JUICE: Final List of Names for Ervin's MoCo Council Seat, 2014 Annapolis Priorities, Del. Don Dwyer Removed from Committee

PLUS: FBI IN PRINCE GEORGE'S, 15 MIN TRAIN RIDE TO BALTIMORE, D17 SENATE BATTLE & MORE!

Below Maryland Juice provides a round-up of news items relating to politics and economic development:

JUICE #1: FINAL LIST OF APPLICANTS FOR VALERIE ERVIN'S COUNCIL VACANCY // JAY HUTCHINS & FORMER DEL. HERMAN TAYLOR ROUND OUT LIST OF 18 NAMES - Yesterday was the deadline for Democrats in Montgomery County's Council District 5 to apply for the seat recently vacated by Valerie Ervin. Below Maryland Juice provides the full list of eighteen (!!!) applicants for the interim appointment:

1. Alan Bowser
2. Cherri Branson
3. Esther Stein Chayt
4. Michael Diegel
5. Jeanette Dixon
6. Larry E. Edmonds
7. Ronald Galvin, Jr.
8. Jay Hutchins III
9. Arthur Jackson, Jr.
10. Kim Jones
11. Andrew Kleine
12. Iris Lewis
13. Timothy Male
14. Harold McDougall
15. Herman Taylor *
16. Dale Tibbitts
17. Daniel L. Wilhelm
18. Mark Woodard

* Currently resides in District 5 -- will update voter registration from District 4 prior to appointment

One of the more interesting new names on this list is Jay Hutchins, who was the runner-up to Sam Arora in the 2010 Democratic Primary for District 19 House of Delegates. Also of note is an application by former District 14 Delegate Herman Taylor.


JUICE #2: GOP DELEGATE DON DWYER STRIPPED OF SEAT ON HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE - The Capitol Gazette reported today that at the start of Maryland's 2014 legislative session, embattled Delegate Don Dwyer has been removed from his seat on the House Ways & Means Committee (excerpt below):

CAPITAL GAZETTE: For the second time in a year, Del. Don Dwyer will be removed from a House of Delegates committee. House Speaker Michael E. Busch, D-Annapolis, said Thursday he was removing Dwyer, R-Pasadena, from the House Ways and Means Committee “to protect the integrity of the institution of the House of Delegates.” Dwyer is expected to lose his seat Friday. Dwyer was sentenced in October 2013 to 30 consecutive weekends in jail for drunken driving. He will spend most weekends during the 2014 General Assembly in confinement. Stripped of his committee position, Dwyer will only be able to debate and cast votes on the House floor for the remainder of the session....

JUICE #3: DEL. LUIZ SIMMONS CALLS FOR "CLEAN CAMPAIGN PLEDGE" IN D17 STATE SENATE CONTEST - Maryland Juice received the following press release from Delegate Luiz Simmons calling for a "clean campaign pledge" from rival candidate Cheryl Kagan in the District 17 State Senate primary:

PRESS RELEASE

Del. Luiz Simmons Proposes Clean Campaign Pledge in State Senate Race
Says residents deserve honest, fair campaign - free from mudslinging

Rockville, MD – Today, District 17 State Senate candidate and current State Delegate Luiz Simmons proposed the “No Mudslinging in Maryland Pledge.”  This pledge would ensure a clean campaign in the race to represent Rockville and Gaithersburg in the State Senate.

The 2010 State Senate campaign between State Senator Jennie Forhand and Cheryl Kagan was called “the most negative campaign in District 17 history.”

“The voters in District 17 deserve a campaign that is honest, fair and focuses on the issues.  There is no place for the politics of personal destruction in this race,” said Delegate Luiz Simmons.  “I urge my opponent, Cheryl Kagan to sign this pledge today.”

The No Mudslinging in Maryland Pledge says the following:

As primary candidates for the office of State Senator, District 17, we hereby agree that the people of Maryland deserve better than a negative campaign.  They deserve a campaign on the issues most important to them – not one full of cheap, divisive attacks. 

During the primary campaign, we pledge the following:

1. To avoid personal attacks against our opponents. We will not engage in a smear campaign, negative character attacks, defamation, or false accusations against any opponent.
2. To avoid distortions and misrepresentations of our opponents’ records and positions. This includes distortions in the media, campaign literature, advertisements, mailings and speaking engagements.
3. We hereby instruct members of our campaign teams, including staff, advisors and volunteers, to agree to these same terms.

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JUICE #4: TOWN OF CHEVY CHASE SEEKS TO SPEND $360,000 ON LAWYERS TO BATTLE PURPLE LINE - Leaders in the Town of Chevy Chase, who have been battling the proposed light rail "Purple Line"' project, held a public hearing last night to discuss whether to spend $360,000 on attorneys to tackle one of Montgomery County's top transportation priorities. The item was included in the town's recent community newsletter (excerpt below):

TOWN OF CHEVY CHASE: At its Wednesday, January 8 meeting, the Town Council will hold a public hearing on a proposal to engage a law firm to assist the Town in continuing to respond to the proposed Purple Line project and its local impacts.

The Town recently submitted comments regarding the Purple Line’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), which assesses the environmental effects of the proposed project. These comments note significant concerns with the project’s skyrocketing costs and funding prospects and call for a new environmental impact study to identify lower cost alternatives, such as bus rapid transit. The comments also raise technical concerns about the proposed alignment, including visual, noise and safety impacts.

As plans for the Purple Line progress, the Town Council wants to ensure that the Town’s concerns are given serious consideration by state and federal decision makers, and the Council has proposed to engage a law firm to assist in that effort. The length of the engagement will be approximately 18 months, with a cost of approximately $360,000....

The unfortunate aspect to this development, is that the Purple Line is a broadly popular project outside of Chevy Chase, and so the town's expenditures on lawyers may well cost taxpayers in other parts of Maryland thousands of dollars to defend the light rail initiative. Notably, Chevy Chase has ample resources for such a strategy, given that under state law they are refunded 1/6 of county income taxes paid by town residents. In a recent count, the Town of Chevy Chase with a population of 2,907 got almost as much money as Takoma Park with 17,905 (much less affluent) people ($2,174,114 vs. $2,330,225).  


JUICE #5: LERNER FAMILY SEEKS TO LURE FBI HEADQUARTERS TO FORMER LANDOVER MALL SITE IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY - The Washington Post reported this week that Lerner Enterprises (the business run by the owner of the Washington Nationals) is attempting to lure the FBI to the former Landover Mall site in Prince George's County (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Sears is shuttering its store near the former Landover Mall, after selling the site to a Rockville-based development firm that is seeking to build a new FBI headquarters.... The store operated for more than a decade in a sea of empty parking lots after Landover Mall closed in 2002 and the shopping center was demolished a few years later. Lerner Enterprises said Tuesday that it plans to offer the 88-acre former mall site to the General Services Administration for consideration as a future headquarters for the FBI....

