JUICE: Gubernatorial Candidates Trade Barbs, Apply for Ervin Seat by 1/8, MoCo Council Candidates, D18, D15, D12, D11 News

Below Maryland Juice provides a few new items that may be of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: MARYLAND GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES TRADE BARBS AT MOCO FORUM - Yesterday Maryland Juice attended the annual "Committee for Montgomery" breakfast, a nonpartisan event attended by numerous business, political and nonprofit leaders in Montgomery County. But the draw for the breakfast gathering was a forum featuring practically all of Maryland's gubernatorial candidates (Democratic & Republican) on stage at the same time. Below we highlight a few interesting statements and thinly veiled attacks from the candidates for Maryland's highest office:

L-R: Moderator Brad Bell, Anthony Brown, Heather Mizeur, Charles Lollar, David Craig, Doug Gansler, Ron George

MoCo County Executive Ike Leggett spoke moments before the gubernatorial candidates took the stage and implored once again for the contenders to help Montgomery County win increased school construction funding in the 2014 legislative session. Calling Montgomery County the economic engine of the state, he also urged the state leaders to help MoCo fund its transportation infrastructure needs. Here's what the candidates had to say about these and other matters:

DOUG GANSLER: Attorney General Doug Gansler may have provided the most notable commentary with a series of not-so-subtle criticisms of the O'Malley-Brown administration. In his opening statement, Gansler noted that this was not his inaugural appearance at the Committee for Montgomery breakfast, and that he didn't just start attending once he started running for office. In responding to Anthony Brown's commentary about Maryland's #1 school system, Gansler stated that the "the books are a little cooked." On Maryland's Obamacare roll-out, Gansler suggested that the state should've put someone in charge that had experience and knew what they were doing. On the state's recent shift of pension costs to counties, Gansler said the O'Malley-Brown administration "shifted the burden to local government and said you figure it out." He also argued that Maryland has an unsustainable situation where we just tax people and that we need to fix our transportation, not just talk about it. He specifically mentioned the Purple Line, Corridor Cities Transitway and the Rapid Transit System.

HEATHER MIZEUR: Delegate Heather Mizeur stayed on the progressive issue track during much of the forum and noted that issues like marijuana reform would not be discussed during the gubernatorial campaign if she wasn't running. She also noted that she fought Annapolis leaders on the pension shift.

ANTHONY BROWN: Lt. Governor Anthony Brown started off by answering Ike Leggett's call for more MoCo school construction dollars and pledged to work in Annapolis this session to make it happen. He also defended the pension shift and stated that the O'Malley-Brown administration made the tough decisions to keep the pensions sustainable.

RON GEORGE: Delegate Ron George, a Republican candidate for Governor, had perhaps the most unusual remarks during the candidates forum. In response to discussion about the educational achievement gap in Montgomery County and surging enrollment from the children of immigrants, George talked about charter schools and suggested that we should temporarily take the immigrant children out of the public schools and put them in a separate school until they are proficient enough to re-join the general population.

DAVID CRAIG: Harford County Executive David Craig (a Republican candidate) stated support for the Purple Line from Bethesda to Silver Spring.

CHARLES LOLLAR: Charles Lollar (a Republican candidate), gave a particularly animated performance at the forum and criticized the fact that Montgomery County sends more tax dollars to Annapolis than it receives back.

JUICE #2: DETAILS ON THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR VALERIE ERVIN'S DISTRICT 5 MOCO COUNCIL SEAT - Maryland Juice just received the following press release from MoCo Council President Craig Rice detailing the application process for the District 5 Council seat being vacated by Valerie Ervin. Note the January 8th application deadline in the press release below:

PRESS RELEASE

Council President Craig Rice Outlines Process to Fill Montgomery District 5 Vacancy

Application Deadline is Jan. 8, 2014

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 17, 2013—Montgomery County Council President Craig Rice today outlined the process to appoint a new Councilmember for District 5. On Dec. 10 Councilmember Valerie Ervin announced that she will resign from the Council on Jan. 3, 2014 to become executive director of the Center for Working Families.

As provided in Sections 102 and 106 of the County Charter, the Council intends to appoint a new Councilmember for District 5 by Jan. 31, 2014 to complete Councilmember Ervin’s unexpired term, which ends on Dec. 1, 2014. The new Councilmember must reside in District 5 and be registered to vote in the same political party as Councilmember Ervin (Democrat).

The Council intends to select a person who has shown a clear understanding of the issues that are important to residents of District 5.  To assure a level playing field for all persons interested in seeking election to the next full term from District 5, the Council expects to appoint a person who does not plan to run for election to that term.

Applicants should submit letters of interest with a resume to Council President Craig Rice, Montgomery County Council, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850 by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014.  Applications can also be submitted via email to: county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Each applicant must be a registered voter in Montgomery County, registered to vote as a Democrat, and, at the time of appointment, a resident of Council District 5.  Each resume submitted should include the applicant’s professional and civic experience, political party affiliation, home and office telephone numbers, and home and email addresses.

Each application letter, recommendation letter, and resume submitted as part of the appointment process will be made available to the public.  Each applicant must submit a confidential County financial disclosure statement for Council review. (The form will be transmitted to each applicant for completion.)  Only the financial disclosure statement of the ultimate appointee will be made available to the public.

The Council will decide which applicants to interview.  Interviews will be scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17 at the Council Office Building.  Additional interviews, if necessary, will be scheduled for 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, and Friday, Jan. 24.

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Maryland Juice will soon publish a list of some of the names we have been hearing may be interested in the District 5 interim appointment.


JUICE #3: UPDATE ON POSSIBLE CANDIDATES FOR PHIL ANDREWS' MOCO COUNCIL DISTRICT 3 SEAT - Councilmember Phil Andrews is the other MoCo official vacating a seat in 2014, and after bumping into people at holiday parties over the weekend, Maryland Juice has an updated list of potential candidates for the June 2014 Democratic Primary:

• Activist Guled Kassim
• Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz
• Gaithersburg Councilmember Ryan Spiegel
• Rockville Councilmember Tom Moore

There is at least one more potential candidate, but they did not respond to our inquiries before publication.


JUICE #4: D18 UPDATE // DELEGATE ANA SOL GUTIERREZ FILES FOR RE-ELECTION - Many MoCo politicos had been speculating that D18 Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez might retire at the end of her current term. But she posted the following message on Facebook last night indicating she has filed for re-election:

Indeed, according to the Board of Elections website, all of the District 18 incumbents have now filed for re-election (Sen. Rich Madaleno and Delegates Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutierrez and Jeff Waldstreicher):

JUICE #5: UPDATE ON DISTRICT 15 DELEGATE CANDIDATES // REP. JOHN DELANEY'S AIDE KEVIN MACK IS OUT - David Fraser-Hidalgo was recently appointed to the District 15 House of Delegates seat vacated by Brian Feldman, and many have been wondering who might run for the D15 seat in the June 2014 Primary. Sources indicate that Congressman John Delaney's aide Kevin Mack has decided not to run for the D15 Delegate seat. But sources indicate Democratic activist Hamza Khan, who previously applied for the D15 appointment, is now weighing a run for the Delegate seat in 2014. Lastly, progressive attorney Bennett Rushkoff is waging a liberal campaign for the D15 seat. I ran into Rushkoff this weekend, and I overheard him describe his platform to someone as one focused on schools and the educational achievement gap, stopping fracking and promoting wind power, and creating a "public option" for Maryland's health care system.


JUICE #6: SHELLY HETTLEMAN (AIDE TO SENATOR BEN CARDIN) ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR D11 HOUSE OF DELEGATES - Maryland Juice received the following press release from Shelly Hettleman announcing a campaign for the District 11 House of Delegates seat being vacated by Attorney General candidate Jon Cardin (excerpt below):

PRESS RELEASE

Shelly Hettleman announces run for 11th District House of Delegates at Campaign Kick-Off
On Sunday, December 15, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin will introduce his former Campaign Director, Shelly Hettleman, as she announces her candidacy to represent the 11th District in the House of Delegates.  “A woman with Shelly’s character and commitment to public service will represent our community well in Annapolis,” said Senator Cardin.  There is an open seat in the 11th District as Del. Jon Cardin has declared a run for Attorney General.

Ms. Hettleman is committed to public service.  She has worked in numerous community programs, including advocacy groups for parents and abused women. She served as Sen. Cardin’s Campaign Director and as one of the leaders of the 2012 Maryland Democratic Coordinated Campaign, she co-led the re-election campaign of the entire Maryland Democratic congressional delegation.

Shelly has the skills, work ethic, and vision to be an effective legislator. “It’s not about flashy promises,” Ms. Hettleman says, “To get things done, it takes hard work and being in close touch with the needs of children, families and seniors.”

At the Kick-Off, Ms. Hettleman will spell out some of her legislative priorities, among them: better public schools and early childhood education, more and better jobs, a fuller range of services for seniors, protecting the environment, and a series of steps to ensure robust citizen and neighborhood involvement in her work as a Delegate.

“It will be an honor to represent the people of the 11th District, and I will work tirelessly to earn their trust.”   

If elected, Ms. Hettleman would be the first woman to represent the 11th in nearly 30 years....

A graduate of Pikesville High School, Shelly Hettleman and her husband Jeff raised their son and daughter in the Dumbarton community.  In addition to her work with Senator Ben Cardin, she helped found CHANA, an aid network for abused women in the Baltimore region and Parent Action, a grassroots organization dedicated to strengthening early childhood education and family friendly workplaces.

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JUICE #7: RETIRING DISTRICT 12 DELEGATE STEVE DEBOY WEIGHING UN-RETIREMENT? - A few months ago, all three District 12 Delegates announced they would be retiring from office. As a result, several candidates have announced for the D12 race. The district was dramatically altered in the last round of redistricting, so that the more liberal voters in Columbia, MD and Howard County are disproportionately represented in the new D12. But Center Maryland's Josh Kurtz recently reported that one of the retiring Delegates Steve Deboy may be rethinking his retirement decision:

JOSH KURTZ (VIA CENTER MARYLAND): Word on the street in Annapolis is that Baltimore County Del. Steve DeBoy (D) is reconsidering his decision to retire.

DeBoy, the thinking goes, is less than thrilled with the lineup of liberals that has formed to replace him. What’s more, as he ponders a race for Baltimore County sheriff – in 2018, when veteran Sheriff Jay Fisher (D) is expected to retire – he is wondering whether he’ll be in a stronger position to run as an officeholder rather than someone who has been out of the public eye for four years, even with his 32 years of law enforcement experience.

DeBoy did not respond to phone messages and an email left at his Annapolis and district offices. But when he announced his plans not to seek reelection in 2014, just days after the end of this year’s General Assembly session, he made it clear that redistricting was a factor in his decision....

In our previous round-ups of contentious roll call votes, we noted that Delegate Steve Deboy voted against Maryland's recent Dream Act, marriage equality, death penalty repeal, gun control, gas tax, and immigrant drivers licenses bills. The only hot-button liberal issues he seems to have supported recently are medical marijuana and stopping the Lockheed Martin corporate welfare handout.

RUMOR: A Doug Gansler Ticket w/ Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton or Del. Mary Washington? // PLUS: Cummings Picks Brown

PLUS: THE 2014 RETURN OF LT. GOVERNOR MICHAEL STEELE? 

UPDATE: A Maryland Juice reader points out on Facebook that Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton was at one of the Brown-Ulman campaign events today. We heard this might be happening, so it raises the question whether the possible LG picks listed below are a wish-list or a vetting list??


Maryland Juice sources recently began buzzing about possible 2014 running mates for Attorney General Doug Gansler's gubernatorial campaign. A few names were being mentioned around the political watercooler including Delegates Jolene Ivey, Kieffer Mitchell, & Joseline Pena-Melnyk, along with Wes Moore of Baltimore. But while Maryland politicos started tuning into Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown's selection of HoCo Exec Ken Ulman, I began hearing more murmurs about Gansler's 2014 selection process. Details on that and much more below!

JUICE #1: RUMORS SUGGEST DOUG GANSLER LOOKING AT SALISBURY MAYOR JIM IRETON & DEL. MARY WASHINGTON FOR LG - Recent rumors suggest that Attorney General Doug Gansler may be looking for a running mate from the LGBT community. As soon as I posted a JuiceBlender speculating on possible Lt. Governor picks for Doug Gansler's campaign, I received some interesting anonymous commentary in Maryland Juice's anonymous drop box:

ANONYMOUS READER: I am an anonymous source who has a position on the Gansler campaign. He is definitely running for governor, so any speculation otherwise is false. He is starting to consider running mates and one of the ones he talks about most is Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton. I can confirm that Ireton is a top contender. Ireton, the Eastern Shores first openly LGBT mayor was recently reelected with almost 70% of the vote....

At first I parked this information to one side of my brain, as I had no way of verifying whether this anonymous comment actually came from a true Gansler source (note: my anonymous drop box does not require sources to leave contact details).  But a couple days after this message was left, a knowledgeable source told Maryland Juice that she thought it seemed like Doug Gansler was looking at Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton, and she also added Delegate Mary Washington's name to the mix.  Notably, both Ireton and Washington are openly gay/lesbian elected Democrats. Here is a little bit of information on the two officials:

JIM IRETON: Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton's website bio is pretty sparse but provides the following information:

Jim Ireton has been Salisbury’s mayor since 2009. A native of Salisbury, he’s been a teacher in Wicomico County for nearly two decades. He’s served as a City Council member and on various volunteer and non-profit boards and committees. Under his leadership, Salisbury has not raised its property taxes, lowered its capacity fees and lowered its violent crime rate.

WAMU reported on Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton's April re-election victory over a rightwing blogger (excerpt below):

WAMU: Voters in Salisbury have re-elected the city's first openly gay mayor to another term by a convincing 2 to 1 margin. The results of yesterday's election may spark other major changes in the Eastern Shore's largest city....

Ireton was jubilant in victory but seemed focused on the future in his speech to hundreds of supporters. "Salisbury spoke loud and clear today that they want progress over pontification and backbone over blogging," Ireton says....  Ireton's opponent, conservative blogger Joe Albero, was humble in defeat, and says he is considering shutting down his blog and moving his family to the Carolinas.

MARY WASHINGTON: Delegate Mary Washington represents Baltimore's House District 43. Her website bio states:

Mary Washington resides in the Ednor Gardens-Lakeside neighborhood of Baltimore City. Mary first fell in love with Baltimore when she moved here in 1989 as a graduate student in sociology at The Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her Ph.D. in 1997. A native of Philadelphia and a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Girls (Girls’ High), Mary is the eldest of six children and the daughter of two health care professionals.

Mary took her 25 years of public service to the Maryland House of Delegates, and uses her skills in linking communities to resources, her deep commitments to the health, education, and economic welfare of our city residents, and her highly informed approach to community organizing and progressive politics to make the 43rd District and Baltimore City a healthier, stronger, and more vibrant home for us all.

Currently, Mary is on the Board of Directors of The Parks & People Foundation, where she has been involved since 2008. She is also a member of the Baltimore Green Jobs Coalition (2008-Present), Commissioner of the Baltimore Sustainability Commission (2008-Present), and Chair of the Baltimore Sustainability Commission’s Water Working Group (2008-Present). Mary is also a member of the Ednor Gardens-Lakeside Community Association, the Greater Baltimore Black Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)-Baltimore City.

One thought on Maryland Juice's mind is whether Attorney General Doug Gansler may be trying to defuse the historical elements of both the Anthony Brown & Heather Mizeur campaigns through his LG pick. Hmm.

JUICE #2: CONGRESSMAN ELIJAH CUMMINGS ENDORSES BROWN-ULMAN TICKET - Maryland Juice recently reported on rumors that Baltimore-area Congressman Elijah Cummings would likely be endorsing Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown. It turns out our sources were correct! This morning Rep. Cummings blessed the newly minted 2014 team of Anthony Brown & Ken Ulman, and The Baltimore Sun published commentary from Cummings late last night (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: The veteran Baltimore congressman, who also represents parts of Baltimore and Howard counties, is widely regarded as the most influential African-American office holder in Maryland. His endorsement continues the momentum Brown has built up since he became the first Democratic contender to announce his candidacy on May 10....

Cummings was the co-chairman of the 2008 Maryland campaign for Barack Obama along with Brown's chief rival for the 2014 nomination, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler.... In a statement released to The Sun, Cummings said Brown will be an "exceptional governor" and Ulman will be an "incredibly strong partner."

"Anthony Brown and Ken Ulman offer Maryland the competent and caring leadership team that we need to build upon the successes of the last 6 years. I am deeply gratified that Anthony and Ken have agreed to join forces, and I offer my strongest support and endorsement to this exceptional team," Cummings said....

Patch.com's Bryan Sears posted Tweeted following photo from this morning's rally with Brown, Ulman & Cummings:

JUICE #3: FORMER LT. GOV. MICHAEL STEELE SAYS HE MAY RUN FOR GOVERNOR, ON SAME DAY HARFORD EXEC DAVID CRAIG ANNOUNCES FOR GOP NOMINATION - The Washington Post today published word from former RNC Chair and Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele indicating he might seek the GOP nomination for Governor in 2014. But Steele made the announcement on the same day that Harford County  Executive David Craig scheduled his own campaign kickoff - ouch! (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Michael Steele, a former Republican National Committee chairman and former lieutenant governor of Maryland, is weighing a 2014 gubernatorial bid, he said Monday.

“We’re looking at it,” Steele, who is now an MSNBC contributor, told host Chuck Todd on his program “The Daily Rundown” on the network. Steele said he doesn’t feel that he needs to make a decision until the end of the year.... His comments came on the same day that Harford County Executive David R. Craig (R) became the first major Republican candidate to announce his bid to succeed Gov. Martin O’Malley (D)....

MORE ON MARYLAND'S GUBERNATORIAL BATTLES SOON!

Harford Executive David Craig Wins MD Young Republicans Straw Poll for 2014 Governor // Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is #2

Maryland Juice will be very curious to see how Free State Republicans behave in their 2014 gubernatorial primary. After all, it seems like without a shake-up of some sort, the Maryland GOP is destined to remain a regional party for the forseeable future. I truly believe that the tone of the Republicans right now is waaaaay too screechy, racist and homophobic to compete in Maryland's suburbs (example: exactly one GOP legislator Senator supported marriage equality this year-- ONE -- and we're in the year 2012). I think these politicians are being half too cute by thinking they can get away with this or turning a blind eye to it. My hunch is that they are turning off a lot of independent, moderate, and suburban voters. It remains to be seen how long the taint will last, but it could be a long time.

JUICEBLENDER - Pundits Pick Political Winners: O'Malley, Mizeur, Raskin, Hucker // Plus, Harford Exec for 2014 Gov?

Here's a random blend of political tidbits from the current news cycle, starting with an analysis of potential fallout from Maryland's current budget standoff:

JUICE #1: SENATE PREZ MIKE MILLER HARMS DEMOCRATIC BRAND - The Baltimore Sun's Annie Linskey recently published a lengthy write-up of the finger-pointing in the aftermath of Maryland's stalled budget negotiations. She printed speculation about the potential harm that a protracted budget battle could have on the reputations of political leaders, but most of the blame still seems to be hovering over Senate President Mike Miller. It seems clear that he is a poor brand-manager for the modern Democratic Party, and his ward boss political tactics are sullying the efforts of others. See an excerpt from The Sun's piece below: