The Sun Maryland Politics

• Andy Harris yet to shake primary threat

  Things have been looking up for Andy Harris this fall. The Republican lawmaker from Baltimore County has been steadily, if quietly, preparing for a high-profile rematch against Democrat Frank Kratovil, the freshman congressman from Maryland's (mostly) Eastern Shore district. For a variety of reasons, including the district's proximity to the [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 5:54pm EST
  by Paul West

• Marylanders make the scene at Obama's first state dinner

  Several prominent Marylanders made the guest list for the toughest ticket in Washington: tonight's first state dinner of President Barack Obama's administration, honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Among those on the list just released by the White House: Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cummings, an early Obama supporter, and his [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 6:22pm EST
  by Paul West

• O'Malley honored by magazine but title is in eye of beholder

  You may have heard already: Gov. Martin O’Malley has been named a “Public Official of the Year” by Governing magazine. It’s a national magazine with a circulation roughly equal to the population of Columbia, Md., but the publication's praise for the governor has generated quite a buzz. Not all [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 3:05pm EST
  by Laura Smitherman

• Ehrlich: Money not a problem in 2010

  Former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich raised $18 million for his unsuccessful re-election campaign in 2006. But if he seeks a rematch next year against incumbent Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley, he expects to collect considerably less. Ehrlich put a $10 million to $12 million price tag on it during an' [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 1:38pm EST
  by Paul West

• In The Sun Today: O'Malley works to balance budget again

  As state revenues have taken a nose dive along with the economy, Gov. Martin O'Malley has been forced repeatedly to find ways to keep the state operating budget in balance. He brought more than $360 million in budget measures on Wednesday to the Board of Public Works, which approved' [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 2:51pm EST
  by Laura Smitherman

• Maryland Republican Party rallies at convention, elects Scott as chair

  Maryland’s Republican Party, buoyed by GOP victories in nearby states, elected on Saturday a spunky, 73-year-old activist and politician as the new chairwoman who pledged to reunite the fractious organization and capitalize on what many see as a shifting national tide. Convention delegates voted overwhelmingly to install Audrey E. Scott, [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 2:04pm EST
  by Laura Smitherman

• Cummings' part in Baltimore mayor's trial: Will he testify? Or not?

  At least one prominent Washington politician, President Barack Obama, has carefully kept his distance this year from Sheila Dixon, the indicted mayor of Baltimore. That hasn't been the case with many other public figures, including Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, who has appeared with Dixon at a number of public' [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 3:45pm EST
  by Paul West

• Democratic Party Chair has some "friendly" advice for Ehrlich

  For the second day in a row, Maryland Democrats are insisting they have nothing to worry about in next year’s elections. The latest comes from Democratic Party Chair Susan Turnbull, who is circulating a letter to former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich. (See yesterday's take from O'Malley campaign manager [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 2:45pm EST
  by Laura Smitherman

• Candidate Watch 2010: Redmer jumps into potentially crowded state Senate race

  The political season is blooming early in Baltimore County as another candidate has entered the race for the Maryland Senate seat being vacated by Republican Andrew P. Harris. Alfred W. Redmer Jr., the former Republican state delegate and insurance commissioner, is holding a campaign kickoff rally tonight [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 5:50pm EST
  by Laura Smitherman

• GOP victories no bad omen, O'Malley campaign manager writes

  Do Republican victories in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races portend trouble for Gov. Martin O’Malley? Nah, that’s just Republican spin, campaign manager Tom Russell wrote in a memo dated today to fiance committee members. “While last week's election returns were discouraging nationally, we at the O'Malley-Brown campaign' [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 3:30pm EST
  by Laura Smitherman

• Mikulski's new campaign manager meets Baltimore County Dems

  Simone Ward, newly hired campaign manager for Barbara Mikulski's 2010 re-election campaign, is on the program at tonight's Central Baltimore County Democratic Club meeting in Towson. Ward, one of the first African-American women to run a major statewide campaign in Maryland, was added to the Mikulski campaign payroll last month. She [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 6:48pm EST
  by Paul West

• Mikulski's on her feet again, and in the game

  Maryland Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski proclaimed it a "great day" for the world and a "very special day" for herself, not necessarily in that order. Either way, it looked like good news for Democrats, which is something of a turnabout after last week's elections, which gave Republicans something to [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:41am EST
  by Paul West