“With Sears closed the confusion that existed as to the availability of the entire site should be eliminated,” Alan H. Gottlieb, chief operating officer of Lerner Enterprises, wrote in an e-mail after the Sears announcement. “We would hope to attract a major user or users to the site possibly the FBI. In that regard we have submitted the site to the GSA.”

JUICE #6: JAPANESE OFFICIALS OFFER HELP TO BUILD HIGH SPEED RAIL TO CREATE 15 MINUTE TRAIN RIDE BETWEEN BALTIMORE & WASHINGTON - Business Insider reported this week that the Japanese government has offered to lend the United States half the cost of building a high-speed "Mag-Lev" train between Baltimore and Washington, DC. The proposed system would cut the commuting time between the two cities to fifteen minutes (excerpt below):

BUSINESS INSIDER: The Japanese government has promised to lend the United States half of the cost of building the first "Super-Maglev" train, reducing travel time between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to just 15 minutes. Tokyo is so keen to show off its technology that it will provide loans for half the estimated $8 billion (£5bn) cost of installing the tracks, Japan's Asahi newspaper said on Tuesday.

The American federal government is keen on the project, according to Central Japan Railway Co., and state authorities are especially enthusiastic.... Maglev vehicles have no wheels and are propelled along their track through electromagnetic pull – doing away with friction and, hence, providing a smoother and quieter ride at a faster speed....

JUICE #7: ADVOCATES HIGHLIGHT 2014 MARYLAND LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR LGBT RIGHTS - At the start of the 2014 Annapolis legislative session, The Washington Blade's Michael Lavers highlighted the policy priorities of LGBT activists in Maryland (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON BLADE: Efforts to ban discrimination based on gender identity and expression and so-called “ex-gay” conversion therapy to minors are top priorities for Maryland LGBT rights advocates during the 2014 legislative session that begins on Wednesday.

State Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery County) will introduce the transgender rights bill in the state Senate. State Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) plans to bring forth the measure in the House of Delegates, even though the chamber passed a trans rights bill in 2011....

The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee last March by a 6-5 vote struck down a bill Madaleno and state Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County) introduced that would have banned anti-trans discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation. State Sens. Norman Stone (D-Baltimore County), C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s County) and James Brochin (D-Baltimore County) voted against the measure....

State Del. Jon Cardin (D-Baltimore County) has introduced a bill that would ban “ex-gay” conversion therapy to minors in Maryland. The original version of House Bill 91 only includes sexual orientation, but Cardin’s legislative director Josh Greenfield told the Blade on Tuesday it will be amended to include gender identity and expression. Madaleno is also expected to introduce the measure in the Senate.

JUICE #8: ACLU OF MARYLAND RELEASES LIST OF 2014 MARYLAND LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES - Maryland's ACLU released the following press release discussing their legislative priorities in the 2014 Annapolis session (excerpt below):

PRESS RELEASE

ACLU of Maryland Announces 2014 Legislative Priorities

Issues include taxing and regulating marijuana, stopping local police from enforcing civil immigration detainers, limiting email and cell phone surveillance, and ending the shackling of pregnant women

...The ACLU priorities include legislation to tax and regulate marijuana, stop local police from enforcing civil immigration detainers, limit email and cell phone surveillance, end the shackling of pregnant women, fully fund the Public Education "Thornton" Funding Formula and more....

Highlights from the ACLU’s priorities for 2014 General Assembly session:

PRIVACY

• Email Surveillance: Privacy laws have yet to be updated, which allows the government to intercept and access information about the content of our emails, and other information collected by search engines, social networking sites and other websites. The ACLU supports legislation to ensure that new advances in science and technology enhance, not compromise, civil liberties.

• Location Tracking:  The ACLU supports legislation that would ensure that legitimate investigations can proceed, while protecting innocent Marylanders from unjustified invasions of their privacy.

• Drones: Drones can pose a serious threat to privacy. The ACLU of Maryland is in support of legislation that would prohibit a Maryland law enforcement agency from using a drone to gather evidence without a warrant.

• Automatic License Plate Recorders: The ACLU supports legislation that would keep law enforcement from storing records of plates and locations that are not ‘hits’ against any database.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE: The War on Drugs has failed.  Maryland spends an inordinate amount of time, energy and money arresting people for marijuana possession, even though 44 percent of violent crimes in Maryland go unsolved. Further, despite equal rates of use, these arrests are racially imbalanced.  Because the War on Drugs has failed, the ACLU supports the full decriminalization, taxation and regulation of marijuana possession.

REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM: The ACLU works to protect everyone's right to make informed decisions free from government interference about whether and when to become a parent. In addition, the ACLU will advocate for legislation to end the dangerous practices of shackling pregnant women in custody during transport, labor and delivery. The ACLU supported last year, and will support again, legislation that would prohibit the shackling of pregnant inmates and detainees during their second and third trimesters.

IMMIGRATION REFORM: State and local law enforcement undermine public safety and waste resources by enforcing immigration detainer requests from U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ACLU supports the Maryland Trust Act, a bill that would restore community relationships with local police by disentangling them from federal immigration enforcement efforts. 

EDUCATION

• Full Funding of the Public Education "Thornton" Funding Formula: The ACLU's Education Reform Project will continue its advocacy to ensure that the state budget contains full funding of the “Thornton” education funding formula in the Bridge to Excellence Act, including a minimum 1 percent inflation factor and the Geographic Cost of Education Index. 

• Funding the Thornton Formula Adequacy Study in the Governor’s Budget: The ACLU has called on the Governor to provide appropriate funding in the Maryland State Board of Education budget to hire a reputable expert to conduct the required “adequacy study” of the “Thornton” education formula. The Bridge to Excellence Act anticipated the need to regularly update the formula in light of changing academic standards and requires that over the next two years a reassessment will take place of the adequacy of funding levels for students to meet state standards. 

• Expansion of Pre-Kindergarten Education for the Most At-risk Children: The ACLU will advocate for adequate state and local funding for the existing Pre-K programs (currently funded based on K-12 students rather than Pre-K enrollment) and for the state to fund school districts that offer full-day programs. 

• Oppose State Funding of Private Schools: The ACLU will continue to fight back against funding private schools with public dollars. The ACLU opposes legislation that would reimburse parents or institutions for private school tuition. Private schools do not have to abide by the same state anti-discrimination laws and rules that public schools do. Such legislation also entangles the state in promoting religious education, as many of the beneficiaries would be religious schools. And every public dollar diverted to private schools is a dollar lost to the taxpayers of Maryland.

