Maryland Juice recently highlighted the state's efforts to raise critical transportation funds to help maintain highways & bridges and build new transit lines (eg: the MoCo/PG Purple Line and Baltimore Red Line). Our sources were indicating that the vote on Maryland's $3.4 billion infrastructure funding bill was going to be very close, since the primary vehicle for raising funds was a proposed gas tax increase. But on Friday afternoon, the House of Delegates did indeed approve the historic transportation funding package in a fairly close 76-63 vote.
22 DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MEMBERS JOINED MARYLAND GOP IN OPPOSING O'MALLEY'S TRANSPORTATION FUNDING PLAN - The Washington Post's John Wagner printed the full roll call for the vote, but below we analyze the details a bit and highlight the unusual votes. First, it should be noted that every single Republican Delegate voted against Governor O'Malley's revenue plan. Meanwhile, 22 Democrats joined 41 Republicans in opposing transportation funding.
Democratic opposition to Gov. Martin O'Malley's transportation funding plan came mostly from ideologically conservative Dems in the House of Delegates (details below). While some of the members surely have alternate explanations for their votes against the gas tax hike, it is worth noting that of the 22 Democratic House "no" votes, all but four members also cast votes against either the Dream Act, marriage equality or death penalty repeal:
HOUSE DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED AGAINST MD TRANSPORTATION FUNDING PLAN:
Indeed, Maryland Juice has been hearing buzz about a potential 2014 run for State Senate by District 17 Delegate Luiz Simmons. The seat is currently held by fellow Democrat, State Senator Jennie Forehand.
22 DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MEMBERS JOINED MARYLAND GOP IN OPPOSING O'MALLEY'S TRANSPORTATION FUNDING PLAN - The Washington Post's John Wagner printed the full roll call for the vote, but below we analyze the details a bit and highlight the unusual votes. First, it should be noted that every single Republican Delegate voted against Governor O'Malley's revenue plan. Meanwhile, 22 Democrats joined 41 Republicans in opposing transportation funding.
Democratic opposition to Gov. Martin O'Malley's transportation funding plan came mostly from ideologically conservative Dems in the House of Delegates (details below). While some of the members surely have alternate explanations for their votes against the gas tax hike, it is worth noting that of the 22 Democratic House "no" votes, all but four members also cast votes against either the Dream Act, marriage equality or death penalty repeal:
HOUSE DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED AGAINST MD TRANSPORTATION FUNDING PLAN:
- Pamela Beidle (Anne Arundel) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
- Aisha Braveboy (Prince George’s) - also voted against marriage equality
- Eric Bromwell (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
- Emmett Burns (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act & marriage equality
- Rudolph Cane (Wicomico) - also voted against marriage equality
- Frank Conaway (Baltimore)
- Norman Conway (Wicomico) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
- Steven DeBoy (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
- Barbara Frush (Prince George’s)
- Mary-Dulany James (Harford) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
- Kevin Kelly (Allegany) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
- Stephen Lafferty (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act
- James Malone (Baltimore) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
- Joseph Minnick (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
- Shirley Nathan-Pulliam (Baltimore County)
- John Olszewski (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
- David Rudolph (Cecil) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
- Luiz Simmons (Montgomery)
- Theodore Sophocleus (Anne Arundel) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
- Geraldine Valentino-Smith (Prince George’s) - also voted against marriage equality
- Michael Weir (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
- John Wood (St. Mary’s) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
DEL. LUIZ SIMMONS CAST THE LONE "NO" VOTE FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY - Meanwhile, in liberal Montgomery County, 23 out of 24 Delegates cast votes in favor of the transportation plan. Only Democratic Delegate Luiz Simmons cast a vote against the gas tax (Note: he previously served in the legislature as a Republican). Simmons represents House District 17, alongside Sen. Jennie Forehand and Delegates Kumar Barve & Jim Gilchrest. But while Simmons voted against the transportation funding plan, his colleagues Barve & Gilchrest voted for the bill. Maryland-based political consultant David Goodman responded to Luiz Simmons' gas tax "no" vote with the following remark on Twitter:
Indeed, Maryland Juice has been hearing buzz about a potential 2014 run for State Senate by District 17 Delegate Luiz Simmons. The seat is currently held by fellow Democrat, State Senator Jennie Forehand.
OTHER OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC "NO" VOTES IN THE MARYLAND HOUSE - Three Prince George's Democrats voted against the revenue package:
Delegates Aisha Braveboy, Barbara Frush, and Geraldine Valentino-Smith. Del. Braveboy represents District 25 in a 3-member House District with Dereck Davis and Melony Griffith. But Braveboy parted ways with her D25 colleagues in voting "no" on the transportation plan. It is worth noting that she's also a potential candidate for Attorney General in 2014.
Meanwhile, the Delegates representing District 12 continued to demonstrate ideological differences. House District 12 is currently represented by three Maryland Democrats: retiring Delegate Liz Bobo in subdistrict 12B and Delegates Steve Deboy and Jim Malone in subdistricct 12A. But even those these three Delegates are all Democrats, Deboy and Malone persistently join the Republicans on close votes -- even though their new 2014 district will include liberal Columbia, Maryland and scores of new progressive voters. Naturally, Bobo voted for the transportation funds, while Deboy and Malone voted against the infrastructure money. Some of their 2014 Democratic Primary competitors have taken notice of these political dynamics.
Here are a few more instances of Democrats in the House disagreeing with their legislative district colleagues:
MARYLAND GOP HEADS TO SOUTH CAROLINA DURING GAS TAX DEBATE - Amusingly, while the House of Delegates held a close vote on a Maryland gas tax hike, the Maryland Republican Party was holding press events in South Carolina. The Baltimore Sun's Erin Cox noted that the Maryland GOP's Executive Director David Ferguson drove his truck to Charleston, South Carolina for the weekend (excerpt below):
MORE ON THE MD TRANSPORTATION DEBATE SOON!
Meanwhile, the Delegates representing District 12 continued to demonstrate ideological differences. House District 12 is currently represented by three Maryland Democrats: retiring Delegate Liz Bobo in subdistrict 12B and Delegates Steve Deboy and Jim Malone in subdistricct 12A. But even those these three Delegates are all Democrats, Deboy and Malone persistently join the Republicans on close votes -- even though their new 2014 district will include liberal Columbia, Maryland and scores of new progressive voters. Naturally, Bobo voted for the transportation funds, while Deboy and Malone voted against the infrastructure money. Some of their 2014 Democratic Primary competitors have taken notice of these political dynamics.
Here are a few more instances of Democrats in the House disagreeing with their legislative district colleagues:
MARYLAND GOP HEADS TO SOUTH CAROLINA DURING GAS TAX DEBATE - Amusingly, while the House of Delegates held a close vote on a Maryland gas tax hike, the Maryland Republican Party was holding press events in South Carolina. The Baltimore Sun's Erin Cox noted that the Maryland GOP's Executive Director David Ferguson drove his truck to Charleston, South Carolina for the weekend (excerpt below):
BALTIMORE SUN: Gov. Martin O'Malley took the stage Saturday at a high school in this early presidential primary state, telling an auditorium of South Carolina Democrats that his principles worked in Maryland — and they'd work elsewhere....
The Maryland Republican Party's executive director took issue with the achievements O'Malley cited. David Ferguson drove his truck down to Charleston to stage an event outside the West Ashley High School where O'Malley spoke....
MORE ON THE MD TRANSPORTATION DEBATE SOON!
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