JUICE: Updates on Delaney for Governor, Mooney for Congress, Dana Beyer vs. Sen. Madaleno, MoCo's Exec Race & Much More!

Below Maryland Juice provides a round-up of news items of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: MORE SPECULATION THAT REP. JOHN DELANEY MAY RUN FOR GOVERNOR - In comments to the media, Congressman John Delaney has been suggesting he "expects" to remain in the U.S. House next year (see an example in the YouTube video below):


Nevertheless, Maryland Juice is convinced that Delaney entering the contested race for Governor is a very real possibility. Here's one piece of evidence: last week gubernatorial candidate Doug Gansler came out with the following position regarding Maryland's bungled Obamacare enrollment system (excerpt below):

DOUG GANSLER: Last week, Jolene and I called on the state of Maryland to allow Maryland consumers to use the federal exchange website to purchase Maryland health insurance plans....

The Affordable Care Act was a great accomplishment, and Maryland should have led the way in implementing President Obama’s legacy legislation. But in the nearly four months since the website launched, most Marylanders still are unable to use it to buy insurance....

But in response to Gansler's position, Delaney saw fit to issue the following press response:

PRESS RELEASE

Delaney Statement on Gansler call for healthcare.gov option

WASHINGTON – Today, Attorney General Doug Gansler called for allowing Marylanders the option to purchase health insurance using the Federal health exchange website in addition to the Maryland Health Exchange website.

Congressman Delaney releases the following statement:

"I compliment Attorney General Gansler for suggesting a sensible solution on the Maryland Exchange which is the same solution we have been proposing for months"

##

I don't know about you, but this sounds to me like the type of short press response a rival candidate would send out!


JUICE #2: FORMER MD GOP CHAIR ALEX MOONEY LEADS MONEY RACE FOR WEST VIRGINIA CONGRESSIONAL SEAT - Maryland's former Republican Party Chair Alex Mooney moved to West Virginia last year to run for an open Congressional seat. Today the West Virginia Metro News reports that Mooney is leading the money race in his field (excerpt below):

WV METRO NEWS: Money, in and of itself, does not win elections. But then again, it’s awfully hard to win without it.  With that in mind, here are the latest campaign finance numbers for key candidates in the critical federal races in West Virginia for 2014....

The Republican field in the 2nd District continues to grow.  There are now seven candidates in the race: Alex Mooney, who was active in Maryland politics before moving to West Virginia a few years ago, has the most money of any GOP candidate in the race: $301,000.  Charlotte Lane has $255,000 in the bank after raising $215,000 in the 4th quarter.  Berkeley Springs pharmacist Ken Reed has $226,000 in his treasury, nearly all coming from a personal loan to his campaign.  Ron Walters, Jr., has $63,000 on hand....

JUICE #3: UPDATE ON RACE BETWEEN STATE SENATOR RICH MADALENO AND DANA BEYER - Two-time Delegate candidate Dana Beyer recently announced a Democratic Primary challenge to D18 State Senator Rich Madaleno. We have a few small updates to the race, starting with an endorsement for Madaleno from his colleague Sen. Jamie Raskin:

JAMIE RASKIN: Senator Madaleno is Montgomery County’s budgetary wizard who translates the progressive priorities of our delegation every day into the dollars and cents of the state budget.   I celebrate his service and treasure his remarkable contributions to our community.  I support his re-election.

The Washington Post's Frederick Kunkle also provided commentary from Sen. Madaleno about the primary challenge (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: ... Madaleno (D-Montgomery) shrugged off the challenge. “I’m proud of my rather lengthy list of accomplishments,” he said Thursday. Madaleno, who joined the state Senate in 2007, said that as a member of the Budget and Taxation committee and the chairman of its Education, Business and Administration subcommittee, he has played an important role in shaping legislative initiatives as varied as the Dream Act, marriage equality, and generous funding for public education.

“I think the last four years in particular have been the most progressive in Maryland history,” Madaleno said. He also boasted of having received the support of all the other senators in the county’s delegation.

Asked about the significance of the matchup between a transgender and openly gay candidate, Madaleno said, “I think it says that people who, in years past, would never have thought of running for office, now find the doors wide open. There’s tremendously more acceptance. It’s been a remarkable transformation in 12 years.” Madaleno said there are now eight openly gay members in the Maryland General Assembly, a number that he said he believes is more than any other in the country....

Judging by the early commentary from some media figures, the D18 Senate race may be one of the more colorful contests in MoCo. Here are some examples from Twitter:

JUICE #4: MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE ENDORSE DOUG DUNCAN FOR COUNTY EXECUTIVE - Former MoCo Exec Doug Duncan recently received the endorsement of the County police union in his race for County Executive (excerpt below):

TORRIE COOKE, MOCO FOP: As President of Montgomery County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35, I am pleased to announce that we are endorsing Doug Duncan for Montgomery County Executive. 

Having been a police officer for 20 years now, and having worked with different administrations and politicians, I know that Doug is equipped to provide Montgomery County with whatever it needs to get us back on track. When looking at all of the positive traits of the county executive candidates, Doug displays the traits of a leader we can trust and who will stand by his word. 

We took a hard look at all the candidates, and decided that Doug’s commitment to the safety of Montgomery County and his passionate service to make a better tomorrow tipped the scales in his favor to earn our endorsement....

JUICE #5: MOCO, PRINCE GEORGE'S & BALTIMORE COUNTY EXECUTIVES CALL ON GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES TO ENDORSE SCHOOL FUNDING PUSH - Maryland Juice received the following letter from MoCo Exec Ike Leggett, Prince George's Exec Rushern Baker, and Baltimore County Exec Kevin Kamenetz urging the Democratic gubernatorial candidates to get behind their efforts to secure school construction funds for the "Big 3" jurisdictions. Identical version of the letter below were sent to Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, Attorney General Doug Gansler, and Delegate Heather Mizeur:

Leggett, Kamenetz, Baker School Funding Letter to Gubernatorial Candidates

DOUG GANSLER RESPONDS: Gansler's campaign issued the following statement in response to the request from the three County Executives (excerpt below):

PRESS RELEASE

Gansler Supports County Executives' Effort to Seek Additional School Construction Funding

Sends Letter to County Executives Supporting Legislative Effort

Silver Spring, MARYLAND – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Douglas Gansler today sent a letter  “strongly supporting” the efforts of Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III,  Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, and Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett to secure more funding for school construction.

Gansler also issued the following statement:

“Portable classrooms, leaky roofs, and inadequate bathrooms, most of them found at schools in communities with the greatest need, are not the hallmarks of the best education system in the nation. They are symbolic of an education system that serves some and not others. I strongly support the County Executives’ efforts to seek additional education funds for school construction. With the endless stream of gambling revenue that the administration promised will fund our schools, we should fully expect Lt. Governor Brown to submit this as one of the signature pieces of legislation for the administration this session....”

JUICE #6: LT. GOVERNOR CANDIDATES DEBATE IN BALTIMORE THIS FRIDAY - Baltimore's B.E.S.T. Democratic Club is hosting a candidates debate with the three Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor. The event is taking place this Friday:

B.E.S.T. Democratic Club is hosting a round table where we can meet and hear from the Democratic Lt. Governor candidates.

The running mates are Rev. Delman Coates, the senior pastor of a Baptist church in Clinton, Md., Delegate Jolene Ivey from Prince George’s County, and Ken Ulman, the County Executive from Howard County.

To find out more information about each candidate and to ask your own questions join us on:

Date: Friday, February 7, 2014
Location: 139 N. Belnord, Baltimore, MD 21224
Time: 6:30 p.m.

JUICE #7: LT. GOVERNOR ANTHONY BROWN'S FATHER PASSED AWAY LAST WEEK - Maryland Juice received the following press release from Lt. Governor Anthony Brown's campaign reporting that the candidate's father passed away last week (excerpt below):

PRESS RELEASE

STATEMENT FROM LT. GOVERNOR BROWN ON THE PASSING OF HIS FATHER, DR. ROY H. BROWN

Huntington, N.Y. (January 30, 2014) - Today, it is with great sadness that we announce the news of the passing of Dr. Roy H. Brown at the age of 89. Lt. Governor Brown’s father, Dr. Roy Brown, was moved from the hospital to hospice late last week, and the Lt. Governor has taken the past few days to be with his family. Over the last four months, Dr. Brown has courageously battled cancer. This morning, he passed at home surrounded by his loving wife Lilly, his children and his family.

Below is the statement from Lt. Governor Brown on the passing of his father:

"My father was a man who led by example. He rose out of poverty in Kingston, Jamaica and overcame incredible odds to become a doctor. As a loving husband and father, he worked tirelessly to provide every opportunity for his children. As a family physician, he donated his services to countless people in need of care. He always put others first. That is the essence of who my father was and how he lived his life...."

JUICE #8: LIBERAL GROUPS CREATE WISH-LIST OF POLICIES FOR OBAMA, INCLUDING COMMENTARY FROM VALERIE ERVIN - Maryland Juice caught an interesting piece on Salon.com last week, with the following headline and explanation: "Send Arne Duncan to Mars!: A State of the Union wish list for liberals. We asked left-of-center groups what they hope to hear in the president's speech tonight. Here are the best replies." Notably, the round-up of commentary included remarks from former MoCo Councilmember Valerie Ervin. I flagged a few additional reform suggestions below:

SALON.COM: "In the State of the Union President Obama should take a stand against the lockup quota that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement to imprison at minimum 34,000 immigrants at any given time." - Silky Shah, interim executive director, Detention Watch Network

"… the Citizens United decision has given wealthy interests a megaphone so big it drowns out the rest of our voices. President Obama should put the voters back in charge by announcing a plan for public financing of federal elections, to allow every voice to be heard.” – Valerie Ervin, executive director, Center for Working Families

“I hope that he vows to work with Congress to change the law with regard to the NSA bulk collection, and makes a spirited defense of civil liberties even as he attempts to keep our nation safe....  It would be important for his legacy for him to distinguish himself from the Big Brother policies of the Bush administration and to rein in the surveillance state.” – Laura Murphy, director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office

"The key thing that the president needs to do is articulate a vision of a future in which America is no longer ‘exceptional’ in its rates of incarceration but merely average …  As for drug policy specifically, the most important thing he could do would be to question the need to take away anyone’s freedom simply for possessing or using a drug." – Ethan Nadelmann, executive director, Drug Policy Alliance

"President Obama should start by apologizing for the recent comments of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan that parents who oppose the harsh overtesting regime that has afflicted our schools are just upset that their children aren’t smart enough.... He will announce the resumption of manned space flight, starting with a trip to Mars by Arne Duncan and Bill Gates, where they will try out their education experiments on any inhabitants they find there...." —  Leonie Haimson, executive director, Class Size Matters

JUICE #9: MONTGOMERY COUNTY EXECUTIVE & COUNCIL CANDIDATES TO SPEAK AT FORUM ON RENTERS ISSUES - Maryland Juice received the following event announcement from the MoCo Renters Alliance noting that all three County Exec candidates (Phil Andrews, Doug Duncan & Ike Leggett) will be speaking at a March 5th renters policy forum:

RENTERS ALLIANCE: In a sign of the growing influence of organized renters raising the volume of their voices on renter issues, all of the candidates have confirmed their participation at our next candidates forum. Join us Wednesday, March 5th at the Silver Spring Civic Center for the first-ever county candidates forum focused on rental housing issues. County Executive candidates Isiah Leggett, Doug Duncan, Phil Andrews and Jim Shallek have all confirmed as has each of the County Council candidates--incumbents and challengers. Seating is limited. Join us and sign up for this exciting and historic event and lend your voice to our movement to establish renters' rights and security in our communities....

Here are some details on the event:

Silver Spring Civic Center
1 Veterans Place
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 from 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM

JUICE #10: US SENATOR BARBARA MIKULSKI IN MOCO SAT 2/15 FOR DISCUSSION OF GMO'S & FOOD POLICY - Maryland Juice received the following event announcement from the Takoma Park-Silver Spring Co-Op. U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski is expected to be in MoCo to talk about food policy and "genetically modified organisms" (aka GMO's). Indeed, GMO's are becoming an increasingly heated policy topic, as big corporations like Monsanto continue to try and sell expensive GMO seeds to farmers around the world and claim "patents" to own our global food supply:

Co-op’s Annual Food and Public Policy Series:
Historic Takoma Building 7328 Carroll Ave. Takoma Park MD 20912.

Saturday, Feb 15, 1-4 pm
GMOs, AND HOW LEGISLATION MIGHT IMPACT MARYLAND CONSUMERS

Invited Guest: Barbara Mikulski

SPOTLIGHT: The Issue of Race in Montgomery County // PLUS: MoCo Residents Fighting Affordable Housing Effort (Again)?

Maryland Juice caught an excellent article today from Center Maryland columnist Josh Kurtz. In his lengthy diatribe, Mr. Kurtz outlines how Montgomery County is an extremely diverse community -- both racially and socioeconomically. His thesis, however, is that the County's politicians are nearly all-white and oftentimes appear to be well-to-do. Kurtz discusses the political impact of this problem (excerpt below):

JOSH KURTZ: Hey Montgomery County leaders and voters: Tired of being the ATM for the rest of the state? Then it’s time to start electing a delegation to Annapolis that actually looks like the county....

The population, in the county, according to the 2010 Census count, is now majority-minority: 49 percent white, 17 percent African-American, 17 percent Hispanic, 14 percent Asian, and 4 percent who reported they were two or more races....

Almost one-third of all students were receiving free or reduced meals in school – and 41 percent of the student population had received free or reduced meals at some point in their academic career....

Yet the misconception persists around Maryland that Montgomery County’s streets are paved with gold – which can be mined at will by the legislature whenever the state is in a fiscal jam....

Plain and simple, it’s hard to make the case to the rest of Maryland that Montgomery County is a place with huge swaths of poverty and innumerable needs when so many members of the delegation the county sends to the State House look like they’re fresh out of an Ivy League fraternity – and counting the days till they can run for Congress.

In the past two elections, Montgomery voters have done a decent job of clearing out some of the legislative deadwood. But they haven’t done much to speed up the dismally slow process of diversifying the county delegation.

This majority-minority district currently sends just one African-American lawmaker to Annapolis among its delegation of 32, plus one Hispanic, one Chinese-American and, in an anomaly, three Indian-Americans. But you can’t say there’s a growth trend there when the lone Hispanic legislator, Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez, who is 70, could wind up retiring in 2014, and one of the Indian-Americans, Del. Sam Arora, is already being targeted for defeat for his vote against same-sex marriage.

The county’s eight-member Senate delegation is, and always has been, 100 percent white. The two legislative districts in Montgomery County with less than 50 percent white population, according to state figures – District 20, in inner Beltway Silver Spring and Takoma Park, with 57 percent minority population, and District 39, which covers Montgomery Village and much of Germantown, with 53 percent minority population – have all-white representation....

But does the onus lie just with the voters? Organizations that recruit and endorse candidates need to do more to promote and nurture minority candidates. Community groups need to encourage their own leaders to run for office. And minority candidates themselves need to step up, in every sense of the phrase....

Maryland Juice completely agrees with the main points in Josh Kurtz's article. Indeed, in the past, we've pointed out that the newest members of MoCo's legislative delegation do not look like the legislators of yore. But still, the pace of change is not fast enough -- and the Party (at every level) does not seem to care about developing the farm team. In many instances (ie: Mike Miller *cough*) they sabotage efforts to diversify and modernize the Democratic caucus.

HYSTERIA OVER MAKING HOUSING MORE 

AFFORDABLE IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Indeed, when Montgomery County used to actually be much more white and rich, a certain political culture existed that under-prioritized issues like workforce housing/housing affordability. But amazingly, even today, we persistently see a small but vocal minority of residents become extremely animated every time policymakers suggest ways of making housing more affordable in the County. The result is that our housing policies are completely B.S. and are NOT designed to solve MoCo's affordable housing crisis. They are designed to placate the residents who can already afford to live in MoCo. As we now know, this problem is keeping young professionals from moving to Montgomery County. Maryland Juice previously reported that MoCo is now more expensive than New York and San Francisco. Seriously. Think about that.

Now read the latest news report of residents getting hysterical (again) about the idea of allowing MoCo residents to rent out their basements. County planners are hoping to allow homeowners (who actually live in their home) to rent out their basements (aka "accessory apartments") without having to go through a year-long application process. MoCo currently has nearly 1 million residents, but fewer than 300 licensed basement rentals due to the current ridiculous "special exception" process. But notably, when Philadelphia implemented a policy similar to the one being proposed in MoCo, only 1 in 1,000 houses exercised their right to have a basement tenant.

Unlike past "affordable housing" initiatives, the accessory apartment proposal does not risk creating an over-concentration of cheap housing in any one place. So what's the hysteria all about? Well, did you read Josh Kurtz's article above? I think people are scared of "poor" people moving into their neighborhood -- even though "poor" might simply mean young professionals who are just getting started in the County or seniors on fixed incomes. Further proof that the hysteria against accessory apartments is unfounded lies in the fact that the proposed MoCo rules would require the home to be owner-occupied. After all, what homeowner is going to rent to a crackhead or criminal, if they have to live under the same roof? Ain't gonna happen, folks!

Check out the disturbing report from today's Wheaton Patch (excerpt below):

WHEATON PATCH: Montgomery County residents turned out in force at two public meetings on Monday to express concerns about a proposed rule change that would eliminate the special exception process for some accessory apartments, also known as “mother-in-law” apartments....

An estimated 275 to 300 accessory apartments exist in Montgomery County today, Pamela Dunn told the crowded auditorium at the Park and Planning headquarters in downtown Silver Spring. Dunn is the project manager for the comprehensive zoning code rewrite underway at M-NCPPC....

Current regulations require a special exception for every accessory apartment in Montgomery County, a process that usually takes nine to 13 months. The county's board of appeals approves special exceptions for an average of 10 apartments each year....

Instead of the board of appeals subjectively deciding which special exception applications to approve, a by-right process would establish objective criteria, Russ said....

“It doesn’t mean no oversight; it just means no public hearing,” Dunn said.

Russ repeatedly said that streamlining accessory apartments would result in more affordable housing throughout Montgomery County and more opportunities for elderly homeowners to age in place on a fixed income.

Barbara Sanders, a Silver Spring resident, remembers when her son Greg returned to the area after earning a graduate degree and getting a job in D.C.--but was unable to afford anything more than a studio apartment. Then he found a family with a basement apartment in their 1930s-era colonial home, looking for a renter. The arrangement suited both sides perfectly, as the family used the extra income to send one of their children to college. But Sanders was one of only a few people in the audience with something positive to say about streamlining the accessory apartment process....

Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich attended the afternoon public meeting and shared how he had recently accompanied some county housing inspectors on their rounds in Wheaton....

“This is about taking other single-family neighborhoods and radically altering them,” he said after the meeting....

The next step is for the Planning Board to make a recommendation to transmit the zoning text amendment to the county council. Then, if a councilmember chose to formally introduce the ZTA, it would be sent back to the planning board, which would hold another public hearing before sending back comments to the council. Next, the council would hold its own public hearing, and the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development committee would hold worksessions. Finally, the ZTA would come before the full council for a vote.

The Planning Board is scheduled to take up the ZTA in June....

I hate to be all Rollin Stanley about this, but honestly, look at the photo below of the residents who turned out to oppose homeowners renting out their basements. Does this look like a representative sample of a vibrant majority-minority County?

PHOTO SOURCE: WHEATON PATCH 5/22/2012

OTHER POLICY CONSIDERATIONS: Republicans and Libertarians should be upset about this too, albeit from a property rights perspective. Montgomery County wants to tell me who can live in my house? My neighbors want to decide who I live with? Uh, no thank you.

Moreover, one has to imagine that a basement rental income stream may be a huge benefit to homeowners facing underwater mortgages, foreclosure, or who simply need a little extra cash to survive in expensive Montgomery County -- whether or not they are young families, seniors, or youths.

EMAIL THE PLANNING BOARD & COUNTY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING & PROPERTY RIGHTS:

• PLANNING BOARD:  mcp-chair@mncppc-mc.org
• ALL 9 COUNCILMEMBERS:  montgomerycounty@lockheedwelfare.com

Maryland Juice will be following this issue very closely in the coming months. Stay tuned!