Democratic Senators Lisa Gladden & Bobby Zirkin Endorse Allan Kittleman, GOP Candidate for Howard County Executive

UPDATE: The commentary below appeared in this month's issue of Business Monthly, but it turns out the piece was written by Maryland Reporter's Len Lazarick, who has mirrored the full article on his own website (additional excerpt below):

MARYLAND REPORTER: It’s no secret that Sen. Allan Kittleman will need lots of Democrats to vote for a Republican for Howard County executive for him to accomplish what the GOP did 23 years ago — take over the county government.

“If Allan Kittleman can’t have a chance in Howard County, no one has a chance,” said attorney Michael Davis, who was campaign chairman for Republican Chuck Ecker when Ecker defeated Democrat Liz Bobo during her re-election bid for executive in 1990. Four years later, Republicans controlled the County Council, the courthouse offices and a majority of legislative seats.

Davis was involved in a poll taken last year that he said showed Kittleman “has good name recognition; he’s got high trust factors and likability factors.” But he’s still got “a tough fight”....

Maryland Juice previously noted that GOP State Senator Allan Kittleman was running for Howard County Executive in 2014, and that he would likely be facing off against Democratic HoCo Councilmember Courtney Watson. But we highlighted a report in Patch.com that Democratic State Senator Bobby Zirkin had crossed party lines to endorse Kittleman for Executive. There were rumors that another Democratic State Senator Lisa Gladden would be supporting the Republican candidate for HoCo Exec, but we never saw confirmation of that story until today. In fact, I only heard that Gladden was supporting Kittleman through an unverified report on Twitter about a month ago:

Last night a Maryland Juice reader forwarded us a scanned copy of an interesting article that appeared in the July 2013 edition of Business Monthly, which features interviews with Senators Zirkin and Gladden highlighting their endorsements for Allan Kittleman. The article, titled "Kittleman's Uphill Fight" does not yet appear in the online edition of Business Monthly, but we provide some excerpts from the newsprint below:

BUSINESS MONTHLY: "It's the content of your character, it's not a 'D' or 'R' behind your name that makes a difference, said Zirkin.... Zirkin said he also asked Kittleman whether he could bring up same-sex marraige. Kittleman was only one of the dozen Republicans in the state Senate that supported the measure...."

Sure enough, Gladden, with a more liberal voting record than Zirkin's is a Kittleman fan. "Allan is a whole different breed of Republican," Gladden said in an interview.... Gladden recognizes there's a whole range of issues on which she and Kittleman disagree, but he supported her position on an issue she's passionate about, abolition of the death penalty....

Notably, Zirkin highlights Kittleman's support for marriage equality, while Gladden highlights his support for death penalty repeal. But one Democratic commenter in the article below highlights other issues where Kittleman conflicts with mainstream Democratic politics. In the article, Howard County Democratic Party Chair Michael McPherson called Kittleman a "flaming Tea Party zealot" who opposes gun control and works to restrict women's access to health care.

More on the HoCo Exec battle soon!

ATTORNEY GENERAL 2014: Sen. Brian Frosh Claims Support of 6 Baltimore State Senators & City Council President Jack Young

Sen. Brian Frosh

BALTIMORE SUPPORT FOR BRIAN FROSH: Last July, Maryland Juice broke news that State Senator Brian Frosh was plotting a run for Attorney General in 2014. The Montgomery County progressive Democrat is currently chair of the Senate's judiciary committee, and he appears to be moving quickly to gain the support of his colleagues. Sen. Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County previously stated he would support Frosh for Attorney General. But this week The Baltimore Examiner reported that Frosh may have already lined up endorsements from key Charm City politicians (excerpt below):

EXAMINER: ...it’s through groups like BEST that members of the younger generation of voters gets to interact with local and state democratic leaders – like Senator Brian Frosh of Montgomery County, who came all the way to Baltimore last week to be apart of their latest community event. Frosh, who has served the 16th legislative district since 1995, is now seeking a statewide seat in 2014 – as he has his eyes set on the Attorney General’s post. Currently held by Doug Gansler, another democrat who many believe will run for the open Governor’s seat in 2014; Frosh seems to have the support of most of the city’s political elite – two years out! Stating that he had commitments from all six of the city’s state senators, including the support of East Baltimore native and City Council President Bernard ‘Jack’ Young, Frosh is making the rounds early in order to secure a seat sure to be highly contested – both by Democrats and Republicans alike.

If these reports are true, then the following Baltimore City State Senators are planning to endorse Brian Frosh for Attorney General:

• Sen. Catherine Pugh
• Sen. Lisa Gladden
• Sen. Joan Carter Conway
• Sen. Verna Jones-Rodwell
• Sen. Nathaniel McFadden
• Sen. Bill Ferguson

FROSH BEGINS FUNDRAISING FOR 2014: Senator Frosh is also beginning to build a war chest for a 2014 run. The Bethesda Now site recently noted that Frosh is hosting a fundraising event immediately after the Presidential election, and he's billing himself as an environmental champion (excerpt below):

BETHESDA NOW: State Sen. Brian Frosh (D-Bethesda-Chevy Chase) is raising money for a potential 2014 run at Maryland attorney general with a fundraiser touting his environmental accomplishments.

Frosh, who announced the event yesterday, confirmed his interest in running for attorney general in July and is asking for donations of $100, $250, $500 or $1,000 for an evening on Nov. 14 at an Annapolis restaurant.

MORE ON THE 2014 ATTORNEY GENERAL RACE SOON!

Details on Sen. Brian Frosh's 2014 Attorney General Campaign // Analysis of Impact on Judiciary Committee & Senate Presidency

Yesterday we reported that State Senator Brian Frosh was plotting a run for Maryland Attorney General in 2014. Frosh, a Democrat, subsequently confirmed by email that he was indeed "exploring a race for AG" and "still reaching out to folks." That news set the pundit-class abuzz, as numerous politicos began pondering the implications of this move. Below we highlight a few notable analyses and comments about Senator Frosh's news.

GUN RIGHTS ADVOCATES WEIGH IN: Among the first to respond to the news was former Aberdeen Mayoral candidate Patrick McGrady, a Tea Partier. McGrady posted his thoughts about Frosh's AG bid on MDShooters.com, a gun-oriented site that describes itself as "Maryland's premiere shooting community." He raised red flags for gun-owners about Brian Frosh, and many responded with their thoughts:

Sen. Jamie Raskin Promoted to Majority Whip // Plus, NAACP & Death Row Exoneree Make Case for Death Penalty Repeal

AUDIO INTERVIEW: Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown Opposes Death Penalty

Today a Maryland Juice source reported that Senate President Mike Miller has tapped State Senator Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County to share the Majority Whip's role with his colleague, Sen. Lisa Gladden of Baltimore. The two Senators periodically team up on legislation, most notably in their efforts to try and repeal the death penalty in Maryland. Raskin is also heading up a new ethics committee in the wake of the Ulysses Currie scandal. But the timing of Mr. Raskin's promotion to Majority Whip is  interesting, because The Baltimore Sun yesterday reported on a renewed call to repeal Maryland's death penalty:

Ben Jealous, the national NAACP president, came to Annapolis Tuesday to call on Maryland legislators to make this the year the state does away with the death penalty.

Flanked by several legislators, Jealous said he intends to return to Annapolis repeatedly through the 90-day legislative session that starts Wednesday to work for repeal.