling someone they're a bad person for thinking a certain way is kind of like what that bad Mr. Ehrlich used to do.

Whoa. Clearly, Franchot did not (nor, honestly, should he have) heeded the warning shot issued by Mike Miller some weeks ago about the job description of the comptroller being a "tax collector and not a policymaker." More importantly, something tells me that those Board of Public Works meetings are going to be just a wee bit testy for the foreseeable future.

(2) What is up with Marilyn Goldwater?

Noticeably absent from the Central Committee brunch was Delegate Marilyn Goldwater (D-District 16). Word has it she has been equally absent from the House of Delegates since the session began in January (only attending around 10 out of the 40 legislative days thus far, and none in the past month or so). Questions were raised regarding Goldwater's health during last year's campaign, so it would appear that her health has taken a turn for the worse. While this is obviously highly unfortunate, one must wonder whether the residents of District 16 are aware that one-third of their House delegation (and Vice Chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee) has for all intents and purposes been absent from the current legislative session.

(3) Why has there been so little reaction to this story?

We live in one of the most affluent areas of the country. Montgomery County in particular is in the top ten jurisdictions in terms of per capita income. We shower money on our schools and on our other services. Even Prince George's County, while not as affluent as MoCo, is the most affluent majority-minority jurisdiction in the country. Whatever our shortcomings, we are not, forgive me, Alabama or Mississippi or Texas.

So how is that the reaction to a 12-year-old boy dying, in essence, of an untreated toothache, can be so muted? Yes, there are proposals for this and that, and yes, Ben Cardin, bless him, stood up on Sunday at the Central Committee brunch and was outraged that we do not have basic dental care available to our citizens. But where is the public outrage? We are upset about development (Dan at Just Up the Pike, by God, thinks we need more of it, and is going to tell Ike Leggett and each and every one of our Council members precisely this), and yes, the war in Iraq and other national issues certainly demand some of our attention, but where in the name of all that is good and holy is the @#$@#$@ outrage over a child dead from lack of a dentist?

OK, I'm exhausted. Like exercising, I shouldn't blog too much the first time out in quite some time. More soon -- really, I promise.

The New Free State Politics is Live!

2007-03-06T14:06:00.000-05:00

OK, after resolving some issues with the domain name, the new Soapblox-powered Free State Politics is ready to go! The new URL is:

www.freestatepolitics.us

Jump in!

Why I Can't Walk To Marilyn Praisner's House

2007-03-05T15:32:00.000-05:00

The long-awaited third stop on Just Up The Pike's "County Government Head-to-Head Tour."

My first question to County Council President Marilyn Praisner (D-Calverton) was about her failed attempt to place a moratorium on new permits in Montgomery County, and it got our conversation off to a bad, bad start. Before I could finish my question, she cut me off: "Nothing 'went down,'" she insists, taking me to task for my unusual word choice. "Moratorium was and is a misnomer."

"I sought to accomplish a focus on trying to respond to the inadequacies of our Annual Growth Policy," she explains. "We've provided such a grace period that there's a lag time" between when policies are created and when they are implemented. Not taking building permits for six months would have allowed that lag time to disappear, she says.

Councilman George Leventhal (D-At Large) said that incidents such as these were signs that his fellow councilmembers thought they were "responding to the people" in their push to slow growth. It's a sign, he said, that citizens' groups such as the Neighbors for a Better Montgomery really are as influential as the media make them out to be.

Read the rest at Just Up The Pike.

The New Free State Politics is Almost Ready

2007-03-05T12:45:00.000-05:00

OK, so here's where we are on the new Soapblox-powered version of FSP:

Currently, the site is parked at a temporary URL (no peeking!), while I finish working on the layout and waiting for my domain name registrar to give me access to the permanent URL, freestatepolitics.us (.com, .org, and .net, unfortunately, were taken). You should be pleased with the design -- although I admit to ripping off the color scheme from my own blog, which is a subdued take on the colors of the Maryland flag. I tried plain red and plain yellow, but the effect is rather garish.

As for moving people over to the new site, here's what we'll do: Everyone who is now a contributor to FSP is invited to be a Guest Blogger at the new site. This means that you'll be able to post directly to the front page, edit and promote other people's diaries, and be able to troll-rate inappropriate comments. If you're interested, please email me at ikesmith at gmail dot com.

Barring any other difficulties, the site should go live by tomorrow, so stay tuned.

PS: If anyone knows a graphic designer who can do a small logo for the new site, please let me know.

MINORITY RECRUITMENT LAGS AT NAVAL ACADEMY AND OTHER SERVICE ACADEMIES

2007-03-04T13:46:00.001-05:00

The Capital reports on this ongoing cause for concern and suggests through a caption beneath a photo of Mids that the makeup of its midshipmen should look “like the enlisted ranks they will lead and the nation they will defend.”

CP wonders if enlisted ranks look like the national population or if they reflect those who are generally underserved, unable to get better educations or see the military as an option because other options look closed. Well, if the military overall is open, and seemingly very much open to minorities, certainly the service academies need to figure out what they are doing wrong--if that is what they want to figure out.

Well, look what just happened to Lamar Owens, whose case has been taken up locally. Would this have happened if his father or grandfather or great grandfather were Admirals? The military serves many purposes and both can lead or follow when it comes to social change. Eisenhower integrated the Army and two generations later, Colin Powell became the top officer in the US Army and then Secretary of State. The service academies have long been elitist bastions run by old boy networks, some of whom no doubt, were unhappy with and hesitant to follow commands from civilian leaders and Congress to admit women.

STUDENTS FEEL UNSAFE IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS

New reports say students continue to feel unsafe in middle schools. Bullies become bullies for many reasons, including bad parenting, poor self-esteem, being beaten or bullied at home or elsewhere or in some cases, they may be mentally challenged. Whatever the cause, schools and their communities need to take this very seriously and provide assistance such as counseling to both victims and perpetrators, and to punish bullies when appropriate--which is to say anytime they threaten, intimidate or physically abuse anyone.

As a former middle-schooler and the parent of middle schoolers, CP has a special hatred for bullies, whether in schools or in the political arena.

Parents need to teach their children not to be bullies and how to stand up to them when appropriate, or how to defend others who are threatened. Schools need resources. Why is our President talking about a troop surge in Iraq when what we really need is a surge in teachers and counselors in our schools? Well, maybe middle schools are seen as good training ground for bullies who can then go on to the military? Okay-CP is admittedly somewhat facetious and merely speculating, and CP recognizes many fine people and leaders in our military and our service academies.

ROBINWOOD and CLAY STREET DRUG BUST

We are glad to see law enforcement action taken recently. More needs to be done, perhaps with state and even federal assistance. Send a strong message and clear out the apparent source of our violent crime. This recent bust apparently came following on the heels of a closed-door meeting with the mayor, county exec, school superintendent and city police chief, CP has one question: Why did you leave out the public housing authority director?

AMERICAN DREAM BECOMING NIGHTMARE?

This is what The Capital reported recently about local home prices. There is a flipside. While the housing affordability has gone down and down in our area, the “dream” side of the equation in that many homeowners have become wealthy through equity growth and appreciation. This is of course good news if you are in a home you bought a few years ago or before, but if you are looking to move here now? And what will happen when throngs of baby boomers go to unload the homes they have been in for a generation? Will there be a huge “correction” whose signs have only just begun? Reporting on this local angle on this increasingly national phenomena almost always begins and ends with questions about financing and affordability.

In a country where Republican leaders and businesses fight even a modest increase in the minimum wage while corporate CEO’s reap millions, what do we expect? Many studies have shown that the rich are getting richer while the rest of us…… so of course it’s harder to buy a home!

CP asks if we need to build more, what about the quality of life and degradation of our air, land and water? More people want to live here but can’t afford it, so, where will the give and take occur? Will they move to once “outlying” areas and build them up and clog our roads more? Will we continue to sprawl forever? CP asks if these huge homes being built and built and overbuilt will eventually be turned into multi family homes, or is that already happening? CP wonders if we are seeing the beginnings of a housing and land use revolution, the likes of which are as far reaching as post World War 2 sub urbanization brought about by soldiers returning home, economic expansion and the interstate highways. The factors in place today to “drive” a housing revolution include soaring home and land costs, rising commuting costs, changes in employment pattern and options, smaller family size and the rebirth of our older and inner cities. And then there is immigration. We live in interesting times and here in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, CP predicts more people, more building, more traffic….and yes, higher home values.

Free State Politics: The Next Generation

2007-03-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

As some may already be aware, BlogPAC, a progressive organization set up by the founders of MyDD to provide support to progressive activists around the country, has decided to offer Free State Politics a grant to help turn it into a community blog, much like MyDD or the Daily Kos. The money will go toward covering the setup and hosting costs of a SoapBlox website, which is an easy to use comnunity blogging format. With the support of OnBackground, FSP's current administrator, I'll be taking care of the transition. This is a very exciting opportunity, and I will have more information about what will be happening very soon.

MoCouncil Town Meeting

2007-03-01T08:21:00.000-05:00

Kevin Gillogly reports on the MoCouncil Town Meeting over at Maryland Politics Watch (you can also read his report on the Van Hollen Town Meeting):

Wednesday, February 28 at Francis Scott Key MS in the White Oak/Hillandale section of Silver Spring, the Montgomery County Council had its first Town Meeting since the November elections brought four new members to the nine person Council.

Chaired by Council President, Marilyn Praisner (District 4 -- East County) and hosted by the local Council member, Valerie Ervin (District 5 -- Takoma Park, Silver Spring and Wheaton), there were a total seven of the nine members in attendance: Praisner, Ervin, Phil Andrews (District 4 -- Rockville / Gaithersburg), Duchy Trachtenberg (At Large), George Leventhal (At Large), Nancy Floreen (At Large) and Marc Elrich (At Large).

It was an hour long question and answer with local residents. It was taped by County Cable Channel 6 and it will be edited next week and shown for a month afterwords. To see the complete schedule go here.

The crowd of 90-100 was pumped full of sugar -- if one came to the reception a half hour before the meeting. I made full use of the cookies and soda.

Moderator Susan Kennedy asked prior to the taping how folks heard of the meeting: it was a split between local listservs and the postcard to local residents. The crowd was significantly older than the Van Hollen Town Meeting on Monday and clearly more interested in local issues.

The anti-ICC folks were present and handing out a flyer. No other issue groups were there.

After introductions by President Praisner and an acknowledgment of former State Senator Ida Ruben and her husband Judge Ruben, the bulk of the questions were on transportation, public safety and yes the ICC.

Key points that came out of the meeting:

Budget Deadlines
County Executive Ike Leggett has to submit his budget on March 15 and the County has to be completed by June 1 for the start of the County Fiscal Year (July 1);

Increase in Police Officers
Public Safety question on robberies in the area elicited from Public Safety Chair Phil Andrews that the County funded for 90 new police officers in the past few years at a cost of around $30-35 million and that these officers are to be deployed on robberies and the like. Police Chief Tom Manger is to bring up his Five Year Plan to the Council in the coming months;

Council Saves the Children of Forest Glen
Crossing Georgia Advocate Adam Pagnucco had a humorous introduction to his thanking the Council for working with the state to bring to solve the dangerous crossing at the Forest Glen Metro. The previous Council had ignored his requests. It seemed as though Valerie Ervin helped bring this to the attention of the rest of the Council;

Golden Shoveling It
The lack of snow removal around the Glenmont Metro elicited an apology from Nancy Floreen who agreed that public areas need to shoveled too. She also made her pitch for the Golden Shovel Award and for folks to nominate citizens who has really pitched in (my pun);

Birchmere
The status Birchmere in downtown Silver Spring seems to be "on track" according to Ervin and Praisner. State budget has $2 million for the project; County proposal comes out on March 14 and plans by the developer for the rest of the site are still to be determined;

The Never Ending Discussion
The interesting exchange started with a question on ... you guessed it ... the ICC. Where Praisner mentioned her opposition to the state road but that most of the plans are coming from the state where pro-ICC Gov O'Malley sits. Praisner favors four lanes at some places -- in lieu of the norm of six lanes. Floreen favors the road.

Marc Elrich is his only time speaking mentioned that only 4% of the traffic would go the full length of the road and they would only save 4 minutes (this according to the County and the State's own study). Marc mentioned the greatest use would be in the area between Shady Grove and Georgia Avenue and is this the best use of the money? Floreen believes if we don't use the money another part of the state will get the money instead of us.

Council Punts on Sending Their Transportation Priorities to the State
In light of the limited funds all elected officials mention, Marc pointed out that he asked his colleagues to sign a letter outlining the County's Transportation Policies with the Purple Line and the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT) at the top of the list and the ICC not on it. Needing five signatories, Marc got four: his, Duchy's, Andrews and Praisner. So it died.

Leventhal and Elrich Exchange on Growth Policy
George Leventhal questioned Marc on what about the out of county residents. Marc fired back that the previous Council approved 110,000 in jobs and only 29,000 housing units and if you use the 1.5 workers per unit that there is a serious housing shortage that the previous Council did not address. This would have continued but Praisner interrupted them and got the questions back to the audience.

Future Events
Go to the County Web site for upcoming events, Executive Leggett will be at Ritchie ES in Rockville on March 23 (was originally in Feb but canceled due to snow) and at Holiday Park in Wheaton on March 29.

Primary Day In Salisbury

2007-02-27T09:26:00.000-05:00

from Maryland Politics Today, a part of the coverage for Free Vote 2007:Salisbury

Today is Primary Day in the crossroads of Delmarva, as a field of ten candidates are reduced to six.

The ten candidates running are Tim Spies, Terry Cohen, Louise Smith, Don Ewalt, John Harris, John Atkins, Keith Wright, Neil Bayne, Patrick Hannon and incumbent Gary Comegys. Critics say that Comegys has been defending the indefensible when it comes to moves made by the current council that includes a $20 million TIF for the Old Salisbury Mall.

The weekend ended full of criticism, but only one known endorsement, but not from The Daily Times. Joe Albero, writer of the blog site Salisbury News, wrote in a posting last week that if he were allowed to vote in the primary he would choose Spies, Cohen and Smith. Albero is a resident of Delmar, Delaware who is a property owner in the city. Albero is also encouraging people to only pick three candidates, and not the full six. "It is VERY important that you only vote for 3 people in order to lower the odds of someone you didn’t want getting in there to get in," Albero wrote on Sunday.

The Daily Times Editorial Board on Sunday, not making any endorsements, wrote that many candidates will go into the home stretch spreading disinformation who contenders who offer hope are derided as delusional and out of touch. The editorial stated "a ticket to elective office seems to lie more in one's ability to attack and point out problems rather than to offer either solutions or leadership."

That editorial drew a response from G.A.Harrison, known for the blog Delmarva Dealings. Harrison says that the paper does not want to acknowledge or discuss problems in the city, so therefore, no solutions have been offered. "Despite what the 'Tilghman Times' claims, we do have candidates running for council who offer sound, fiscally prudent solutions to solve an array of problems.," wrote Harrison.

Three people were up for re-election. Councilwoman Lynn Cathcart said she would not seek re-election quietly. City Council President Mike Dunn, not so much. While announcing he would not seek re-election, he also took a shot at bloggers in the area and singled out Albero.

Things came to ahead between the two recently when Dunn, using a legally allowed move, bounced Albero out of the city council meeting after Albero refused to sit in a chair and for taking pictures stating that he is not professional media. Albero contends that he has been taking his own council session pictures for a while and that there were no seats available. Although Dunn was within his right to remove people he deemed a distraction, sources tell Maryland PT that the council chamber was standing room only.

Comegys is the only incumbent running for re-election and based on nine fresh contenders, there is a possibility that he could be voted out today.

Polls opened this morning at 7:00a.m. and will close this evening at 7:00p.m.

P. Kenneth Burns is a journalist and broadcaster based in Laurel. He is the writer/editor of Maryland Politics Today.

While Hundreds Crowd Homeless Shelters, Baltimore City Demolishes a Block of Houses

2007-02-26T16:31:00.001-05:00

Faced with a snowy weekend and an untimely BGE turnoff notice, I was extremely moved by a recent story in the Hamilton Spectator about the Code Blue Bus in Baltimore City. Code Blue is a non-profit organization who provides warmth, shelter, and resources for the homeless of Baltimore City. When the temperature dips into deadly territory, Code Blue picks up street dwellers and gives them somewhere safe and warm to stay for the night.

What is heartbreaking about the article is what is heartbreaking about every contact one might have with a homeless person, the realization that "that could be me". Its a realization that flies in the face of conventional wisdom about the homeless, that they are mostly drug addicts or alcoholics, schizophrenics or Alzheimer's sufferers, or are "just lazy". Even worse is the conventional wisdom that not only takes such statements to be true, but then supposes that for those reasons, the homeless are undeserving of, or beyond help.

Two stories jumped out at me:

Some people grumble about the food and the condition of the bathrooms and the lack of showering facilities.

Others, such as Michelle Holley, a 23-year-old single mother, are grateful.

Holley spends the days at her grandmother's and the nights here with her daughter, 3, and son, 1. She shares a room with several other women. Tonight, her children watch television as she relaxes on the cot.

"It's not the right way to live, for real. But it's OK. I'm trying to get my own place," she says.

"I'm grateful. A lot of people should feel blessed to have someplace to stay until they get themselves together."

The shelter helps the Health Department identify families that should be placed in emergency housing and put in contact with social-service agencies.

On a recent night, Stacey Mouzon, a 26-year-old mother of six, enters the shelter visibly scared.

Tears are streaming down her face as her children's backpacks are opened and examined.

Around her stand five of her children, ranging from a 2-year-old to a 13-year-old.

The Glover-Beys immediately find her a private room and special care.

Settled in later, still shaken, Mouzon says she came to the shelter because she was forced out of her apartment in November 2006 and since then has been moving around among family members and friends.

When the electricity at her aunt's place was cut off, she knew she had to find another place to stay, and so she walked to the shelter.

"I didn't know what it was going to be like," says Mouzon, still crying.

"I don't know where we'll go tomorrow morning"

The next day, Mouzon and her family are placed in emergency housing at a hotel, and they're assigned a case manager with the city's housing program.

This is where my stretch of a headline and stretch of a point come in. As many may already know, Baltimore demolished a whole block of historic row houses on Saturday.

Now, I am sure if the houses remained, they would not have priority for low income housing or any sort of program to place the newly homeless in affordable housing. Still, the City Council's extremely overzealous actions on behalf of the Developer to get these houses removed ASAP deserves some attention. Now, the recent articles about the matter simply say this about the Council's complicity in subverting the will of the public in favor of helping out a big developers:

The city granted Mercy a permit to demolish the homes in December after the City Council removed the structures from a list of notable properties in the central business district - a move that allowed the hospital to raze the buildings without a one-year deliberation process.

Indeed, Councilman Keiffer Mitchell was the one who wrote the amendment to de-list the buildings, and he is the one who slipped it into legislation so it wouldn't be questioned or even noticed.

Mercy and the preservation community faced off last fall when City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., at Mercy's request, pushed an amendment to an otherwise innocuous bill that removed the houses from a list of "notable" properties -- a designation that required a one-year waiting period before demolition.

Councilman Mitchell should be ashamed of himself, though I am sure the donations will help him during his run for Mayor. If justice was guaranteed, Mr. Mitchell would lose his bid for Mayor and hopefully his Council seat. His amendment and failure to change the name of the bill to reflect the policy within is a direct attempt to mislead the citizens of this city, and yet he has the b**ls to think about running for Mayor.

So why do I think these stories are related, beyond the facile observation that we are destroying homes when there is a homeless problem? They are connected because they show who our City Council is working for, and in a lot of cases, it ain't us. Keiffer Mitchell will step up and work hard behind the scenes for his buddies at Mercy Medical so they can get their new center. I want to know who in our City government is working hard behind the scenes to help Stacey Mouzon and her six children. It is disheartening that some Council members would break the law to help a big developer screw over the people. I want to know who is willing to break the law to try to help the poor in this city.

Net Neutrality in Maryland

2007-02-23T18:58:00.000-05:00

(Originally posted at The Old Line.)

This just appeared in my inbox from Save the Internet:

Dear Isaac,
Maryland is on the front line of the fight for Internet freedom.

Verizon and Comcast lobbyists are now descending on the state capitol to kill a bill that would help protect Net Neutrality -- the principle that keeps big companies like these from controlling where you go and what you can do online.

This important bill (HB 1069) was put forward last week by Del. Herman Taylor. He is standing up for the Internet, working to keep it open and free, and making sure that everyone can get high-speed access in their neighborhood.

Verizon and Comcast are sending in dozens of lobbyists to speak against the bill before a legislative committee hearing scheduled for next Tuesday.

It's time the people of Maryland pushed back. Your state legislator needs to hear from you now: Protect Net Neutrality! Support HB 1069!

Here are two things you can do to help:

1. Call now and tell your state representative to vote YES on House Bill 1069.

Your State Representative
Phone: 800-492-7122

Click here for a sample script.

Then, please tell us about your call by clicking here.

2. Attend Tuesday's open hearing in Annapolis to show your support for Net Neutrality in Maryland:

WHAT: Legislative Hearing on Maryland Net Neutrality Bill (HB 1069)
WHEN: Next Tuesday -- February 27, 2007
TIME: 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Room 230, House Office Building, Annapolis, MD

Anyone who wants to can show up and testify, as long as you are there by 12:00 p.m. (noon).

Without this bill, Verizon and Comcast would be free to gut Net Neutrality, cherry-pick which communities receive high-speed broadband and video services, and ignore consumer protections.

With your help in 2006, we stood up to the phone and cable companies in Washington, D.C. By speaking out today, you send a powerful message to your representatives: Maryland needs an open Internet for everyone.

Thank you,

Timothy Karr
Campaign Director
Free Press
www.freepress.net

Here's the Taylor bill's official page, and Art Brodsky has a good overview of what the bill would do. As readers will likely be aware, net neutrality has been an abiding concern for me, as it is for most bloggers. I would highly encourage bloggers in Maryland, liberal or conservative, to support it.

Tags: maryland net neutrality

Baltimore City Council Makes Pick for the 6th

2007-02-22T18:38:00.000-05:00

A council committee decided yesterday to nominate Sharon Green Middleton to represent the 6th district, The Sun reports. The seat opened up mid-term when Stephanie Rawlings Blake became Council President.

The committee's unanimous recommendation means Middleton, a teacher married to an influential union leader, will likely take the spot.

The 6th is an interesting district. It covers areas of both northwest and north, and is marked by distinctly different neighborhoods. The 6th includes some of the wealthiest residents as well as some of the poorest. There are suburban-style neighborhoods with large homes on spacious lawns as well as dense urban areas with significant concentrations of commercial space. There is little crime in some parts of the 6th but open-air drug dealing and a violence problem in others.

In short, the 6th district is a miniature of Baltimore City itself. Middleton is revered for community service to her hometown city, but that doesn't necessarily translate into effective legislating. We'll see how she addresses the competing interests of her diverse district.

Her seat will come up on the September 11 primary, but these few months of incumbency are a huge boost to her chances of being elected by voters.

from The League: Reassembled

County Councilman Cohen is Now Blogging

2007-02-22T17:53:00.000-05:00

Newly-elected County Councilman Josh Cohen (D-6), representing the greater Annapolis area, wasted no time in getting his new blog up and running. The Cohen Bulletin is the latest in Cohen's well-established and much appreciated efforts to maintain close communications with constituents. This was a hallmark of his five years as the Alderman representing the Eighth Ward on the Annapolis City Council that no doubt helped propel him to a solid victory in the 2006 county election.

The big question is, has Chic and Ruths named a sandwich for you yet?

Cohens first--and expected order of business mentioned on his site is to elucidate on the gnawing City-County relationship, vis a vis growth and land use. Could this be the dawn of the Leopold-Moyer chassis with Cohen the axle? (How's that for mixing metaphors?) The cynic in CP says, yeah sure....g'luck on this one Josh...into the lion pit you go.

CP is also pleased that Cohen placed a link on his website to CP--without CP even making such a request. CP cautions blog readers that this does not mean CP will gush or fawn over Cohen. CP won't be any less willing to take Cohen to task, or be any more willing to extoll or thank him, as he carries out his duties as a public official. CP, as it carries out its duties as watchdog, guardian of the public trust, esteemed member of the fourth estate and servant of the downtrodden and great unwashed masses is a friend and constituent of Cohens, and generally a loyal supporter, but as with any elected official, CP will not give Cohen any special treatment. (Uhh-Josh, are you bringing the beer next Saturday or am I s'posed to pick it up as usual..again???)

Now Is Not That Time

2007-02-22T12:46:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

As the grapeshot zinged past her head and the sulfurous cannon smoke billowed over the poop deck, the Mayor cried “This is not a battle, this is a community discussion.”

The boarding party lowered their cutlasses in shame as she chided them to be respectful of others’ opinions, as she assured them she respects theirs. “I don’t think there’s a wrong and right on this.” she said.

Though the gym ba . . community discussion was not on the agenda Feb. 20, it came up in councilmembers’ comments at the beginning of the Takoma Park City Council meeting.

Bruce Williams’ statement raised a few gunpowder-singed eyebrows. After a lengthy introduction that sounded like he was making a strong case for building the gym, he abruptly hove to and came about.

“I believe,” he said . . . continued at granolapark

- Gilbert

For George Leventhal, Food is the Future of MoCo

2007-02-22T01:35:00.000-05:00

Part two of the second stop on Just Up The Pike's "County Government Head-to-Head Tour." (Read part one here.)

"I ran for office for a lot of reasons . . . I did not get elected to office to make developers rich." - George Leventhal

Montgomery County Councilman George Leventhal [D-At Large] didn't have a boring childhood in Bethesda, but he certainly was hungry. As a child, he says, "the most exotic meal you could get in Bethesda was a plate of French fries at the Hot Shoppes."

And if there's one way for him to mark the changes in Montgomery County since then, it would have to be food. "I like to link demographic change with food," he says. In forty years, Montgomery County went from French fries to French brasseries. With its newfound ethnic and culinary variety, the County is "just a more interesting place to live."

Not everyone would agree. There are some in Montgomery County who might want an end to immigration, but the real threat to our county's growth - and, of course, the good food - would have to be a few activists collectively known as the Neighbors for a Better Montgomery. Last week, he was still smarting from a spat with the head Neighbors, Drew Powell and Jim Humphreys. Nancy Floreen patiently refers to them as the "advocates," and they're quickly becoming the public face of citizen activism in Montgomery County.

CONTINUED at Just Up The Pike.

Some Republican Senators Still Cool to Global Warming-And What is a Ton of Gas?

2007-02-21T08:53:00.000-05:00

At the Senate Committee on Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee hearing on the Global Warming Solutions Act, CP had an interesting conversation with the paid-spinner/lobbyist for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has consistently had its head in the sand when it comes to environmental protection. Here we are faced with the greatest global crisis in history and along comes little Maryland to take this one small step, and by the way, it won't even be until 2012 when its full force comes into effect, and we find the pro-business folks whining yet again about how business is unfairly going to suffer. It's sort of like Southern plantation owners complaining that paying slaves would hurt their profit line. Okay, that's a bit "out-there" but for the entire industrial era, business has gained because of government policies and subsidies and the ability to wantonly pass costs directly on to the "environment" which is to say the public domain of air, water and even land. Then it becomes the public that has to pay to clean it up and suffer the consequences and everyone whines about it costing more, whereas all we are doing is paying real costs for the first time!

Although the exchange with the lawyer-lobbyist was pleasant and respectful, Eastern Shore Republican Richard Colburn and Baltimore/Harford Republican Andrew Harris peppered the panel of expert scientists with leading and skeptical questions. Hey guys-get with the program. Global warming is here. It's real. It's a threat. Quit beating around the bush. Colburn,a profoundly conservative veteran Senator who never seems to "get" any issue unless it completely fits his red-blooded litmus test, asked one scientist why he described Hurricane Isabel as a "wakeup call." "We've had hurricanes before, haven't we?" asked the man who represents low-lying and severely threatened Eastern Shore counties.

Harris, a conservative yet vastly more articulate and brighter light than the lumbering, knuckle-dragging Colburn, never the less, started picking apart data that he thought indicated global warming is a naturally occuring event, only slightly accelerated by human activity. He then spent about ten minutes going back and forth about whether expected sea level rise was just a matter of inches. Good grief!

Stuart Jordan, a distinguished astrophysicist, pointedly picked apart each and every objection made by Harris and Colburn. However, as is often the case when a bunch of busy people take all day to come to Annapolis to address a few Senators for a few minutes, neither Harris or Colburn paid any attention, and thumbed through papers and glanced at their laptops as Jordan and others explained the science.

Republican Janet Greenip asked a reasonable question about the definition and meaning of a ton of gases. Senator Paul Pinksy, the firebrand Democrat who introduced the bill to his fellow committee members, suggested that one of the scientists soon to speak would answer her question. When her questions was addressed and answered by the next panel, Greenip was out of the room. Colburn was busy having his second soda delivered to him by an aide. No doubt, he would be making some more gas over that one. And what exactly is a ton of gas? Come to listen to some of these people and you will get a good idea.

Below is the testimony provided by Capital Punishment, who could not stick around after the 1 pm hearing actually started at 1:45 and was still dragging on by late afternoon.

Good afternoon. My name is Paul Foer. I am a Maryland native and a resident of Annapolis since 1981. Please pass this bill. We may look back one day and see this as the single most important piece of legislation considered in the General Assembly in this century. Is this hyperbole? Not if the predictions of the drastic and dramatic upheavals which are possible due to global warming are anywhere near accurate. This is not about a tweaking of the tax code, a piece of special interest legislation or some kind of bond issue or regulatory matter. If the predictions are anywhere near accurate, then this bill does not go anywhere near what we really need to do. But it is an important step.

Our collective future as state and global citizens will not be secured through market forces or technical solutions, but through nothing less than serious planning and overwhelming changes in how we live, organize and manage our societies. I suspect this is why so many have been so ruthlessly vocal in their denial of and opposition to what is now widely known to be a fact. Our coastal state, intersected by our lovely Bay is seriously threatened. Allstate Insurance, now known as perhaps the most misnamed company in the insurance business, has run its actuarial numbers and sees a more flood-prone and stormy future, perhaps before most of us have thought about it. Maybe we will all be in good hands with Allstate running our state government.

Maryland is a small state, but a highly developed, densely populated, wealthy state with a highly educated populace. We are looked to as a leader in environmental protection. We can send a strong message by acting now.

Global warming is real threat here and now. This bill should not be the final say in the matter. We must redirect vast financial, technical and managerial resources to combat and prepare for the worst. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, we have accelerated the destruction of our planet’s fragile, living systems. We have gotten rich and comfortable at the expense of the planet. We have borrowed against the future by depleting our natural resource asset base. We have passed on the byproducts and waste directly into the environment by fouling our air, land and water.

We must act now. Future generations will judge us by our resolve to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Please vote for this legislation and please make this your top priority as a lawmaker and a citizen. Thank you.

Ike Leggett Speaks With Just Up The Pike

2007-02-20T14:06:00.000-05:00

The third stop on Just Up The Pike's "County Government Head-to-Head Tour."

"My life has been a constant source of difficulty," then-County Council President Ike Leggett said in 1993. One of eleven children, paying his way through school as a groundskeeper, fighting in Vietnam - he has had his share of hardship. Around the same time he had quadruple heart-bypass surgery in 1992, an aide accused him of forcing her to become his "sex slave," and the resulting sex scandal made national headlines and threatened to destroy his career. (The case was dismissed, of course, and all of the allegations against Leggett were declared false.)

It's not surprising that Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett looks incredibly tired even at busy events like last month's town hall meeting with Martin O'Malley. Yet for all his struggles, he's remained a very popular candidate.

"I was one of the top vote-getters in Montgomery County for a long time," he explains. "If you look at every election over the past sixteen years . . . I was probably the person favored to win. At no point in time was [Steve Silverman] ever ahead."

Leggett told me this because I'd had the gall to tell him that "if it weren't for NeighborsPAC and the Teachers' Union, you wouldn't have been elected." He and his special assistant, Jennifer Hughes, look at each other, and then at me. "Ike wasn't endorsed by the Teachers' Union," Hughes says. (They didn't, but they didn't endorse Steve Silverman, either.)

For the past several months, I've made a name for myself as an ardent Ike Leggett critic through a series of awkward but fiery exchanges. Like most of the County government, it seems, Leggett reads Just Up The Pike, and he wasn't happy with what he read. "All I ask is that you get my real opinion," he said. "If you want to write something and you need my opinion, e-mail me. Just make sure you get my real opinion."

So these are Ike Leggett's real opinions, recorded at the Executive Office Building in Rockville and hopefully put forth in the most direct and honest manner possible.

CONTINUED at Just Up The Pike . . .

The Schwarzenegger Plan a la Maryland

2007-02-19T11:26:00.001-05:00

This just in from Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and author of "We Are All Smith Islanders":

Historic global warming bill suddenly has a chance in Maryland legislature!
So-called "Schwarzenegger Plan" could change the world. Really! But your help is critical. You're invited to an emergency conference call this week with two top Maryland lawmakers and CCAN director Mike Tidwell.

In six years as director of this organization I have never written an appeal like this. But right now in Maryland we have a chance to change the world. The "Global Warming Solutions Act," a bill we thought could take years to pass, suddenly has a chance to pass now in Maryland thanks to skyrocketing concerns about the collapsing global climate.

The bill would make our state just the second in America - behind California - to mandate huge, statutory reductions in greenhouse gases by 2020 (learn more). It's a radical and utterly appropriate commitment. More importantly, it encourages other states to do the same, raising pressure for strong federal legislation.

But the Maryland bill will NOT pass without your help. We need at least 100 committed citizens from across the state to join an emergency grassroots campaign over the next six weeks to push the bill through. We actually need only a small amount of your time, but we need it in a coordinated, strategic way.

So, on behalf of my 9-year-old son and every child in your own family, I want to make an emotional direct appeal to you to join me on a conference call this week to learn more about this emergency campaign (see call details below). Also on the call will be MD Senator Paul Pinsky and Delegate Kumar Barve, chief sponsors of the bill. Together, we'll carefully describe what volunteers can do in the form of emails, calls, letters, and in-person visits over the next few weeks.

Again, we've never had an emergency campaign like this before at CCAN. But we've never had an opportunity quite like this, either. Please don't miss out on your chance to make history and really change the world.

See you on the call.

Sincerely,

Mike Tidwell
Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Emergency Campaign to bring the Schwarzenegger Plan to Maryland: Please Dial in to a Grassroots Conference Call this week

For your convenience, there will be two calls to pick from:

Call #1: Thursday night Feb. 22, 7:30 pm. Call-in number: 1-888-537-8139, code 82531915

Call #2: Saturday Feb. 24, noon. Call in number: 1-888-537-8139, code 82531915

Here's what will happen on the call: Senator Pinsky, Delegate Barve, and Mike Tidwell will open by explaining the bill's historic significance and outlining the political strategy for getting it through both the MD Senate and House and on to the governor. Josh Tulkin and Claire Douglass of the CCAN staff will then explain the proposed emergency grassroots campaign and answer any questions you may have. We hope to keep the call to one hour, with follow up by email.

Please send all replies to Info@chesapeakeclimate.org

Smoke gets in your....general assembly's eyes

2007-02-18T19:14:00.000-05:00

Supporters of a smoke-free Maryland will gather on Lawyers' Mall in front of the Maryland State House from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, Monday, February 19th. Our presence will encourage the Maryland General Assembly to pass legislation that will insure smoke-free workplaces for bartenders, restaurant staff and entertainers. The Heart Association, Lung Association, PIRG and Smoke Free Maryland are counting on your support. We are working on cleaning up our cars, now let's keep cleaning our air.

It's also Environmental Lobby Day! Meet at Legislative Services Joint Hearing Room about 3:30 pm. Clean Cars, Global Warming and Stormwater remain high on the agenda.

Forward March!

2007-02-18T09:30:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

Cancel the funeral! The body is still twitching. In fact, it’s walking . . . slowly . . . forward . . . !

What does “forward” mean, Dear Readers? Takoma Park Mayor Kathy Porter assures us it is “NOT committing to build the gym, NOT committing to which option, simply committing to the next step.”

The next step is on the road to Annapolis, where the city will continue to seek up to 3 million dollars in state funding. Fund-seeking will continue in the county, as well.

Applying for funding does not commit the city to building the gym. Though it seems a bit cart-before-the-horsey, there is a good reason, say the Mayor and councilmembers savvy in the Ways of the State.

This year the state has a budget surplus and next year it will have a “structural budget deficit,” according to the Mayor. Your Gilbert has no idea how a structural budget deficit differs from a plain budget deficit, but we are a bit mystified how wise heads in matters economical can see a budget surplus on one hand, a budget deficit on the other hand, and not bring the two hands together, using the surplus to eliminate the deficit.

Regardless, ours is not to reason why, ours is but to piteously cry “ALMS! ALMS!” on the state house steps. The deadline to do so rapidly approaches. And that, Dear Readers, is why the city steps forward, even without having chosen a specific plan, budget, or even whether to build the gym at all.

This determination to keep marching came at . . . continued at granolapark.com

Glog - Report on Feb 12 council gym discussion

2007-02-17T15:04:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

Your Gilbert is presenting guest blogger Seth Grimes’ report on the most recent Takoma Park City Council meeting. We will post our own report soon so you, Dear Readers, can have hours of fun playing Contrast and Compare!

- Gilbert

The gym decision, especially as relating to city finances and property taxes, is an important city issue. It is on a par with development (Old Takoma, New Hampshire Avenue, and Flower Avenue), with crime and public safety, and with health services, noting WAH's planned withdrawal from Takoma Park.

A Takoma Park City Council's February 12 work session discussed findings of last weekend's . . . [ continued here]

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett Supports Escalation in Iraq

2007-02-16T16:22:00.000-05:00

This is a shame. Rep. Bartlett had indicated he was thinking of voting in support of the Iraq Resolution, but in the end, he caved into faulty Republican reasoning.

I am very concerned that Congressional approval of this resolution will be interpreted by our enemies as a sign that Americans do not have the resolve necessary to win; that they can just wait us out and then take over. My primary concern is the emotional and physical well-being of our troops. I am very concerned that a ‘yes’ vote could easily be interpreted by our troops as a lack of support.

This is beyond ridiculous (emphasis mine).

Rep. Bartlett is more worried about the will of our enemies than he is about the will of the American people. The same American people who are overwhelming against the escalation in Iraq. the same American people who, by a narrow majority, support de-funding the escalation.

Does Rep. Bartlett care what we think? Clearly not.

State Delegate Blogs

2007-02-16T15:37:00.000-05:00

Delegate Saqib Ali has a blog. If you read leftyblogs, you have probably seen it. I think its totally awesome.

What Delegate Ali has done is different than a candidate website. He simply got a blogspot site and hooked into Maryland leftyblogs. Even if updates are sporadic, he is now in direct communication with activist democrats all over the state.

Delegate Ali comments:

I agree with you completely that state legislators need to come up with more creative ways to interact and communicate with their constituents, and I think a blog is a perfect way to do that.

I would like other Maryland Delegates to follow suit. I have emailed my State Delegates and told them how they can get their own blog and sign up for leftyblogs to get distribution. Feel free to do the same for your Delegates.

Speaker Busch's Party for the Party

2007-02-16T09:46:00.001-05:00

Speaker Mike Busch's recent party in The State Capitol (that's Capitol) pulled together District 30 supporters. Governor Martin O'Malley (I think he's younger than I am...many say he looks and acts "Presidential") addressed the crowd and Delegate Virginia Claggett and Senator John Astle joined in. Busch reminded the crowd that George Washington (he pronounces it "Warshinton") danced in that same room after he resigned his commission as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army (A momentuous and significant event in history-read "Washington Bowed" by former Governor McKeldin).

I was most pleased to see freshman Republican Delegate Ron George welcomed, recognized by and warmly applauded by what appeared to be a nearly 99% Democratic and 1% Green audience. As a friend of and former employee of Ron's, I can say with some assuredness that there are already signs that he is going to be a fair-minded and possibly even bi-partisan Delegate, but don't expect him to vote in favor of strengthening abortion rights. We know that he has strong conservative views and a strong Catholic faith, but I don't think this is going to make him anything like extremists Don Dwyer or the man George replaced, the bombastic, divisive and mean-spirited Herb McMillan (and there are negatives too, although I always appreciated his fiscally conservative watchdog role). However, Ron barely won his election and he will likely keep this narrowest of victories in mind as the lone Republican in Mike Busch's district. Ron has even met with local Greens. I doubt that Dwyer's similarly narrow victory will temper his extremist and outrageous views one bit (remember Katy, bolt the door???....).

Although I supported and voted for former Councilwoman Barbara Samorajczyk as I did for the entire team 30 Dems, when we thought she had won the open Delegate's seat at first, I stopped in to see Ron the day after the election and congratulate him for a well-run and hard-fought campaign. I had acted too soon. A few days later I congratulated him for his victory. Barbara, not unlike her nemesis Janet Owens, has seemed to drop out of sight, despite a few unsuccessful attempts on my part to contact her and also thank her for a hard fought campaign.

Barbara did not attend, while Janet is not a District 30 resident.

Campaign Season Comes to Baltimore

2007-02-15T18:06:00.000-05:00

Things are shaping up so that we may actually have a real election season on our hands. Mayor Sheila Dixon faces a crowded field of challengers that includes realistic candidates like Councilmember Keiffer Mitchell. And Ken Harris is giving Council President Rawlings Blake a run for her money. Add to those citywide races council seats up for grabs.

Councilmember Paula Johnson Branch announced that she is leaving midterm to take a job in real estate, The Sun reports. Branch has been a fixture on the Council for over a decade and a half. Word is that aide Vernon E. Crider will take East Baltimore's 13th District seat until the September primary election.

Council also held hearings yesterday to fill Northwest's 6th District vacancy left by Stephanie Rawlings Blake, who became Council President in the domino effect set off by former Mayor O'Malley's election as governor. Ten applicants showed up to get a chance to sit on Council until the next election.

While Council is charged with finding replacements for the 6th and 13th districts, the choices will only be temporary. Both seats come up for election later on this year. And, in a solidly Democratic city like Baltimore, the winner of the September 11th primary elections is pretty much guaranteed a win in the November vote. But a temporary job is a huge boost for anyone hoping to win the seat electorally because incumbency is super important for local races that get very little attention.

The 4th District seat from North Baltimore is also in play because incumbent Ken Harris is leaving the seat to run for City Council President. And Keiffer Mitchell of the 11th, which includes diverse areas in central and southwest, is running for Mayor.

With so much going on, it seems like we could actually enjoy a campaign season this summer.

Are you an average Baltimorean? If so, you have absolutely no idea where most of these districts exist. Study it and impress your kids with a wealth of knowledge!)

from The League: Reassembled

Bill to claim text books as tax credit

2007-02-14T21:33:00.001-05:00

Newly elected Delegate Craig Rice, among other Delegates such as Pena-Melnyk and Ross, are sponsoring a bill to make University textbook purchases deductible from State income taxes. Students may claim up to $500 of their textbook costs if they are eligible for need-based assistance as determined by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. More information here.

Montgomery County College Democrats President Neal Carter (neal_c@mac.com) is working with Del. Rice. Please contact him if you would like to work on this legislation to make it law. There will be a hearing soon that will require strong student support!

Ferry Tales….take two….this ship has not left the dock

2007-02-14T12:25:00.000-05:00

Today’s Baltimore Sun reports on the ongoing discussions to reinstate some form of commuter ferry service between the Eastern Shore and Baltimore and Annapolis. I continue to argue that while it’s always fine to discuss and learn, we have so many undecided, unmet and unfulfilled transportation needs throughout our state that are so much more pressing. These other options will have vastly more potential impact, so it is ludicrous to keep yakking on about a ferry service (Your editor, who spoke with the Sun reporter at length, and suggested many additional sources, is briefly quoted)

As a merchant marine officer, and long-time boat captain in these parts, as well as being the former transportation marketing specialist for Annapolis, not only do I know a little bit about this issue, but I could stand to profit if such a service were revived. Yet I am against it for a variety of reasons, with the main one being what I said above. There are other priorities already creating a great sucking sound! For example, the Purple Line, and the need to reinstate express commuter service from the Eastern Shore through Annapolis and on to Baltimore. I don’t think this service will be economically viable, it will have little impact on traffic and will be difficult to market because of its cost and the physical limitations imposed by geography, demographics, economics and finally--where will all the commuters park at each end in Kent Island and Annapolis? How many people will take it from one place to another?

