Anne Arundel Councilmember Jamie Benoit Announces Retirement from Public Life in 2014 // No Run for Executive

Back to civilian life for Councilmember Jamie Benoit.

BENOIT: "Elect people competent to run our County government"

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST - Maryland Juice received the following email from Anne Arundel County Councilmember Jamie Benoit announcing his retirement from public office in 2014. Benoit, a Democrat representing District 4 on the County Council, also specified that he would not be running for County Executive or other office. His message did, however, leave open the possibility of a return to office in 2018:

JAMIE BENOIT: I am writing today because I count you among my friends. I am grateful for the support and guidance you have given to me since I took office 6 years ago. Over the past few months, many people have urged me to stay in elective office. Not at all satisfied with the candidates running for County Executive in 2014 or the state of affairs in our County today, I have spent several months considering a run of my own.

BREAKING: Former Congressman Frank Kratovil Weighing 2014 Maryland Attorney General Race

Anne Arundel County Councilmember Jamie Benoit reports that former Congressman Frank Kratovil is weighing a run for Maryland Attorney General in 2014. Kratovil is a Democrat who previously represented Maryland's 1st Congressional District. Last December Kratovil was appointed as a judge in Queen Anne's County, but it appears that the bench may not be where he wants to spend the rest of his life. See the breaking report below:

JAMIE BENOIT: Others and I are very aggressively recruiting Frank Kratovil into the 2014 Attorney General's race, and he's now considering it.

This report is also confirmed by Eastern Shore politico Arthur Hock. A Maryland Juice reader forwarded us the following message that was seen on Hock's Facebook page today:

ARTHUR HOCK: LATEST NEWS: FRANK KRATOVIL may consider running for Attorney's General of Maryland. Jamie Benoit and I have been talking to Frank about running and he says he will not rule the idea out. He has made no commitment but is willing to consider running.

More on the 2014 Attorney General's race soon!

FINALLY: Anne Arundel Council Elects Marine Corps Reservist Peter Smith to Fill District 1 Vacancy // Dick Ladd Changes Vote

Maryland Juice is pleased to announce that Anne Arundel's District 1 County Council seat is no longer vacant. Four Councilmembers tonight voted to fill the vacant Democratic seat with Marine Corps Reservist Peter Smith. The weeks-long spectacle to replace former Councilmember Daryl Jones brought out embarrassing and racially offensive comments from members of the Council. While they spent weeks trying to prevent Pete Smith, a qualified African American, from serving with them -- they made comments about "gooks," called Glen Burnie a "ghetto," and otherwise insulted the diverse communities in Anne Arundel and Maryland.

Tonight that all ended, because the "gook" expert, GOP Councilmember Dick Ladd finally relented and switched his vote. Breaking the 3-3 stalemate, the vote was 4-2 tonight, to appoint Pete Smith. A reader sent in the following congratulatory Facebook & Twitter screencaps from Councilmember Smith's wife and the Anne Arundel County Dems:

The Edgewater-Davidsonville Patch provides details:

Severn resident Peter Smith was selected Monday night to replace imprisoned Daryl Jones on the Anne Arundel County Council.

Councilman Dick Ladd was the decisive vote after more than 100 deadlocked rounds of voting across four different council sessions....

Ladd, a Republican, said he was making the change "with much trepidation."

Congratulations!  Mr. Smith goes to Annapolis.

SARCASM: Anne Arundel County Council Deadlocked on Lunch Order // Council Vacancy Brings Embarrassment to County

UPDATE: The Baltimore Sun reports that Anne Arundel County is not the only County that is embarassing itself with its intellectual heft: GOP politicians in Queen Anne's, Frederick and Anne Arundel counties are all fans of making English the official language of their counties (whatever that means): 

Jose Soto doesn't pay attention to politics in Frederick County. He's new to town and spends much of his time working at an apple-processing plant in Pennsylvania. But he heard something a few weeks ago about the county making English its official language.

"I think it's a little racist," Soto said as he stopped by a Latino grocery store in Frederick before heading to work one afternoon last week. The 32-year-old was born in Guatemala and emigrated to Los Angeles as a child.

Eric Hartley, a writer for Hometown Annapolis, has created an amusing simulation of the Anne Arundel County Council ordering lunch. The column mocks the pathetic politicians who are demonstrating their immense mental prowess in their quest to stop a qualified African American Marine Corps reservist from serving on the Council (see excerpt below):

READ THE FULL COLUMN AT HOMETOWNANNAPOLIS.COM

SCENE: Council chambers, 12:49 p.m.

Derek Fink (chairman): We’re going to be here a while hearing these budget items. Let’s order something to eat, then we can get back to work.

John Grasso: OK, but no Mexico food.

Jamie Benoit: Dude. Not this again.

Grasso: Is it a crime that I want food I can pronounce in English? And made by hardworking Americans?

Benoit: No, but — (sighs) look, first of all, it’s Mexican food, not Mexico food. Second of all —

Jerry Walker: This is getting us nowhere. How about Chinese? Or Thai?

Grasso: I knew you were secretly a Democrat.

Fink: Or Japanese? There’s a good little sushi place that just opened in Glen Burnie.

Grasso: I’m not eating ghetto sushi.

Chris Trumbauer: That’s incredibly inappropriate. You represent Glen Burnie.

Dick Ladd: You know, we ate a lot of Asian food when I was in the Army. Rice is very filling. You need your energy when the gooks are coming at you.

Fink: Are you kidding me?

Anne Arundel County politicians are embarrassing the County!

Anne Arundel County Council Again Delays Filling Vacancy // English-Only Law Proposed, Withdrawn At Meeting

UPDATE: A Maryland Juice source indicates that there is more than meets the eye with the Anne Arundel vacancy story. Apparently, the race to succeed indicted County Executive John Leopold is fueling some of the madness. Our source notes: 

ANONYMOUS SOURCE: Supposedly there is a battle between two Republican members of the General Assembly, who are intertwined in the Anne Arundel Council vacancy issue. Delegate Steve Schuh and State Senator Ed Reily had been preparing to run for the term-limited Leopold seat in 2014. Leopold's indictment has sped things up. Schuh supports the African American and Reily supports the other guy.

DOUBLE-UPDATE: A Maryland Juice reader dropped an anonymous note in our e-suggestion box to clarify details about the 2014 battle for Anne Arundel County Executive:

ANONYMOUS READER: Your story about the behind the scenes lobbying for county exec is close but off. Del Steve Schuh is lobbying for [former State Senator] Mike Wagner, and his business partner Councilman Derek Fink is leading the internal effort to get Wagner on in an effort to solidify the seat for Schuh if Leopold steps down or is removed. [State Senator] Reily has only lobbied one Councilman, and that is Jerry Walker -- and he called on behalf of Schuh to recommend Wagner. When he realized that Schuh was trying to stack the deck, he stopped lobbying and to my knowledge had not lobbied any other Council Member.

Grasso is a puppet for Leopold even sticking up for him after the indictment. Ladd is a bumbling fool who the County Executive has bought with a promise to shift forward the funding for his beloved Severna Park High School if he sticks with Wagner. The other three are sticking with Pete Smith because they think he is the best candidate, and because they don't want the Indicted County Exec to get another vote on the council. Can't say that I blame them.

SOURCE: PHOTO FROM THE SUN'S LATEST ANNE ARUNDEL VACANCY COVERAGE.

BACKGROUND: Last night, the Anne Arundel County Council again failed to fill the District 1 vacancy on their body. As we've noted several times, three Republicans on the body are hell-bent on preventing a qualified Marine Corps reservist, Peter Smith, from serving alongside them. He happens to be African American. The currently indicted Republican County Executive John Leopold's former aide pushed a 70-year-old white, former State Senator into the race.

The pathetic spectacle of this vacancy process has witnessed all manner of racial and ethnic slime coming from some of the GOP members of the body. Councilmember Dick Ladd called Asians "gooks," while Councilmember John Grasso referred to Glen Burnie, Maryland as a "ghetto."

LATEST STATUS: The Baltimore Sun reports that last night, the County Council again failed to fill the vacancy:

After voting four times and remaining split 3-3 along partisan lines between candidates Peter I. Smith and Michael J. Wagner, the council voted unanimously to postpone another vote.

 Moreover, the body continues to focus on strange and symbolic priorities. Republican Councilmember Jerry Walker -- who is actually allied with the Democrats in trying to appoint Peter Smith to fill the vacancy -- last night proposed and then withdrew a bill that would make English the official language of Anne Arundel County. The Sun noted:

Indicted Anne Arundel Exec. John Leopold's Aide Pushed Former Senator for Council Vacancy // Police Seek Resignations

BACKGROUND: Maryland Juice has written a great deal about Anne Arundel County politics lately. This is owing mainly to the pathetic controversy over how to fill a vacancy on the County Council. The Democrats and one Republican are pushing to appoint a young, qualified African American Marine Corps reservist, while the remaining Republicans are pushing Michael Wagner, a 70-year-old, white, former State Senator.

Recent news coverage makes it appear as though former Senator Wagner was pushed into the race by allies of Anne Arundel County's Republican Executive John Leopold. Strangely, Wagner also seems to describe himself as out-of-touch with the District's voters. Notably, Wagner's political benefactor -- County Exec. Leopold -- is currently under indictment for shocking misuse of his public office (see below). Yesterday, The Baltimore Sun provided additional context on the race:

The council has been deadlocked in a 3-3 tie between two candidates: Peter I. Smith, a Defense Department budget manager and a Marine reservist from Severn who is African-American, and Michael J. Wagner, a former state senator from Ferndale, who is white....

Smith said he became interested in politics when he worked as a volunteer for former county Sheriff George F. Johnson, who ran unsuccessfully against County Executive John R. Leopold in 2006....

In his pitch for the seat, Wagner has said he was encouraged to apply by a former top aide to Leopold....

"I probably wouldn't have thought of it, to tell you the truth," said Wagner.... "I'm a conservative Democrat. I know a lot of the regular Democrats wouldn't be jumping for joy with me in there. They'd rather have a person who's stepping to their tune."

Smith, meanwhile, said he's anxious to get the matter settled. "I wish they would just give me an opportunity."

Meanwhile, The Tri-City Herald recently reported on the ridiculous details of County Executive Leopold's misuse of taxpayer resources:

A Maryland official was indicted Friday for misusing his police protection squad, including making them wait while he had sex with a county employee in parking lots, using the officers to conceal his affair and having them do errands such as emptying his urinary catheter bag, prosecutors said.

Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold was charged with four counts of misconduct in office and a count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary, state prosecutor Emmet Davitt announced Friday.

WJLA also notes that Leopold had police planting political lawnsigns for his campaign (really???):

Leopold, a Republican, allegedly used sworn, on-duty Anne Arundel County officers as political campaign workers who would regularly place and distribute campaign signs during the 2010 election, according to the state's attorney.

Today, the union representing Anne Arundel's police force is calling on John Leopold to resign. The Examiner's Jennifer Teates reports:

International Brotherhood of Police Officers, the union representing the sergeants and lieutenants of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, has followed up their recent “no confidence” vote with a call on Monday for County Executive John Leopold and Police Chief James Teare, Sr. to resign....

If county leaders do not take immediate action, officers fear a rise in crime and, according to the IBPO, “the waste of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to fix problems that could have been avoided with more prudent management....” 

"Our members thought the county executive made unsafe decisions about public safety before the indictment," said Paul J. Birks, IBPO national vice president, referring to the vote of no confidence the sergeants and lieutenants took in Leopold’s performance a week before the release of the indictment. "We're even more concerned now that Mr. Leopold will have the distraction of such serious legal troubles."

"If officers cannot trust their chief to protect them from the alleged abuse by a public official, then how can citizens trust the chief to protect them?" asked Birks.

Can the Anne Arundel County Council really appoint the hand-picked choice of an indicted politician to fill a vacancy?

Anne Arundel Democratic Central Committee Passes Resolution Backing Democrats' Council Choice & Vacancy Reforms

Yesterday, Maryland Juice cheered on the Anne Arundel Young Democrats for calling on the County Council to respect the democratic process and fill the District 1 County Council vacancy. As we previously noted, the County's good name has been dragged through the mud by Republican Councilmembers who are hell-bent on denying a qualified African American a seat on the Council.

Last night, the Anne Arundel Democratic Central Committee passed the following resolution calling on the Council to respect the judgment of the Democratic Councilmembers in replacing their colleague and seeking an end to the Council's role in filling future vacancies:

Anne Arundel GOP Pols Reveal More Stupidity In Effort To Keep All-White Council // Glen Burnie a "Ghetto" & "Gook" Not a Slur?

Last week, Maryland Juice highlighted the deplorable actions of three Republican Anne Arundel Councilmembers who are dead-set on maintaining a 100% white, male government. The three stooges forced over 100 rounds of balloting and resorted to racial slurs like calling Asians "gooks" in their shameful public meeting to fill a vacancy for the county's District 1 council seat. The council failed to come to a resolution on the matter and postponed further action until March.

Today, Maryland Reporter flagged follow-up coverage of this controversy, and it appears that the defiant GOP Councilmembers are just as tone-deaf and nasty as we had originally imagined. The Baltimore Sun reports that Councilmember Dick Ladd recently attended a community forum, where he was asked to explain his comments. His explanation was an utter failure -- since he said he doesn't find the word "gook" to be a slur -- and he ended up storming out of the meeting:

An Anne Arundel county councilman was peppered with questions Saturday about diversity on the all-white, all-male council — and criticized for his public use of a racial slur — before storming out of a community forum in Odenton...

Ladd was also asked to explain his use at a recent council meeting of a derogatory term for people of Asian descent....

Councilman John J. Grasso, a Glen Burnie Republican whose recent comments referring to Glen Burnie as "ghetto" were also questioned at the meeting, was invited to the forum but did not attend.

WOW: Anne Arundel Councilmember Dick Ladd Talks About "Gooks" While Trying to Create 100% White Male Government

[ WATCH WJZ TV COVERAGE ]

While Maryland was making history with marriage equality last week, Anne Arundel County was shaming itself with ridiculous racial shenanigans. The Baltimore Sun has a recap of the latest evidence of a disconnect in The Free State:

The council met Thursday night to fill the position vacated by former Councilman Daryl D. Jones, who began serving a five-month federal prison term last month. The 4 1/2-hour meeting was marked by shouting, a racial slur, accusations of bullying and a 3-3 deadlocked vote over two candidates.

Former state Sen. Michael J. Wagner of Ferndale and Marine reservist Peter I. Smith of Severn were selected as finalists among 10 Democratic applicants in a process that included 101 rounds of voting. The council ultimately voted to resume the process next week....

On Thursday, the fireworks started within the first 10 minutes of the meeting in downtown Annapolis.

Lewis A. Bracy, a retired federal worker who was one of 10 applicants for the seat, said he thought he should get the appointment, in part because "people in the county need to see a diverse person on the podium...."

Fink, who presides over the all-male and all-white body, was incredulous. "I can't believe that today I'm being asked to vote for someone … solely on diversity. It just blows my mind...."

While questioning a candidate with a military background, Councilman Richard B. "Dick" Ladd, a Broadneck Republican, used an ethnic slur to describe his service during the Vietnam War, saying, "I was there chasing down the gooks."

The comment elicited gasps from the audience assembled to watch the process play out.....

Anne Arundel Councilmember Jamie Benoit Not Running Against Rep. Donna Edwards // Glenn Ivey Moving Forward

Maryland Juice previously wrote that Anne Arundel Councilmember Jamie Benoit was weighing a challenge to Rep. Donna Edwards. The Baltimore Sun is now reporting that he has decided against a run in the 4th Congressional District Democratic Primary:

“Given the uncertainty and turmoil that currently exists in the county, I know I can best serve Anne Arundel County by remaining on the council," Benoit, a Democrat and Army veteran, said in a statement.

Mr. Benoit's announcement comes as Rep. Edwards has begun rolling out various campaign endorsements. That leaves former Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn Ivey in the April 2012 Primary with the incumbent. For what its worth, he's up with a new website at IveyforCongress.com. Here is his "Why I'm Running" statement:

Political Juice Blender: GOP Money Troubles & Updates on Maryland's Congressional Races // CD6 & CD4 Horserace Chatter

Here's a random blend of political tidbits from recent news, starting with an ironic reader-submitted photo of GOP Chair Alex Mooney's budget management successes (captions provided by Juice):

6TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Maryland GOP Chair Alex Mooney isn't the only person having trouble fundraising. The Gazette reports that embattled Rep. Roscoe Bartlett from the 6th Congressional District is not raising any money but has new primary challengers emerging every day:

Anne Arundel Councilman Jamie Benoit Explores Challenge to Rep. Donna Edwards // Army Vet to Seek Democratic Nod

Rep. Donna Edwards' new district appears to already be drawing the interest of challengers. See the press release below. Maryland Juice does not know much about Mr. Benoit, but on a side note, we noticed that his website does not appear to carry the "Democrat" label. This may have to do with his district demography:

In any case, see the press release below:


Anne Arundel County Councilman, Army Veteran Jamie Benoit Announces 

Congressional Exploratory Committee for Maryland’s 4th District

Benoit: “The Country Needs Serious people to address this once-in-a-generation fiscal crisis.”