The full list of 2014 legislative priorities can be found at the ACLU of Maryland website.

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JUICE #9: COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS ANNOUNCE 2014 MARYLAND LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES - Maryland Juice received the following press release from the "Fund Our Communities" coalition announcing their 2014 efforts in Annapolis (excerpts below):

PRESS RELEASE

MD Legislators Urged: Establish a Commission to Prepare for Military Downsizing

ANNAPOLIS, MD –Members of the Fund our Communities (FOC) coalition are asking Maryland lawmakers to support legislation establishing the Commission on Maryland’s Future, A Jobs Strategy for the State of Maryland. This commission will be tasked with developing plans and policies to ensure a competitive advantage for Maryland as Federal military spending declines.

Jean Athey, steering committee chair, commented: “Maryland has over 200,000 workers in military-related industries and ranks fourth among states in per capita defense spending. As Federal military spending decreases, military-related jobs in Maryland will shrink and tax revenues for local communities will decline.”

Concerned about the economic shock that military drawdowns may have on jobs and employment, several unions have joined the FOC coalition. Gino Renne, President of UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO, explains, “With Maryland receiving over $36 billion annually from military spending, we may have put more of our eggs into this one basket than is wise. As an organization that represents middle class employees, this is a genuine concern for us.” Other unions have expressed similar concerns. In October, the Maryland/DC AFL-CIO passed a resolution at its annual conference encouraging its members to become engaged on the topic of conversion of military spending to domestic needs.

David Kunes, President of Montgomery County Young Democrats, notes that the Department of Defense has provided guidance to states and communities on defense transition, guidance that “shows that the Futures Commission is simply an idea whose time has come.” Athey agrees, adding “It is no longer a question of should we prepare for the economic changes that potential military cutbacks will have on our State, but rather, how we can afford not to.”

FOC (www.ourfunds.org) is a coalition comprised of over 60 organizations, including political, veteran, faith groups and unions, that advocates for changes in our nation’s budget to more adequately fund community needs.

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JUICE #10: O'MALLEY TO FOCUS ON RAISING MINIMUM WAGE // PLUS: THE WOULD-BE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE NEEDS RE-EDUCATION ON WAR ON DRUGS  - The Associated Press reported this week that Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley will be prioritizing passage of a minimum wage increase in the 2014 legislative session (excerpt below):

ASSOCIATED PRESS (VIA WBAL): Governor Martin O'Malley says he will be focusing his energy on raising the state's minimum wage in his last legislative session as Maryland's governor. O'Malley on Tuesday underscored the minimum wage hike as a top priority a day before the state's 90-day session is scheduled to begin.... Maryland's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. O'Malley says 21 other states have a higher minimum wage than Maryland, which he says has the highest median income in the nation. While the governor pledged his commitment to push for an increase, it remains unclear how much....

Indeed, the devil will be in the details with the coming minimum wage hike, and Maryland Juice hopes that ahead of his 2016 White House run, Governor O'Malley will embrace a $10.10/hr indexed minimum wage hike -- that does not seek to overturn the recently passed $11.50/hr wage hikes in Montgomery & Prince George's counties.

RE-EDUCATING O'MALLEY ON THE FAILED WAR ON DRUGS: On another note, Governor O'Malley needs a hard nudge to see that the broad public is mostly done with the failed "war on drugs" and no longer sees jail time as an appropriate penalty for petty "crimes" like marijuana possession. A good starting point for his re-education campaign might be the eye-opening documentary "The House I Live In," which details the ravaging effects of our ignorant "tough on crime" and "war on drugs" policies. The film took the Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and I highly recommend it to Maryland Juice readers (trailer below):

JUICE: Kagan vs. Simmons for D17 Senate, Gansler's Attack Ad, MoCo Council Hopefuls for Wage Hike, Duncan on Purple Line

PLUS:  A PUSH AGAINST USING COPS FOR IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IN MARYLAND

Below Maryland Juice provides a round-up of news that may be of interest to Free State politicos:

JUICE #1: FORMER DELEGATE CHERYL KAGAN ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR D17 STATE SENATE // MEANWHILE: DEL. LUIZ SIMMONS RELEASES D17 SENATE POLL -  This week, former Delegate Cheryl Kagan announced her campaign for the District 17 State Senate seat currently held by Jennie Forehand. Notably, D17 Delegate Luiz Simmons recently announced his intention to run for the same Senate seat. Below you can see Kagan's press release announcing her Senate campaign, followed by a polling memo released by Delegate Simmons:

PRESS RELEASE

Former Delegate Cheryl Kagan Announces Plans to Run for State Senate
(Rockville, MD) Former state legislator and longtime Democratic activist Cheryl Kagan announced today that she plans to run for the District 17 State Senate seat in 2014.

Kagan, who represented District 17 (primarily Rockville and Gaithersburg) in the House of Delegates for eight years, has been a leader on issues such as civil liberties, public safety and gun control, transportation, and the budget.

In the State Senate, Kagan pledged to get results on issues that matter.

"We need an effective advocate who will work tirelessly to protect our values," Kagan said.  "In the Senate, I will speak up for our interests and for improving the quality of life in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and all of Montgomery County."

Cheryl Kagan, a Montgomery County native, represented the 17th legislative district from 1995 to 2003, when she chose not to run again.  While in office, she earned a reputation as a hard-working, effective, and independent-minded leader who asked tough questions on behalf of her constituents.

In addition to her service in elective office, Cheryl Kagan has done legislative, political, and nonprofit work at the federal, state, and local levels.  She has lobbied to strengthen our federal gun control laws; defended women's reproductive rights; supported the election of progressive, pro-choice Democrats; and, as a foundation executive, distributed more than $1,000,000 per year to local nonprofit organizations.  Kagan currently works as the Director of Community Engagement for BBYO, an international nonprofit organization helping to nurture and support Jewish teen leaders.

"My experience in the nonprofit sector has given me a deep understanding of how state policies in Annapolis affect our neighbors here in Montgomery County," Kagan said.  "By listening to the community and building coalitions, I'm confident that we can overcome our state's challenges."

Committed to giving back to the community, Kagan is a dedicated volunteer leader as well.  She has served with civic organizations including the Maryland State Arts Council, the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, the Charter Review Commission, and Leadership Montgomery.

In 2010, Kagan's energetic and competitive campaign for State Senate was called the "#1 Race to Watch" in all of Maryland.  She finished with 48% of the vote.

"Over the past several months, I've been humbled by the tremendous number of people who have encouraged me to run for the State Senate.  I am excited to continue these conversations on the campaign trail," said former Delegate Kagan.

An official announcement of Kagan's candidacy will be forthcoming.  To learn more about Cheryl Kagan and her campaign, please visit www.CherylKagan.org, www.facebook.com/CherylCKagan, and http://www.twitter.com/CherylKagan.