• Kratovil a "No" on health care

  Frank Kratovil made it official today: he'll vote against the Democratic health care plan in the House this weekend. The freshman Democrat from the Eastern Shore, facing one of the toughest re-election fights in the country next year, released a statement declaring his opposition to the measure. His stance could' [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 11:21am EST
  by Paul West

• Long wait about over for Baltimore judge

  It's been nine years since federal Judge Andre Davis of Baltimore was first nominated to fill the "Maryland seat" on the federal Court of Appeals. It's been seven months since President Barack Obama re-nominated Davis for the same position--which has remained vacant, thanks to political stalemate in Washington, since [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 10:38am EST
  by Paul West

• Poll shows O'Malley may be vulnerable; devil's in the details

  Gov. Martin O’Malley would best former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich in a poll about a hypothetical rematch in 2010, but the sitting governor still may be vulnerable, according to pollsters at Clarus Research Group. How did they come to that conclusion? Several layers of data provide the answer. First of [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 3:30pm EST
  by Laura Smitherman

• Obama, Mikulski still score high in Maryland

  Republican renaissance? What Republican renaissance? In Maryland, at least, national Democrats are still riding high. According to a new statewide poll, Barbara A. Mikulski heads into the 2010 mid-term election with her status intact as Maryland's most popular politician. The survey, by Clarus Research Group of Washington, showed the Democratic [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 12:10pm EST
  by Paul West

• Pappas drops gubernatorial bid and backs Hogan

  Mike Pappas, the first Republican brave enough to wade into the 2010 gubernatorial contest in Maryland, is dropping out and throwing his support behind Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. Nearly a year after Pappas declared he was “in it to win it,” he’s now saying he’s in it for Hogan. “I’m [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 4:01pm EST
  by Laura Smitherman

• Former state delegate Jean Cryor dead at 70

  Heard the news from the statement from Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Council President Phil Andrews: “Montgomery County has suffered a terrible loss. “Jean Cryor served the people of the County in several capacities – as a local journalist, a State Delegate, and as a member of [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 7:27pm EST
  by David Nitkin

• Annapolis alderman plans complaint over homophobic campaign fliers

  A candidate for Annapolis alderman says he will file a complaint with the state Attorney General’s office after an anonymous racist and homophobic flier criticizing his candidacy began circulating last weekend. The flier, addressed to the “Friends and Supporters of Black Annapolis,” was distributed in public housing developments in Ward [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 6:07pm EST
  by David Nitkin

• O’Malley moonlighting again... still not getting paid

  Annapolis is technically Gov. Martin O’Malley’s stage. Now the state’s capital will literally serve as his stage when his Irish folk rock band plays two concerts at the popular Ram’s Head watering hole/restaurant there next month. Tickets to see O’Malley’s March play an afternoon or evening show on Sunday, [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 2:00pm EST
  by Laura Smitherman

• Steele for president in 2012? Yes, he might

  Updated If Republican candidates roll to big victories in today's elections, it could move at least one Republican closer to a 2012 presidential run: National Party Chairman Michael S. Steele. For some time, the former Maryland lieutenant governor has been open to a presidential try. The scuttlebutt from folks' [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 1:28pm EST
  by Paul West

• In The Sun Today: tools, statues, slots venues

  State and local elected officials react to the troubling news that Black & Decker was purchased Monday by Stanley tools of Connecticut, which is where the combined company will be located. "Having the worldwide headquarters of Black & Decker here in Towson has long been a point of" [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 10:21am EST
  by Julie Bykowicz

• O'Malley, Ah-nold play the White House, pump up stimulus

  A pair of men in dark suits stepped up to a bank of microphones outside the West Wing this afternoon. As video cameras rolled and still photographers clicked, the guy who hadn't dyed his hair a vaguely greenish hue of brown was first to speak. "Hello," he said. "I'm Governor" [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 4:24pm EDT
  by Paul West

• GOP's Vovak to Scott: W-W-Welcome to the Internet

  Daniel "The Whig Man" Vovak, one of two candidates for chairman of the Maryland Republican Party mass e-mailed a public letter to his competitor, Audrey Scott, yesterday evening "thanking" her for entering the race. But he also points out that, frankly, she seems rather inexperienced with the Internet, [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 10:44am EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• In The Sun Today: WDS in bronze, Jobs or snow job?