Transit works where it is marketed and where driving and or parking is costly, difficult or severely limited. Do we have this in place for a ferry transit? I don’t think so.

Now there is nothing wrong with thinking ahead, but to truly do that, we have to think way ahead, and to think about how many other things will change such as costs of fuel, commuting times, growing population etc. But let’s not fool ourselves into thinking this ferry will be some great thing. It’s impact will always be minimal. It may go fast while crossing the Bay, but it will have to slow way down to a crawl for much of the Severn River as it approaches or leaves Annapolis. A trip will probably cost $10 or more each way. Unlike ridesharing and vanpooling which spreads costs among a group, this will cost you the same whether you board with twenty or board alone. And when you arrive in Annapolis, where will you go--and how will you get there? Will you need a car? A bus? How many jobs are there that will support commuters?

Ferry proponents will argue all these questions can be answered with further study. I say phooey on that! We need commuter buses, ridesharing and enhanced transit around our state. We need smart growth and infill and a reordering of transportation and land use priorities. We don’t need more dust gatherers. This ferry is a tweaking, a drop in the bucket.

My wife commutes to Baltimore from Annapolis and cannot take an express bus because Ehrlich killed that service. The same is true for friends on Kent Island and here in Annapols too. My wife cannot find a carpool partner because the so-called ridesharing services as well as the larger employers in Baltimore are of no help. She could take a combination of city bus or state bus and the light rail but this is terribly slow and inconvenient with only limited service. Our city bus service is mismanaged, resources are squandered and federal funding is insecure. The MTA is a poor excuse for a bus system. Light rail is underutilized because it is under marketed. If it is not working well, how will a ferry work? Raising our fuel taxes to shore up our dwindling transportation fund, lowering our speed limits and applying revenue to build up much needed transit is what must happen. Anything else is window--er porthole dressing.

Early Trouble for Dixon's Community Policing Push

2007-02-13T10:37:00.000-05:00

The trouble is that nearly all of Baltimore City's police commanders don't live inside of the city. Eight apparently live as far away as Pennsylvania. I am not sure whether this story is an overreaction or not. Policing does is an extremely localized profession, and I feel like it says something about the Commanders who would choose to live away from the people they serve. Perhaps its that I want to feel like my police officers have the same stake in my community that I do. Things like this make such a thing hard to believe, at least when it comes to commanders.

Delegate Jill Carter agrees.

“How can you talk about community policing if the police do not live in the community?” asked State Del. Jill Carter, who is running for mayor. “It you live a community you’re invested in it. I live in the district I serve, and so I understand the community’s pain.”

As does Mayor Dixon.

Mayor Sheila Dixon’s spokesman, Anthony McCarthy, said she prefers to have top commanders living in Baltimore.

“It’s Mayor Dixon’s preference to have all senior staff live in the city,” he said. “In Baltimore, she is working every day to create affordable housing [that] would make it easier for them to choose to do so. The mayor hopes to see more and more command staff choose to live in the city.”

I am not sure why a police COMMANDER would need affordable housing benefits. If their pay is that abysmal, perhaps the Mayor should consider a pay increase for these important officers.

Councilman Jack Young gets tough.

Councilman Jack Young, D-12th District, agreed that senior staff should live in the city.

“If they’re going to be in a high-level position, the should live here and get to know the residents of the city,” he said. “I think it should be required that all top-level people live in the city.”

I agree with Councilman Young. If you are going to be actively engaged in policing this city, you should at least be required to live in an adjacent county. There is no reason a police commander from Baltimore should be living in Pennsylvania, especially when that officer is using a state funded vehicle for his hour-plus commute each way.

Perhaps this position seems harsh and perhaps some will worry that it will increase Baltimore's troubles in hiring quality police. In my opinion, Baltimore should be looking for Commanders who value our city enough to make a life here. Furthermore, Baltimore should go out of their way to encourage police officers of all ranks to buy or rent in the neighborhood/ district in which they work. This is the key to community policing, the kind that fosters trust and accountability.

cross posted at Kujanblog

George Leventhal Responds to the Neighbors

2007-02-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Part one of the second stop on Just Up The Pike's County Government Head-to-Head Tour. Part two, with the rest of our interview, will appear on Friday, the same day as our meeting with Ike Leggett.

Did County Councilman George Leventhal (D-At Large)really "interrogate" two of the Neighbors at a public hearing last month, as reported in Sunday's Post? Just Up The Pike asked Leventhal himself Monday afternoon at his office in Rockville. "I did not raise my voice, I did not lose my temper," Leventhal says, pointing out that he was simply trying to hold Jim Humphrey and Drew Powell, NeighborsPAC's leaders, to the language used in Where Are The Brakes?, their anti-developer treatise which we've blogged about before. Leventhal goes on to quote the following passage from the pamphlet:

"We must break from the traditional view that growth is inherently good, and that it always results in increased prosperity and quality of life for a populace. It is time to research, discuss, and create a plan to implement a new approach to improving the economic vitality of our businesses and a sustained high quality of life for Montgomery County residents--namely, sustainability or a steady state system."

A steady state system, which it seems was created to legitimize the NeighborsPAC brand of NIMBYism, would require that a home or job in Montgomery County to be removed in order for a new home or job to be created. "Well, who decides who loses their homes?" Leventhal argues.

"I totally dispute the idea," he adds. "I don't believe it. I don't think anybody in Montgomery County believes it but Jim Humphrey. It's their manifesto. If people knew that was [their goal], then their endorsement would lose value . . . and I just wanted to say that, but they wouldn't listen. It's a fantasy, and that's just what I'm trying to get across, but they won't pay attention.

"I speak with a lot of emphasis . . . [but] I didn't interrupt their testimony; I didn't see myself as prosecutorial."

How can the Post, which just a few days ago neatly laid out the facts surrounding the pro- and no-growth arguments, so quickly take sides with a NIMBY group? Should they believe the accusations of two men whose website depicts George Leventhal, the so-called aggressor, as a cockroach?

I wasn't at the public hearing where the "interrogation" took place, but I think things have been blown seriously out of proportion. Montgomery County residents should take a good, hard look at Where Are The Brakes? before they jump on the NIMBY bandwagon. The time for such divisive language may be gone, but the dishonest tactics of NeighborsPAC are long overdue for an exit as well.

Crossposted at Just Up The Pike.

Glog - Gym Workout

2007-02-12T11:45:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

"Glog" is, of corse, "guest blog." Guest blogger Seth Grimes, Takoma Park, MD city resident, civic involvementisté (see below*), and former candidate for mayor, reports on this weekend’s public workshops held by Takoma Park entitled “Should the City Build a Gymnasium.”

- Gilbert

I attended today's (Sunday Feb. 11) city gym forum. I'd estimate turnout at 30 not counting officials. A friend says that 15 people attended yesterday. (I'll paste in my friend's report farther down in this message.) This is low turnout given a citywide mailing.

Sentiment expressed today was mostly against building a gym. A Sycamore Avenue resident said that she had been talking to her neighbors about the gym and they have "expressed no support whatsoever."

But there was more.

One resident blasted the city for not including operating costs in the estimates. They had to be asked about this at the forum; they didn't volunteer the omission. City staffer Suzanne Ludlow stated that the city is working on these figures. The resident singled out Mayor Porter as having broken a promise to be clear and complete on costs in the wake of the bad Community Center construction experience.

The city stated, in this case without prompting, that none of the estimates include $500,000 - $800,000 in design & engineering costs. So the $5.5-$8 million costs presented by the city were knowingly 10% underestimated. And the costs for the newly presented options, $3.2-$3.9 million, are similarly knowingly underestimated.

Other residents, three I think, stated that the city had not proved demand for a gym. Ms Ludlow declined to take on this topic when it was raised by the first speaker, saying that the concern of the forums would be eliciting individual attendees' views. And the moderator stated that questions should be restricted to requests for clarification, not statements of opinion. The city said that opinions should be expressed in the questionnaires distributed although some folks chose to offer opinions at the forum regardless.

I noted that the questionnaire, in asking what city borrowing individuals would support, did not offer a "no borrowing" option. The lowest category was $1-$2 million. Ms Ludlow committed to modifying the questionnaire to include a "no borrowing" response if it is used again.

A couple of attendees asked that recurring question, what about using county facilities including at the local schools? One stated that we should get state and county assistance in providing community’s preference in using county facilities within their borders.

One resident said that the city's $800,000 estimate for a green roof is about ten times the cost other cities have reported in studies he has seen.

I did not hear a single clear, unequivocal expression of support. My own qualified support -- we must demonstrate majority resident support and commit to green building per city guidelines and fund the gym without borrowing -- was perhaps the most positive expressed in favor of the gym.

To be fair, some supporters likely didn't get up to speak or restricted their questions to technical points.

Mayor Porter and Councilmembers Clay, Seamens, and Williams attended. Councilmember Austin-Lane came toward the end, and Councilmember-elect Reuben Snipper was there. So was State Delegate Heather Mizeur and former Councilmember Carol Stewart.

City Manager Barbara Matthews, Recreation Director Debra Haiduven, and Community and Government Liaison Suzanne Ludlow represented the city.

And Saturday's forum? Here's what my friend reported --

“I went to the workshop today at the Grace church. There were 28 people there, 13 of which were City Council members or City staff. They asked good questions, including was there a demonstrated need for a gym (no; rec. dept. staff brainstormed on uses), how much has it cost the City to rent gyms and was that reimbursed by users (don't know, it cost $18K/yr for gym and other rec. space, but now have the Comm. Ctr. for other rec space, no answer re whether user fees paid any of that). They said there would be additional costs of 500-800 K for design and engineering if they build. One person noted that the City provides recreation now for many Silver Spring children.

“The folks I spoke to (not City staff or Council) all seemed opposed. One thought it would be nice but we can't afford it.

“I wouldn't mind a gym if we had demonstrated need, demonstrated ability to build buildings well, and the resources to do so. Even with the money we have, we have greater need. We haven't even finished the Comm. Ctr.. On my questionnaire, I said we should use our staff time to focus on redeveloping run down areas of NH Ave.

“The council is slated to resume their discussion at tomorrow evening's meeting.”

Seth

So, Dear Readers,

After seeing this report, the question on Your Gilbert's mind is whether the Mayor and those councilmembers who have pledged to Build the Gym No Matter What, will snatch this opportunity to abandon the sinking ship. The apparent dampening of citiizen interest in the project could get them off the hook.

- Gilbert

*Guest blogger Seth Grimes is: President of the Old Town Residents' Association and of Safe Takoma, a cross-jurisdictional crime-prevention initiative. Member of the City of Takoma Park's Health Services Impact committee and of the Economic Restructuring Committee of the Old Takoma Main Street Program. Former member of the city Resident's Committee on Tax and Services Duplication Issues (TASDI) and City Manager Selection Committee and 2005 mayoral candidate. And board member and co-founder of Sustainable Takoma, a citizens advocacy group.

Delegate McConkey on Why We Should Kill More People

2007-02-11T12:23:00.000-05:00

In the past few weeks I’ve testified before the AA School Board, Annapolis City Council, attended the Environmental Summit, the Green Party Lobby Day, the Bike-Pedestrian Forum/Lobby Day, the NAACP Press Conference and visited the offices of various elected officials to lobby on behalf of bills and issues. Nothing has been as eye-opening and plain old weird as the meeting with Anne Arundel County Delegate Tony McConkey with a small group of Green Party activists. McConkey is a second-term Republican and realtor who has had a few issues of his own that have made headlines, and not always for the best reasons, but I’ll let other media deal with them.

The Green Party folks, about a dozen in all, were making the rounds and a handful of us descended upon McConkey. At first he gave us a variety of reasons as to why he did not favor the Clean Car bill, and he basically seemed to repeat the objections offered by the car dealer’s lobby. We went on to a few other issues and then got to the repeal of the death penalty. McConkey went a little weird on us, questioning why this was an issue of concern to Greens. We must have pushed a button because the lawmaker asked why we though it was wrong to put people to death for committing heinous crimes. He then rhetorically asked, “Why are you people against executing heinous criminals but you think it’s okay to murder babies”? We were a bit dumbfounded.

“Wait a minute” I told the delegate. “That’s a pretty serious leap of faith to make such an accusation.” I went on to explain that I was personally on the fence about the death penalty, but how could he make such a blanket condemnation/accusation to our group? We could have shot back and asked why is it wrong to murder babies but not wrong to have state-sponsored executions?--but we held our breath.

McConkey went on to say, and I am not making this up, “I think we need to kill more people.” Yup-he said it and it did not sink until we regrouped and met later at a local watering hole to figure out what he meant. Perhaps what McConkey was saying that the death penalty, because it is so rarely applied, and is subject to years and years of appeals, is really not a deterrent to crime. If we actually applied it more often (i.e. killed more people), it would become a deterrent to crime, and therefore, would not need to be used, because the incidents of crimes calling for such punishment would go down. Okay--maybe, at least it has some semblance of logic. But then it got even weirder again.

He said that there are offenders who don’t mind and may even like getting a prison sentence because they get a warm bed and meals without having to work. I’m not a criminologist, but I don’t think this argument would hold up.

I don’t like many of the arguments either for or against abortion, or how one side makes you anti-choice if you disagree and the other makes you anti-life if you disagree. I think the bottom line is that our society as well as the individuals within it are responsible for breeding too many babies and for breeding too many criminals. I believe ultimately that individuals have to take responsibility and be held accountable for either making an unwanted baby or committing a violent crime. Maybe that makes me a liberal and a conservative. I don’t want to be labeled either anti-choice or anti-life.

Our society has to take better care of all of our citizens, and especially our youth. Death penalty advocates and so-called pro-lifers ignore the culpability of the greater society. Liberals and others often fail to place blame on the hands of the individuals who ultimately decide to use or not use birth control or who decide to kill or not kill. When I see narrow-minded and ideological lawmakers such as Delegate McConkey, it makes me wonder if the politician-class will ever adequately address such vexing social problems.

The well informed lawmaker also said that more people are murdered in Baltimore than in Baghdad. (Maybe that was intended as a slam against O'Malley??) I called him on that one too!

I will give him credit for one thing. When asked about the Greens interest in holding instant-runoff elections, he came right out and said he would support it.

Early Voting Does Not Encourage Turnout

2007-02-10T20:51:00.000-05:00

from: Maryland Politics Today

Back on December 17, the editorial board of The Capital in their wisdom, said that early voting for all intents was a waste of time, hardly worth reviving. So why is the democratic majority bucking the editorial and the minuscule Republican front on State Circle?

State Sen. Roy Dyson (D-Dist. 29-Southern Maryland) told The Baltimore Sun, "We are one of the most educated states, but we're No. 30 in the nation in terms of voter turnout. We don't know all of the reasons why that happens, but by extending the period and giving voters an opportunity on the weekend, we're doing everything we can to encourage people to vote."

Personally, I think if you give people one month to vote, you will still have the same percentage turnout to cast their ballots. I happen to agree with the editorial in The Capital, in which it says that "...those who truly can't make it to the polls have access to absentee ballots." I would also like to add a couple of more thoughts to the equation. It is a constitutional right for someone to cast a ballot, no one can block any eligible voter from doing so. Then there is my little story about casting a ballot in 2004. When I went to my polling place in South Laurel, there was a nice long line for people wanting to cast their vote on the scheduled election day. Many of them like me took time off from work to do so.

State Sen. Dyson might not know why people would not want to vote, but I have a prime example that sums it up in five letters, slots. In essence, people elected Robert Ehrlich, the first Republican Governor in the free state in four decades for the main reason of the hope of bringing slots to Maryland. That and admittedly, Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend ran a disorganized and sloppy campaign that bit her back in the end. One of the years that Governor Erhlich was getting together a slots bill, I remember House Speaker Michael Busch (D-Dist. 30) taking phone calls from citizens on WBAL (1090AM) from people who wanted slots passed in Maryland. Busch, simply ignored the phone callers. That is one of my illustrations as far why voter turnout is low.

People who want to cast ballots will do so on the day that is scheduled. If they cannot make it, they will get to their board of elections office and fill out an absentee ballot as in years past. Politicians can encourage the vote by listening to their constituents and not to the party pecking order. The pecking order has cost the Democrats the Government House in 2002.

P. Kenneth Burns is a journalist and broadcaster based in Laurel. He is the writer/editor of Maryland Politics Today.

Gansler's Belligerent Style Bad for State

2007-02-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

In his first few weeks in office, Gov. Martin O'Malley has exhibited a cautious approach that one commenter characterized as about as "daring as rice pudding with raisins on the side."

While The League has called for bold steps to move the state forward with creative and effective public policy, we also realize that such actions can sometimes be reckless, especially when the boldness results in public policy that is neither creative nor effective. Democratic Attorney General Doug Gansler is exhibiting the kind of roughshod governing that Marylanders should worry about.

The impetus for this post is a Sun article reporting that Gansler "ousted the state's independent monitor of juvenile detention programs and replaced her with a politically connected lawyer from his home county of Montgomery." The current monitor, who serves as a watchdog over the state's juvenile offender programs, was demoted after her appointment just last month by the state's long-serving attorney general, and Gansler's predecessor, Joe Curran. She has been replaced by Marlana R. Valdez, who ran a campaign for close Gansler ally Sen. Jamin Raskin.

All appearances are that Gansler forced out a respected, qualified appointee to make room for a political payback. To make matters worse, the monitor must be a fiercely independent actor with enough room to sharply criticize the state for its failures with juveniles. No matter what he says, Gansler compromised this independence at the expense of Maryland's kids.

The move comes on the heels of a series of unnecessarily aggressive actions in his first month in office. Gansler is forging ahead with plans to move 17 employees from a Baltimore office to the DC suburbs despite a legislative budget analysis cautioning against the move, The Baltimore Examiner reported earlier this week. Why would the attorney general move these positions from Baltimore, the state's largest city, to Montgomery or PG counties, an area already saturated with government jobs?

And Gansler's proposal to combat gangs, summarized by The Washington Post, is a disturbing policy that would prosecute people for associations instead of crimes. It has the potential to incarcerate a slew of young people who did nothing wrong besides picking a bad crowd.

Gansler is getting off to a rough start. The former lacrosse player should take a cue from his party's state leader and think things through before making such rash decisions.

from The League: Reassembled

Good Idea on Slots

2007-02-09T12:30:00.000-05:00

Creative minds are a rarity in politics. Luckily, we have a couple of 'em in the state legislature. And one just proposed a very interesting compromise to get slots into Maryland.

Sen. Katherine A. Klausmeier offered up the suggestion of riverboat gambling, The Sun reports today. She envisions a boat in the Chesapeake Bay.

Slots have been a hot topic in Annapolis the past few years. Proponents argue that they will raise much-needed revenue, but opponents worry about the impact gambling sites would have on surrounding communities. This proposal would allow the states to collect revenue without having to worry about detrimental effects on communities because there're no neighborhoods in the middle of the Bay.

It also addresses a concern that has held The League back from supporting slots. Low-income people, those who can least afford to gamble but will most likely have slots in their backyards, will be less likely to develop a habit if slots are not as accessible. Driving down to the Bay, getting on a boat and making a night out of slots is more prohibitive than stopping in an open facility on the way home from work.

Kalusmeier is a Democrat from the 8th District, essentially a chunk of the county just outside northeast Baltimore. She is also one smart lady.

from The League: Reassembled

Purple Line Threatens Chevy Chase Family's Livelihood

2007-02-09T11:54:00.000-05:00

We've discovered a new loser in the game to build the Purple Line: Chevy Chase resident Amy Kostant, whose start-up business could cease to exist when the light-rail line is finally built:

"While I don’t live directly on the [Capital Crescent] trail, our children play there and I am concerned about accidents should a train run through what is our No. 1 play space. My husband and I commute to the Metro via the trail; we hike, bike and set up lemonade stands on the trail . . ."

I like transit, but first and foremost I am a lemonade enthusiast. Who's gonna make sure this woman and her family doesn't land in the poor house when her lemonade stand is torn down? We need to organize a letter-writing campaign to Martin O'Malley to stop this mis-guided train from ramming through Bethesda and Chevy Chase and destroying what could be suburban Maryland's last chance at a good cup of lemony goodness.

Let's put aside our horrible commutes for a second: Wouldn't you want to be able to pull off East-West Highway and get a cold glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade from Amy Kostant? I definitely would, and I'm sure the legions of Bethesda housekeepers and gardeners who would otherwise be spirited to their workplaces on the Purple Line would appreciate it as well.

Crossposted at Just Up The Pike.

O'Malley Takes Route of Active Involvement in ICC

2007-02-07T22:15:00.000-05:00

The O'Malley administration filed a motion to join an environmental lawsuit targeting the proposed Intercounty Connector in the Washington suburbs, the Transportation Department announced in a press release.

The controversial plan to build a motor vehicle road stretching from I-370 near Gaithersburg to I-95 in Laurel was most recently challenged by a coalition of environmental groups and residents in a lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege that federal regulatory agencies approved the proposal without considering reasonable alternatives. The agencies also neglected the highway's potential consequences for surrounding communities and the environment.

By coming down on the side of destroying communities and harming the environment, the administation signaled it's prepared to take a very active role in ICC construction. O'Malley always publicly supported the plan, but this move is a bold step in favor of the highway. The suit didn't even name any state agency to begin with - the administration is sticking its nose into the federal government's business. And O'Malley isn't just arguing in general that an ICC should exist; he's saying that the particular plan currently on the books is the only proposal that should even be considered, regardless of its environmental, social, traffic or community effects.

Is this the way to start off smart transportation planning in Maryland? It seems good good and prudent thinking has been sacrificed for the political benefits to be reaped by this popular move.

The League opposes the highway not only for the devastating impact it will have on local communities and the environment, but also because we believe the state must redirect its transportation priorities away from roads and towards public transportation. In addition, the suburb-to-suburb route reflects a disturbing trend in America's landuse patterns in which people live, work and play in suburban areas, hardly venturing into our nation's urban cores. The result is continued reliance on ecologically- and socially- unfriendly cars while our cities rot from neglect.

from The League: Reassembled

Al Wynn Feels the Heat

2007-02-07T11:23:00.000-05:00

Why else would he be co-sponsoring Rep. Dennis Kucinich's "Department of Peace" bill?