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Shortly after Cheryl Kagan announced for the D17 State Senate race, rival candidate Delegate Luiz Simmons released a polling memo claiming a 16 point lead in the race. It is worth noting, however, that the poll results below came from a fairly small sample of 219 voters:

Delegate Luiz Simmons NOV 2013 District 17 Polling Memo

Meanwhile, Cheryl Kagan points to a different metric in her race against Simmons - namely, social media followers. Bethesda Magazine's Lou Peck recently highlighted some numbers in the race for online support in District 17:

BETHESDA MAGAZINE: Just days after Delegate Luiz Simmons formally announced he would seek the District 17 Senate seat in next June’s Democratic primary, the jockeying is intensifying for what may turn out to be the only competitive 2014 contest among Montgomery County’s eight Senate districts....

The Kagan camp was boasting that, in just over three hours after its launch, her Facebook page had accumulated as many “likes” – 135 -- as a counterpart fan page launched by Simmons six months ago, in May. “The social media primary was won in less than 3.5 hours. Thank you, @facebook friends,” Kagan declared Friday night via Twitter.

As of Sunday evening, the Kagan page had slightly more than 400 likes, as compared to just under 175 for the Simmons page....

If you're interested in the social media contest, you can check out Cheryl Kagan and Luiz Simmons' campaign profiles on Facebook.


JUICE #2: DOUG GANSLER RELEASES VIDEO ATTACKING ANTHONY BROWN ON HANDLING OF OBAMACARE - The gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General Doug Gansler released the following video this week attacking rival Anthony Brown on his handling of Maryland's Obamacare roll-out:



JUICE #3: NEW MOCO COUNCIL CANDIDATES LAUNCH CAMPAIGNS WITH SUPPORT FOR MINIMUM WAGE HIKE: BETH DALY AT-LARGE & NEDA BOLOURIAN IN DISTRICT 2 - Two candidates this week announced campaigns for the Montgomery County Council: Beth Daly for an at-large seat and Neda Bolourian for the District 2 seat. All four at-large incumbents (Marc Elrich, Nancy Floreen, George Leventhal & Hans Riemer) are seeking re-election next year, as is the District 2 incumbent Craig Rice. Below you can see a press release and social media roll-out from the candidates, as well as statements in support of the proposed MoCo minimum wage increase:

PRESS RELEASE

Beth Daly Declares Candidacy for Montgomery County At-Large Council Seat   Daly is a Critic of Unchecked Growth
Montgomery County, MD – Beth Daly, a civic activist and member of the Montgomery County Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board and the Sugarloaf Citizens Association, announced her candidacy for one of the county’s four at-large county council seats. Daly will be running as a Democrat in the June 24 primary.

Daly, a critic of unchecked growth who has been active in advocating for public transit and more accurate traffic management systems, would be the council’s only at-large council member from Montgomery’s fast-growing upcounty region. Currently, all four of the at-large council members live south of White Flint Mall.

“We need to put the smart back in smart growth,” Daly said in her campaign video, which appears on her website www.bethdaly.org. “I do not want to hear that the Montgomery County Council is powerless to fix the problems it created or allowed to fester under its watch,” Daly said.

While working as an advertising consultant, Daly, 51, raised two children, Jack and Joe, with husband Steve Seeger, living first in Bethesda and later in Dickerson. Daly now works for the Spanish language broadcaster Telemundo. 

A first-time candidate for elected office, Daly is no stranger to Democratic politics or public policy. She began her career in the mid 1980’s on the staff of the late Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH); she directed the Clinton/Gore presidential campaign’s media buying efforts in the 1990’s; and in 2012 was selected by EMERGE Maryland, for a program designed to recruit and develop accomplished women seeking elected office throughout the state of Maryland.

 “I love Montgomery County and I’ve loved my life here as an apartment dweller, as a suburban homeowner and as someone who now lives in the Agricultural Reserve,” said Daly. “This county has much to offer. The challenge now is to keep pace with transportation, education, recreation and other needs. I am tired of seeing our school grounds littered with portable classrooms. I am tired of spending more time in traffic and less time at home with my loved ones. We either do it right, now, and right now, or we feel the pain for decades to come.”

The Daly campaign held its first campaign kickoff on November 16th to a jam-packed crowd at the Poolesville home of Tom Gutierrez and Ann Stevens. A second event is scheduled for November 21st in the Chevy Chase home of George and Monica Baker.

# # #

In the District 2 Council race, former candidate Neda Bolourian announced her intentions to run for the seat through a couple of messages on Facebook:

NEDA BOLOURIAN: Pleased to announce that we have filed the appropriate paperwork and are officially in the running for Montgomery County Council! Thank you for the outpouring of support!....

The new website will be up by next week! I look forward to hearing from all of you and would love to get the youth involved in our great county!! Message me if you would like to volunteer or take part in our informal panel discussion. This campaign is about ALL of us! Let's get this started!

On the week of their campaign announcements, Daly and Bolourian both came out for the proposed Montgomery County minimum wage increase:

PRESS RELEASE

Statement by Beth Daly Montgomery County, MD At-Large Council Candidate on Increasing Montgomery County’s Minimum Wage

I fully support Bill 27-13 - to raise the minimum wage in Montgomery County to $11.50 over a three-year span.  We live in one of the ten wealthiest counties in the nation. We also have a very high cost of living, as compared to other areas of Maryland and the U.S.  Hourly workers deserve a living wage, and the federal minimum of $7.25 is simply not enough to allow low-wage workers to pay for rent, food, and transportation in Montgomery County.

In real terms, the minimum wage has decreased. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “Legislated increases in the federal minimum wage in both 2007 and 2008 boosted it from $5.15 in 2006 to $7.25 in 2009, its highest level in real terms since 1981. But even after this nearly 41 percent increase, the minimum wage in 2009 was still 7.8 percent less than its value in 1967 (in 2011 dollars).”
http://www.epi.org/publication/declining-federal-minimum-wage-inequality/

I want to thank Councilmember Marc Elrich for introducing this important legislation, along with Council President Nancy Navarro, and Councilmember Valerie Ervin  for co-sponsoring it. I urge the remaining five councilmembers to sign on to this bill.

# # #

Neda Bolourian announced her support for a minimum wage increase on Facebook and Twitter:

NEDA BOLOURIAN: Every citizen deserves a #livingwage. I support raising the minimum wage in our county immediately. There is no time to waste.

Pleased to hear that the committee has voted to raise the #livingwage in our community. Hope that the full council follows suit. #MDpolitics

JUICE #4: MARYLAND BOARD OF ELECTIONS TAKES ISSUE WITH GANSLER'S PROPOSAL FOR AN OUTSIDE SPENDING BAN IN THE GOVERNOR'S RACE - Maryland Juice previously reported that Doug Gansler was calling on Anthony Brown and Heather Mizeur to join him in a pledge to voluntarily reject outside spending from groups in the 2014 Governor's race.  But The Washington Post reported this week that the Board of Elections has issues with the pledge (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: As Maryland gubernatorial hopeful Douglas F. Gansler presented it last week, his plan to “keep outside money out of Maryland” would require him and his Democratic rivals to sign a pledge discouraging third-party spending on the race.

If an organization other than a campaign spent money on radio or television ads, the candidate who benefited would have to pay a penalty by donating campaign money to charity....

This week, however, a state election official said there was a hitch: Maryland election law bans most charitable contributions by active campaigns.

“However noble it may be, it’s not allowed,” said Jared DeMarinis, director of the state election board’s candidacy and campaign finance division....

“This can be worked out,” [Gansler spokesman Bob Wheelock] said. “The first step is getting the other campaigns to agree to do it.”

Brown’s campaign manager, Justin Schall, wasn’t biting. He said Gansler’s proposed pledge was “well intentioned,” but he added, “We have been advised that it fails to comply with Maryland law....”

JUICE #5: DOUG DUNCAN'S COMMENTS ON THE PURPLE LINE AT MARYLAND JUICE'S "MILLION VIEWS" PARTY UNDER SCRUTINY - The Washington Post's Bill Turque earlier this week wrote a review of commentary from rival MoCo executive candidates Ike Leggett and Doug Duncan. But Turque followed up on his piece with a second article digging into some remarks Doug Duncan made during Q&A about the Purple Line (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: While answering questions from Democratic activists at a Rockville restaurant Monday night, Doug Duncan — the former Montgomery County executive who is running to regain that office — said he’d “always” been a steadfast supporter of the Purple Line. But that depends on your definition of “always....”

During his first campaign for county executive in 1994, Duncan signed a pledge to oppose light rail from Bethesda to Silver Spring, especially if it happened to cross the fairways of the Columbia Country Club or pass through land behind expensive Chevy Chase homes. A copy of the agreement is on the Action Committee for Transit Web site, under the “Purple Line History” tab....

[Action Committee for Transit's Ben] Ross, who attended the Monday night event and asked Duncan about his position on the Purple Line, tweeted attention to Duncan’s revision of history the next day....

Duncan said Wednesday he didn’t think he misled the audience Monday night. “I’ve always supported the Purple Line. It was a question of alignment,” he said.... “But, we had a good debate on it, and the decision was made to put it somewhere else, and I support that decision,” he said. “We’re not going to revisit that. We need to get it built.”

JUICE #6: NEW MARYLAND ACLU REPORT DETAILS HOW USING LOCAL POLICE AS IMMIGRATION AGENTS UNDERMINES PUBLIC SAFETY - Maryland Juice has for a long time been calling for the Free State and its counties to stop participating in the Department of Homeland Security's so-called "Secure Communities" program. Other states have fought participation in the program, which forces local police to serve as immigration enforcement agents. This week the ACLU of Maryland, along with CASA and SEIU, highlighted a new report indicating that these "immigration detainers" by local law enforcement undermine public safety. You can read the press release and the ACLU's report below:

PRESS RELEASE

ACLU Report Details How Immigration Detainers in Maryland Undermine Public Safety Through Unnecessary Enforcement

Group Will Support “Maryland TRUST Act”Legislation in the 2014 Session

TAKOMA PARK, MD – Amid a deportation frenzy in the U.S. even while immigration reform is being considered in Congress, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland today released a report on how state and local law enforcement are undermining public safety and wasting resources by enforcing immigration detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Compliance with these detainers is not mandatory, yet the report details the startling rate at which many counties detain immigrants with no greater offense than a traffic violation – effectively transforming their local law enforcement officials into proxy immigration agents.

The ACLU report was launched at a press conference featuring State Sen. Victor Ramirez (D-Prince George’s) and representatives from CASA de Maryland (CASA) and Service Employees International United (SEIU). Sen. Ramirez will be the lead Senate sponsor of the Maryland TRUST Act, a bill to restore community trust in local law enforcement by eliminating their entanglement in civil immigration enforcement efforts.

“More and more jurisdictions across the country are refusing to act as surrogates in the current deportation frenzy,” said Sirine Shebaya, attorney directing the ACLU of Maryland’s immigrants’ rights advocacy. “The ACLU is calling on Maryland to join other states in deciding that complying with these requests is an inefficient use of our limited law enforcement resources and results only in ripping apart our communities.”

The report, Restoring Trust: How Immigration Detainers in Maryland Undermine Public Safety Through Unnecessary Enforcement, describes how immigrants in Maryland are detained after they are eligible for release, in state and local facilities and at state and local expense, for the sole purpose of transferring them to federal immigration authorities even when they are picked up solely on traffic violations and even when they are not even charged with a civil immigration violation.

Key findings in the ACLU report:

• Most individuals held on an immigration detainer in Maryland are charged only with traffic violations or minor misdemeanor offenses.
• The overwhelming majority of people targeted by immigration detainers in Maryland are Latino.
• Immigration detainers undermine public safety and community trust in local law enforcement by entangling local authorities in federal immigration enforcement.
• Immigration detainers are purely voluntary requests that impose costs on local jurisdictions, and those costs are not reimbursed by the federal government.
• Several states, counties, and cities across the United States have taken steps to stop detaining individuals based solely on immigration detainer requests.

The report calls for statewide reform that would take back control of Maryland’s entanglement in a broken immigration enforcement system and that would provide safeguards that address the significant due process and other constitutional concerns raised by immigration detainers. These safeguards would restore and help build community trust in law enforcement. And they would ensure that local jurisdictions are fully reimbursed for any costs associated with responding to immigration detainer requests.

Recently, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office issued a letter of advice joining a number of other state and county attorneys in recognizing that compliance with immigration detainer requests is discretionary.

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ACLU Maryland Report: How Immigration Detainers In Maryland Undermine Public Safety

POLL: Majority of Marylanders Support Marijuana Legalization // PLUS: Montgomery Democrats Rally for Minimum Wage Hike

Ahead of the 2014 legislative session, Maryland Juice has been tracking the activities of advocacy groups and activists in the state. It seems clear that there is a lot of organizing happening behind two policy areas: ending the War on Drugs and increasing the minimum wage. Below we provide updates on both issues, including a new poll on marijuana reform and coverage of a press conference yesterday on raising the state's minimum wage.