  Ed Gunts writes about the installation of former Gov. William Donald Schaefer's likeness at the Inner Harbor. And Gov. Martin O'Malley jumps in front of Obama's Recovery Act jobs report, which was released this morning. Schaefer statue larger than life 7-foot statue at Harborplace honors William Donald Schaefer's 52' [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 10:33am EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• In The Sun Today: No more Buddy, NAACP and Republicans

  Lots of political news this morning. Here are a few of our stories: Md. Lottery director quits to take D.C. job Longtime Maryland Lottery Director Buddy Roogow, who has led the agency for 13 years, resigned Tuesday to take a job as executive director of the D.C. Lottery. "An opportunity" [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 9:04am EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• Maryland GOP prepares to elect new chairman as Cavey drops out and Scott becomes frontrunner

  The race to replace outgoing Maryland GOP Chairman James Pelura narrowed Tuesday when Chris Cavey of Baltimore County, the party's first vice chairman, announced that he is withdrawing his name. The beleaguered party plans to select a new chairman at its convention next month. With Cavey dropping out, that paves [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2009, 8:00am EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Harris one step closer to national GOP blessing

  Baltimore County Republican Andy Harris has moved another step closer to gaining the full embrace of his national party's congressional campaign arm for the 2010 election. The National Republican Campaign Committee announced that Harris had advanced to "‘contender" status, the second part of its three-stage program that culminates with the [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 2:52pm EDT
  by Paul West

• IN THE SUN TODAY: O'Malley urging mediation before foreclosures

  Program would ensure lenders renegotiate mortgages More than a year after Maryland officials set out to quell the foreclosure crisis with some of the most aggressive prevention programs in the nation, the number of homeowners on the brink is again on the rise. “We're not doing a heck of a lot' [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2009, 11:30am EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• IN THE SUN TODAY: O'Malley conditionally supports approval of Constellation's deal with French firm.

  Final briefs in regulatory case before the Public Service Commission were due by noon. The PSC will determine the fate of the massive deal that the companies say is needed for a new nuclear reactor to be built in the state. SUN EXCLUSIVE O'Malley backs CEG merger Gov. Martin O'Malley for the [...]
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  Posted: October 26, 2009, 12:50pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Broken ankle doesn't keep Mikulski from outpacing Republican rivals

  More than three months after shattering her ankle on the steps of a Baltimore church, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski has finally graduated from a wheelchair to a wheeled walker. She still is hampered by an oversized soft-cast shoe that makes it difficult for her to walk unaided. But that hasn't' [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2009, 4:32pm EDT
  by Paul West

• O'Malley moonlighting on HBO... and donating his pay

  Gov. Martin O'Malley not only got a free trip to Los Angeles and face time with various celebrities when he appeared on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" last week, he also got paid. Well, not exactly. He was supposed to get $800 for his efforts, but he has directed [...]
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  Posted: October 22, 2009, 5:41pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Kratovil widens money edge over Harris

  Endangered Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil increased his campaign funding advantage over state Sen. Andy Harris, his potential Republican opponent, during the last three months. Kratovil's fund-raising performance is in line with other potentially vulnerable Democratic incumbents nationwide this year, according to a new study by a non-partisan watchdog group. The latest [...]
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  Posted: October 22, 2009, 1:49pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Poll: Marylanders want public campaign financing, despite budget woes

  A Gonzales poll released this morning by Progressive Maryland, a left-leaning advocacy group, shows that a majority of Marylanders want public campaign financing, something state lawmakers came close to passing last legislative session. According to the survey of 833 registered voters, 77 percent believe that large political contributions have [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2009, 11:51am EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• Steele on Obama Nobel peace prize: "Unfortunate"

  Republican National Chairman Michael Steele, who criticized President Barack Obama's failed overseas sales trip on behalf of the U.S. Olympic Committee, issued a grudging statement this morning in response to the president's latest, and unexpected, global laurel: the 2009 Nobel peace prize. “The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 12:31pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Two Maryland victims of banking system meet with Obama

  A Baltimore woman and a retired city police officer were among five victims of the financial system invited to meet privately with President Barack Obama at the White House today. After the meeting, the president will deliver a speech about the need to overhaul financial regulations. Updated rules for the [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 12:11pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Candidate Watch 2010: Jim Smith moving... to Maryland Senate?

