JUICE: $8.25/Hour MD Minimum Wage Hike, EMILY's List for Mizeur, Raskin for Treasury, Katz for Council, Made in MoCo TV

Below Maryland Juice provides a few updates on news items of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: EMILY'S LIST ENDORSES HEATHER MIZEUR - EMILY's List ("Early Money Is Like Yeast"), a national organization that backs women for public office, is getting behind Delegate Heather Mizeur in Maryland's gubernatorial race. The Huffington Post post reported on the development (excerpt below):

HUFFINGTON POST: EMILY's List, an increasingly powerful group that helps get progressive women elected to office, will announce on Friday that it is supporting Heather Mizeur in the race for Maryland governor. If elected, Mizeur would be the first female governor of Maryland and the first openly gay person elected governor in U.S. history.

"Heather Mizeur is a progressive powerhouse who will fight for the rights of Maryland's women and working families from day one,” said Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY’s List. “The EMILY’s List community—now three million members strong—is excited about this glass-ceiling breaker....”

While Mizeur faces a tough Democratic primary against two establishment opponents, the support of EMILY's List could make a big difference in her prospects. Since its founding in 1985, the group has raised over $350 million to help elect pro-choice female candidates across the country. EMILY's List has supported the campaigns of every single Democratic woman of color currently serving in Congress, and during the 2011-2012 cycle, it helped elect an historic number of female candidates, including 19 new women to the House of Representatives, nine senators, and 186 state and local officials....

JUICE #2: DETAILS ABOUT A POSSIBLE $8.25 MINIMUM WAGE HIKE IN MARYLAND & MORE RUMORS THAT ANNAPOLIS MAY VETO COUNTY WAGE HIKES - Two articles were released this week providing speculation about the details of a possible minimum wage hike in the 2014 legislative session. The Baltimore Sun reported on a possible $8.25/hour indexed wage hike (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: Legislative leaders said Friday raising Maryland's minimum wage could involve boosting the rate statewide and letting prosperous counties increase it even further.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch told county officials gathered for a conference on the Eastern Shore they expected the legislature to consider raising the minimum wage. But, they said, it did not make sense for every jurisdiction to match rates set by counties where the cost of living is higher....

Officials in Montgomery and Prince George's counties recently voted to gradually hike the wage in their own jurisdictions from $7.25 per hour to $11.50.... In an interview about minimum wage, Miller suggested a state-wide floor of $8.25 per hour, and that jurisidictions could raise it higher.  And he suggested a possible constitutional amendment that would tie Maryland's minimum wage to inflation. The veteran lawmaker said, "we're going to get a lot of push-back on this...."

Meanwhile, The Gazette followed-up on rumors of a potential effort in Annapolis to preempt the local minimum wage hikes recently passed in Montgomery & Prince George's counties (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: Despite denials from Annapolis, union leaders claim a move to override Montgomery County’s recent minimum wage increase is brewing in the General Assembly.

Joslyn Williams, president of the Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO, said Thursday the union council has it from a reliable source that business-friendly lawmakers are preparing a “compromise” to raising the statewide minimum wage. The compromise would revoke the higher wages passed recently in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in exchange for a higher statewide wage.

Williams would not name who informed the union, saying the individual feared retaliation..... As for the lawmakers allegedly behind the effort, Williams said, “we are trying to track them down.” However, he added that the source warned to focus on “the leadership” and make sure the compromise does not get traction at the leadership level....

Asked for a comment, Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach expressed respect for Montgomery County’s right to set its own wage level. All eight county senators denied knowledge of such a warning....

Gino Renne, first vice president of the AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Council, said the session will flush out those behind the alleged compromise....

Notably, Maryland Juice is aware of a memo being prepared by the Attorney General's office researching the legality of county minimum wage laws, and whether they are allowed by county charter powers in Maryland. But who requested this memo? Hmm....


JUICE #3: US SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE APPROVES SARAH BLOOM RASKIN FOR #2 SPOT AT DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY - Maryland Juice previously reported that Sarah Bloom Raskin of Montgomery County was nominated by President Obama to serve as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury (the #2 spot at the agency). Politico Pro reported today that her appointment was approved by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and must now be approved by the full Senate (excerpt below):

POLITICO PRO: The Senate Finance Committee today approved out of committee three executive branch nominees, including a new commissioner for the embattled Internal Revenue Service and a deputy Treasury secretary....

Sarah Bloom Raskin also received only one audible no vote to be a deputy secretary of the Treasury. Raskin, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the highest ranking woman in the Treasury Department....

All three candidates must now be approved by the Senate, which is in turmoil after Democrats changed the chamber’s rules to make it much harder for Republicans to block nominees. In retaliation, Republicans are now running the clock on all nominees demanding full debate time for each prompting two back-to-back all-nighters.

Note: Sarah Bloom Raskin is married to State Senator Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County.


JUICE #4: GAITHERSBURG MAYOR SIDNEY KATZ TO ENTER RACE FOR MOCO COUNCIL DISTRICT 3 - We previously reported that Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz was weighing a run for the MoCo Council District currently held by Phil Andrews, who is now running for County Executive. This week two Maryland Juice sources indicated that Katz has decided to enter the race. See one report below:

ANONYMOUS SOURCE: At tonight's meting of the Democratic Club of Leisure World we had about 20 candidates visit and speak for a couple of minutes each. When Nancy Floreen was speaking, she said she was at a meeting earlier today with Sidney Katz, Mayor of Gaithersburg, and he told her he was definitely running for the MoCo Council district 3 seat being vacated by Phil Andrews. Since this was said in front of more than 100 people, it's public information....

JUICE #5: MOCO LAUNCHES NEW TV SHOW "MADE IN MONTGOMERY" - Montgomery County launched a new tv show this week called "Made in Montgomery." The first episode (which you can watch below) highlights Marriott corporation, which is headquartered in MoCo:



We hope this new show decides NOT to highlight MoCo-based Lockheed Martin, because if they did, the episode would have to focus on arms dealing, surveillance equipment and other unsavory things "Made in MoCo."  :)