Despite the logistical hurdles and legislative roadblocks, Kucinich made history when he said he would hold hearings on H.R. 808, which has 52 cosponsors, including centrist Democratic Reps. Ellen Tauscher (Calif.) and Albert Wynn (Md.).

Tauscher pointed to a letter she and Kucinich wrote in 2002 urging Bush to postpone a vote on going to war until after the midterm election. At least one left-leaning political action committee has suggested finding a liberal Democrat to challenge Tauscher; Wynn nearly lost his primary in 2006 to a more liberal Democrat.

...

Wynn, a new convert to the bill who has called his 2002 vote for the war in Iraq a mistake, said, “It makes sense to send a signal to the world that we’ll at least consider non-violent solutions.”

Now, if it was only his Iraq war vote that I was worried about, I would be able to forgive Rep. Wynn. But progressives' concerns over Wynn are related to several other terrible, pro-republican votes.

Wynn has taken heat for his vote to invade Iraq. But for the past two years, he has attempted to recant.

‘‘I think basically the president misled the country and the Congress about weapons of mass destruction,” Wynn said in an interview with The Gazette. Wynn says he cast his vote in part out of concern for his district’s proximity to Washington, a potential terrorist target.

‘‘I’m not too proud to admit I made a mistake ... knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have voted for the use of force.”

Wynn is now backing the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

But he also broke with his party to support an energy bill giving oil and gas companies tax breaks and incentives, and an amendment banning flag burning. Unlike most Democrats, he supported the move to give the federal courts jurisdiction in the case of Terry Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman whose husband wanted to remove her feeding tube.

Wynn also has supported another GOP favorite, repealing the estate tax, which taxes the property of the wealthy after they die.

‘‘I’m a good Democrat, but I’m not a blind Democrat,” Wynn said. He says he stands with his party on the most important issues.

Terry Schiavo? Flag burning amendment? Repealing the estate tax? Unacceptable votes for a Maryland Democrat.

To make matters worse, Mr Wynn insults every Democrat who did the right thing on these votes claiming they are somehow "blind". ~~No wonder fellow Maryland Democrat and head of the DCCC Chris Van Hollen~~ No wonder Donna Edwards and the "They Work for Us" PAC have made Wynn a target for their organization in 2008. Even his reason for supporting the Iraq war is one of the most ridiculous cop outs I have ever heard. Did Mr. Wynn really fear a nuclear attack on PG county? What a joke.

Now Rep Wynn is trying to erase his DINO past by co-sponsoring pie in the sky "peace activist" legislation. Not on our watch.

Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment

2007-02-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

(Cross-posted to Maryland Politics Watch).

The Washington Post covered failed Republican efforts to change the rules of the Senate to make it easier to fillibuster and to force Senate committees to vote on all bills. Both ideas were voted down on party-line votes. However, the Post missed what was the key rules change. The Senate has amended its rules to join the House of Delegates in prohibiting its members from offering constitutional amendments as amendments to another bill. This small change will prevent anti-gay marriage advocates from repeatedly trying to amend the Maryland Constitution as the Senate takes up other legislation.

At the same time, it doesn't prevent the Senate in taking up the issue. Indeed, Sen. Rich Madaleno informs me that opponents of gay marriage have filed a bill defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The bill has 13 sponsors or cosponsors, 10 Republicans and 3 Democrats. The Senate has 33 Democrats and 14 Republicans. The three Democratic cosponsors are James DeGrange (Anne Arundel), Norman Stone (Balt. County), and Roy Dyson (Southern MD). The four Republicans who are not cosponsors are E.J. Pipkin (Eastern Shore), Andrew Harris (Baltimore and Harford), Allan Kittleman (Howard and Carroll), and Donald Munson (Washington).

Learning To Listen With Nancy Floreen

2007-02-05T13:06:00.000-05:00

The first stop on Just Up The Pike's "County Government Head-to-Head Tour."

"Montgomery County people cannot come to any collective agreement - and probably never will - on whether we will be urban or suburban." - Nancy Floreen

County Councilwoman Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) says there are about a hundred people who show up in her office on a regular basis, and a handful that stop by each and every day. They are the "advocates," she calls them, a very small but very vocal minority representing a few select interests (cough cough NeighborsPAC) in Montgomery County.

And their input in County government, while valued, can be frustrating. "It's complicated once you get past the spin that people put on things," Floreen notes. "But advocacy is advocacy. You gotta respect it, and listen to it." There's still quite a lot of spin. "That's why I keep this," Floreen adds, picking up a copy of Harry G. Frankfurt's On Bullshit on the table next to her desk.

Also in her office is a photocopy of an old New Yorker article, "The Slow Road." In it is a statistic: since 1970, the United States population has grown forty percent; the number of registered vehicles, one hundred percent; and the number of roads, six percent. "Duh!" Floreen spits, emphasizing her point: when it comes to new roads - or any form of transportation, we've fallen way behind.

Montgomery County's a pretty well-educated place, home to the smartest city in America and one of the country's best school systems. One could even argue that the County's lavish spending on schools over the past thirty years has sucked money away from roads. A map from Marylanders for a Second Crossing shows a slew of proposed highways for Montgomery County that were all cancelled, including the Outer Beltway, a precursor to the InterCounty Connector.

A lot of those cancelled roads are in still-rural or transitioning parts of the County, like Boyds or Ashton. "You don't build a lot of roads where they're not wanted," Floreen notes. But school funding can't be all to blame. (It really isn't. Unlike our neighbors Fairfax or Howard counties, we put our emphasis on mass transit. As a result, we have over a dozen Metro stations, and unlike a lot of suburbs or even cities, we know what to do with them.) "That's what I like to tell myself when I want to simplify it," she says, adding, "It's more fun to cut a ribbon for a new school than it is to open a road that people have been haranguing you about."

(Yeah, just tell that to Bobby Haircut.)

Of course, Nancy Floreen listens to each harangue, tirade and plea, from suddenly homeless families (Christy's my sixth-grade math teacher, by the way) to the disgruntled residents of Longmead Crossing.

"I approved Longmead Crossing . . . it was a mistake we made."

It's the Longmead Crossing folks who especially worry Floreen. In the 1980's, as a member of the Montgomery County Planning Board (which she served on until joining the County Council in 2002), she approved the Layhill development straddling the ICC right-of-way. "It was a mistake we made," Floreen says. "I said 'these people are going to be very upset'" if the ICC was built, despite planners' assertions that notifying homebuyers in advance would keep them quiet. Instead, they've mounted a multi-year campaign to stop the ICC, despite signs from Governor O'Malley that there's no turning back.

If you listen to Duchy Trachtenberg, Montgomery voters are pissed off about growth and traffic. But Floreen argues that relief, albeit slow, is on the way. "[We're experiencing the] growing pains of a county fulfilling its master plan," she says, pointing out that the County has increased transportation funding by 72 percent without burdening taxpayers. The traffic is still there, and the people are still coming, but Montgomery County has to keep going.

"It's very difficult to say 'no, we don't want you here,'" Floreen says, adding: "I refuse to be part of a county that shuts its door on people." And as a former planner, Nancy Floreen is committed to making sure new people are taken care of - and, most importantly of all, listened to.

Crossposted at Just Up The Pike.

Head to the Higher Ground

2007-02-04T09:28:00.000-05:00

For years, our Baltimore Sun buried articles about global climate change, which prompted this author to take them to task in letters to the editor. The Sun has switched course and on February 3, published “A warmer Md. will be wetter-Threat from climate change takes form of land submersion, severe storm damage” which predicts pretty serious consequences for Chesapeake Bay and the lands around it, which in addition to being subjected to predicted sea-level rise, also appear to be settling lower in to the Earth’s crust.

Meanwhile, we know that Allstate Insurance (as in not-exactly-all-of-the-State) is pulling back coverage for low-lying areas, and local, state and federal officials are hearing the warning signs. On the local level, Annapolis Mayor Moyer and A.A. County Executive Leopold are taking this seriously. Hallelujah-even Bush mentioned global climate change in his State of the Union speech! The next question is what are you-as in you and me, going to do to change our habits and lessen our emissions? We can begin by eating lower on the food chain, decreasing our energy consumption and by driving less. It will all add up to improved health, for ourselves, our community and our planet.
And in times such as these, it always helps to quote Dylan: “You better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a changin' ”

Stop The Band Aids And Sew One Maryland Together

2007-02-03T22:44:00.000-05:00

from: Maryland Politics Today

The Burns Media Centre (my home) is in the Prince George's side of Laurel, specifically South Laurel. I am serviced by Laurel Regional Hospital, and basically it scares the hell out of me that the company running the joint might not make it past March, let alone June.

Democrat Del. Victor Ramirez (Dist. 47th) with good motives has the right idea in asking the University of Maryland Medical System to take over the Prince George's hospital system. Although drafting a bill forcing two private entities to talk is questionable, it does solve a couple of problems, one of them is something I happen to notice when it comes to state government for the most part.

The first problem solved would be obvious, giving the county's hospital system to a responsible operator in UMMS. The second problem is something that is rarely talked about, the fact that our government, especially over the past two decades, seem to be Baltimore centric. Nothing against our largest city, but a number of current executive appointments from Gov. Martin O'Malley fall into one of two groups. Either they were from the Gov. Parris Glendening era or they were with O'Malley when he was Mayor of Baltimore, or in one of the neighboring jurisdictions to Charm City. Also, our two U.S. Senators are from Baltimore. And if you think about it, Annapolis is in Anne Arundel County, which counts as apart of the Metro Baltimore market.

UMMS expanding to the Capital Region, via Prince George's County, would be a plus. Outside of the MVA facilities and the State Police Barracks in College Park and Forestville. Let's not forget the University of Maryland. As far as state services and offices, there are not too many in comparison to Central Maryland, where most of the offices are either based in Baltimore or Annapolis.

As far as the hospital goes, Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson has been dragging his feet. It has been almost a year since bids to take over the system were being solicited. I understand that there is a timely process in finding a suitor, but it is ridiculous that the county had to give $5 million to keep it operating for two months and now they are just asking for access to the hospital's financial records (source: The Gazette, Feb. 1, 2007.) Looking at the records should have been done a long time ago. If they did look at them before this time, either they missed something or did not pay attention to the files.

UMMS taking over the Prince George's hospital system would be a win-win situation. A win for Prince George's County and the territory served by Prince George's Hospital Center, knowing that it has a strong, responsible operator. And it will be a win for Governor Martin O'Malley for getting closer to One Maryland, while showing concern for citizens outside of Central Maryland.

P. Kenneth Burns is a journalist and broadcaster based in Laurel. He is the writer/editor of Maryland Politics Today.

High Stakes in the Fight for Marriage Equality in Maryland

2007-02-02T16:58:00.000-05:00

As long as Delegate Dwyer and his anti-gay buddies are part of the Maryland Legislature, marriage equality will continue to be threatened by constitutional amendment's attempting to ban same-sex marriage. Well, any chance to do so this year will bring with it a considerable rise in the stakes of such legislation.

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that the 2004 Michigan ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage also bars public employers from providing same-sex partner benefits of any kind. It is even more imperative that any same-sex marriage ban in Maryland be stopped and same-sex partner benefits from public employers be codified and protected.

No matter your position on gay marriage, same-sex partner benefits are a necessity. The goal of these bans are to "protect traditional marriage" and though I won't debate on the merits of that position, I will posit that same-sex partner benefits, applied outside of a marriage, in no way threaten "traditional marriage". In fact, they completely leave it out of the equation.

I have argued before, along with Equality Maryland, that only full marriage rights for homosexuals should be acceptable to Maryland Democrats. But we must do something to ease the unfair burden on same-sex couples, and codifying partner benefits from public employers is a great start.

What would be unacceptable is a same-sex marriage ban that also eliminates the possibility for public institutions such as colleges to offer their employees same-sex benefits.

Want to get involved to to try and stop the same-sex marriage ban? Want to fight for same-sex partner benefits for Maryland's public employees? Equality Maryland is holding a lobbying day on the 12th, in Annapolis. Join them.

If you can't make it, be sure to write your representatives and tell them that you support equality for all Marylanders. Tell them to vote no on the same-sex marriage ban and to codify same-sex marriage benefits for state employees.

Statement on the State's State of the State

2007-02-02T12:52:00.000-05:00

Imagine a handsome, personable guy with a smile that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside. He's smart and friendly and used to getting his own way. And one more thing: he moves fast.

These aren't the qualities concerned parents want to see in their teenage daughter's boyfriend. But they are absolutely par for the course when that guy is Maryland's governor.

The state Constitution doesn't give newly installed governors the chance to settle into their jobs. The day after he was sworn in, Martin O'Malley's administration released its FY08 budget, revealing fiscally-sensitive priorities that was widely hailed as a centrist agenda. He's spent the past three weeks scrambling to fill the 21 cabinet posts under his discretion. And Wednesday, with less than a month of statewide governing under this belt, O'Malley gave the annual State of the State address.

We'll calm your fears right away and let you in on the good news: the state of the state is strong.

Not for the efforts of the previous administration, O'M was quick to point out. He assessed the state as strong "despite" the "recent drift in recent years," a not-so-subtle bash on former Gov. Ehrlich. He also noted that "we're not as strong as we should be." But he gave an optimistic outlook, predicting commodity would descend on Annapolis in the wake of Democratic hegemony's return, resulting in an atmosphere more conducive to making good public policy.

The speech itself, which lasted just under half an hour, was a well-balanced address that laid out a moderate agenda for the state. The speech stated a number of goals that O'Malley argued for during the campaign and are summed up nicely in the following excerpt about what time it is:

Time to improve public education at all levels. Time to simultaneously improve public safety and homeland security. Time to extend health care coverage to more hardworking Marylanders. Time to conserve, protect and improve the environmental health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Time to strengthen women- and minority-owned businesses in our state, where our diversity is our strength. Time to advance and realize a statewide vision for transportation that includes mass transit, as well as roads. Time to stand up again to powerful wealthy special interests whenever they try to profiteer on the backs of the working people of our State.

For those who can't read in bullet points, O'Malley's priorities are public education, public safety, health care, the environment, diversity, transportation and the middle class. Not exactly earth-shatteringly new ideas, but good values that O'Malley has backed up with common-sense, pragmatic policy proposals to implement.

from The League: Reassembled

Text is available here

Audio podcast here

Annapolis City Council-The Shape of Things to Come

2007-02-02T09:23:00.000-05:00

The only major surprise from the recent special election that retained two Democratic seats on Annapolis City Council was just how close was the race in Ward Four. A white, male Republican political neophyte living in a newly developed and newly annexed “suburban” part of a heavily black and Democratic ward nearly defeated a black woman and longtime political activist. Jim Conley, a mortgage banker, was beaten by Sheila Finlayson, past president of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County. It should be noted that Mayor Ellen Moyer is a former lobbyist with the Maryland State Teacher’s Association. Finlayson’s campaign manager is Kathy Nieberding, a prominent figure in state politics and has worked as a lobbyist/consultant on behalf of Annapolis under Mayor Moyer.

Perhaps the unexpectedly strong showing of Conley is an indication of dissatisfaction with Finlayson's close ties with the mayor, who was narrowly re-elected in a three-way race over a year ago.

Democratic civic activist and health care consultant Ross Arnett handily beat community activist Frank Bradley in Ward Eight. It will be interesting to see in the years to come, whether Arnett and Finlayson develop an independent streak, or whether they will “rubber stamp” the mayor as some have suggested. I suspect that Arnett will continue to fashion himself after Josh Cohen, the man he replaced, by being generally, but not always supportive of Mayor Moyer. He is likely to closely align himself with Ward One Alderman Dick Israel and Ward Seven Alderman Sam Shropshire. Finlayson, on the other hand, is likely to associate herself more closely with the mayor, and possibly even Democrat Classie Hoyle, although Hoyle burned bridges with Democrats when she openly supported County Council Republican candidate Renee Swafford in 2006. Hoyle sometimes seems estranged from the mayor as well. It was not just the support she offered, but the manner in which it was done. Swafford, who was trounced by Josh Cohen supported Frank Bradley in this most recent election.

Bottom line? Mayor retains voting bloc, and we now have four women on council, three of whom are Democrats, two of whom are African-American and one, Julie Stankivic, is Independent. Republican Dave Cordle, perhaps the most conservative voice on council, and possibly jockeying for a mayoral run, remains mainly an opponent of the mayor, while new Republican Mike Christman seems to be a moderate swing vote. I will say that the City Council in recent years has shown itself to be a more effective, cordial and collegial body than I can remember in a long time. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Ferry Tales Can Come True, It Can Happen to You...

2007-02-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

Today’s Capital tells of a local group thinking about solving Bay Bridge traffic woes and it comes up with--a ferry system? I think we’ve all read this story before, and again and again and all they can come up with is a return to the very type of service that used to move us until the first bridge was built? This type of “thinking” if you can call it that, continues to operate on the same old assumptions that we must drive cars, we will always drive cars, and there will always be cheap private automobile transport available.

The first bridge came in 1952, followed by the second one about twenty years later, and ever since, they have been followed by talk and more talk about bridges here, bridges there and now ferry systems.

It’s a big challenge, but one must ask, who will make up the masses of people that will make such a trip? Where will a ferry big enough to carry hundreds dock in downtown Annapolis? Where will all the cars be parked (on both sides) for the people to get on the boat? By the time one parks a car on Kent Island, boards a ferry, rides on the ferry and then disembarks, I predict about 45 minutes will have elapsed.

We cannot compare ourselves to either Seattle or New York, although maybe Rhode Island has some similarities. A lot of conditions as well as infrastructure need to be in place for a ferry system to work, but most of all, there must be a market that meets a critical mass requirement that will actually ride such a ferry system because A) It saves a lot of time B) It is comparable in cost to driving C) It is a lot easier than, or otherwise preferable to driving or D) Some other compelling reason or set of reasons such as lots of high paying jobs in a dense area and lots of nice bedroom communities in outlying areas.

Does either Baltimore or Annapolis offer that? Will they ever?

Remember the Concorde SST? If it were profitable, the French and British would still be doing it.

Why are we proposing complex, large scale “solutions” when the state capital does not even have commuter buses to Baltimore and when our own local transit system is beleaguered by mismanagement, labor shortages, poor morale and tenuous federal funding issues that are not even addressed? And why are we not seriously talking about major development of express commuter buses for crossing the existing bridges? At the present, Annapolis Transit sends one commuter bus back and forth to Kent Island each weekday morning and afternoon. It goes over empty in the am and comes back full and then goes back full in the pm and comes back empty, and is considered to be a very successful run. So, why are we not expanding that? Why are we not expanding other commuting options by transit? Why are we not discussing reinstating the commuter express bus chopped under the Ehrlich Administration?

Again, we operate under certain assumptions that we will also be commuting in droves in the year 2010 and 2015, but will we? Only if we choose to keep doing that.

Maryland Dems Will Let BGE Steal Your Lunch Money

2007-02-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

(Cross-posted from Jousting for Justice)

I normally look forward to the little local Democratic Club meetings that happen all over the state. It's a feel-good way of meeting friends, learning to love your legislators, and taking pride in what your party is accomplishing.

Then there are nights like tonight.

I attended a meeting of the Northwest Baltimore County Democratic Club at which Maryland delegates Jon Cardin and Dana Stein spoke.

During Stein's talk, he mentioned the very welcome resignation from the Maryland Public Service Commission. And then, almost in passing, mentioned the 47% proposed rate hike that BGE wants this year.

There was something about the way he said it, that seemed to make the questions come fast and furious, and I do mean furious.

A man in the front row commented that the way Stein talked about the rate increase made it sound as if the legislature wasn't going to do anything about it.

Stein didn't deny it. He basically laid it on O'Malley's doorstep, saying that new members of the Maryland Public Service Commission would help.

Follow up questions were more irate and incredulous, redirecting responsibility to the state legislature. Hadn't they been active to prevent such a hit from devouring consumers last year--during an election year? Weren't the Democrats going to do something about this? If the problem was, as everyone on both sides of the aisle now claims, the deregulation of the energy industry in Maryland, was anyone talking about re-regulating it?

Stein's performance in response to these questions was abysmal. He seemed puzzled that anyone would even have an expectation of him to do anything about it beyond tinkering. He said de-regulation was being talked about, but then rambled on about how smaller changes might help around the margins.

At this point, I was not interested in what was being talked about or what some legislators were doing. I wanted to know what my legislators planned to do about it. I asked, "Can you tell me why you aren't personally going to introduce legislation to roll back de-regulation if everyone is in agreement that it has failed?"

The answer was too pathetic for words. First, he was a freshman legislator--a little too big a bite for him to chew. Second, he wasn't sure the genie could be put back in the bottle.

You know, I'm not sure that re-regulating the energy industry in Maryland is the solution, or that it's the only solution. But that answer practically elicited groans.

I don't want to dump on Dana Stein--a man I voted for, and have a great deal of respect for. But a lot of genies were running about this country when FDR started regulating things. He managed to put them into bottles. And if you're too new a legislator to bother doing anything about what is going to quickly become the #1 issue of Marylanders, then maybe you shouldn't have been elected.

I'm deeply dissatisfied with the Democratic Party in Maryland if Dana Stein's reaction to this problem is a common one in the party.

WE CAMPAIGNED ON THIS ISSUE.

How is it going to look to voters that Maryland Democrats throw up their hands and look helpless now that they have control of the entire state, after we hung the last rate hike around the GOP's neck like an anchor?

And I'm sorry, but there's a limit to what O'Malley can do here beyond what he has promised. The problem goes deeper than the Maryland Public Services Commission. It wasn't a governor that deregulated energy in Maryland. It was a legislature. This is their mess.

And if any Democrat thinks that the average grandma trying to heat her home this year is going to be less angry with Democrats because she's only paying $50 more on her bill instead of $75 on her bill--they ought to be run out on a rail.

Dana Stein quaintly called the expected backlash "sticker shock." It's going to be a lot more than that. Voters are going to want to make someone pay. And at this moment, I'm not sure it shouldn't be us.

Images from Maryland

2007-02-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

Hunting Sins, by Al Zaruba, 1997

2008 Targets

2007-01-31T15:30:00.000-05:00

Its never to late to think about '08. There are two congressional seats that Maryland Democrats should focus on, MD-06, where Republican Roscoe Bartlett is considering retirement, and MD-04, where Democrat Al Wynn faced a tough primary challenge from Donna Edwards in 2006.

MD-06: Bartlett has apparently ruled out retirement before 2008. However, as Fredneck argues, a lot can happen in two years.

Bartlett won his race in 2006 against Andrew Duck with 59% of the vote. Duck ran a good race and was one of the best candidates Democrats have fielded in this district in a while. In the end, Bartletts name recognition mixed with the (R) next to his name was too much for Duck to overcome.

If Bartlett retires however, things could even out considerably, especially in a Presidential election year. Maryland Democrats, particularly those in Frederick and Westminster need to start looking for quality, local candidates to run should Bartlett decide to step down. Heck, maybe Duck would even consider running again?

MD-04: The best part about this seat is that it will most likely remain Democratic no matter who gets the nomination. Wouldn't it be great to have a reliable Democrat in this seat, rather than the bush loving Al Wynn? Of course it would, so it is important we start early.

There was a huge amount of national netroots support for Donna Edwards during her primary challenge. [update] ~~Since Donna is now busy holding folks like Wynn accountable, we need to find a new Democrat to run in the primary.~~ As mocopolitics adds in the comments, Donna Edwards may be up for another run in 2008.

It would be wonderful to take this seat from Wynn, and the netroots money and infrastructure will be there to support whoever we run.

So, put your thinking caps on and get ready for '08.

Results are in:

2007-01-31T10:07:00.000-05:00

Takoma Park Ward 5 Special Election Unofficial Results

Alexandra Quéré Barrionuevo - 23 Votes
Eric Hensal - 72 Votes
Reuben Snipper - 107 Votes
Write-In - 1 Vote

City of Annapolis Special General Election - Ward 4 & Ward 8
January 30, 2007 - Unofficial Results

Alderman Ward 4
Sheila M. Finlayson ( D ) 247
James M. Conley ( R ) 212

Alderman Ward 8
Ross Arnett ( D ) 507
Frank B. Bradley ( R ) 244

Images of Maryland Politics

2007-01-30T22:35:00.000-05:00

From the Inaugural, via Jousting for Justice.

Salisbury Incumbent Not Seeking Re-election, While Taking Shots

2007-01-30T10:37:00.000-05:00

Salisbury City Council President Mike Dunn in a article on the front page of The Salisbury Daily Times said that he will not seek re-election this coming April. The reason he says is that personal attacks are taking their toll. "I want my peace back," he says.

But Dunn isn't going away quietly. In the article, says that bloggers are destroying the community. Blogging has become very popular on the Lower Eastern Shore, many of them are either happy or taking credit about Dunn not running for re-election, sometimes both.

Dunn also calls out one specific blogger in particular. Joe Albero, whose Salisbury News blog is one of the popular web logs in Delmarva, was accused of by Dunn of spreading hate about homosexuals and following Salisbury Police Chief Alan Webster around town. The post in which Dunn is talking about was from January 19, featuring three men, who Albero alleges were holding hands to grab attention. Albero said in the post that "he doesn't believe or accept [that] behavior." The blog also has several pictures of Webster in his cruiser patrolling city streets. I have an agreement with Albero to use photographs from his blog, when needed.

Dunn also says that two candidates on the city council, Tim Spies and Terry Cohen, are notorious blogger. He is also calling for all candidates to renounce blogs and the comments that are made on them.

Albero, responds to the article on his site, by saying that it was Mike Dunn who brought Mike Dunn down, not the blogs. "We were simply the 'ONLY' source of news that brought these things to a head..." Albero adds that its Webster that followed him around, not the other way around.

Cohen in a letter to The Daily Times says that Dunn's allegations are baseless and cites the action as another example of his "inappropriate behavior pattern." There has been no comment from Spies on the allegation.

Later in the article, Dunn goes after fellow Council woman Debbie Campbell, attaching her to a group of residents that he and Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman claims to have something negative to say. Tilghman has branded the group "The Dirty Dozen."

Campbell has told me that she has a problem with Dunn's comments, but his article. The article said "Since Campbell's arrival, her policy and directional feuds with Dunn and other council members have been well documented." Campbell was the subject of getting the cold shoulder late last year, when she distributed a position paper to the media first before her colleagues.

Campbell contends that she has attempted to have open discussions in public meetings to address issues relating to fiscal oversight, public policy and conducting legislative actions in accordance with state code and the city charter. "I have followed Mr. Dunn’s ever-changing protocol to have items added to the agenda, to no avail," Campbell says. "My primary responsibility is to serve the citizens of the city in my legislative role. I have always been willing to be held accountable by my constituents for my position on issues and for my vote."

In dealing directly with Dunn's comments, Campbell questions his stipulation that he brought honor to the council chamber when she says that Dunn labels citizens as "The Dirty Dozen" or Councilman Gary Comegys, who is running for re-election, call citizens "cave people." Of the name calling, Campbell simply says that it's not professional and demeans the office.

Since Sunday, three more candidates have filed for office before tomorrow's deadline. There will now be a primary in the third week of next month, in which six of the candidates with the most votes will go on to the general election for three seats that are up for grabs. There is now only one incumbent in the race, Gery Comegys, in which many bloggers are hoping will lose.

P. Kenneth Burns is a journalist and broadcaster based in Laurel. He is the writer/editor of Maryland Politics Today.

Schisler Says Sianara

2007-01-29T15:44:00.000-05:00

Breaking News

After months of wrangling, Public Service Commission Ken Schisler stepped down today, the O'Malley administration announced.

Schisler became the Democrats' favorite scapegoat during last year's BGE electricity rate increase crisis. Although the Democrat-controlled legislature approved deregulation, Schisler led the PSC as it approved at 72 percent increase in residential electricity rates for most central Marylanders. The legislature tried to fire PSC members in an effort overturned by the judiciary and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller was in negotiations to secure Schisler's removal to leave as recently as last week.

The Democrats may have used Schisler as a public sacrifice in the face of intense constituent anger, but he also merited a removal. The guy absolutely refused to change course and reduce the rate increase. He stood his ground in the face of the fact that the increase could have fatal consequences for the poorest Marylanders, particularly Baltimoreans (Schisler is from the Eastern shore). And The Sun disclosed e-mails illustrating Schisler's inappropriately close relationship with an energy industry lobbyist who represented BGE.

And now he's gone.

O'Malley's office released the following statement:

“Earlier today, Governor O’Malley received Chairman Schisler’s letter of resignation from the Public Service Commission. His resignation will be effective Friday, February 2, 2007.”

“We are thankful that Mr. Schisler stepped aside, allowing the Public Service Commission to move forward. Now, the work of rebuilding Maryland’s regulatory framework begins in earnest. There is no time to waste getting professional regulators back on the job - to protect consumers and restore stability for businesses.”

from The League: Reassembled

Maryland Roundup

2007-01-29T13:25:00.000-05:00

Elections Tomorrow: In Takoma Park a special, non-partisan election to fill the Ward 5 City Council seat of now-County Councilmember Marc Elrich is being held. FreeStatePolitics contributor Gilbert has a set of interview questions and answers for the three candidates, Erich Hensal, Alexandra Quéré Barrionuevo, and Reuben Snipper. In Annapolis, wards 4 and 8 are up for grabs and Blog Arundel has links to the Sun pieces on each candidate.

FreeStatePolitics contributor Sara da Muse has a video of a protest against Lockheed Martin's cluster bombs, though the last few seconds of Stephen Colbert's interview with Michael Steele (see comedycentral.com) where he blames Bush's failure to fire Rumsfeld quickly for his loss in November is far more entertaining (hat tip to the MD College Dems). Speaking of Steele, according to a tip from Kujanblog, he's going to be head of GOPAC. Speaking of new jobs, did Bobby Haircut end up signing on with Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign?

Images of Maryland

2007-01-28T10:10:00.000-05:00

Transorma/Transforma in Silver Spring, from silverspringdailyphoto.com

Climax On The Shore:Will an incumbent run for re-election

2007-01-26T22:19:00.000-05:00

If you are looking for political drama in Maryland, you could watch Annapolis. Keep in mind that it is not as much fun as it use to be over the past four years. If you want excitement, focus your attention on the Eastern Shore. In the nearly six months since I started covering politics statewide, I have been keeping tabs on Salsibury, Wicomico County, based on a couple of emails and what I read on the Salisbury News blog.

A panning of the comments on the blog, you could assume that the Salisbury City Council is unpopular. One thing that is for sure, there is almost always a line between Councilmember Debbie Campbell and the four other members. By the way the four other members are Council President Mike Dunn, Council Vice President Gary Comegys, Shanie DeShields and Lynn Cathcart. Good News for Campbell is that this is an election year, and three people on the list are up for re-election.

Cathcart said that she wasn’t going to run for a second term. Comegys has decided to run for a second term against five challengers at last check. The big question in Wicomico is will Mike Dunn run for re-election. If he is, Dunn might have to pick up the pace because the filing deadline is this coming Wednesday at 4:30p.m.

Joe Albero, writer of the Salisbury News blog says in his opinion that Dunn is not, a point that I admit is arguable. When Comegys announced his re-election campaign, Dunn said he would be backing him 100 percent. If you are one to read into quotes, then you can assume that Dunn is in fact not running for re-election. No formal announcement has been made and as a political observer, the suspense is killing me.

There is a lock on at least one fresh face on the council. The five challengers are Tim Spies, Terry Cohen, Louise Smith and John S. Harris and Don Ewalt. Ewalt is the latest addition to what is now starting to become a crowded race, which can possibly turn to a standing room only if Dunn does in fact decide to run.

So stay tuned to your favorite news outlets from the shore as we get ready to watch “Run or No Run.”

P. Kenneth Burns is a journalist and broadcaster based in Laurel. He is the writer/editor of Maryland Politics Today.

Special Election Candidate Interviews

2007-01-26T13:01:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

Marc Elrich, At-Large Montgomery County Councilmember resigned his Takoma Park City Council seat when he took office a few weeks ago. The city is holding a special election to fill that Ward 5 seat. Will Elrich's replacement take the same bulldog stance in favor of city rent control? How will she or he deal with the possible loss of the Washington Adventist Hospital, located in that ward?

As a public service and at great personal expense and sacrifice, Your Gilbert is providing space for the Ward 5 Takoma Park City Council candidates: Alexandra Quéré Barrionuevo, Eric Hensel, and Reuben Snipper. Each candidate has been asked to respond to a questionnaire and their replies will be posted as they come in, each on its own page.

No, no, Dear Readers, don’t thank us! Not yet. Wait until we also tell you that we’re encouraging a dialog between readers and candidates on granolapark's pages. Please add your comments and questions for the candidates (on granolapark, not here, if you want the candidates to respond).

NOW, you may thank us!

The election will be held Tuesday, January 30th, at Columbia Union College, Wilkinson Hall, 7600 Flower Avenue in Takoma Park. The polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Links to additional information, including candidate photos and statements and a pdf download of a sample ballot can be found on the city web site.

We note that the ballot sample features candidates John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr (and write-in candidate Bob Dylan). We applaud the city staff’s sense of humor, but we wince slightly at the suggestion, once again, that Takoma Park is stuck in the 60s, man, and we hope next time, they use the names from a more recent well known band, the Sex Pistols, for example, or The Spice Girls.

Go to granolapark to read the interviews. (as of this posting, just one)

- Gilbert

The General Assembly Should Be Fired!

2007-01-25T00:11:00.000-05:00

also posted on Maryland Politics Today

Let's place the proper blame on this past summer's attempted spike in BGE bills to where it really belongs, The General Assembly. Most of the members who were there in 1999 when they passed deregulation and rate caps that were eerily set to expire during an election year.

One of the things that complicated matters was the fact that no one expected a Republican Governor to ever get elected. The governor gets to pick who he wants to serve on the Public Service Commission, which means he would get the majority. Another complication is the cost of energy that has rose dramatically since 1999, which factored in to the rate hike. BGE also sold of some power plants, which meant that they had to buy energy.

Those factors combined with in essence a General Assembly screw up caused for things to be heated up (and it was not the record heat at the time that contributed to the inferno of events.)

This summer, democratic lawmakers only delayed the inevitable in rising utility bills. They delayed dealing with the issue until after the election. Looking between the three plans that were approved (albeit that only one was implemented,) between Governor Ehrlich, the Public Service Commission and the General Assembly, Ehrlich's plan had the best and the General Assembly had the worse.

Ehrlich's plan would have phased in a rate hike, where the last two years of the phase-in would be based on market rates, which actually meant that bills might be cheaper. The PSC plan that they approved was somewhere in the middle. They had a deferment plan which would have tacked on interest. The best part of this compromise was that customers had the option of taking on the full 72 percent hike as opposed to having it deferred. The General Assembly had the worse, in which no one had the option of opting out of the deferment plan right away.

The Public Service Commission is practically blameless in this situation. Let's be honest and ask this question, if Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was elected governor in 2002, would the firing of the PSC even be discussed?

Dollars Coming and Going

2007-01-24T15:54:00.000-05:00

The Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute has a preliminary analysis of the Governor’s budget that goes into a bit more detail than what the administration released or the papers ran.

Speaking of taxes, the Post reminded us recently how backward our state tax structure is:

What's needed, as we've written before, is a top-to-bottom revision of Maryland's obsolete tax system, conceived in the 1960s and barely updated since then. The elements of such an overhaul might include a more progressive personal income tax, since the current one is virtually flat and therefore favors the rich; tougher corporate income tax collections to eliminate shelters; an increase in the gas tax, last raised 15 years ago, to yield badly needed funding for the state's roads and mass transit; and a levy on services, most of which remain inexplicably untaxed even though they constitute the backbone of Maryland's economy.

More detail about how Maryland’s taxes are taking a bigger bite out of the budgets of low- and middle income taxpayers than the wealthy is available by clicking on Maryland at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. With new Comptroller Peter Franchot promising to be a champion for progressive policy and the advocates at Progressive Maryland on the job, surely tax and budget policy that serves all Marylanders is coming our way.

Former Montgomery County Council President Tom Perez has been nominated by the Governor to be Maryland Secretary of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, an post important to the working families of the state (hat tip to Steve Fine).

And Trevor Fine has pointers on the free way to find out about legislation being considered by the General Assembly: In the "Bill Indexes" part of the site select "One Or Two Subjects." All bills in the MGA are classified by one or more subjects. To find bills relating to your subject use either the drop-down subject list or, if you don't see your term listed, use the thesaurus on the bottom of the page. Back on the main page, select "Statute" to search for bills affecting a specific code section."

SOTU

2007-01-23T21:23:00.000-05:00

Anyone else notice that President Bush mentioned "Baltimore, Maryland" and one of our greatest political families in the second line of the State of the Union?

As if that wasn't recognition enough, a few minutes later, our new Gov. Martin O'Malley showed up on the screen. He got quite a bit of facetime for someone with little connection to the federal government.

Flashing Blue Comes Up in the Red

2007-01-22T21:39:00.000-05:00

The verdict is in.

The blue light surveillance cameras. Those flashing Watchful Eyes of Big Brother, with the Orwellian "Believe" in Big Block Letters. One Flash-Flash-Flashes over and over into The League Headquarter's window periodically at night, which means we can honestly attest to their disturbing nature for nearby residents. And they serve as a Mark-of-Shame on the neighborhoods they infest.

And here's the kicker: they're ineffective.

The Baltimore Examiner reported this morning that "the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office says new data they’ve compiled raise serious questions about the effectiveness of the close to 300 pole cameras posted around Baltimore." The program's millions of dollars in cost has yielded very little results, netting a measly 399 guilty verdicts. The vast majority of the arrests were on drug violations, and "illegal cigarettes" came in third with 21 charges.

We can debate the symbolic and constitutional implications of the cameras for years, but the fact that they are ineffective is now indisputable. They are not a cost-effective means of fighting the crime that plagues our city.

The article mentions that police continue to defend the program, pointing to a "a 16 percent decrease in crime in the areas with surveillance cameras." But that doesn't actually mean a 16 percent reduction in crime as a whole. Rather, crimes that would have taken place on one corner move to another as soon as a camera is installed. Should we spend the billions of dollars needed to keep a watchful eye on every centimeter of public space in Baltimore City?

You shouldn't have needed to read this paragraph to know that the answer is "Of course not." Crime will always exist so long as the socio-economic, cultural and biological factors that result in it exist, so cameras are a waste of money. Perhaps we should redistribute our resources into tackling the root of the problem instead of keeping up this Leaguer with a blue light at night.

from The League: Reassembled

Optical scan voting technology for Maryland

2007-01-22T18:26:00.000-05:00

Shazia Anwar, director of the election technology reform group TrueVoteMD.org, wrote last week that the coming Maryland legislative session will be "the best political environment yet to get a good voter verified paper audit trail bill passed. Recent comments by various legislator leaders indicate that they intend to address the issue of a voter verified paper audit trail in the coming session."

In keeping with former governor Bob Ehrlich's skepticism about electronic voting, Republican leadership seems to be on board with making a change, judging by comments made by a party spokeswoman to AP's Kristen Wyatt and printed in Annapolis' The Capital in late December:

"The problem with the electronic voting machines is there is no way to recount any votes," [Audra] Miller said. Paper ballots or voting receipts "will give voters some semblance of assurance their vote was counted properly," she said.

The same article reports that House Speaker Mike Busch "said some sort of nonelectronic backup is certain" and quotes him saying that "We will deal with a verifiable paper trail." A January 2 Baltimore Sun article by Melissa Harris notes that newly elected Governor Martin O'Malley has "formed a team to study what do about problems with the Maryland's electronic voting system." Even Senate President Mike Miller (D) is a newly converted voice for change:

Miller said in an interview with The Sun last week that the legislature was considering the possibility of adding a paper trail to the state's touch-screen machines, which computer scientists and others have argued would reduce the chances of someone hacking into and tampering with election results.

"The reason we didn't move forward immediately last year was the cost factor," Miller said.

As suggested by Miller's comments, there's a lot of inertia for sticking with Diebold in some fashion. According to Harris, O'Malley's team was discussing three options: retrofitting current Diebold equipment with printers, switching to later model Diebold equipment with printers, or abandoning the current relationship with Diebold and switching to optical scan of paper ballots.

While any of these options would be welcome progress, I agree with TrueVoteMD that optical scan voting technology is preferable. As the Sun article points out, sticking with Diebold would once again make Maryland voters the guinea pigs in Linda Lamone's and Diebold's election day experiment/fiascos. First, other than a prototype, there's no retrofit option available yet for the current voting machine model. And second, no one else has yet adopted Diebold's newer voting machines featuring printers. As TrueVoteMD's director Shazia Anwar wrote in an e-mail last week:

The best solution to our current voting problems is to implement a precinct-based optical scanner system with a ballot-marking device for disabled voters. This will ensure the creation of a paper record of your vote that will be the official record during a mandatory audit and any recount. Computer experts and election reform advocates agree that this is the most secure system available, and it is also the most fiscally responsible solution, since it would require less machines (2000 optical scanners and 2000 ballot marking devices versus 24,000 electronic voting machines + printers) and thus less operating costs for our counties.

Have a look at TrueVoteMD's comparison of touch-screen voting machines fitted with printers versus optical scan technology. Among the drawbacks of touch screen-plus-printer:

Replacing our current machines with a newer model that has a paper trail would be expensive, and the printers have major problems [...]
Touch-screen voting machines require about 10 times more equipment than optical scanners, so annual operating costs are significantly higher. [...]
Thermal print-outs are not durable enough to serve as the legal record of a vote. They smear, fade, discolor or disappear quickly. They are also fragile, easily torn, and cannot withstand the repeated handling necessary for audits and recounts.

Among the advantages of optical scan technology (emphases in original):

Disabled voters can use a ballot-marking device or telephone-based interface that enables them to mark a ballot compatible with an optical-scan system.
During peak voting hours, the number of voters who can vote simultaneously is limited only by the amount of space available in the polling place to mark a ballot privately. Cardboard privacy screens are inexpensive and easy to store and transport.
Equipment failure does not prevent voters from casting ballots, because they can be stored for counting later if necessary.

Moreover, any problems with "fixed" Diebold voting machines -- printer jams, lack of paper, etc. -- are liable to make people blame that fix instead of the assumption that touch screen voting constitutes "progress."

The single acknowledged drawback for optical scan is that it will require larger printing runs for the required paper ballots, while the comparison acknowledges the "high tech" feel and the possibility of paper trail voter verification for touch screen-plus-printers. As TrueVote's suggested letter to legislators puts it:

Sometimes the most high-tech solution is not necessarily the best solution. Will you join us in working for a better solution for MD's voting system that will ensure more reliable election results while also allowing our counties to spend our tax dollars more wisely on the urgent needs that impact our daily lives? Please support the call for a change to a paper audit trail voting system by switching to a Precinct-based Optical Scan System so that we can have an accurate and verifiable system in place before the 2008 Presidential Election.

If you live in Maryland, I hope you'll consider clicking through to this letter and sending it.

=====
CROSSPOSTED from newsrack
NOTE: AP/The Capital and Baltimore Sun items via TrueVoteMD.

Development Wrestling Won't End Soon

2007-01-22T08:27:00.000-05:00

(Cross-posted on Maryland Politics Watch)

The Montgomery County Council continues to debate the form, content, and purpose of the proposed moratorium on development. A quick review of projects in progress or on the boards in downtown Bethesda shows why this issue is just not going to die away soon. Indeed, the amendments made in 2005 to the Bethesda Master Plan for the Woodmont Triangle area will likely lead to much greater levels of density in the area. The following is likely an incomplete list but it gives an idea of the scale of things to come in downtown Bethesda:

Already Under Construction

1. Lionsgate at the corner of Woodmont Ave. and Old Georgetown Rd. (where Olsson's and Flanagan's used to be located) will contain 158 new condo units as well as retail on the ground floor.

2. The Adagio on Wisconsin Ave. just north of Bradley Blvd. is behind schedule but under construction on Wisconsin Ave. The website says that the condos will be priced between $500,000 and $2 million.

Development Officially Proposed or Approved

1. Signs proclaiming that a development proposal has been filed have appeared in front of Thyme Square Cafe and the Landmark Cinemas located at Woodmont Ave. and Bethesda Ave. This property lies right next to where the Capital Crescent Trail enters the tunnel under Wisconsin Ave. (the trail reemerges by Elm St. Park in the Town of Chevy Chase). The existing restaurant and nightclub would disappear so that the proposed 14-story building containing a hotel, condos, office space, and retail could be built.

2. A 10-story condo building has been proposed for Rugby Ave. in the Woodmont Triangle.

3. Contruction for a new hotel is supposed to start soon by the Air Rights Building on Waverly Ave. just east of Wisconsin Ave.

4. The County has approved a request to rezone 7001 Arlington Rd. from C-4 to PD-4. I think that this plan entails building condos over the currently existing Post Office. This plan may beautify the area across the street from the Bradley Shopping Center as the Post Office, while incredibly useful and well located, is not all that attractive. I believe that the condo building proposed is relatively low in height.

5. On Hampden La, a proposal has been filed to build 60 condo units in a building that would range in height from three to seven stories.

6. On Old Georgetown Rd., a developer has filed a proposal to rezone land from R-60 to PD-44 or PD-68. R-60 is the zoning code for single-family residential homes with a 6000 square foot minimum lot size. PD-44 or PD-68 zoning would allow for much higher density as it is the zoning code for a planned development with 44 or 68 units per acre, respectively.

7. Proposals for a new building in the parking lot located at Woodmont Ave. and Bethesda Ave. opposite Barnes and Noble's bookstore have long been debated. My understanding is that the new building will contain condo units, including some affordable housing, as well as retail on the ground floor. A parking lot containing more spaces than the exisiting lot is to be constructed beneath the building. During construction, Woodmont Ave. between Bethesda Ave. and Leland St. will have to be closed off entirely to traffic for at least one year.

The post on Maryland Politics Watch further discusses two additional proposals rumored to occur in the future.

Energy Rate Hikes May Spell the End of Deregulation in Maryland

2007-01-21T18:38:00.000-05:00

Among the many issues that led to Democratic dominance in the fall elections, energy rate hikes were at the top of the list in Maryland. Forget the Iraq War. Marylanders were angry about how much it cost to heat and cool their homes.

In 1999, at the height of the privatization/deregulation frenzy, Maryland put into effect an energy deregulation bill that capped energy costs for six years in exchange for exposure to the vagaries of the wholesale market thereafter. But when the caps expired last year, Baltimore Gas & Electric proposed a 72% rate hike. Maryland's Public Service Commission gave its approval to the move, which incensed citizens and led to legislative action to stave off the increase. But the legislative action was only a temporary measure.

Now BG&E is suggesting a 47% increase instead.

(Read More . . .)

Irony at the Inauguration

2007-01-20T20:54:00.000-05:00

This past week saw two important inaugurations that brought us a new Governor down in Annapolis and a new Mayor here in Baltimore. There was enough pomp and circumstance to make a Naturalist Poet roll his eyes and speeches long enough to make a pretentious professor's lecture sound like a 10-second sound bite. But of all the festivities, what most struck The League was the performance of Maryland, My Maryland, and just who sang it.

The little diddly has been Maryland's state song since April 29, 1939 when the state legislature said so. But it was written at the dawn of the Civil War as a call for this original colony to secede. Maryland remained a Unionist state througout the conflict, but popular sentiment was so strongly with the Confederates that Union troops were stationed in places like Baltimore's Patterson Park to make sure there wasn't any Hanky Panky.

With lines like "Better the fire upon thee roll, Better the blade, the shot, the bowl, / Than crucifixion of the soul," Maryland, My Maryland is known as the most violent state song of any in the United States. It was written in response to the Pratt Street Riot of 1861 in which Union troops clashed with Confederate sympathizers on the streets of downtown Baltimore - an incident often pointed to as the first bloodshed of the Civil War.

Of the 12 civilians who died that April 19, one of 'em was the buddy of James Ryder Randall. Baltimore Born and Raised, Randall transformed his personal loss into a nice little poem criticizing President Abraham Lincoln as a "tyant" who spilled "the patriotic gore / That flecked the streets of Baltimore." Randall was known as the "Poet Laureate of the Lost Cause" for his many Odes to the South during the Civil War.

So on Wednesday afternoon, at the inauguration ceremony of Gov. Martin O'Malley, just who performed their rendition of this song that called for taking up arms to defend slavery? An all-black choir from Morgan State University, a historically-black college in the northeast section of the predominantly black City of Baltimore.

Our Governor can throw a party, but he can't seem to spot Irony.

from The League: Reassembled

Passing the Buck Back to MoCo?

2007-01-19T16:02:00.000-05:00

Is the legislature on the verge of demanding that Maryland's counties pony up more dough for the schools? The Gazette reports that at least one key legislator thinks so:

Local school aid in some Maryland counties is lagging behind their increases in wealth, prompting some legislators to call on local governments to ratchet up their own spending in education.

‘‘The issue of ‘Have they kept up?’ is a very valid issue to raise,” said Del. John L. Bohanan, who chairs the House Education and Economic Development Subcommittee.

Over the past five years, wealth per pupil has grown faster than local school aid per pupil in all but four counties: Harford, Howard, Prince George’s and Charles counties. Local wealth is calculated by adding the net taxable income of county residents and the assessable property tax base in the county. Divide that by the number of K-12 students for the local wealth per student.

This argument strikes me as a red herring. Read why on Maryland Politics Watch.

Snappy New Year

2007-01-19T10:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

The Takoma Park City Council started the new year snappily with a new suit, a new haircut, and second thoughts. The new suit was councilmember Bruce Williams’ (but he was back to the flannel shirt by the council’s second meeting of the year), the new haircut was councilmember Colleen Clay’s, and the second thoughts were councilmember Terry Seamen’s, though other councilmembers were on the same wavelength. He was wondering if the city really does need a new gym.

The cost of a new gym, to be built (perhaps, but less and less likely) next to the community center/municipal building/library, is estimated between 5.5 and 8.1 million dollars. In December the council discussed finding a way to cut back those estimated costs (see granolapark’s Gymnausium post).

It has come to his attention, he said during the first Council Comment of the new year (Jan. 8), that school gyms (located in the city, but controlled by the county), may be more available to the city than previously understood. That should be investigated thoroughly before plans proceed.

Councilmember Clay, who at past council meetings has debated at length the exact dimensions and materials of individual speed humps, made a new year’s resolution to restrain her tendency to micromanage. Considering her resolution she carefully weighed how to proceed with her next agenda item regarding the city recreation department. She was careful to make only a macro-management suggestion, though it was clearly agonizing, involving much tongue biting. The rec. department's problem is that, despite prior assurances that the city recreation department would be able to oversee the new community center facilities with the same staff and funding levels, there are problems.

Actually. there was one problem in particular. Councilmember Clay had arrived at the center to use a room she had booked to celebrate her child’s birthday, to find it had been double-booked. This was her personal introduction to a situation that many people have complained about, apparently. Councilmembers Joy Austin-Lane and Terry Seamens both backed Clay up, saying they’ve also heard from constituents about it. The solution, they agreed, in a strictly macro-management way, of course, is that more funding is needed.

This is a difficult thing for fiscal-conservatives such as Clay to advocate, yet the need is obviously there. One wonders where the money will come from. This will only pump up the blood pressure of those who are already apoplectic about the community center’s costs and errors. Good thing the hospital is still here - have the ambulances standing by!

- Gilbert

We Didn't Quite Make History, But It Happened Anyway

2007-01-18T21:57:00.000-05:00

Well, we made history today. Sheila Dixon was sworn in as Baltimore’s first female Mayor.

Scratch that – we didn’t actually play any role in it. Dixon took the job over from former Mayor Martin O’Malley, who left for the governorship (what, he can’t multitask?). We the Citizens of the Great City of Baltimore never actually voted for Dixon, but that doesn’t make her any less the Mayor – First Female or Otherwise. Just ask anyone who tried to drive down Saratoga or Lexington this afternoon: an inaugural ceremony for someone who ascends to an office as a non-elected replacement shuts down streets just as thoroughly as one for someone who was voted in.

Similarly, a non-voted-in ascendant also has all the other powers Mayors enjoy. She will remain ultimately responsible for City Services. She will make important decisions on development and land-use. She will set the agenda for this town of our’s.

The League has criticized Dixon in the past for ethics issues because, quite frankly, she is corrupt. But, just as frankly, we want to note that that doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll be a bad Mayor. Dixon has indicated she’ll follow in O’Malley’s footsteps. She’s kept quite a few of his people on staff and even borrowed the new Governor’s most recent rhetorical obsession of “One Maryland” (Dixon’s inaugural speech was titled "One People -- One Baltimore”). If you think O’Malley did a good job running this place, you’re likely to think Dixon is up to par as well.

But most close observers with a progressive tilt saw a number of shortcomings with O’Malley. On a couple of these, Dixon offers break with the past. For example, she does not embrace the unforgiving, Get-Tough-On-Crime approach to our law-breakers that O’Malley promulgated. She won’t take the Orwellian cameras off our corners (even though the blinking one keeps up this Leaguer some nights), but we may see the emphasis shift to treatment instead of incarceration for drug addicts. On development, Dixon will likely continue the strong investment into the Harbor and central business district (she kept M. Jay Brodie on with the Baltimore Development Corp.) but she has also promised just as strong a push for revitalizing residential neighborhoods. She mentioned Park Heights.

Keep in mind another factor that will strongly influence Dixon’s actions: she must keep her job in a September primary in which she’ll face some tough and qualified challengers. This must inform much of her thinking and actions as Mayor.

Baltimore’s First Female Mayor is likely to be the Second O’Malley Mayor – but let’s hope she breaks with her predecessor on some of his shortcomings.

from The League: Reassembled

O'Malley Releases FY08 Budget

2007-01-18T17:40:00.000-05:00

The O'Malley administration released it's proposed Fiscal Year 2008 budget. The proposal, which came in under the Spending Affordability Limit set by the General Assembly, notably recommends growth at only 2.5% over last year and keeps a $670 million "rainy day" fund. The new Governor needed to fund his campaign promises - including a record $400 million for school construction - under the looming shadow of a structural deficit expected to exceed $1 billion a year for the next four years.

The proposal gives Baltimoreans some reasons to smile. Our local universities and medical institutions would make out pretty well and the zoo would get a cool million. There would be funds for renovating the deteriorated sewer system and giving resources to urban parks like Joseph Lee. North Avenue would benefit from state assistance to MICA's new "Gateway" building at the Mt. Royal-83 intersection, where construction has already begun. Many other projects would also receive funds from the state government.

The administration provides the following summary:

K-12 Education:

The FY 2008 budget provides $5.2 billion in K-12 Education funding including a $680 million increase in school aid – the largest ever – and $400 million in school construction. The FY 2008 budget fully-funds the Thornton Education plan and provides funding for teacher pension enhancements. O’Malley will also work with the General Assembly to pass legislation mandating the Geographic Cost of Education Index phased in beginning in FY 2009.

Higher Education:

The budget boosts investment in higher education by $192 million – including an 18% increase for community colleges, makes capital investments in our Historically Black Colleges and Universities and enables the University System of Maryland campuses and Morgan State University to enact an undergraduate in-state tuition freeze.

Public Safety:

The FY 2008 budget provides an additional $2 million to protect Maryland’s families from sex offenders. The funds will be used to increase monitoring of sex offenders by Global Positioning Systems and to assist local law enforcement. The budget also provides $7 million to fund 155 new correctional officer positions and $33 million for a new 192-cell housing unit at the Maryland Correctional Training Center in Hagerstown. Funds are also allocated to expand the capacity the State Police Laboratory to analyze DNA samples and to ensure that all Maryland State Troopers have new handguns.

Environment and Agriculture:

In his first budget, O’Malley kept his campaign pledge to fully fund Program Open Space. The budget provides $289 million in land preservation programs and $138 million to improve local water and wastewater systems to help improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The budget provides funding for cover crops and triples Maryland’s investment in the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO), to sustain agricultural businesses.

Health:

The FY 2008 budget provides an additional $10 million for stem cell research, a 66% increase to $25 million, expands drug treatment funding, and provides assistance to seniors through the Senior Prescription Drug Assistance program. The budget also restores healthcare benefits to legal immigrant families – including 3,000 children. In addition, over $100 million is provided to strengthen Maryland’s healthcare provider systems, including increasing payments to physicians participating in the State’s Medicaid Program.

Transportation:

Governor O’Malley is committed to undertaking a comprehensive review of Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund. The FY 2008 budget provides over $1 billion for highway and road projects across the state to reduce traffic, over $300 million for public transit projects, over $100 million for improvements and dredging projects to make the Port of Baltimore more competitive, and $119 million for state airport projects, including upgrades at Thurgood Marshall BWI Airport.

Jobs and Economic Development:

The FY 2008 budget makes strategic investments to continue Maryland’s economic growth – and expand opportunity for our neighbors in every jurisdiction, including $70 million for business development programs (including $20 million to support small or minority business entrepreneurs), $16 million for the Maryland Arts Council, an increase of $1.2 million or 8% over FY 2007, $6 million in capital funding for the Neighborhood Business Redevelopment Program, $4 million for Rural Broadband Assistance funding to extend DSL service to 26 Eastern Shore communities, attracting industry and employment opportunities to the region, $2 million for the Sunny Day Fund to capitalize on extraordinary economic development opportunities for Maryland, $1 million for the new no-interest business loan program for disabled veterans and military reservists, $5 million for technology transfer/development and for incubator programs and $5 million in capital funding for the East Baltimore Biotechnology Park.

from The League: Reassembled

O'Malley: Let's Get It Started!

2007-01-18T09:14:00.000-05:00

(Originally posted on The Old Line.)

As you may have heard, Martin O'Malley was sworn in as Governor. David Lublin has the text of his inaugural address, if you want to read it. Now obviously, no one can say for certain at this point whether O'Malley will be do a good job. One thing, however, that is interesting is that, despite the lofty rhetoric of his recent speeches, he's not taking an aggressive approach to promoting his agenda, as the Post notes. And while several Democrats in the General Assembly have put forth a number of ambitious proposals, O'Malley hasn't yet committed political capital, as it were, to any of them.

Compare this with the newly-elected Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York, who has proposed a panoply of initiatives, ranging from universal preschool to campaign finance reform. The House of Representatives, meanwhile, has been quick to pass a series of important legislation, albeit of narrow range. Indeed, among progressives, there's a sense that we are in a moment where Democrats can begin to set the terms of political debate in their favor, rather than constantly arguing within Republican frames. It's a shame, then, that O'Malley, in one of the most Democratic states in the union, doesn't feel confident enough, at least not yet, to pursue a strong progressive agenda. The Post article above attributes this reticence to experience as Mayor of Baltimore, which certainly would kneecap most idealist politicians. And as I've mentioned, tackling the coming budget deficits may well curb any chicken-in-every-pot instincts in Annapolis. But I hope O'Malley doesn't let his reticence, however well founded, get the better of him.

UPDATE: Dan Rodrick's column on O'Malley's inaugural address covers the same ground in more detail:

O'Malley represents a generation of politicians - he's one year younger than Barack Obama - who can take a fresh approach to things, who can set high ideals and dare the states and the nation to achieve them.
But - and I never thought I'd be saying this - in some respects, it appears O'Malley has become too cautious in his approach. His inaugural speech was another example.
One of the attractive qualities of this guy was his impatience.

Don't Fairfax Me!

2007-01-17T16:18:00.000-05:00

WARNING: This post is both a rant and a restaurant review. If you'd not like to read about development today, please scroll down.

pictured: a bumper sticker from a Charlottesville-area NIMBY group.

Last night, while Just Up The Pike was eating dinner at Miller's, the bar where one Dave Matthews once served drinks, the NIMBYs and Evil Developers threw down in Rockville to hash out Marilyn Praisner's building moratorium that would delay the construction of 5,000 new homes in the County until August.

Despite the protests of chairman Royce Hanson - the architect of the Agricultural Reserve who was appointed to fix the planning commission - you still have Jim Humphrey from the Montgomery County Civic Federation spouting B.S. like "let's not worry about a lapse in economic vitality" as if every empty building and parcel in the County will suddenly start growing crops. Meanwhile, Marilyn Praisner leading the charge for "slow-growth," saying she's finally listening to The People.

I have to praise Valerie Ervin, however, for taking a cautioned stand against the moratorium. "If this is such a great idea, why is it necessary to have so many exemptions?" she asked, a complete reversal from last summer's statements in favor of it.

But surprisingly, the tide has turned against growth in Charlottesville as well. The Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population, perhaps the most subtle name for a NIMBY group ever, has "growth is NOT inevitable" as one of their core beliefs, sounding more than a little reminiscent of our friends the Neighbors. And the local alternative weekly, weary from the Dave Matthews Band-induced popularity of the town, is complaining that gentrification in the city and development on the fringe is causing Charlottesville to "jump the shark," losing the "Southern hippie charm" that made it so attractive in the first place.

MoCo and Charlottesville, as the nation's Most Progressive Municipality and Best Place to Live, respectively, both face a major conflict. It's clear that we have to come to terms with development, but not the terms of the shouting NIMBY minority. A few of The People may have spoken, but they're way out of line. I apologize for sounding like a broken record, but if we put growth on hold for the next eight months just to appease them, we'll come to regret it.

As for Miller's: It's a dive-ish bar in the middle of Downtown, a narrow, dark-panelled space straight out of a movie. While cheap, the food was excellent, but the loud music over the P.A. (Staind, Staind and more Staind) really hurt the ambience. I wouldn't have minded seeing old Dave on the little stage by the door, but I was about fifteen years too late.

Crossposted at Just Up The Pike.

2010

2007-01-17T12:56:00.000-05:00

Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski turned 70 in 2006. While this might mean nothing, the fact that she'd be 78 at the end of another term (and the lack of competitive races in Maryland in 2008) has restarted the perennial speculation about whether she might retire. Names bandied about as potential challengers for her seat, should she retire are:

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Baltimore: with a deep wellspring of respect from his work in the civil rights movement and as a Member of Congress, the likelihood of multiple candidates from the DC area, and the recent complaints by MD African Americans that Democrats take them for granted, makes him a prime candidate.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Montgomery County is young, ambitious, and while chairing the DCCC over the next two years will build relationships that could serve him in good stead should he choose to run for Senate. As he develops contacts in the House, however, he could see a future in leadership there that would make moving on less attractive (a la Steny Hoyer).

Former Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan is unlikely to be interested in serving in Congress, but given his relative youth and the strong relationships he built in his brief gubernatorial bid, could be a contender.

Rep. Al Wynn of Prince George's County has long been trying to build a base of big money donors to run for Senate. After his near defeat at the hands of a little known challenger this past cycle and his lack of statewide credibility, he is unlikely to be a serious contender for the Senate seat in 2010.

Former Ann Arundel County Executive Janet Owens could always emerge as a candidate but is seen as less likely to do so or to really set the campaign on fire, just as former Baltimore County Executive and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger would be a solid but unlikely candidate. Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson was rocked by a serious challenge in the last cycle, so he's less likely to be maneuvering for the Senate but if things change he might be looking for a new job at the end of his second term so anything could happen. Of course there may be ambitious execs elsewhere in the state, but it's hard to imagine the new Howard County Exec, new Balto Mayor Dixon, or a host of others really being contenders. A lot can happen in four years, but what do you know or suspect now?

Back at Last!

2007-01-17T11:44:00.000-05:00

I spent the last few months in haitus from my own blog, HarCoDem for many reasons. Unfortunately, I lack the resources to be competitive in Harford against HarforDem and HarfordRepublican.

Oh well.

Today marks the next chapter in triumphs as Martin O'Malley is sworn into office at Noon. Many of us worked long and hard on his campaign or for his cause. It was not an easy win, but it was needed. Justly, we were rewarded with a larger majority in the legislature and O'Malley/Brown in the Governor's Office.

I for one can not wait to see what O'Malley has in store for the State of the State, and what he has in store for the current legislative session. As Legislative Director for the MD College Dems, I will be looking long and hard at what bills are going through and giving periodic updates on how you - the readers - can help out.

Example;
Anyone in MD can suggest a bill to a delegate/senator. Most are very reachable. Get an appointment with their office, have a plan on something you would like passed/proposed. Give data; the less info the office has to gather, the better your chances the Delegate/Senator will introduce it. This should be around a 2+ pages of details, or you may risk being bumped into the "this can wait" pile. Follow up with the people you contact weekly, as it will show that what you are asking is very important to you.

I will be doing this taskl during this legislative session. I will be contacting District 34 Delegates asking for an addition to the MD Work code to prohibit employers for firing employees because they are homosexual.

This isn't gay marriage, nor should it be intended to be a gateway, but presently it is legal to fire someone on that basis. This is wrong and I endeavor to change it. I have too many gay friends who have been fired or are scared of being fired. This should not be a major concession for any faction, but we all can agree that every American, every Marylander, should be entitled to a job that they are qualified for regardless of who they are, what they are, or what background they came from.

Details on this as it develops.

Invitation: Crabopedia

2007-01-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

All FSP members are invited to contribute content to the new Crabopedia, a wiki just for Maryland life and politics including local politics. It may be useful as well as a resource for initial research or speculation for posts here at FSP.

Thanks.

Senator Cardin on Iraq: "Time for a Change"

2007-01-12T22:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday freshman Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) gave his first speech on the Senate floor, and it was about Iraq. Cardin voted against the Iraq war as a representative, and advocated a pullout from Iraq by the end of 2007 in his 2006 Senate campaign.

In yesterday's speech -- titled "Time for a Change" -- Cardin was vocally against escalation (a word he used to describe the plan Bush announced on Wednesday evening). He sees the November 7 election as being in large part a referendum on Iraq, and said the Iraq Study Group recommendations of last month were similar to his own.

While Cardin didn't use the speech to describe specific legislative steps he's prepared to support to oppose escalation or continued American occupation of/presence in Iraq, he does seem to want vigorous action by Congress; it seems to me his remarks that he would not be satisfied with nonbinding resolutions against escalation or for some kind of phased pullout. From excerpts at his Senate web site:

Iraq is a country today torn by civil war. Victory in Iraq will not be achieved with our military might. It will come only from successfully aiding Iraq in establishing a government that protects the rights and enjoys the confidence of all its people. It must be a government that respects both human rights and democratic rights. The efforts of U.S. soldiers, no matter how heroic, cannot accomplish these objectives for the Iraqis. [...]

So when President Bush said several weeks ago that he was reevaluating the situation in Iraq and would announce a new policy shortly after the new year, there was great hope – that the President, Congress and the American people could come together with an effective new policy to help the people in Iraq and advance U.S. interests. . . Unfortunately, that was not the case. President Bush has decided to ignore the advice of the Iraq Study Group, many of his own military officials and the American people in making his decision to send 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq.

The full text of his remarks can be found on pages S412-413 of the January 11, 2007 Congressional Record. His recognition of the nature of the November 7 elections is clearer there. After noting that voters defeated six incumbent Senators to get change, for reasons including ethics reform, "quality health care,"and better educational opportunities, he continued:

But the loudest cry in November was the call for a change in our policies in Iraq. Americans overwhelmingly want to see our troops begin to come home and they don’t want to see thousands of additional troops go to Iraq.

Cardin's recommendations:

We must begin by starting to bring our troops home, not by escalating troop levels. We need to engage and energize the international community, including our traditional allies as well as other countries in the Middle East. Our primary focus must be extensive political and diplomatic negotiations directed toward the twin goals of a cease-fire and a lasting and stable Iraqi Government.

Referring to hearings before the Foreign Relations Committee (on which he serves) and elsewhere, Cardin said:

The hearings taking place in the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees are vital. But our responsibility goes well beyond the hearings. Individually and collectively, we must act with our voices and our votes, speaking out vigorously and taking action against the continued mismanagement of this war.

I'd have preferred "prosecution" to "mismanagement," and I'd have preferred some specifics about the kinds of actions Cardin will support. But Cardin's speech shows that he knows that Iraq is issue number one, that reining Bush in is essential, that pulling out troops is a prerequisite for whatever "success" still means in Iraq -- and that just talking about that won't do.

=====
CROSSPOSTED from newsrack
CROSSPOSTED to Watching Those We Chose

MoCo Loses Again in New Budget?

2007-01-12T00:04:00.000-05:00

(Cross-posted on Maryland Politics Watch)

Governor-Elect O'Malley has won plaudits for presenting a balanced budget without using the same accounting gimmicks as outgoing Governor Ehrlich:

The source said the budget is balanced, which is required by law. O’Malley closed an estimated $413 million shortfall, without tax increases or major staff cuts. Program Open Space and the Transportation Trust Fund — two pots of money governors have used to balance the books — were not touched.
In fact, O’Malley was expected to tout his funding of Program Open Space in a town hall meeting Thursday night in Southern Maryland.

However, O'Malley's key to balancing the budget without gimmicks appears to be stepping back from his support for the geographic cost of education index (GCEI):

O’Malley tipped off reporters Wednesday about one way he trimmed the budget. The geographic cost of education index, or GCEI, will not be fully funded in his first budget. The GCEI is part of the 2002 package of education aid reforms called the Thornton plan.
Although state budgets have embraced Thornton aid, GCEI has remained unfunded. About $100 million would be distributed to 10 jurisdictions in the state; Baltimore city and Prince George’s and Montgomery counties would benefit the most.
‘‘We will be looking to ramp up the [formula] in the years ahead,” O’Malley said in an impromptu press conference outside the State House.
During the gubernatorial campaign, O’Malley pledged support for the GCEI.
O’Malley told reporters that his administration would ‘‘make progress” in funding GCEI, as well as more money for school construction and holding down college tuition.
Although GCEI remains unfunded, the state is scheduled to spend an extra $580 million in other education aid, O’Malley said.
‘‘You can’t say you’ve fully funded Thornton until GCEI is funded,” said Sen. Patrick J. Hogan (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village, vice chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee.
But even without GCEI, the budget would increase education aid by $580 million with Thornton, O’Malley said.

Montgomery is a major beneficiary of the GCEI. No doubt O'Malley will argue that he has gone further toward funding the GCEI than Ehrlich. However, GCEI remains the key part of the Thornton plan which is unfunded and it is very important to funding education in Montgomery. Montgomery may be a wealthy county but the kids in the schools tend to come from less economically privileged backgrounds than the average county resident and often need more services. Of course, school construction also remains a major issue.

Unsurprisingly, O'Malley didn't let this cat out of the bag at the town meeting held the other night at Einstein High School. Supporters of higher funding for Montgomery schools are now going to have to press their case not just at the County but at the State level. However, getting full funding for the GCEI was never going to be easy so I imagine proponents of it are preparing to lobby hard.

What's So Funny About Budgets, Taxes, and Spending?

2007-01-11T11:10:00.000-05:00

(originally posted at The Old Line.)

Maryland's General Assembly convened yesterday. Both the League and the Post give good rundowns on the items likely to be on the legislative agenda, among them reforming the archaic ground rent system, raising vehicle emission standards, dealing with the possible abolition of the death penalty, and amending the state constitution to allow early voting.

Looming over all this, I think, will be the coming budget deficits, and the prospect of either cutting programs, raising taxes, or both. Like many states, and unlike the federal government, Maryland effectively cannot run deficits: The Governor must submit a balanced budget to the General Assembly, which in turn can only delete appropriations from the budget, not add to it; and should a special session be called, any new appropriations must be matched with new taxes or other revenue sources. (See this for more details). This restriction, I think, hampers the ability of the state to adequately respond to the needs of Marylanders. Not that I'm advocating being fiscally irresponsible, à la the Bush Administration, but rather that a modest, manageable deficit might be preferable to, say, having to yet again put off support for education, especially in Baltimore. Paul Krugman, BTW, made a similar argument a while back with respect to the new Democratic Congress.

Speculation aside, I think Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly will need to take a good, hard look at both Maryland's spending commitments and its tax code before they can make headway on any major policy initiative, of which there are a few. No doubt also Comptroller Peter Franchot will weigh in on the matter as well.

Tags: maryland politics budget taxes

O'Malley Goes To Einstein High

2007-01-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

The parking lot at Einstein High was packed forty-five minutes before last night's Town Hall Meeting with Governor-elect Martin O'Malley, Lieutenant Governor-elect Anthony Brown, and new Secretary of Transportation John Porcari (oh, and Ike Leggett hosted, apparently), reflecting the normal Montgomery County seriousness about local politics. A standing-room-only crowd of nearly a thousand filled the auditorium, eager to see our new governor kick off his week-long "One Maryland" tour, culminating with his inauguration next Wednesday.

A dozen state, county and local officials showed up, but the first two rows of the auditorium remained conspicuously empty, reflecting a smaller-than-expected turnout. Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, whose district includes Einstein High, was notably very absent, as was Nancy Floreen, who lives in neighboring Garrett Park. (Her secretary said she is biking in Vietnam this week.) In their place, non-elected officials worked the crowd - Hans Riemer, who lost to Ervin in the Democratic primaries; Dr. Dana Beyer, a fixture at these events; and a surprise showing from former state Senator Ida Ruben.

Martin O'Malley's opening comments were a throwback to the speeches of John F. Kennedy - "I promise that if we join together, put one foot in front of the other, we will make progress" - but the statements that followed weren't nearly as idealistic or even understandable, in a few cases. The parade of disgruntled citizens speaking their piece to our elected officials was compared to "a comedy" by the woman sitting next to me.

When Ike Leggett opened the floor to questions, people filled the aisles. Perhaps seventy people were in line to ask a question, but after ninety minutes of back-and-forth between the panel and the people, Leggett pulled the plug (though not without letting several people ask the "last question"), leaving quite a few people frustrated after waiting so long.

The mood of frustration was fueled by some speakers who didn't seem to understand time limits. The spokeswoman for the Vietnamese Community of D.C., Maryland and Virginia, spent two minutes regurgitating the national anthem in broken English only to ask Martin O'Malley if her group could be invited to his inaugural parade, eliciting moans and a few laughs from the audience.

Most of the questions fielded to the panel concerned transportation, or more specifically the InterCounty Connector. One Longmead Crossing resident who launched into a tirade about the highway. "You can't do anything about [traffic], you can't even address it, and it all comes back to that six-lane highway," he snarled, eliciting a swell of applause and cheers from the audience. Rich Parsons, former president of the Chamber of Commerce and "speaking as a private citizen for the first time," was the lone supporter and got quite a few boos, which eventually turned to cheers when he brought up the Purple Line.

However, the most boos were reserved for one gentleman from Wheaton, who riffed on the money wasted by our "250,000 uninvited guests," by which he meant illegal immigrants. Even Ike didn't sound too enthusiastic telling the audience to let him speak. The gentleman, a "dorky white guy" of the dorkiest sort, told O'Malley he could find a solution: "You're a smart guy, smarter than I am-" but he was cut off: "No, if I were smart, I wouldn't have run for public office," and the man was quieted.

Despite the feeling that entire civic associations were bused in to promote their pet projects, the event was very successful. Many people have accused O'Malley of lacking substance, and his flowery, feel-good language wouldn't have done much to change their opinions, but it does inspire. He dominated the event, leaving the straight-talking Porcari, reticent Brown and a subdued Leggett to sit and stare. Afterwards, Hans Riemer suggested that Leggett "could have led the event more," a given since the sign in front of Einstein pegged him as The Host. Perhaps it's just that hard to eclipse the lead singer of a Celtic rock band.

Crossposted at Just Up The Pike, along with Part Two.

Session 2007 Preview

2007-01-09T21:06:00.000-05:00

The oldest state legislature in the United States is convening in Annapolis tomorrow for its 423rd session. After four years of tension between the strongly Democratic legislature and Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich, Democrat Martin O’Malley will be in the Governor’s Mansion. But a couple of contentious issues could make for an interesting session, particularly since the strong-willed Assembly leadership probably won’t be as accommodating as Mayor O’Malley became accustomed to with the Baltimore City Council.

Get Your Hands Off My House, Your Paws off my Property
(We couldn’t decide on the better title)

The legislature promised to kick off the session by tackling the ground rent issue. Ground rent, an antiquated system in which investors own the land beneath buildings, became the subject of outrage following a Baltimore Sun investigative report. The problem has been most felt in Baltimore, where some of the cruelest investors have seized peoples’ homes.

Our Fearless Leaders will confront this problem first thing. Gov. O’Malley plans to meet with legislators hours before session opens to discuss possible proposals, including prohibiting home seizure and phasing out ground rents altogether. Prospects are high that this is one problem that will be sufficiently addressed.

Crime Don’t Pay

Maryland’s criminal justice system is in dire need of help. One issue moving in the right direction is the death penalty. The Court of Appeals recently issued a rejection of the state’s lethal injection procedure, leaving capital punishment itself in doubt. Incoming Gov. O’Malley is personally opposed to it, raising hopes that the racist, costly and inhumane system will return to the moratorium that was lifted by outgoing Gov. Ehrlich.

The League’s hopes aren’t as high for other criminal justice issues of particular importance to Baltimoreans, but we may see some good come out of the session. In the wake of a year in which police misconduct constantly found its way to the front pages, there are proposals to videotape suspect interrogations and automatically expunge criminal records for those who are arrested but never charged with a crime. These ideas would do wonders for fixing the broken system that wreaks the most havoc on poor areas of Baltimore, but their passage is far from certain.

Votes About Voting

Early voting has seen more ups and downs than a Pigtown whore’s skirt, but the issue may finally be resolved this time around. Legislation was originally passed in 2005, then blocked by Ehrlich in a veto that was subsequently overridden by the Democratic legislature. But the measure wasn’t done there; the Court of Appeals found it unconstitutional. If the General Assembly wants to give voters the flexibility of early voting, it only has one option: a constitutional amendment.

Paper ballots are also on the agenda following the catastrophe that was last year’s primary. Republicans may point to the same problem as a misleading justification for requiring identification at the polls. The Voter Rights Protection Act of 2007 and a bill allowing election day voter registration will also be considered.

The Road to a Cleaner Environment

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller recently indicated his support for tougher emissions standards for automobiles. Republicans will put up a losing fight on behalf of short-sighted business interests but, at the end of the day, the environment will win out on this fight.

Cleaner cars won’t get us where we need to be, however, so long as Marylanders continue to be so damn reliant on their motor vehicles. The root of the problem is suburbia. Incoming Gov. O’Malley may reinvigorate the Office of Smart Growth, an agency dedicated to fighting sprawl that was gutted under the Ehrlich administration. Our leaders must do everything in their power to encourage people to move into high-density areas and provide comprehensive public transportation to reduce reliance on cars. This is especially important as the state deals with an influx of residents as a result of the BRAC military realignment.

from The League: Reassembled

O'Malley at Einstein Tonight

2007-01-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will host Governor-Elect Martin O’Malley at a Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, January 9 at 8 p.m., at Einstein High School, 11135 Newport Mill Road, Kensington. The town meeting is free and open to all. Residents are invited to share their ideas and priorities with the Governor-Elect issues of state-wide concern. Also attending the meeting will be Lt. Governor-Elect Anthony Brown and Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary-Designate John Porcari.

(Cross-posted on Maryland Politics Watch)

Old Year Hangovers

2007-01-08T19:07:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

Your Gilbert has been busy with holidays and a virus, so we will just have a quick year-end update of a couple of important city issues.

AS PREDICTED, the pitchfork and torch-wielding masses showed up at the Dec. 11th Takoma Park City Council meeting to complain about some aspect of the proposed rent stabilization reforms. Most of Gilbert’s other predictions came true as well, with the exception that no tears were shed (that could be seen). Landlords said “too little, too late,” and claimed that the reforms, though an improvement, still do not allow them to make a fair return - only getting rid of rent control would do that. Tenants said the landlords, the corporate landlords, anyway, were liars, citing incidents of negligence, gouging, fraud, and bill padding.

The process staggers onwards. Mayor Porter says she is aiming at, but not promising, finishing up the process by late February or early March. Dr. Barr, the consultant who drafted the reforms, will return in January to tweak them. She assured everyone that there is still time for comment and input.

Also discussed at the Dec. 11 meeting, the last held in 2006, were the city gym funeral arrangements, er . . options. Following up on the previous week’s discussion of three plans, each costing several million dollars more than the city has, the council decided to keep the patient on life-support. Options such as a public forum/charette were suggested, a process similar to that out of which the Carroll Avenue improvement plan came. The main concern was informing every possible constituency. Nobody wants to develop a plan only to have a group of citizens come forth and say “hey,you didn’t ask US about this!”

So, watch for notifications of a public forum soon in the city newsletter and perhaps other venues. The Mayor herself may come banging on your door with an engraved invitation!

--Gilbert

Where Are They Now?

2007-01-06T13:52:00.000-05:00

The voter's rejection of their administration in November left Gov. Bob Ehrlich and Lt. Gov. Michael Steele unemployed. But both men have children - and Steele a dog - they need to feed, so retirement isn't an option for either.

Ehrlich is off to New York today to meet with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani about a role in Giuliani's presidential bid, The Washington Times reports. Nothing's finalized, but The League thinks Ehrlich is the perfect match for Giuliani's campaign: Republican primary voters sure as hell aren't going to vote for a twice-divorced Manhattanite and Ehrlich has a bit of experience in losing.

Steele floated his own name as a possible pick to lead the Republican National Committee in a pathetic display of self-promotion that didn't pan out. But it turns out that now, while still officially Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, Steele is already diving into his new job as a pundit on CNN. The 24-hour news channel doesn't have anything about it on its website, but The League spotted Steele chatting about the issues of the day on the afternoon show The Situation Room. Steele is the perfect Talking Head: he can blather away for hours without saying anything of substance.

Good to see Maryland's Washed Up Politicos are getting on with their lives.

from The League: Reassembled

Mayor Conaway? Probably not, but smart tactic

2007-01-05T10:12:00.000-05:00

Nobody really expects Frank M. Conaway, Sr. to succeed in his bid to be Baltimore Mayor. The man has put his fair share into city politics, including a stint as chair of the Legislative Black Caucus while in the House of Delegates, but his past is more liability than asset. Conaway resigned his seat amid a scandal involving his personal business and already lost a mayoral campaign. He is also dogged by personal problems.

All said, Conaway is unlikely to emerge from a crowded field challenging Sheila Dixon, who will have a year's experience in the Mayor's office after she takes the reigns from incoming Gov. Martin O'Malley.

For one thing, how can anyone use the obscure position of Circuit Court Clerk to launch a mayoral campaign?

Conaway thinks he has an answer. And, we have to admit, it's pretty ingenious. Instead of resigning himself to the mundane tasks of his office, which typically calls for quietly keeping records and conducting other unglamorous court business, Conaway is using his institutional authority and public office bullypulpit to seize on an explosive issue.

Last month, The Sun published an investigative series documenting an arcane system in which residents must pay fees to those who own the property on which their homes sit. The paper discovered that the arrangement "is increasingly being used by some investors to seize homes or extract large fees from people who often are ignorant of the loosely regulated process." The expose caused outrage among those who rightly see the system as antiquated and unfair. In fact, addressing the problem is the General Assembly's first order of business when it convenes next week, The Sun reported.

So what does ground rent have to do with the Clerk of Baltimore's Circuit Court or the guy who holds that office, Frank Conaway, Sr.? Technically, nothing. But Conaway is cleverly using his office to seize upon the issue in a move that is certain to at least help his campaign. He organized a community forum to discuss the problem scheduled for 6pm next Monday, Jan. 8 at the Poly/Western campus. The tactic probably won't give Conaway enough momentum to propel him into the mayor's office, but it's a smart political move that could actually result in some benefits for the city, too.

from The League: Reassembled

Meta: Thanks and All the Best for 2007

2007-01-01T22:22:00.000-05:00

Best wishes to everyone here at FSP, especially On Background, for whose graciousness I remain grateful.

Due to the demands of multiple projects online, a 50 hour a week job, a monstrous commute and substantial family/child care responsibilities, I have had to make tough decisions about how to get done well what I am doing. There never seems to be enough time to do everything as well as it deserves. In my view, Free State Politics should be a "tight" publication, one with excellent contributors who post often. FSP will be tighter without me, and my other projects will likewise be tighter in 2007 with a sharper focus as I focus more narrowly on them.

I would hope that the FSP contributors would make FSP their first venue of choice for discussions of Maryland politics; that said, any contributor to FSP should feel invited to drop by Crablaw as the inclination arises.

To all a happy and healthy 2007.

Murder Up

2007-01-01T11:40:00.000-05:00

Crime and schools.

We can have the best in luxury living, the finest restaurants and the most intriguing arts around. But as long as our streets are dangeous and our schools failing, not enough people are going to consider making Baltimore their home.

That's why 2007 was another disappoinment for those of us hoping the muder numbers would continue the downward crawl of earlier this decade. Instead, we had more murders this year than last; 274 compared with 269 in 2005, according to preliminary statistics.

In his excellent piece, Baltimore Sun crime reporter Gus Sentementes (a former Charles Villager) reviews the stats to paint a portrait of those who die violent deaths on the streets of Baltimore. They are typically young, black males with priors who remain the drug game.

Petty crime will always be with us. There are no dense urban areas where owners can rest absolutely assured that their car window won't be smashed or their newspaper is safe on the front steps. People who want to live city lives - that is, sustainable lives in real communities close to ammenities, jobs and the arts - can make do with a couple of nuisances.

But the murder rate is what gives Baltimore our bad image and keeps newcomers from moving in. We must embrace a new strategy to get our fatal attacks down.

Note: most murders are the result of drug activity. Drug activity remains dangerous because it is illegal and thus forced underground to be carried out by criminals. Take the crime out of the drugs and you take the criminals out of the drug game. Take the criminals and their accompanying violence out of the drug game and Baltimore becomes a much safer place to live.

Prognosis for political leaders forward-looking enough to make it happen: you're kidding, right?

from The League: Reassembled

On a happier note: Happy New Year to all those who write and read Free State Politics! And even to a few who don't!

mOSTLY fLUFF

2006-12-26T15:15:00.000-05:00

CQPolitics has a piece on Chris Van Hollen's new role as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that recycles things most of us have heard, but reminds us that: "If Van Hollen has any major challenge for his upcoming tenure, it is that the big Democratic gains of 2006 surely will be impossible to duplicate." After this year, only holding most Dem seats and increasing the number will earn Van Hollen wide acclaim, though insiders will consider him effective if the slippage is minimal. Given a number of the seats Dems will want to hold despite a 2004 vote for Bush and how tied this election will be to the presidential, that's a tall order, even for someone with his abilities. He was very on-message in the interview, so he wouldn't talk about expectations or strategies, besides emphasizing the importance of Congressional Democratic leaders to deliver on campaign promises in winning for 2008.

A Sun piece on Ike Leggett is similarly unenlightening to people who've been reading about him for the last few years (though Baltimore folks might need the 101 on the new MoCo Exec). You've got to like the comment of Blair Lee though: "Political graveyards are full of people who have misinterpreted his nice-guy demeanor as political weakness." Readers who are hoping from big things from the Executive are reminded by the Sun that: "In Montgomery County, the real power of government lies with the County Council," so expectations are high all around.

It should be an interesting four years, as MoCo Politics notes. Maybe the hottest topic in state politics lately has been about the death penalty, though the budget, wages, transportation, and health care are likely to take on some prominence next year. Of course political junkies are still waiting to hear about key appointments from Montgomery and Prince George's counties to top spots in state government, with rumors swirling around former MoCo Councilmember/AG candidate Tom Perez and former Delegate/Executive candidate Rushern Baker.

And have you noticed that New Hampshire north of the Beltway (DC, that is) is named after soon-to-be-former-Sen. Ida Ruben? When did that happen?

Aren't We Glad. . .

2006-12-21T00:05:00.000-05:00

. . . this jackass lives in Virginia and is a Republican:

In a letter sent to hundreds of voters this month, Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., Republican of Virginia, warned that the recent election of the first Muslim to Congress posed a serious threat to the nation’s traditional values.
Mr. Goode was referring to Keith Ellison, the Minnesota Democrat and criminal defense lawyer who converted to Islam as a college student and was elected to the House in November. Mr. Ellison’s plan to use the Koran during his private swearing-in ceremony in January had outraged some Virginia voters, prompting Mr. Goode to issue a written response to them, a spokesman for Mr. Goode said.

In his letter, which was dated Dec. 5, Mr. Goode said that Americans needed to “wake up” or else there would “likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.”

“I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped,” said Mr. Goode, who vowed to use the Bible when taking his own oath of office.
. . .
Mr. Ellison dismissed Mr. Goode’s comments, saying they seemed ill informed about his personal origins as well as about Constitutional protections of religious freedom. “I’m not an immigrant,” added Mr. Ellison, who traces his American ancestors back to 1742. “I’m an African-American.”

. . .

“I’m not a religious scholar, I’m a politician, and I do what politicians do, which is hopefully pass legislation to help the nation,” said Mr. Ellison, who said he planned to focus on secular issues like increasing the federal minimum wage and getting health insurance for the uninsured.

“I’m looking forward to making friends with Representative Goode, or at least getting to know him,” Mr. Ellison said, speaking by telephone from Minneapolis. “I want to let him know that there’s nothing to fear. The fact that there are many different faiths, many different colors and many different cultures in America is a great strength.”

. . .

Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, urged Mr. Goode to reach out to Muslims in Virginia and learn “to dispel misconceptions instead of promoting them.”

“Keith Ellison serves as a great example of Muslim Americans in our nation, and he does not have to answer to you, to me or anyone else in regards to questions about his faith,” said Mr. Pascrell, whose district includes many Arab-Americans.

The fracas over Mr. Ellison’s decision to use the Koran during his personal swearing-in ceremony began last month when Dennis Prager, a conservative columnist and radio host, condemned the decision as one that would undermine American civilization.

“Ellison’s doing so will embolden Islamic extremists and make new ones, as Islamists, rightly or wrongly, see the first sign of the realization of their greatest goal — the Islamicization of America,” said Mr. Prager, who said the Bible was the only relevant religious text in the United States.

“If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress,” Mr. Prager said.

In his letter, Mr. Goode echoed that view, saying that he did not “subscribe to using the Koran in any way.” He also called for ending illegal immigration and reducing legal immigration.

Linwood Duncan, a spokesman for Mr. Goode, said the Virginia lawmaker had no intention of backing down, despite the furor.

“He stands by the letter,” Mr. Duncan said. “He has no intention of apologizing.”

Oh, the inaptly named Rep. Goode was elected as a Democrat before becoming an independent enroute to his current Republican label. I say they can keep him. (Cross-posted on Maryland Politics Watch.)

NAACP Abandons Black Community

2006-12-20T14:40:00.000-05:00

We're pissed. The NAACP is soon to seal the deal on its plans to relocate from Northwest Baltimore to Southeast Washington, DC, The Washington Business Journal reported this morning.

The NAACP has called Baltimore home since 1986, when the leading civil rights organization left New York City. But under Bruce Gordan's leadership, the group decided to move inside the nation's capital.

They claim they want to be in DC because that's where they action is. But that doesn't make any sense. In the technology age, an organization can be just as effective in national affairs from Washington state as they can be in Washington, DC. Many influential organizations, from the ACLU in New York to the Sierra Club in San Francisco, headquarter in other cities while maintaining smaller legislative offices in the District. And besides, Northwest Baltimore is only an hour and a half from Anacostia, the neighborhood where they plan to go. If one member of The League can commute from Baltimore to Washington five days a week, surely Bruce Gordon can make the trip whenever he happens to have an event scheduled down there.

Now that we understand there is no legitimate reason for the relocation, we can see it for what it is: an insult to Baltimore.

"We are sending, I think, a very positive message to the people of Anacostia, that we want to be there with them," Gordon told The Sun.

So what, then, is the message the NAACP is sending to the people of Baltimore? That they don't want to be here with us? That our black community (a larger percentage of a larger city) isn't as important as DC's? That the urban problems facing Baltimore don't deserve the same attention as those faced by Washington?

The NAACP is sending a message, alright: that it cares more about the prestige of a location inside the beltway than about the black community.

from The League: Reassembled

Restructure Taxes, Don't Cut Spending

2006-12-19T16:22:00.000-05:00

When Maryland's legislative leaders met with incoming Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday to discuss the Democrat-dominated state's policy agenda, revamping the tax structure came in at the top of the list.

The antiquated structure, designed in the sixties, does not reflect our modern economy and could result in millions in projected debt.

The restructuring could emerge in a number of forms. Some want to see an increase in the sales and gas taxes. Others want to change the way collected revenue is used. And some advocate a more progressive income tax.

These are mostly sensible proposals. Increasing gas taxes not only raises revenue but also encourages commuters to hop on public transportation. Adjusting the income tax to make it more progressive is a fabulous idea that would problems with the current system that prevent the most wealthy Marylanders from paying their fair share. We're not so keen on raising the sales tax because it disproportionately hurts lower-income consumers.

Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to consider these common sense proposals. Some lawmakers would rather see a cut in spending, The Baltimore Sun reports.

This is the worst possible time for such cuts. As a result of the BRAC military reorganization, Maryland is preparing for an influx of thousands of new residents. We will need more roads, more schools, more power and water. This is not exactly the time to spend less on those endeavors.

from The League: Reassembled

Maryland Strikes Again -- Van Hollen to Head DCCC

2006-12-19T12:46:00.001-05:00

Originally posted at MoCoPolitics.

First, Baltimore native Nancy Pelosi is the new Speaker. And Steny Hoyer is the Majority Leader. Pretty good times for Maryland, huh?

Today, they got better. Much better. Montgomery County's own Chris Van Hollen is the new Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen who was elected to Congress only four years ago, will lead House Democrats' fundraising and recruiting efforts heading into the 2008 election, Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday.

Van Hollen, 47, takes over the position of chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., who was credited with leading the Democrats to victory in the midterm election and restoring the party to power in the House after 12 years in the minority.

Emanuel will assume the post of Democratic Caucus chairman when the new Congress convenes in January.

"Congressman Chris Van Hollen's depth of legislative experience and political savvy will make him an exceptional DCCC chairman," Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.

This is a major coup for Van Hollen, who also was recently named to a coveted spot on the Ways and Means Committee as well.

Well done, sir. A worthy reward for a job superbly done in the 2006 elections. Bravo.

Time: Person of the Year is You Because "You Is A Blogger" (warning - incivility in post)

2006-12-18T23:23:00.000-05:00

Cross-Posted from Crablaw Maryland Weekly. Although this does not address Maryland politics, it does address the role of political bloggers.

From Time Magazine Online, December 13, 2006:

But look at 2006 through a different lens and you'll see another story, one that isn't about conflict or great men. It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.

...

Who are these people? Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I'm going to mash up 50 Cent's vocals with Queen's instrumentals? I'm going to blog about my state of mind or the state of the nation or the steak-frites at the new bistro down the street? Who has that time and that energy and that passion?

The answer is, you do. And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME's Person of the Year for 2006 is you.

Great. We blog therefore we exist. If we don't blog, we are less important. Right, Time?

It's time to get uncivil with Time.

Just what bunch of self-satisfied, smug Baby Boomers did Time hire to emit this onanistic bleat?

I am middle-class, well-educated and can afford (pretty limited) time to blog about Maryland politics and a few other issues, and do so; therefore I am the most important person on earth for this year, or tied for the title?

I know a bunch of boomers did this. Boomers en masse did not do this; most boomers did not do this. But those what did this, be boomers. The so-called Me Generation thought this up. Everyone who is on the net matters. Those who aren't, don't. And because YOU are on the net and YOU matter, it's all about YOU. Thanks, boomers. Ride out on the mood ring you rode in on.

They could have given it to Muhammad Yunus, who used capitalism to defeat poverty and keep people's dignity in Bangladesh and beyond. They could have given it to Rahm Emanuel of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; though I am glad they did not do so, he is at least a person who did specific things this year. To the soldiers who died in Iraq, to the people of Iraq as a whole. Oh hell, to Al Gore for making a global warming movie and at least stirring the debate. They could have given it to every worker in a non-profit who is making more with less due to budget tightening to finance the war, the budget cuts and the federal tax cuts.

Even George W. Bush - horrors - deserved it more.

No, it's to all of us, meaning all of us who, well, do things online. Which means Time has to, well, pay attention to us for their business model, both as customers and as competition. So we who do things online - because we matter to Time's bottom line - are the most important person in the world. Thanks, Boomers. Go get self-actualized somewhere. Maybe they figure they will keep their market share through sheer pandering to the depths of which even Barack Obama or John McCain would hesitate to plumb.

Word to Time: while I blog heavily and believe in the Internet strongly as a great tool, medium or whatever, I am not tied for the most important person of 2006. I am not even tied for most important person in my house for 2006. Do not pander to me, boomers, and hallucinate that you will reap anything but scorn here.

Read the whole essay and ask yourself where on the blogs YOU (the Most Important Person In 2006, You Devil You!) read routinely - liberal, conservative, whatever - you would expect to find such facile drivel. Seriously, the people who wrote it got paid a big pile of money to sit at their desk and cogitate on this. But bloggers working mostly for free or for pennies outperform such drivel on a bad day. The fact that it is drivel expressly designed to stroke our egos makes it worse. Kind of like walking into a church or other house of worship with a big neon button with a swear word on it, but misspelled. Beyond bad, it is what University of Pennsylvania's Professor Paul Fussell called "BAD" meaning not only bad but in a breathtakingly tasteless and tacky way.

To any blogger reading this: consider the following. TIME magazine respects itself so little that it will pander to you knowing that it will be mocked and ridiculed for its laziness and, frankly, its patronizing style. So when you wonder when you will start outperforming the prominent writers at major publications like Time, remember, odds are on a good day you already outperform them.

How has citizen opinion journalism and commentary overtaken print media? It's not because "we" are "the most important people." We are not. The dead tree edition is simply inefficient. Readers enjoy the back-and-forth of commentary and linking of supporting material. It's not so much a "publication" as an ad hoc graduate seminar with everybody having half of the library in their backpack. Consider your own college education: what impressed you more, the discussions in your 300 and 400 level classes or the wit and wisdom of the school newspaper that might, or might not, print a letter to the editor? If anything, blogging has taken the some of the self-importance and smugness out of opinion journalism. A number of bloggers have daily readerships well in excess of the subscription bases of many print opinion magazines. But it's not about us being important or the "person of the year" for 2006. It's about economics and accountability.

The fact that conservatives, liberals, libertarians or anyone else can call me on my mistakes and get me to correct them - with credit - through commenting makes this medium better. But it's not about me being important; it's about my own sense of self-importance being extremely subject to ruthless puncture by the quick wits of commenters and other bloggers. Columnists in major newspapers and magazines will not tolerate that level of accountability; some have tried and the columnists have threatened to quit if the "graffiti" of comments don't get cancelled. Frankly, that's why I deliberately chose to associate with both largely liberal and largely conservative groups of bloggers at the same time; I wanted to learn twice as fast and be twice as accountable.

If Time wants to pay bloggers a compliment, it can improve its quality to blogger standards and compete rather than issuing a "Me Generation" faux Hollywood kiss to us. Or it can get back to job one and start providing some meaningful oversight over the White House and the new incoming Congress in ways that at least amateur bloggers cannot easily do. They could hold themselves to the standards of, say, Josh Marshall over at Talking Points Memo, who plays it very clean and responsibly. But that would be, well, hard.

As for me, I will try extra hard to kick Time in its Eddie Haskell-[rear] the next chance I get.

The incivility is now complete. Please make the most of it.

A Moratorium on "Moratorium"

2006-12-18T19:43:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have seen a rash of "Dan bitches about moratorium" posts on other blogs, and while I can hear my father over my shoulder, saying "you'd better stand up for yourself," I can't help but admit: I can yell about Leggett and our scary new council members until I'm blue in the face, but I probably won't get much done that way.

I still can't buy the NIMBY argument, and I can't help but wonder if underneath all that talk about dropping property values and "overdevelopment" is a subtle prejudice towards newcomers. I know all people aren't like that, but some are, and those are the ones that worry me. But I am aware that our new County Council probably isn't so inclined.

So, in good faith that the County understands its past successes and missteps, I am proposing a moratorium of my own: on the word "moratorium." For the next year, Just Up The Pike is banning use of the word "moratorium" except in extreme circumstances. While Montgomery County reconsiders the path it chose ten years ago, I will be going easy on the rants. Why dwell? There are bigger fish to fry.

And, moratorium (sorry) or not, I will continue to press our leaders on improving public transit in this area. You had better watch out, Ike Leggett: you will hear from me again.

Crossposted at Just Up The Pike.

Maryland, My Democratic Maryland

2006-12-16T09:55:00.000-05:00

There's a scene in the West Wing where a Republican lawyer explains why he clerked for a liberal Supreme Court Justice. Basically, he says that debating with the Justice helped to clarify his own views. Blair Lee does that for me. Every Saturday morning, after reading his column, I spend a good twenty minutes stomping around the house, outraged. Usually my wife gets to hear a diatribe about how utterly wrong Lee is. And afterwards I find that I'm better at articulating what I believe. But my wife's in Houston, so today, this diatribe's for you.

Lee argues in today's column that the Maryland Republican Party is not nearly as dead as everyone thinks. He points out that this year's election was nationalized, and the main reason people like Howie Denis, Jean Cryor, and Sandy Schrader lost was George W. Bush. This is true. But it doesn't, as Lee suggests, mean that an election in a more neutral political year will give the Republicans a chance to surge back. Among the casualties in this last election, people like Denis, Cryor, and Schrader, were most if not all of the Maryland Republican Party's moderate wing. For all the talk about the 'Oh my God, a Republican won!' victory of Bob Ehrlich in 2002, people forget that he is a moderate. As long as the Maryland Republican Party is run by conservative, Book of Revelations-thumping, get-rid-of-all-government firebrands, then the Demcoratic monopoly will never end.

Lee also turns to his fallback pro-Republican argument that we need a strong Republican party in the state because, in the words of our soon to be gone Governor of Talk Radio, "I believe competition in the marketplace of ideas is good for the state." I'm pinching myself as I say this to make sure I'm not hallucinating, but that's an idea I actually agree with. We do need debate, real debate. But the last four years of Bobby's reign haven't involved real debate. They've mostly involved the Governor tossing rhetorical bombs at the legislature through the media. And, in any case, it's way too simplistic to think that the only possibility for debate in a democratic society is between two parties.

The Maryland Democratic Party is about as ideologically diverse a party as you can get without it becoming a fistfight. There's a strong progressive wing, led by people like Bethesda's Senator Frosh. Rural democratic conservatives like Senator Middleton are still very powerful. Strong Democratic delegations come from almost every part of the state, from city to suburb to the farms of the Eastern Shore and southern Maryland. There will be a marketplace of ideas. But it will happen within one party rather than between two. And maybe, in the end, that's good for Maryland. After all, few people would rank the last four years as among the most productive in the history of state government. So maybe, with Republicans lacking any meaningful influence, and with Ehrlich as a cautionary tale for Democrats, we'll see some real work getting done.

Governor O'Malley, We're Over HERE

2006-12-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

originally posted in slightly different form at MoCoPolitics.

Been gone for a long time -- too long. But I'm back, and ready to rant.

I got something to get off my chest on the state level, and today's Washington Post Montgomery County Extra didn't help:

Martin O'Malley did arrive at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in time to hear some requests. When asked if he would be naming anyone to a cabinet-level job from the county, O'Malley paused to think for a moment.

He then came up with the name of his chief of staff, Michael R. Enright, a longtime Baltimore City Hall aide and friend from his days at Gonzaga College High School.

Nice try, said Del. Charles E. Barkley (D-Montgomery), in a gentle jab. "We don't count that," he told O'Malley. "We want current Montgomery."

Not at all funny, Marty. Not even a little bit.

I've already been seething about this for the past two weeks. We (in this case, Montgomery and Prince George's County) put this guy in office, and all he has done so far is to name all of his frat brothers, buddies and relatives to every position that has been filled so far. EVERY ONE. Can you name one person from Montgomery County that has been named to an O'Malley Administration position? Or Prince George's County?

Now, I knew when I supported him (early, I remind his fundraisers, before Doug Duncan got out of the race) that he was from Baltimore, and that we were going to get a Baltimore-centric administration. But I was assured by all concerned, including the Mayor himself, that he was from Montgomery County and understood its importance to a Democratic administration in Maryland, and that we needn't worry.

And let's be clear, O'Malley in the quote above was asked who he was GOING to hire, not who he already has hired, for Cabinet-level positions, and he says Michael Enright, who, FYI, lives in Baltimore. Uh, Gov-elect, what about Tom Perez? Or any of the other really well-qualified people from your native county? Is EVERY job going to go to Baltimore? This was not handled well, sir.

Memo to Mr. O'Malley: after that little tee hee above, I'm past worried, I'm pissed off. You are so clearly giving every significant job to either relatives, friends or Baltimoreans that those of us who drank your Kool-Aid early on are feeling like chumps, and you're not even sworn in yet.

Yeah, yeah, I can script the retort -- we haven't filled very many jobs yet, there's a lot to do, blah blah blah blah. Here's what I've got to say to that -- the positions you are filling are the insider, power positions, the ones who are going to really get things done. And NOT ONE of those jobs has gone to Montgomery County, or Prince George's County, or honestly, anyone else other than your pals.

This is NOT how to get it done. You should be reaching out to other jurisdictions, particularly the ones that (ahem) actually put you in office, and finding good, qualified individuals to fill important executive posts. Not all of them, just some. Yes, you're entitled to hire your friends, but in the campaign, you had lots of friends from Montgomery County. Hire some of them. Now, for serious positions, not later for window dressing.

In the immortal words of Stephen Colbert, "you're on notice, pal."

Baltimore Historic Watchdog Saves Threatened Rowhomes

2006-12-13T16:46:00.000-05:00

Baltimore's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation voted last night to give protections to some of the oldest rowhomes left in downtown Baltimore. It was the latest development in a saga that has pitted Mercy Medical Center's desire to demolish the homes to make way for an inpatient tower against urban preservationists. The League wants to thank CHAP for doing the right thing.

Dear CHAP,

Thanks.

Thank you for voting last night to "wrap a row of historic downtown rowhouses with protections against demolition - effectively defying city officials who just days ago granted Mercy Medical Center a permit to raze the properties."

Thank you for standing up to an influential local institution in a way Mayor O'Malley and the City Council wouldn't stand up to the Catholic Archdiocese when it wanted to destroy the Rochambeau Hotel.

Thank you for recognizing that preserving Baltimore's historic character is just as important to this city's continued growth and good fortunes as are sparkling new buildings that lack the rich architectural value of the old.

Thank you for telling the City Council that it cannot allow member Keiffer Mitchell to add pro-development provisions without public knowledge or input.

Thanks for doing what's best for Baltimore.

In Gratitude,
The League

from The League: Reassembled

Ouch. Not THAT way...

2006-12-12T13:32:00.000-05:00

The headline in today's Post Metro section can't have been what Ike Leggett was shooting for: "Leggett Repeats Call For Gas Tax Increase."

When it first came up during the campaign, many remembered how then-VA Gov. Warner had spun his move to raise taxes to fund sorely needed transportation infrastructure, particularly in gridlock-plagued Northern Virginia. It was disappointing that candidate Leggett did not manage to effectively make that same case for needed infrastructure that would help businesses, commuters, the environment, etc. Somehow the article before the primary screamed about the suggestion of a tax increase, and then gave the reasons behind it in a whisper.

Now it's obvious that Leggett talked about why the tax was needed, and it may well just be that the Post writer heard magic words about raising taxes and wrote her article around them. In the end, it may well be that an issue of this magnitude has to be worked a little harder before you say the magic words that can all too easily rally opposition (or fear in the hearts of policymakers), so that it doesn't go in the wrong direction. Perhaps you need a commission or a study: maybe leaders need to agonize a bit about the problem and the costs of the solutions, then agree to bite the bullet after lining up the support they need.

The actual announcement needs work, too. Quotes like the following can't be allowed to stand alone. "I believed it then, and I believe it now," Leggett said yesterday. "We need to increase the gasoline tax." Simply put, if you give a reporter free standing quotes with punch like that, you are begging to be quoted. It has to be structured so that the rationale leads the scary part -- in the same sentence so they can't be separated in the coverage.

We absolutely need to fix our growing transportation problems. We need to build more transit options with a focus on rail, secure dedicated funding for Metro, build the Purple Line, and even fix and improve some roads. Most Montgomery County residents, and lots of Marylanders generally, know this and, if pitched correctly, would even agree to pay more to get out of the traffic nightmare we're living. And with Roger Berliner, Mike Miller, and others agreeing that something needs to be done, it's certainly possible to do so. If we have to come up with more money to fix our problems, let's say so clearly and effectively.

Originally posted OnBackground.

Kojo interviews with Maryland leaders

2006-12-11T13:03:00.000-05:00

Kojo Nnamdi has some great guests from Maryland on his WAMU talk show, from time to time. Today, Royce Hanson of the Montgomery County Planning Board was on and Saqib Ali (beginning), Anthony O'Donnell (midway), Marc Elrich (about 33 minutes in) and finally Glenn Ivey were on last week.

Assembly Issue Watch: Busting Up the Budget

2006-12-10T08:55:00.000-05:00

This will be the first in a series of posts about the issues that the General Assembly will begin grappling with when they get together on January 10.

I figured we'd start with what is perhaps the most important issue of all, the issue that will likely overshadow much of Governor O'Malley's young administration: the looming budget shortfall. If you need a step-by-step explanation of it from people who actually know what they're talking about, take a look at this slideshow put together by the Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute. Put simply, projected spending will outpace projected revenue by hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years, partially because of new federal regulations about payments into employee retirement plans. The Governor and the Assembly will either have to increase taxes and fees or cut spending. And then there's the matter of campaign promises - including full funding of the Thornton recommondations and increase in school construction spending. These could add huge amounts of money to the shortfall, making it even harder to close the gap.

As a teacher, I loved hearing so much talk of spending money on education during the campaign. And I'd like to see those campaign promises fulfilled - there are too many kids in Maryland going to school in dilapidated buildings or learning shacks, and too many good teachers leaving the profession because salaries are low. So I tend to lean towards some of the proposals for new revenue streams, including the cigarette tax and closing corporate tax loopholes. The cigarette tax increase would have added benefits in that it would help decrease the rates of teen smoking, though for that same reason it might not be the most stable revenue stream.

But I want to see what Free State readers have to say. The poll below is based on proposals mentioned in the Post article above and in today's Sun editorial.

Time to Lead!

2006-12-09T13:11:00.000-05:00

So MoCo's got a new council and executive.

Time for empty rhetoric has passed, now we need them to get things done to make all of our lives better.