  The housing market is tough, but how's the job market? Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. is about to find out. Sun Talker Laura Vozzella writes today that the term-limited Democratic county executive has put his Reisterstown house up for sale and is moving to' [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 3:26pm EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• Kratovil to crash White House boards with Obama

  Maryland congressman Frank Kratovil has played basketball since he was a boy. But he's never had a chance to play on the highest court in the land. Until today. The Democrat from the Eastern Shore is among a bipartisan group of congressmen that has been invited to scrimmage with President [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2009, 1:55pm EDT
  by Paul West

• CAMPAIGN WATCH: O'Donnell proves everyone could be a contender for governor... maybe

  Who isn’t considering running for governor on the GOP ticket? Republicans are waiting to see who all emerges from their camp to challenge Gov. Martin O’Malley in the 2010 election. So far, a Towson lawyer has said he’ll run, a state delegate and a Cabinet member in former [...]
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  Posted: October 07, 2009, 8:00am EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Clinton provides political heft for O'Malley fundraiser; Bill Clinton, that is

  Former President Bill Clinton plans to appear at a fundraising reception this week for Gov. Martin O’Malley, providing significant star power to a race that hasn’t even geared up yet. Maryland’s incumbent governor hasn't yet drawn any high-profile opponents in the 2010 election — but he appears to be' [...]
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  Posted: October 06, 2009, 4:44pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• CAMPAIGN WATCH: Doc Cheatham to branch into state politics?

  Unhappy with the three state delegates in his home district, the NAACP’s Marvin “Doc” Cheatham said Monday that he is considering jumping into the 2010 race. He said he has conferred with several political insiders who have told him he’d be well-served by his name recognition. As president [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 4:25pm EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• Obama sacked; Steele piles on...carefully

  Updated It is a cardinal rule of politics: Never murder your opponent when he's in the process of committing suicide. But sometimes, the opportunity is simply too good to pass up. Is that the case with Barack Obama's failed effort to bring the 2016 summer Olympics to his hometown? Some Republican strategists warned, [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2009, 11:32am EDT
  by Paul West

• 'Place Matters' matters to these state lawmakers

  Two days after a state senator said Brenda Donald's signature child welfare program was “not working,” the Human Resources secretary received a warm reception — even applause — when she appeared before another group of lawmakers Thursday. At a briefing for the joint committee on children, youth and families, Donald [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2009, 2:59pm EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• Steele: Obama Olympics trip "not necessary" -- but not necessarily a mistake

  Republican National Chairman Michael S. Steele said today that President Barack Obama's upcoming trip to Copenhagen is "nice" and "a noble idea," but not essential business for the president. Steele began a brief telephone news conference by criticizing Obama's lack of focus on the biggest problem facing the country: weakness [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2009, 11:32am EDT
  by Paul West

• Fundraising success yields positive headlines for Steele

  Updated A surge of campaign cash in August, the month that conservatives stormed Democratic town hall meetings, is generating upbeat media coverage for the Republican Party and national Chairman Michael S. Steele. The latest good news follows recent predictions that Republicans will make significant gains in the 2010 elections, still more [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 12:34pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Mikulski for VP? Gore should have considered her, Bill Clinton said

  In a forthcoming book about the 42nd president, Baltimore author and longtime Bill Clinton intimate Taylor Branch writes that Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski was a longshot Clinton pick to be Al Gore's running mate in 2000. "It was not Gore's style to take big risks, said the president, which ruled" [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2009, 12:28pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Marylanders support Obama, health care overhaul, but sharp partisan divide

  Maryland Democrats and independents strongly support President Barack Obama and his health care overhaul plan, but Republicans give him low marks, a new poll shows. Among Democrats, 75 percent approve of the way Obama is handling the job, with 12 percent disapproving. Independents say they approve of Obama by a [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2009, 12:00am EDT
  by David Nitkin

• Dundalk flood prompts Cardin "watershed moment"

  As Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, once famously said: "Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before." Perhaps with Rahm's rule in mind, Sen. Ben Cardin took the Senate floor this' [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2009, 11:30am EDT
  by Paul West

• Poll: Mikulski, O'Malley have solid job approval ratings; O'Malley would top Ehrlich or Steele in 2010

  The latest Maryland statewide poll results are out today, showing solid numbers for Democratic incumbents Barbara Mikulski and Martin O'Malley as voter concern over the economy subsides slightly. O'Malley's job approval rating is 48 percent, with 37 percent saying they disapprove of the job he is doing as governor, according [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2009, 12:00am EDT
  by David Nitkin

• Cardin keeps promise to Sotomayor, Orioles still lose

  

   

   

  Back in July, at a Senate confirmation hearing for Sonia Sotomayor, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland invited the judge to be his guest at an Orioles game. Sotomayor, a Bronx native and big Yankees fan, responded by revealing that she had already been to the [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 5:31pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Franchot files for re-election, not taking anything for granted

  Comptroller Peter Franchot may sometimes play the lone wolf in the Democratic Party, but so far he hasn’t drawn any challengers from his party or the Republican camp for next year’s election. And when he filed his paperwork Friday morning with the State Board of Elections to run for [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2009, 11:51am EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Larry Hogan testing the gubernatorial waters

  Add Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. to the list of those who feel they can't wait for Bob Ehrlich to decide if he's running for governor again. Hogan, a Republican whose most recent public position was as appointments secretary in the Ehrlich administration, is launching a "Hogan for Maryland" exploratory committee,' [...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2009, 7:11pm EDT
  by David Nitkin

• Marylander Perez may soon take Civil Rights helm at Justice

  Thomas E. Perez, the Martin O'Malley cabinet member whose nomination for a top Obama administration post has been blocked by Republicans, may soon be able to make his move to Washington. Senate sources report that Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, has agreed to schedule a cloture vote' [...]
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  Posted: September 14, 2009, 10:25am EDT
  by Paul West

• After losing in Baltimore politics, Keiffer Mitchell turns to Annapolis

  As the political chatter begins over next year’s election, one name that repeatedly gets tossed into the rumor mill is Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., the former Baltimore City councilman who gave up his council seat when he ran unsuccessfully for mayor two years ago. A phone call to Mitchell helped [...]
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  Posted: September 11, 2009, 9:00am EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Logjam around Baltimore judge starting to break

  New talks are under way that should finally clear the way for the confirmation of federal Judge Andre M. Davis of Baltimore to the long-vacant "Maryland seat" on a federal appeals court, Senate sources said today. Democratic and Republican Senate leaders have been negotiating the exact timing of confirmation votes [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 3:59pm EDT
  by Paul West

• O'Malley talks up Obama health care plan, pledges support

  Gov. Martin O’Malley pledged to help President Barack Obama as he tries to secure passage of a national health care overhaul. The Maryland governor called the federal push for reform a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.” O’Malley was one of three governors who joined a White House-organized conference call to discuss Obama’s health [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2009, 3:39pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Mikulski disappointed again

  Update: The game of musical committee chairs in the Senate today will leave Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski right where she is--as the most senior senator who does not chair a major committee. In addition, Mikulski will not be able to assume a more prestigious subcommittee chairmanship on the powerful Appropriations committee, [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2009, 9:46am EDT
  by Paul West

• Near-miss for Mikulski--but perhaps a consolation prize?

  Multiple news sources are reporting a major development--and something of a surprise--this evening for Washington insiders. Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd has decided to stay put as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, rather than assuming the chairmanship of the Senate Health committee left vacant by the death last month of [...]
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  Posted: September 08, 2009, 9:16pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Hoyer and Tort Reform: Read the bill!

  "Read the bill!" Those three words, hurled as an epithet by disbelieving opponents of the Democratic health care plan, became the signature line of the 2009 congressional town hall meetings. Rep. Steny Hoyer heard it many times. "It's a great chant," he said, with a wry smile, at his weekly Capitol [...]
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  Posted: September 08, 2009, 1:25pm EDT
  by Paul West

• O'Malley's political map takes shape; a question mark in Prince George's County

  It may be early in the 2010 gubernatorial race (if one can call it a race at this point), but Gov. Martin O’Malley is getting his proverbial ducks in a row with a lengthy list of endorsements from elected officials. His campaign just posted the list of about 325 [...]
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  Posted: September 03, 2009, 2:25pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• O'Malley's inner circle gets a reshuffling

  A reshuffling in Gov. Martin O’Malley’s inner circle will elevate Matthew D. Gallagher to the chief of staff office that’s being vacated by Michael R. Enright, who will become a senior adviser to the governor. Gallagher, who was deputy chief of staff, has worked with O’Malley since he was [...]
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  Posted: September 02, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Obama favoring purple Virginia over blue Maryland by 8-1 margin

  With family in tow, Barack Obama high-tailed it to Camp David today for what aides are calling the final phase of his summer vacation. If the president manages to stay put until Sunday, as scheduled, it would be his longest break yet at the Maryland mountaintop retreat. More typically, he [...]
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  Posted: September 02, 2009, 3:34pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Firing of Ehrlich administration employee (the ice dancer) upheld by court

  The legal saga surrounding former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich’s personnel practices continued this week when Maryland’s second highest court found that Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration was within its rights to fire a holdover patronage employee from Ehrlich’s term. The case centers on the employment of Gregory Maddalone, who was [...]
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  Posted: September 01, 2009, 1:06pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Mikulski update

  Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, continuing her recovery from ankle surgery in July, has moved out of an in-patient rehab center and is now at a structured residential facility in Baltimore, according to her Senate office. The 74-year-old senator, who fell leaving church on July 19, is continuing to undergo physical [...]
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  Posted: August 31, 2009, 5:34pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Cardin arranged proposal with 'very, very low contact' in police department

  Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III confirmed Monday that it was Del. Jon S. Cardin himself who arranged a mock police raid as part of an elaborate marriage proposal this month. Speaking on the "C4" show hosted by former state Sen. Clarence Mitchell IV, Bealefeld said, the delegate made [...]
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  Posted: August 31, 2009, 4:51pm EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• O'Malley to name Swaim-Staley as transportation secretary, Chow to veterans affairs

  Gov. O’Malley intends to name Beverley K. Swaim-Staley to his Cabinet as Transportation Secretary, the first woman to serve in that position in Maryland. O’Malley, a Democrat, plans to announce her appointment during a press conference Tuesday morning at the State House in Annapolis. Swaim-Staley, 52, has been serving [...]
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  Posted: August 31, 2009, 4:37pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Mediscare and Kratovil

  For decades, Democrats have played on the insecurity of seniors by warning that Republicans would cut Social Security or other programs such as Medicare, the health insurance program for older Americans. There is one simple reason why this scare tactic became a staple of Democratic campaigns: it works. Now, as the [...]
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  Posted: August 31, 2009, 10:35am EDT
  by Paul West

• Kennedy, Mikulski and Senate musical chairs

  Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's death late last night removes the leading Democratic lawmaker from the Senate--though, in reality, he had largely been absent for more than a year. At the same time, it triggers a significant shift in the leadership of a powerful committee that Kennedy chaired--the Committee on Health, [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2009, 3:59pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Cardin may be mum on details of engagement, but Twitter tells all

  Since drawing public ire over his elaborate engagement using police resources, Maryland Del. Jon Cardin has been virtually mum on the circumstances of his proposal — even though it was, apparently, a tale he shared freely with fellow politicos at an Ocean City conference earlier this month. In an interview [...]
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  Posted: August 21, 2009, 4:43pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Cardin tried in court of public opinion; his peers wait and see

  Del. Jon S. Cardin may be in the hot water of public opinion, but so far his colleagues in the General Assembly have no plans to open an inquiry into his national news-making engagement that diverted city police resources. A joint committee on legislative ethics is waiting for the results [...]
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  Posted: August 20, 2009, 3:51pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Budget protests begin in earnest; disabled community rallies in Annapolis

  In the middle of August in Annapolis, Lawyer’s Mall typically serves as a quiet, if steamy, corner of the capital where tour groups gather. But politics returned today, as another round of budget cuts drew hundreds of protesters who rallied just steps from the State House. They were representatives [...]
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  Posted: August 19, 2009, 3:46pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Mikulski mending slowly, out of sight

  One month after shattering her ankle, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski remains a patient at a Baltimore rehab center, where she is undergoing four or five hours of physical therapy a day. A spokeswoman for the 73-year-old senator said Mikulski is expected to remain wheelchair bound until mid-September. She plans to [...]
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  Posted: August 19, 2009, 12:46pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Pipkin not rushing into First District race

  Republican State Sen. E. J. Pipkin, who played a pivotal role in Maryland's first congressional district last year, says he'll announce his 2010 election plans "relatively soon." But you might not want to hold your breath. Usually, "the earlier, the better" is the rule in politics, particularly when it comes' [...]
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  Posted: August 18, 2009, 12:02pm EDT
  by Paul West

• O'Malley's experiment with budget cutting by democracy

  Gov. Martin O’Malley has spent some time lately with a stack of dog-earned, e-mail printouts from regular citizens suggesting ways he should cut the state budget. He’s going to need help, after all, finding ways to finish closing a shortfall of more than $700 million. Sun reporter Julie Bykowicz [...]
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  Posted: August 13, 2009, 3:11pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• McDonough says he would "test waters" of gubernatorial run

  The field of potential Republican gubernatorial candidates just got wider. Del. Patrick L. McDonough announced on conservative talk radio this morning that he plans to begin “testing the waters” to determine if he should launch a campaign to challenge Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, in November 2010. McDonough announced [...]
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  Posted: August 12, 2009, 11:27am EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Miller joins O'Malley in urging county council action on slots zoning

  Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a huge proponent of legalizing slot machines in Maryland, joined Gov. Martin O’Malley in chiding Anne Arundel County officials for their inaction on rezoning land where a slots parlor is proposed. Miller characterized the debate on the Anne Arundel County Council as [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2009, 2:46pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• No go for Davis, Perez

  Two high-level Obama appointees from Maryland, federal Judge Andre M. Davis of Baltimore and state Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, will get to mark Labor Day in their current jobs. Celebrate might be too strong a word, however. Their nominations have been held up for months, after clearing the Senate Judiciary [...]
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  Posted: August 07, 2009, 12:19pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Everyone wants to be a deficit buster

  As Marylanders across the state submit hundreds of suggestions for cutting the state budget, someone with particular expertise plans to join the chorus of deficit busters. That’s Del. Norman H. Conway, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, who has spent many years plumping the depths of budget minutia. Conway heard [...]
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  Posted: August 06, 2009, 12:54pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Steele, RNC: Obama presidency has "failed"

  This just in...Barely six months into his four-year term, Barack Obama's presidency is a flop. Don't take our word for it. The Republican National Committee has just released a web ad that writes off Obama's presidency as "a failed experiment in just 200 days." RNC Chairman Michael Steele invited reporters' [...]
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  Posted: August 05, 2009, 4:38pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Embattled GOP Chair Pelura says no, he won't go

  More than two weeks after Maryland Republicans met behind closed doors and voted to express “no confidence” in their leader James Pelura, the state GOP chairman insists he’s not going anywhere. And, he said, he has the votes to ensure that he isn’t forced out. “I am not resigning,” Pelura [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 1:10pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Ms. Mikulski regrets

  Maryland's senior senator is among a trio of ailing lawmakers who won't be attending today's White House luncheon for members of the Senate Democratic caucus, a White House official announced today. President Barack Obama has invited the senators, who normally meet for lunch every Tuesday when the Senate is in' [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 10:50am EDT
  by Paul West

• Franchot drunk on good news about wineries

  Comptroller Peter Franchot has apparently grown weary of all the downer economic news out there. So the state’s chief tax collector took the time yesterday to e-mail supporters and tell them to take heart: Maryland’s wineries are thriving! (The comptroller’s duties include regulating the wine industry.) He began his missive [...]
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  Posted: July 30, 2009, 2:59pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Lollar definitely eyeing Hoyer's congressional seat

  We reported on this blog that Charles Lollar, a Republican viewed as a credible political hopeful, might have his sights set on Washington. It turns out that he does. This ran in The Sun this morning: Charles Lollar has told supporters he plans to form an exploratory committee for a [...]
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  Posted: July 30, 2009, 2:09pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Brown hosts lieutenant governor conference, shows off pitching arm

  It’s a slow news day when two reporters from The Washington Post, an Associated Press newsman and yours truly show up to a no-news press conference. But while State House staffers still outnumbered us, there we were on the south lawn of the Annapolis capitol this morning. The draw: [...]
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  Posted: July 28, 2009, 12:52pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• On the gubernatorial campaign trail for 2010: Lollar may not qualify; Hogan wants Ehrlich; Owings raising cash

  The field of would-be gubernatorial candidates might already be narrowed by one. Charles Lollar, chairman of the GOP central committee in Charles County whose name has been floated as a potential contender for the Republicans, might not meet constitutional standards, The Gazette reported today. Under the Maryland Constitution, a candidate [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2009, 2:23pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• The Wire may be off the air, but O'Malley still dealing with Carcetti drama

  The popular HBO series The Wire has been off the air for more than a year, but the show that spun a critical portrayal of Baltimore, its crime, its politicians (and yes, its newspaper) continues to be a topic that Gov. Martin O’Malley is forced to discuss. Witness his [...]
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  Posted: July 22, 2009, 12:13pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Davis, Perez still holding as Sotomayor prepares to land

  The prospect of a swift Senate confirmation vote on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is good news for the federal judge from New York. But it's less clear whether a pair of delayed Obama nominees from Maryland will get approved soon, too. If all goes according to plan, Sotomayor will [...]
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  Posted: July 17, 2009, 12:47pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Kratovil widens money lead over Harris

  Harvesting the rewards of incumbency, freshman Democratic Congressman Frank Kratovil has expanded his financial edge over potential Republican challenger Andy Harris, according to new campaign finance reports. Their latest Federal Election Commission filings show Kratovil out-raising Harris by nearly two-to-one. The Democrat is sitting on more than twice as much [...]
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  Posted: July 16, 2009, 11:42am EDT
  by Paul West

• Cardin lobs softballs, yanks Ripken into Sotomayor hearing

  As the Senate hearing for Judge Sonia Sotomayor drags into the late innings, the national pastime has again been pulled into the proceedings. Let's start with the breaking news: In a revelation that can only come as a disturbing development to many in Baltimore, the likely Supreme Court justice' [...]
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  Posted: July 15, 2009, 11:53am EDT
  by Paul West

• Michael's Steele's complete Republican guide to NAACP speeches

  Republican National Chairman Michael Steele promised today that he would depart from the "cut and paste" history of Republican speeches to the NAACP and, instead, tell it his way. Steele, appearing before the group's 100th anniversary convention in New York City, proposed a "new partnership" between the civil rights organization' [...]
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  Posted: July 14, 2009, 12:29pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Cardin highlights Baltimore's racist, anti-Semitic past at Sotomayor hearing

  Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin threw a spotlight on past racism and anti-Semitism in Baltimore in his opening statement at today's Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Sonia Sotomayor. The Maryland Democrat, a member of the Senate Judiciary committee, recalled that the elementary school he attended in Baltimore, Liberty School No. [...]
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  Posted: July 13, 2009, 2:22pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Katie O'Malley reveals horror stories from the campaign trail

  Catherine Curran O'Malley grew up in a political family as the daughter of former state Attorney General J. Joseph Curran. And now she has political family of her own as the wife of Gov. Martin O’Malley. But apparently the first lady never did develop a penchant for the quadrennial' [...]
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  Posted: July 13, 2009, 12:49pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Smith as Ehrlich blocker

  Democratic Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. said he changed his mind about running for comptroller because he didn’t think the statewide job would be a good fit for him. The sudden nature of announcement has political types guessing about his future, and about how he might spend [...]
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  Posted: July 09, 2009, 2:36pm EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• No one is headed to Hollywood, but maybe someone will get paid

  No one’s acting career will be launched by Comptroller Peter Franchot’s latest YouTube ad, but it might reconnect some Marylanders with their long-lost property. The ad is a parody of the GEICO insurance adds featuring a wad of cash and Groucho Marx glasses. Franchot’s version is intended to promote [...]
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  Posted: July 09, 2009, 1:03pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Martin O'Malley's big D.C. adventure

  It would probably be easy to make fun of Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's field trip to Washington today. So, let's give it a try. This was supposed to be one of those times when the guv could make a splash in D.C. He was all lined up to testify before Congress' [...]
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  Posted: July 08, 2009, 5:15pm EDT
  by Paul West

• Don't call it a comeback; Miller's been here for years

  It’s Miller time again. In Annapolis, of course, that’s a reference to Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. But it also could refer to Ron Miller, an information technology consultant and conservative Republican who tried unsuccessfully to unseat the other Miller in 2006 when then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich [...]
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  Posted: July 08, 2009, 1:55pm EDT
  by Laura Smitherman

• Slated for cash

  This morning, we reported that out-going Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith has a nice chunk of political change to donate to other candidates, about $1.2 million, sources close to him report. And we explain a way he could circumvent the $6,000 candidate-to-candidate limit. He could transfer an [...]
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  Posted: July 08, 2009, 10:04am EDT
  by Julie Bykowicz

• Waiting for E.J.

  The First District congressional seat in Maryland is on everyone's radar screen for 2010. A pair of powerful Marylanders, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen and House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, will be going all out to protect one of their most vulnerable colleagues. And Republican National Chairman' [...]
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  Posted: July 08, 2009, 9:18am EDT
  by Paul West

• Ex-O'Malley campaign manager failed to register as lobbyist

  Rite of Passage, a for-profit juvenile services provider, fought hard to defeat a Maryland bill to limit the capacity of private facilities such as the one it is opening this month in rural Carroll County. But one of the Nevada-based company's most important advocates -- a former government aide [...]
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  Posted: July 06, 2009, 3:17pm EDT
  by Lauren Eshkenazi

• Wynn lobbying for company accused of ties to Sudan genocide

  Sarah Palin’s surprise decision to walk away from her job as governor of Alaska held special resonance for at least one group of Marylanders. Not long ago, their congressman did pretty much the same thing. Rep. Albert R. Wynn, one of the state’s senior lawmakers in Washington, abruptly quit his post [...]
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  Posted: July 06, 2009, 12:53pm EDT
  by Paul West