JUICE #1: STRONG MAJORITY OF MARYLAND VOTERS SUPPORT MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION - This morning, Maryland Juice received the following press release from the ACLU and the Marijuana Policy Project announcing new poll results showing a majority of Maryland voters support taxing and regulating marijuana in the same manner we treat alcohol sales. Meanwhile, a supermajority support removing jail time as a penalty for possession (details below):

PRESS RELEASE

Poll: Majority of Maryland Voters Support Regulating and Taxing Marijuana; Only 38% Opposed

More than two-thirds support removing criminal penalties for marijuana possession and replacing them with a civil fine similar to a parking ticket

Statements below from the ACLU of Maryland and the Marijuana Policy Project

BALTIMORE — A majority of Maryland voters (53%) support making marijuana legal for adults and regulating it like alcohol, according to a survey conducted last weekend by Public Policy Polling. Only 38% said they were opposed.

The poll also found that more than two-thirds (68%) support removing criminal penalties for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and replacing them with a civil offense punishable by a fine of up to $100 with no possibility of jail time. Only 26% said they were opposed. Under current Maryland law, it is a criminal offense for a person to possess a small amount of marijuana, and he or she can be sentenced to up to 90 days in jail and fined up to $500.

The survey of 678 randomly selected Maryland voters was conducted September 27-29 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8%. The full results are available at http://www.aclu-md.org/press_room/147.

Statement from Rachelle Yeung, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project:

"Most Maryland voters recognize that marijuana prohibition has failed and believe it is time to adopt a more sensible approach. By regulating marijuana like alcohol we can take marijuana sales out of the underground market and put them behind the counters of legitimate, tax-paying businesses. Marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol, and it is time to treat it that way."

Statement from Sara Love, public policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland:

"Our current marijuana prohibition policies are grossly ineffective. It's time to take a commonsense approach to public safety and criminal justice. We should not be wasting resources arresting people simply for possessing marijuana. Enforcement of these misguided marijuana laws is having a disproportionate and detrimental impact on communities of color. A majority of voters agree it is time for a change."

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POLL: Majority of Maryland Voters Support Marijuana Legalization

JUICE #2: MONTGOMERY COUNTY ELECTED OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE SUPPORT FOR MARYLAND MINIMUM WAGE HIKE -Yesterday, advocates supporting a minimum wage hike in Maryland gathered in Takoma Park for a press conference announcing support from a range of elected officials. Speakers at the Raise Maryland event included County Executive Ike Leggett, Sen. Jamie Raskin, Del. Anne Kaiser, and County Councilmembers Marc Elrich and Valerie Ervin. Other attendees included Del. Sheila Hixson, and representatives from CASA, Jews United for Justice, Progressive Maryland, AFSCME and more. Below Maryland Juice provides photos and a press release from, Raise Maryland:

VIEW MD JUICE'S PRESS CONFERENCE PHOTOS

PRESS RELEASE

Montgomery County elected officials pledge to raise Maryland’s minimum wage
Momentum is building for an increase to $10.10 per hour by 2016 for state’s lowest paid workers
Takoma Park, MD – Montgomery County legislators are pledging to pass a bill raising the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour during the 2014 Maryland General Assembly. On October 1, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting raising the rate for the state’s lowest wage workers.

At a press conference in Takoma Park, Del. Anne Kaiser and Sen. Jamie Raskin, co-chairs of the Montgomery County legislative delegation detailed why they believe that it is the right time to increase the minimum wage in Maryland.  Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Montgomery County Council members Valerie Ervin and Marc Elrich also spoke at the event.

“Raising the minimum wage is a top priority for the upcoming legislative session. And it’s not enough to just pass any minimum wage increase,” said Sen. Raskin. “We will be advocating for a strong bill that raises the rate to $10.10, indexes the minimum wage to inflation and includes a raise for tipped workers.”

The proposed legislation would raise Maryland’s minimum wage in three steps to $10.10 per hour by 2016 and index it to the cost of living thereafter so that it doesn’t lose value over time. The legislation also incorporates an increase for tipped workers (from 50 percent to 70 percent of the prevailing minimum wage).

“It is time for the General Assembly to act on wages, to raise the standard for all workers,” said Del. Kaiser. “That includes tipped workers – restaurant workers, barbers, nail technicians, car wash employees – everyone who depends on tips as part of their income.”

Momentum is building for Maryland to increase the state’s minimum wage during the upcoming 2014 session of the Maryland General Assembly.  The Baltimore City Council also recently passed a unanimous resolution calling for an increase and each of the Democratic 2014 gubernatorial candidates have announced their support for a raise.

“With passage of this resolution, Montgomery County stands united in support of higher pay for our workers and building our county and state economy,” said County Executive Leggett. “An increase will also stimulate business and spending and we always welcome more business here in Montgomery County.”

The press conference was held at Capital City Cheesecake, a café and bakery in Takoma Park.  Meaghan Murphy, who owns the business with her sister, spoke in support of a wage increase. “Even though it’s a challenge to meet this higher wage, at the end of the day we’re not in business for solely our own benefit,” said Murphy. “We shouldn’t be in business if we can’t provide another dollar or more per hour to our workers.”

Councilman member Elrich, who introduced the measure, also addressed concerns about small business, saying, “We hear from the business lobby that a raise in the minimum wage will hurt business. They say that it’s a job killer and small businesses will be most affected. In fact, across Maryland, 71 percent of all low-wage workers are employed by businesses with more than 50 employees, like big box retailers and fast food restaurants.”

“We talk about understanding the face of poverty, but it faces we see every day in Montgomery County – working families trying to put food on the table, ensure a quality education for their kids and keep up with bill payments,” said Ervin. “With one of the highest standards of living in the state, we are leaving our low wage workers behind.”

A low-wage worker, Wilfred Mokoko, also spoke at the event, detailing the struggles he faces living on the minimum wage.  “At the start, the wages were fair, but as the cost of living has increased, I saw my wages were too low. The Ride On bus fare has increased from $1.20 to $1.80.  To many people these changes do not make a difference, but they matter to me. Some weeks, I spend more than $20 on bus transportation. When you make $7.25 an hour, this really hurts.”

Research has found that approximately 472,000 Marylanders would benefit from the increase, putting $466 million more in their pockets in the next two years. At the same time, businesses would benefit from nearly half a billion dollars in new consumer spending and would create more than 4,000 new full-time jobs as they expand to meet increased demand.

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Raise Maryland is a diverse coalition of community, labor, immigrant, civil rights and faith organizations that seek to pass a statewide minimum wage increase and index it to inflation.

NOW OR NEVER: Congress to Vote on Ending NSA Surveillance Today // Left-Right Coalition Needs You to Call Your House Reps

PLEASE CONTACT MD MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TODAY  //  DETAILS BELOW

MARYLAND JUICE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: If you paid attention to the news in the last month, you likely discovered that the NSA, America's top-secret surveillance agency headquartered in Maryland, has been spying on and harvesting data on your telephone usage, email communications, social media accounts, and much more -- all in the name of your safety. Numerous major corporations have been complicit in providing the NSA and FBI access to your communications data, including Google, Microsoft, Apple, Skype, AOL, YouTube, Facebook, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and more. But the surveillance dragnet has involved millions of innocent Americans with little to no transparency for the public and minimal oversight from members of Congress. The only reason we now have proof of this government snooping on residents of the United States is due to the disclosures made from a handful of whistleblowers dating back to the George W. Bush administration, and most recently from 29-year-old former defense contractor Edward Snowden -- who is now being pursued as a "traitor" and "spy" by the Obama administration.

In fact, due to the NSA's classification of their spying operations as top-secret information, Senators who knew about what was going on were not even allowed to talk about it. But as the liberal blog DailyKos recently reported, a trio of U.S. Senators has been warning us for years about this civil liberties travesty (excerpt below):

DAILYKOS: Over two years ago [U.S. Senators] Merkley, Udall and Wyden warned about the administration's surveillance overrreach: "I want to deliver a warning this afternoon,” Wyden said. “When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry...."

U.S. HOUSE VOTE TO END MASS SURVEILLANCE OF AMERICANS TODAY: This may be the only vote the American public gets out of Congress to finally curtail years of sketchy behavior from government spying agencies, so your diligence as a voter is urgently needed today (details below). Dozens of groups on the left and right are mobilizing their supporters to call members of Congress and urge them to vote to end mass surveillance of Americans. The Huffington Post reported on the rare development yesterday, and noted that the NSA is now lobbying against the interests of the people (excerpt below):

HUFFINGTON POST: The National Security Agency called for a "top secret" meeting with members of the House on Tuesday to lobby against the first House amendment to challenge the agency's authority to cull broad swaths of communications data, according to an invitation circulated in Congress.

The amendment was authored by Rep. Justin Amash, a libertarian Republican from Michigan, and cosponsored by former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and liberal Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers. The House ruled the amendment in order on Monday, and it is expected to get a vote sometime this week.

NSA head Gen. Keith Alexander scheduled a last-minute, members-only briefing in response to the amendment, according to an invitation distributed to members of Congress this morning and forwarded to HuffPost. "In advance of anticipated action on amendments to the DoD Appropriations bill, Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of the House Intelligence Committee invites your Member to attend a question and answer session with General Keith B. Alexander of the National Security Agency," reads the invitation. The invitation warned members that they could not share what they learned with their constituents or others....

The Amash amendment would put the House on record when it comes to NSA snooping. The measure, which would be attached to the Pentagon's spending bill, "ends authority for the blanket collection of records under the Patriot Act" and "bars the NSA and other agencies from using Section 215 of the Patriot Act to collect records, including telephone call records, that pertain to persons who are not subject to an investigation under Section 215...."

But Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee with access to classified details about the program, said there is no evidence that the data collection had been directly responsible for stopping any single plot. Civil libertarians, meanwhile, are aghast at the NSA's broad interpretation of the law, and even the [Patriot Act's] author said he was surprised at how it is being used....

IT'S NOW OR NEVER TO STAND UP FOR YOUR CIVIL LIBERTIES: The excuse by our nosy bureaucrats and government contractors over the years has been that the mass surveillance of Americans was all made legal years ago through the Patriot Act and FISA Amendments Act. Today you have an opportunity to take that excuse away from lawmakers and finally tell Congress to put their money where their mouths have been regarding civil liberties and your privacy rights. Please contact Maryland's U.S. House members and ask them to support the "Amash amendment" to end mass surveillance of Americans:

• CD1: Rep. Andy Harris (GOP)  -  Email,  Tweet  or call 202-225-5311
• CD2: Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (DEM)  -  Email,  Tweet  or call 202-225-3061
• CD3: Rep. John Sarbanes (DEM)  -  Email,  Tweet  or call 202-225-4016
• CD4: Rep. Donna Edwards (DEM)  -  Email,  Tweet  or call 202-225-8699
• CD5: Rep. Steny Hoyer (DEM)  -  Email,  Tweet  or call 202-225-4131
• CD6: Rep. John Delaney (DEM)  -  Email,  Tweet  or call 202-225-2721
• CD7: Rep. Elijah Cummings (DEM)  -  Email,  Tweet  or call 202-225-4741
• CD8: Rep. Chris Van Hollen (DEM)  -  Email,  Tweet  or call 202-225-5341

This issue speaks to the fundamental balance of power between the people and our government, and Maryland Juice will be fairly unforgiving to those Democrats who choose to stand with the military industrial complex on the side of the Bush-Ashcroft-Cheney surveillance state. You can find additional details on the effort to protect our civil liberties through the "Amash amendment" in the ACLU Fact Sheet below:

ACLU Fact Sheet on Amash Amendment to End NSA Surveillance

Full disclosure: Note that I work for a progressive, Internet Freedom organization called Demand Progress that has been fighting the NSA's surveillance efforts.

Maryland Prosecutor Investigates Montgomery County Gov't Advocacy for Question B // READ: MoCo Officials Respond

UPDATE: The Gazette today reports that Montgomery County's police union has been effectively shut out from advertising on county buses, even though MoCo has agreed to make an exception and let them advertise against Question B:

GAZETTE:  Montgomery County might be willing to make a special exception and allow the Fraternal Order of Police to put signs against Question B on RideOn buses, but police say the decision came too late....

Zifcak, immediate past president of FOP Lodge 35, said the union was told by the contractor who handles the bus advertising, Direct Media USA, that it will take 14 days to get their ad on buses. The Nov. 6 election is 13 days away.....

Below, Maryland Juice discusses two updates to the ongoing battle between Montgomery County officials and their police union. First, we highlight a Maryland prosecutors investigation of whether MoCo was improperly engaging in advocacy on this November's ballot questions, and then we update our story on allegations of censorship on MoCo's bus ads.

Montgomery County Government Censors Ads Opposing Question B // ACLU Demands Equal Access for Both Sides

UPDATE: Patrick Lacefield, a spokesperson for Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, has responded to the ACLU's press release and provides new details. The Leggett administration will allow the FOP to run bus ads, but rejects the idea that they were engaging in viewpoint discrimination:

MONTGOMERY COUNTY: The County Executive decided yesterday to make an one-time, specific exception to the County's policy against any outside political advertising to allow the FOP to purchase space. Our standing policy is not viewpoint-based and therefore there is no issue of "censorship." Prior to this exception, the County would not have sold space to outside Pro-Question B advocates either. That has been a consistent policy that the ACLU has never agreed with.

A letter is being prepared by the County Attorney. We had told the ACLU we'd have a response before Thursday but they jumped the gun with a release. The ACLU acknowledges that the County can establish rules governing access to forum in this case (Ride-On buses), including content-based rules, so long as there is no viewpoint discrimination. The County’s rules governing access to advertising space are straightforward: the County, through its contractor, accepts commercial advertising and government-sponsored speech. Those are the only two categories of speech permissible in buses advertisements. There is no viewpoint discrimination within those two categories. The FOP’s proposed advertisement does not fall within either of the permissible categories. It is not commercial speech and it is not government-sponsored speech. Thus, the County properly rejected the proposed advertisement.

If recent accounts by the ACLU are accurate, Montgomery County may have gone too far in its attempts to repeal "effects bargaining" rights (Question B) for members of the county's police union (FOP Lodge 35). Maryland Juice previously reported on Montgomery County's aggressive advertising blitz urging a "vote for" Question B. Their PR offensive included web videos, flyers, email blasts, and more. The FOP called for an investigation of "misuse of taxpayer funds," but some argued that the law permits the County expend resources on advocacy for referenda.

THE RETURN OF CHAIRMAN MOCO 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENSORS POLITICAL OPPOSITION: Today, the ACLU is announcing that the Montgomery County Government is also running "FOR Question B" ads on its buses. But what caught their interest is that MoCo is simultaneously censoring ads from those who are opposing the government's position. Maryland Juice has previously noted a fondness for censorship from the Montgomery County government. Our #1 most-read article of all-time is still our reporting on MoCo's censorship of their employees' Internet searches. See the alarming report from the ACLU below:

MEDIA RELEASE

ACLU Protests Censorship of Political Speech by
Montgomery County Government
Full details at the ACLU of Maryland website: http://www.aclu-md.org/press_room/82

TAKOMA PARK – Concerned that Montgomery County government is unlawfully censoring ads opposing the “FOR Question B” ads that the County itself is running on public transit buses, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland (ACLU) today contacted Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett detailing the constitutional violation inherent in this viewpoint discrimination by the government. The ACLU asked for a quick resolution to the matter, given that the political question at issue will be decided by voters on November 6.

“If the County wants to prohibit political advertising on county buses, it can, but it cannot run its own political ads on county buses and then claim that political advertising is not permitted,” said David Rocah, staff attorney for the ACLU of Maryland. “When the government privileges one side of a political debate in a forum open to private speakers, as Montgomery County is doing here, it engages in viewpoint discrimination clearly prohibited by the First Amendment.”

The ACLU’s letter concerns actions taken by or on behalf of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation, Division of Transit Services, in connection with ads that the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 35 (FOP) sought to place on Ride On buses concerning the referendum on Question B on November 6. Montgomery County is currently running its own ads on both the inside and outside of county Ride On buses stating “Who Do You Think Should Run the County Police?  The Police Chief or Union Leaders?  Vote FOR Question B.”  Wishing to respond to these explicitly political ads by the County, the FOP contacted the contractor responsible for managing the advertising program for the Division of Transit services, seeking to run its own responsive ads. Once the content of the FOP’s intended ad became clear, the FOP was told, on two different occasions, that because the ad FOP wished to run was political in nature, they would not be allowed to purchase the space. 

The ACLU letter argues that the County cannot impose advertising rules only on private speakers who wish to express a contrary viewpoint. Because the County ran its own ads with respect to Question B, it must now allow the FOP to speak on the same issue, on the same terms as are available to other private speakers.

Go to the ACLU of Maryland website for more details: http://www.aclu-md.org/press_room/82. The ACLU has not taken a position on the substance of Question B.

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Indicted Anne Arundel Exec John Leopold Spied on "Enemies" // Flashback to Ehrlich Spy Scandal, Democratic Complacency

The emerging story of Anne Arundel's recently indicted County Executive paints an embarrassing caricature of small-town political corruption in the Free State. Yesterday, we talked about how Anne Arundel's top Republican official John Leopold (aka "Indictment-Guy") allegedly forced on-duty police officers to:

1. deliver his campaign lawnsigns
2. aid and abet in his sexual conquests,
3. and even empty his urinary catheter bag (eww!)

POLICE MONITORING REVEALED: The Baltimore Sun today reports on more details within Mr. Leopold's indictment, including allegations that he used police to research and monitor his political enemies:

The indictment handed down Friday against Leopold, who is in his second term, accuses Leopold of requiring executive protection officers to assemble dossiers on people he considered to be political rivals. According to the document, those people included Joanna Conti, who unsuccessfully ran against him in 2010, Carl O. Snowden, who heads the state attorney general's civil rights office and is a local activist, and potentially others.

The indictment says Leopold's security detail "did not consider these people to be a security risk."

FLASHBACK TO THE EHRLICH ERA: This sounds eerily similar to GOP Governor Bob Ehrlich's spying scandal. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the details of that case, Adam Pagnucco of Maryland Politics Watch wrote a great deal about it. In short, during Mr. Ehrlich's tenure as one-term Governor of the Free State, State Police were used to spy on ordinary citizens engaged in ordinary political protest (ie: Quakers marching against the death penalty or young people protesting war). Only three-and-a-half years ago, Pagnucco commented on the need to reign in the government's abuses of power and willy-nilly attitude toward privacy:

Spygate is the ultimate example of big, arrogant government seeking power over law-abiding citizens. So we would expect the Free State’s conservatives to condemn it, right? Wrong....

Baltimore County Denies Benefits to Police Officers' Same-Sex Spouses // ACLU & Baltimore Sun Cry Foul

The Baltimore Sun recently published an editorial calling on Baltimore County to provide benefits to police officers' same-sex spouses. They included this history of the controversy for readers:

County residents may recall that it was nearly two years ago that Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler issued a letter stating that Maryland should recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Yet, six months after the opinion was made public, the two officers had to file grievances through the police union because the county (which had at first deducted spousal premiums from their paychecks) decided to deny coverage altogether.

Perhaps the Gansler letter never made it to Towson because the county's lawyers decided to interpret Maryland law differently, arguing that the state's definition of marriage is "between a man and a woman" only. That's true, but as the attorney general pointed out, that provision does not address out-of-state marriages any more than other restrictions the state puts on wedlock (the age of the couple, for instance) affect the recognition of out-of-state unions.

But even if the legal point is arguable, why do it? 

The Sun's editorial board called on B'more County to do the right thing and provide the benefits:

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz shouldn't require more than a nanosecond to dismiss any notion of appealing an independent arbitrator's ruling that two Baltimore County police officers should not be denied health benefits for their same-sex spouses.

The ACLU of Maryland piggy-backed on the Baltimore Sun editorial with a call-to-action on their Facebook page: