Maryland Municipal Election Results: See Election Winners in Frederick, Rockville, Annapolis, College Park, Greenbelt & More

UPDATE: At the urging of a reader in our comments section below, we are providing the results of the recent elections in Bowie, Maryland. Unofficial tally available at Bowie Board of Elections. The Mayor and one Councilmember faced challengers this week, but all incumbents were re-elected:

Mayor

1. G. Frederick Robinson (incumbent) - 3,979 (85.53%) - WINNER
2. Richard Dahms - 666 (14.32%)
3. Write-In - 7 (0.15%)

At-Large Councilmember

1. Todd Turner (incumbent) - 3,585 (51.03%) - WINNER
2. Dennis Brady (incumbent) - 3,415 (48.61%) - WINNER
3. Write-In -  25 (0.36%)

District 1 Councilmember

1. James Marcos (incumbent) - 1,019 (98.84%) - WINNER
2. Write-In - 12 (1.16%)

District 2 Councilmember      

1. Diane Polangin (incumbent) - 1,232 (98.88%) - WINNER
2. Write-In - 14 (1.12%)

District 3 Councilmember

1. Henri Gardner (incumbent) - 792 (74.79%) - WINNER    
2. Babatunde Alegbeleye - 266 (25.12%)
3. Write-In - 1 (0.09%)

District 4 Councilmember

1. Isaac Trouth (incumbent) - 1,020 (99.80%) - WINNER
2. Write-In - 2 (0.20%)

Yesterday, numerous Maryland municipalities held elections for city offices. Below Maryland Juice provides a quick round-up of election results from some of the jurisdictions who declared unofficial winners last night.

ELECTION #1: FREDERICK CITY RESULTS - Unofficial tally available at Frederick Board of Elections: Incumbent GOP Mayor Randy McClement won re-election, while Democrats won 4 of 5 seats on the Board of Alderman.

Mayor

1. Randy McClement (R) (incumbent) - 3,714 (48.75%) - WINNER
2. Karen Lewis Young (D) - 2,407 (31.59%)
3. Jennifer Dougherty - 1,480 (19.43%)
4. Write-In - 18 (0.24%)

Board of Alderman

1. Kelly Russell (D) (incumbent) - 4,212 (12.18%) - WINNER
2. Michael O'Donnor (D) (incumbent) - 4,169 (12.05%) - WINNER
3. Josh Bokee (D) - 3,789 (10.96%) - WINNER
4. Phil Dacey (R) - 3,781 (10.93%) - WINNER
5. Donna Kuzemchak (D) - 3,656 (10.57%) - WINNER
6. Katie Nash (R) - 3,492 (10.10%)
7. John Daniels (D) - 3,395 (9.82%)
8. Alan Imhoff (R) - 2,938 (8.50%)
9. Dave Schmidt (R) - 2,617 (7.57%)
10. Daniel Cowell (R) - 2,469 (7.14%)
11. Write-In  66 (0.19%)

ELECTION #2: ROCKVILLE CITY RESULTS - Unofficial tally available at Rockville Board of Elections: There were formal/informal opposing teams running for Rockville's races. Two City Councilmembers faced off for the Mayor's race: Mark Pierzchala and Bridget Newton. Pierzchala ran on a team with incumbent Councilmember Tom Moore and Beryl Feinberg, Virginia Onley and Julie Plakovich Carr. The rival team was composed of Don Hadley and Claire Marcuccio Whitaker (sister of outgoing Mayor Phyliss Marcuccio).

Mayor

1. Bridget Newton - 3508 (53.06%) - WINNER
2. Mark Pierzchala - 3086 (46.68%)

City Council

1. Julie Palakovich Carr - 4308 (18.66%) - WINNER
2. Virginia Onley - 4063 (17.60%) - WINNER
3. Tom Moore (incumbent) - 4035 (17.47%) - WINNER
4. Beryl Feinberg - 3698 (16.01%) - WINNER
5. Don Hadley - 3610 (15.63%)
6. Claire Marcuccio Whitaker - 3167 (13.72%)

ELECTION #3: ANNAPOLIS CITY RESULTS - Unofficial tally available at Annapolis Board of Elections: Republicans likely unseated incumbent Democratic Mayor Josh Cohen, but the Board of Alderman remained in Democratic hands with Republicans only winning 1 of 8 seats. Note: The Baltimore Sun is calling the Mayoral race "too close to call" with 300 or so outstanding absentee ballots.

Mayor

1. Michael Pantelides (R) - 3,728 (50.57%) - WINNER
2. Josh Cohen (D) (incumbent) - 3,644 (49.43%)

Alderman Ward 1

1. Joe Budge (D) (incumbent) - 780 (57.40%) - WINNER
2. Allen Furth (R) - 579 (42.60%)

Alderman Ward 2

1. Frederick Paone (R) (incumbent) - 760 (51.74%) - WINNER
2. Kurt Riegel (D) - 709 (48.26%)

Alderman Ward 3

1. Rhonda Pindell Charles (D) - 574 (100%) - WINNER

Alderman Ward 4

1. Sheila Finlayson (D) (incumbent) - 277 (100%) - WINNER

Alderman Ward 5

1. Jared Littmann (D) (incumbent) - 554 (100%) - WINNER

Alderman Ward 6

1. Kenneth Kirby (D) (incumbent) - 317 (54.94%) - WINNER
2. Steven Conn (I) - 260 (45.06%)

Alderman Ward 7

1. Ian Pfeiffer (D) (incumbent) - 433 (61.68%) - WINNER
2. James Clenny (R) - 269 (38.32%)

Alderman Ward 8

1. Ross Arnett (D) (incumbent) - 993 (100%) - WINNER

ELECTION #4: COLLEGE PARK CITY RESULTS - Unofficial tally available at College Park Board of Elections: All incumbents in these non-partisan races faced challengers but were re-elected.

Mayor

1. Andy Fellows (incumbent) - 1,127 (80.21%) - WINNER
2. Robert McCeney - 278 (19.79%)

District 1 City Council

1. Fazlul Kabir (incumbent) - 472 (45.38%) - WINNER
2. Patrick Wojahn (incumbent) - 443 (42.60%) - WINNER
3. Benjamin Mellman - 125 (12.02%)

District 3 City Council

1. Robert Day (incumbent) - 466 (41.72%) - WINNER
2. Stephanie Stullich (incumbent) - 359 (32.14%) - WINNER
3. Matthew Popkin - 292 (26.14%)

ELECTION #5: GREENBELT CITY RESULTS - Unofficial tally available at Greenbelt Board of Elections: All incumbents were re-elected in these non-partisan races.

City Council

1. Emmett Jordan (incumbent) - 1,476 - WINNER
2. Judith Davis (incumbent) - 1,368 - WINNER
3. Rodney Roberts (incumbent) - 1,300 - WINNER
4. Konrad Herling (incumbent) - 1,223 - WINNER
5. Leta Mach (incumbent) - 1,214 - WINNER
6. Silke Pope (incumbent) - 1,171 - WINNER
7. Edward Putens (incumbent) - 1,164 - WINNER
8. Susan Stewart - 992
9. William Orleans - 317

ELECTION #6: TAKOMA PARK CITY RESULTS - Unofficial tally available at Takoma Park Board of Elections: Councilmember Terry Seamens was the only incumbent to face a challenger, but his opponent dropped out at the last second. All incumbents were re-elected in these non-partisan races.

Mayor

1. Bruce Williams (incumbent) - 989 (88.94%) - WINNER
2. Elizabeth Forbes Wallace (registered write-in) - 62 (5.58%)
3. Write-In - 61 (5.49%)

Ward 1 City Councilmember

1. Seth Grimes (incumbent) - 229 (90.16%) - WINNER
2. Write-in - 25 (9.84%)

Ward 2 City Councilmember

1. Tim Male (incumbent) - 242 (91.32%) - WINNER
2. Write-in - 23 (8.68%)

Ward 3 City Councilmember

1. Kay Daniels-Cohen (incumbent) - 189 (89.15%) - WINNER
2. Write-in - 23 (10.85%)

Ward 4 City Councilmember

1. Terry Seamens (incumbent) - 218 (94.78%) - WINNER
2. Eric Mendoza (withdrawn from race) - 10 (4.35%)
3. Write-ins - 2 (0.87%)

Ward 5 City Councilmember

1. Jarrett Smith (incumbent) - 72 (91.14%) - WINNER
2. Write-in - 7 (8.86%)

Ward 6 City Councilmember

1. Fred Schultz (incumbent) - 125 (97.65%) - WINNER
2. Write-ins - 3 (2.34%)

ELECTION #7: GAITHERSBURG CITY RESULTS - Unofficial tally available at Gaithersburg Board of Elections: These non-partisan races were uncontested.
Mayor

1. Sidney Katz (incumbent) - 1,649 (95.32%) - WINNER

City Council

1. Michael Sesma (incumbent) - 1,500 (86.71%) - WINNER
2. Henry Marraffa (incumbent) - 1,489 (86.07%) - WINNER

JuiceBlender: Hitler's Jewels in MD, Rushern Baker's Son for Delegate, More Syria Response & O'Malley on Saylor's Killing

Below Maryland Juice provides a few news items that may be of interest to Free State politicos:

JUICE #1: SALE OF HITLER'S NAZI JEWELS IN MARYLAND PROMPTS CRITICISM  - During the Jewish celebration of Rosh Hashanah this year, a reader forwarded us news of a controversial sale of Nazi artifacts in Maryland. Jezebel.com provided a quick snapshot of the controversy (excerpt below):

Hitler's ring for sale (Jezebel.com)

JEZEBEL.COM: Raise your hand if you'd be willing to spend almost $110,000 on a super fancy swastika ring made especially for Hitler by a rabid anti-semitic jeweler. None of you should be raising your hands....

Nazi memorabilia enthusiasts (ew) are basically pissing themselves with excitement over this item's availability, because people are into some f*cked up sh*t.

The UK's Daily Mail provided further detail on the sick retail event in Maryland (excerpt below):

DAILY MAIL: A rare Nazi bling-ring once owned by Adolf Hitler is going up for auction in Maryland next week and is expected to fetch at least £70,000.... It is being offered for sale by the Alexander Historical Auctions House in Maryland and comes with documents come with it testifying that it was made for the Fuhrer.

The ring was crafted by the master goldsmith Karl Berthold who was a fanatical Nazi and kicked Jewish craftsmen out of his business in Frankfurt shortly after the regime came to power in 1933 - long before laws forbidding them from working came into place. He wrote to Hitler saying he had fired the "Bolshevik-Jew servants" and was commissioned by a party functionary to make the ring for the Nazi leader....

The Alexander Historical Auctions House is famous for selling Nazi-themed militaria and artefacts. Three years ago it sold the diaries of Auschwitz 'Angel of Death' Josef Mengele - the camp doctor who performed terrible medical experiments on inmates - that he kept while on the run in Brazil....

Maryland Juice visited the website for the Chesapeake City, MD-based auction house "Alexander Historical Auctions House" and it appears Hitler's ring is not the only Nazi artifact they are selling. Based on their homepage, they appear to have a specialty in catering to Nazi collectors, which they categorize as items relating to "The Holocaust." Among the items for sale are anti-semitic children's books, and something tells me the potential buyers for these items may not be interested in the "never again" message of the post-Holocaust world. This stuff is sick!  

JUICE #2: PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY EXECUTIVE RUSHERN BAKER'S SON LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR DISTRICT 22 HOUSE OF DELEGATES - The Washington Informer recently reported that Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker's son, Rushern Baker IV, launched a campaign for the Maryland House of Delegates on Labor Day (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON INFORMER: [Rushern Baker IV], 25, said he’s a candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 22, and he used Greenbelt’s Labor Day parade on Monday, Sept. 2 as his first campaign event to shake hands and make his candidacy known....

Baker is seeking one of the three District 22 House seats in 2014. Currently those seats are occupied by delegates Tawana P. Gaines, Anne Healy and Alonzo T. Washington. All three will be up for re-election with the top three vote-getters taking office....

[Rushern Baker IV is] also the son of Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III and said he’s been inspired by his father’s leadership, which he called “undeniably beneficial for Prince George’s County.”

JUICE #3: CONGRESSMEN JOHN DELANEY & JOHN SARBANES SHARE THOUGHTS ON POTENTIAL BOMBING OF SYRIA - Yesterday Maryland Juice provided a round-up of responses to the potential bombing of Syria from a range of our state's Democratic officials, including Chris Van Hollen, Elijah Cummings, Ben Cardin, Barbara Mikulski and Martin O'Malley. Below you can see additional commentary from Rep. John Sarbanes and Rep. John Delaney. While stumping for a candidate in Iowa (?), Delaney provided his current of state of thinking on intervention in Syria (excerpt below):

SIOUXLAND NEWS: While Representative John Delaney was in town supporting Jim Mowrer, a candidate vying for Iowa's 4th congressional district seat, he also gave a little insight into how the House and Senate are handling the debate over a military strike against Syria....

"I think there's more work to do. I think I need to understand the implications of this action to the American People and to our interests internationally and I want to know what good is going to come from this. I don't think this discussion is actually about Syria anymore. It's about our response to chemical weapons which I think is the right way of framing our discussion because that really is the issue," said Delaney. "Because what's been going on in Syria for the last 18 months or almost two years is terrible and tragic, and we weren't going to do anything so this situation is really not about Syria it's about them violating its international norm that really has been around for 100 years and making sure there's consequences."

Meanwhile, Rep. John Sarbanes released a press release outlining his thoughts on the Syria debate:

JOHN SARBANES: "On August 21, 2013, the Assad regime launched a chemical weapons attack into rebel-held areas of the Damascus suburbs, killing over one thousand people, including hundreds of children. This shocking and abhorrent use of a weapon that the civilized world has long banned demands a forceful and unequivocal response.

"President Obama has asked the Congress to authorize the use of military force in support of a strike against the Assad regime as punishment for this attack. In the coming days, Congress will debate the President's request and I look forward to hearing all competing perspectives and examining any additional information provided by the Administration or other sources. I find persuasive the President's arguments that a strike is warranted in order to give teeth to the international ban on chemical weapons and in order to demonstrate American resolve in the Middle East. However, I share the conviction of many of my colleagues that any strike be limited in time and scope and otherwise designed to minimize the risk of drawing the United States into a broader military engagement. Those are the standards I will use in determining my support for any resolution that members of the House of Representatives are asked to vote upon."

JUICE #4: FAMILY OF ETHAN SAYLOR DELIVERS 340,000 PETITION SIGNATURES TO GOV. MARTIN O'MALLEY CALLING FOR ACTION ON FREDERICK POLICE KILLING OF MAN WITH DOWNS SYNDROME - Yesterday the widely-read progressive netroots blog DailyKos.com published an open letter to Gov. Martin O'Malley calling for Maryland to take concrete action on the death of Ethan Saylor in Frederick. Saylor's killing at the hands of off-duty Frederick cops sparked widespread outrage and accusations of a rigged "investigation," prompting 340,000 people to sign a petition calling for immediate action (excerpt below):

DAILYKOS.COM: Dear Governor O'Malley, This morning the family and supporters of Ethan Saylor will deliver over 338,000 signatures to you. They are asking you to do two things. First, call an independent investigation of the death of Ethan Saylor. Second, standardize training for police in how to handle situations like this in the future....

I assume your staff has read the 98-page report on Saylor's death produced by the Frederick County Sheriff and pronounced it sufficient. I disagree.... These officers decided to initiate contact. Why? Did they understand what they were doing?....

We're looking for justice here....  On that petition, hundreds of thousands of people have signed on, and your response will be, for many, their first interaction with you as a leader. Some are in Maryland, but this issue has gone national. If you want to be my president, if you want my vote in a Democratic primary, you will say yes. Whatever your decision, I'll be watching and waiting. And writing....

The Washington Post yesterday reported on O'Malley's response to the effort, noting that he is promising to create a plan on the training of police but is unsure about whether to launch an investigation (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is preparing to issue a plan related to the training of law-enforcement officers and first responders when interacting with people with disabilities, aides confirmed Thursday....

Family members presented the governor with three boxes full of petitions which they said contained more than 340,000 signatures from people across the country asking O’Malley to launch an independent investigation into Saylor’s death. The 26-year-old died in January as three Frederick County deputies sought to remove him from the movie theater.

Upon emerging from the late-morning meeting in the State House, Patti Saylor told reporters that O’Malley was going to continue to think about an investigation into her son’s death....

The chief medical examiner’s office in Baltimore ruled Saylor’s death a homicide as a result of asphyxia, but a Frederick County grand jury determined in March that no charges were warranted against the deputies. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether the civil rights of Saylor were violated.... Del. Heather R. Mizeur (D-Montgomery), who is running for governor next year, has been among those calling for an independent investigation....

JuiceBlender: 2 MoCo Democrats Trying to Weaken Assault Weapons Ban, PG School Takeover & Anger Over Frederick Cops

Below Maryland Juice highlights several tidbits of notable news and analysis for politicos:

JUICE #1: DELEGATES KATHLEEN DUMAIS & LUIZ SIMMONS UNDER FIRE FOR EFFORTS TO WEAKEN ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN - Maryland lawmakers are currently debating various efforts to curtail gun violence, including a ban on assault weapons. But the NRA has succeeded in scaring some lawmakers about these efforts -- even though a super-majority of Marylanders favor stricter gun regulations. Now Democratic Delegates Kathleen Dumais and Luiz Simmons of Montgomery County are trying to exempt AR-15 weapons from the proposed gun laws:

AR-15 rifle with a Stag lower receiver California legal (only with fixed 10-round magazine). Photo Source: Wikimedia.

The Washington Post editorial board this weekend condemned efforts by these two Montgomery County Democrats to weaken the proposed assault weapons ban (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST:  [The] Maryland lawmakers now wavering on banning military-style weapons include Democrats who are highly unlikely to face a serious challenge in a general election. In fact, a number of them represent districts in Montgomery County where large majorities of voters favor gun control. They should favor prohibiting the sale of assault weapons such as the popular AR-15 because it’s the right thing to do to promote public safety and it would reflect the interests of their constituents.

After all, a variant of the AR-15 was used by John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo when they stalked innocent victims during their killing spree in the Washington area in 2002....

A pair of Montgomery County Democrats, Dels. Luiz R.S. Simmons and Kathleen M. Dumais, both members of the House Judiciary Committee, said they were inclined to exempt the AR-15 from the weapons ban....

Indeed, recent Washington Post coverage of the proposed assault weapons ban indicates that Del. Kathleen Dumais may have been swayed by flimsy arguments. Specifically, some veterans have been arguing against the ban by claiming that shooting assault weapons is relaxing. But Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown calls that argument "nonsense" (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Since he has returned from Afghanistan, A.J. Wynne, 24, who was a corporal in the Marines, has spent countless hours shooting in the farmland north of Frederick.... “It’s not yoga — it’s not graceful in any sense of the word, but I could do this all day long,” he said....

Del. Kathleen M. Dumais, a Montgomery County Democrat and vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said veterans and competitive sportsmen were central factors in her thinking that a total ban may be inappropriate....

“It’s nonsense,” said [ Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown], the highest-ranking U.S. elected official to have served in Iraq. “The military trains us on these military-style assault weapons to perform a combat mission, and that combat mission does not exist in the communities of Maryland or anywhere in this country....”

You can contact the two MoCo Delegates who are wavering on the assault weapons ban below:

• DEL. KATHLEEN DUMAIS: (410) 841-3052 or kathleen.dumais@house.state.md.us 
• DEL. LUIZ SIMMONS: (410) 841-3037 or luiz.simmons@house.state.md.us

JUICE #2: MEDICAL EXAMINER RULES DEATH OF FREDERICK MAN WITH DOWNS SYNDROME HOMICIDE, BUT NO CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR 3 RESPONSIBLE COPS - Maryland Juice has been following the shocking story of a Frederick man with Downs Syndrome who was recently killed while in custody of three off-duty cops in Frederick, Maryland. The poor guy was watching a movie and wanted to stay for another showing -- but that was apparently too much for a movie theater employee, who proceeded to call three rent-a-cops (on loan from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office). From there, the cops apparently allowed the situation to escalate to the point that they handcuffed the young man and put him face-down on the ground. The case was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner, but this weekend The Washington Post reported that no criminal charges were being sought in connection with the death (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Less than five miles from the theater where a man with Down syndrome died at the hands of the law enforcement officials he idolized, a grand jury on Friday heard the details of the case and decided that no crime had been committed....An attorney for the parents of Robert Ethan Saylor, who died at the age of 26, described their reaction as “extremely disappointed and saddened and concerned....”

Nationally, the case has drawn wide attention from parents of children with Down syndrome and advocacy groups. More than 1,000 angry messages also fill the Facebook page of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office....  [The] family has been concerned that the investigation was handled by the same sheriff’s office that employs the deputies....

Hundreds of Washington Post readers have posted angry reactions in response to the news. If you are unfamiliar with the basic facts, The Washington Post recently provided a summary (except below):

WASHINGTON POST:  Robert Ethan Saylor died last month in the custody of off-duty Frederick County sheriff’s deputies after he refused to leave a movie theater. The county is investigating, and parents of other children with Down syndrome have voiced concern.

As officials tell it, Saylor had been watching “Zero Dark Thirty” at a Frederick movie theater last month and, as soon as it ended, wanted to watch it again. When he refused to leave, a theater employee called three off-duty Frederick County sheriff’s deputies who were working a security job at the Westview Promenade shopping center and told them that Saylor either needed to buy another ticket or be removed....

The deputies restrained him using three sets of handcuffs linked together and escorted him from the theater. At some point, Saylor ended up on the ground and began showing signs of medical distress. A short while later, he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.... Late last week, the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore ruled Saylor’s death a homicide as a result of asphyxia....

Hundreds of residents have been speaking out in outrage over the incident on the Frederick Sheriff's Facebook page. (Note that Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins also happens to be a notoriously anti-immigrant Tea Partier).

Maryland Juice highly doubts that ordinary residents earn the same benefit of the doubt or sympathy from prosecutors that the cops in this case likely received. Typical.

In the meantime, Delegate Jill Carter thinks she may have a legislative response to the death of Robert Saylor. She posted the following response on Twitter drawing attention to her bill HB1281, which would require training in the proper use of force and dealing with diverse residents. The bill recently passed the Maryland House 110-21 and is now being heard in the State Senate:



JUICE #3: COUNTY EXECUTIVE RUSHERN BAKER'S ATTEMPT TO TAKEOVER THE SCHOOL SYSTEM GENERATES CONTROVERSY - Last week Maryland Juice appeared on News Channel 8's NewsTalk show to discuss some of the legislative battles going on in Annapolis. But host Bruce DePuyt also brought on Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker to discuss his newly launched effort to take control of the county's public school system. The effort was quickly introduced in Annapolis last week, and The Washington Post summarized Baker's broad goals (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III is planning a takeover of the county’s struggling school system, seeking state legislation that would put him in charge of the school superintendent and $1.7 billion budget while significantly reducing the power of the elected Board of Education.

Should Baker (D) succeed, it would mark a dramatic shift in power and result in a hybrid of the restructurings that have taken place in big cities across the country, such as the District and New York, where reform-minded executives have wrested control of embattled school systems....

In comments appearing on News Channel 8 (watch below), Maryland Juice highlighted some of the potential political risks involved in Baker's school takeover plan. Below you can watch the News 8 discussion with County Exec Rushern Baker and Maryland Juice, followed by my comments on the death penalty, gas tax and more.

If you really want to dig into the schools issue, the PG Politics blog has been compiling news coverage about Rushern Baker's Prince George's takeover effort. Note however, that the PG Politics blogger is decidedly opposed to Baker's plan and has written a five-part series critiquing the schools takeover plan: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

COUNTY EXECUTIVE RUSHERN BAKER EXPLAINS HIS SCHOOL TAKEOVER PLAN



  MARYLAND JUICE & PETER SHAPIRO DISCUSS BAKER'S PLAN



  MARYLAND JUICE DISCUSSES KEY LEGISLATIVE BATTLES THIS SESSION

Delegate Galen Clagett to Run for Frederick Mayor This November // Campaign Kickoff Wednesday, February 27

Maryland Juice just received an invitation to Delegate Galen Clagett's campaign kickoff for Frederick Mayor. The long-serving District 3A Democrat is not running for re-election in 2014 and will instead run in this September's Democratic Primary for Mayor. The general election is Tuesday, November 5th. Details on the February 27th kickoff event below:

The Frederick News-Post reported on Clagett's mayoral bid yesterday, and their report highlighted the other candidates in the race (excerpt below):

FREDERICK NEWS-POST: Delegate Galen Clagett has confirmed that he plans to run for mayor of Frederick.... "I've given it some serious thought for some time now," Clagett said. "I have what I consider to be a vision for the city. ... I've lived here most of my life and I want to see it be successful...."

Alderwoman Karen Young, a Democrat, has already announced her plans to run for mayor. Mayor Randy McClement, a Republican, has not said whether he will seek re-election....

More on the Frederick Mayor's Race Soon!

JUICEBLENDER: Marriage Equality Opponents Outed, Dream Activists Protest Tea Party Film, Frederick Mayor's Race & More!

Here's a random blend of political tidbits from recent news, starting with a few fascinating stories related to the upcoming marriage equality and Dream Act referenda:

JUICE #1: LGBT RESIDENTS FIND FAMILY MEMBERS' NAMES ON PETITION TO OVERTURN MARRIAGE EQUALITY - The local LGBT publication The Washington Blade recently publicly posted a list that outed all the Maryland residents who signed the petition to overturn marriage equality. The news site created a searchable database of the civil rights opponents, which we also provide at the bottom of this post. Already, local LGBT residents and activists are discovering that some of their neighbors and even family members signed the petition against civil rights. See one reaction that appeared in the Washington Blade (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON BLADE: Bernard Bundy Jr. had a bad feeling in his stomach the morning of July 25. Bundy, who lives in Alexandria but was raised in Maryland, was looking at a just-posted list of names of people who had signed a petition to force the recently passed Civil Marriage Protection Act, granting marriage equality to same-sex couples in Maryland, onto the state ballot for a November referendum....

To Bundy's disappointment, he found his mother's name on the petition....

In addition to his mother, Bundy also found an aunt and uncle, his godparents. Even more galling to Bundy, those godparents have an out gay son – Bundy's cousin – who has had a partner for more than 10 years....

''It was a rough day,'' he says. ''I didn't work much that day. I was there physically, but not mentally, just thinking how much it hurt to see that. I even told my boss, 'I'm losing faith in humanity.'...''

Kevin Nix, spokesman for the Marylanders for Marriage Equality coalition, distanced the campaign from the Blade's decision to publish the names, saying the campaign has been focused on winning in November....

JUICE #2: MOCO "DREAM ACT" SUPPORTERS PROTEST MARYLAND SCREENINGS OF ANTI-IMMIGRANT FILM - Tea Party and nativist activists around the nation are hosting screenings of an anti-immigrant film called They Come to America. So far, they have held two viewings, one in Westminster and one in Rockville, and both screenings have attracted protests from Dream Act supporters. See video footage and news coverage of the controversy below. The Potomac Tea Party Report announced the screenings last month and described the film as follows:

POTOMAC TEA PARTY REPORT: A documentary film on illegal immigration will be shown in Maryland next month!   Tell everyone you know!  Meet the filmmaker!

Dennis Lynch, director of They Come to America is traveling across the country showing his film that has been banned by Hollywood. Why?

This film shows the devastating effect illegal immigration has on the United States of America. And since our illustrious president and governor are doing their level best to get as many illegal immigrants into this country and state as possible AND we have a big vote in November on in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, it’s our duty to get the word out on this.

The Dream Act students involved with the #JSA Movement organized a protest against the screenings, including a Rockville showing of They Come to America earlier this week:

The Gazette's Alex Ruoff and Jeremy Arias covered the protest at the Rockville film screening:

GAZETTE: The kick-off rally by two groups opposing the Maryland Dream Act was met with protest from a group of Hispanic students in Rockville on Wednesday....

More than a dozen people showed up at the rally with orange tape covering their mouths to protest the airing of the film “They Come to America,” a documentary on illegal immigration by Dennis M. Lynch. About 70 people packed the room to see the film and attend the rally.

“A lot of films like this don’t give a voice to those who are featured in them,” said Paola Ramirez, 22, of Germantown. “We’re here to provide that voice.”

The groups Help Save Maryland and the Maryland Society of Patriots, organizations that worked to take the Dream act to referendum, are hoping to drum up support for the November vote to bring it down....

See video footage shot by protesters at the Westminster, Maryland screening of the film:



JUICE #3: DREAM ACT & MARRIAGE EQUALITY ACTIVISTS JOIN FORCES - While the mainstream media has been fixated on supposed racial divisions on the marriage equality issue, civil rights proponents are quietly joining forces to promote both the Dream Act & marriage equality campaigns this November. Last month, CASA de Maryland and Equality Maryland announced the united effort:

CASA/EQUALITY MARYLAND: Equality Maryland, the state’s LGBT civil rights organization, and CASA de Maryland, the state’s largest Latino and immigrant organization, have launched an exciting partnership to educate our communities about the importance of immigrant education and marriage equality in an exciting year when these issues will be front and center in our state.  We are seeking your help in recruiting volunteers!

CASA is recruiting Latino and Spanish-speaking LGBT families to speak out in the Latino community about their lives and the importance of family unity in the press, at festivals, and more.

Equality Maryland is recruiting LGBT DREAMers to help educate Maryland’s LGBT communities about the importance of immigrant education.

We need your help to recommend committed, excited volunteers to join the cause!

 The Washington Blade published the following coverage of the effort (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON BLADE: Three Latino and LGBT advocacy groups have teamed up to garner additional support for Maryland’s same-sex marriage law and in-state college tuition for undocumented immigrants....

“We have a lot of gays and lesbians in our community,” Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA de Maryland, told the Blade as he spoke in support of nuptials for gays and lesbians. “We believe and it’s very clear that this is an essential civil rights issue and that’s why CASA is 100 percent behind [same-sex marriage.]”

An Arcus Foundation-funded survey that the National Council of La Raza and Social Science Research Solutions released in April shows that 54 percent of Latinos support marriage rights for same-sex couples.

This new alliance has caught the attention of Maryland Tea Partiers, who published the following alert (excerpt below):

POTOMAC TEA PARTY REPORT: Gay political groups are joining forces with illegal alien students who want their college tuition partially paid by taxpayers in hopes of defeating two of the initiatives conservatives and Tea Partiers successfully petitioned for inclusion on the Maryland ballot in November.

JUICE #4: 2013 FREDERICK MAYORAL CANDIDATES EMERGING - Gazette columnist Joe Volz has a roundup of potential candidates for Mayor of Frederick. The office is available for a new four-year term in 2013 (Primary Election - 9/10/13 & General Election - 11/5/13). See Volz's hypothetical line-up of candidates below (compilation courtesy of Juice), but note that some of these are dark horses. You'll have to read his full thoughts to see which of these candidates are more likely than others to run for Mayor:

POTENTIAL DEMOCRATS:

• Karen Young (Board of Aldermen)
• Jennifer Dougherty (former Mayor)

POTENTIAL REPUBLICANS:

• Randy McClement (incumbent Mayor)
• Shelley Aloi (Board of Aldermen)
• Jeff Holtzinger (former Mayor)

JUICE #5: WHO SIGNED THE PETITION AGAINST MARRIAGE EQUALITY? - Below, you can see The Washington Blade's published list of Maryland residents who signed the anti-LGBT petition. You can also search the document online. Civil Marriage Petition Signers July 12 2012