POLL RESULTS: Maryland Gubernatorial Candidates' Name ID, Minimum Wage Hike & Pension Funding for State Employees

Goucher College released the results of a new poll today on various items of interest to Maryland politicos. Their survey results (below) highlight the current name id of gubernatorial candidates and show where voters are on issues ranging from the minimum wage to pension funding:

Name Recognition of Maryland Gubernatorial Candidates

• 62 percent recognize “Anthony Brown”
• 58 percent recognize “Doug Gansler”
• 49 percent recognize “Dutch Ruppersberger”
• 31 percent recognize “David Craig”
• 23 percent recognize “Charles Lollar”
• 22 percent recognize “Ron George”
• 13 percent recognize “Heather Mizeur” 

MINUMUM WAGE #1: As you may know, the minimum wage in Maryland is $7.25 per hour. Would you [support or oppose] raising the state minimum wage to $10 per hour?

• Support: 70 percent 
• Oppose: 27 percent

MINUMUM WAGE #2: Would you [support or oppose] raising the state minimum wage to $10 per hour?

• Support: 74 percent 
• Oppose: 24 percent

PENSION #1: I’d like to ask you two questions about pensions. In Maryland, retired state employees receive an average annual pension of about $12,000 per year. Do you think the average pension for a retired Maryland state employee is [too little, too much, or about the right amount]?

• Too Little: 59 percent
• About the Right Amount: 26 percent
• Too Much: 4 percent Don’t Know: 9 percent

PENSION #2: Next, I’d like to ask you two questions about pensions. Do you think the average pension for a retired Maryland state employee is [too little, too much, or about the right amount]?

• Too Little: 36 percent
• About the Right Amount: 21 percent
• Too Much: 11 percent
• Don’t Know: 31 percent

PENSION #3: Sixty-seven percent of respondents agreed that all Maryland workers, not just those employed by the state or local governments, should have a pension, while 28 percent disagreed.

Goucher November 2013 Poll: Maryland Governor & More

EXCLUSIVE: Maryland Juice Interviews Rob Sobhani // Independent Senate Candidate On Nov. Ballot Questions & More

Over the course of the last few weeks, Maryland politicos have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars of television advertising from independent U.S. Senate candidate Rob Sobhani. The former Republican candidate has been trying to appeal to members of both parties, and that has led both Democrats and Republicans to question Sobhani's motives.

Rob Sobhani campaigning in Montgomery County

Maryland Juice decided to try and find out more about where Rob Sobhani stands on key "values" issues, so we asked him to respond to several questions. Today, we present the results of our exclusive email interview with Maryland's independent U.S. Senate candidate. NOTE: I am aware that several of the issues I raise below are slightly unrelated to the roles and responsibilities of a U.S. Senator -- but I think it is important for voters to hear where Sobhani is coming from on hot topics. Below you can see his responses on a range of issues, including support for a flat tax and support for death penalty repeal (or at least a moratorium).

Without further ado, Maryland Juice presents the following Q & A with Rob Sobhani:

Maryand Juice Question 1  //  November Ballot Questions: How do you plan on voting on the hot-button ballot questions this November? In particular, I am curious about where you stand on:

• Question 4: Dream Act
• Question 5: Congressional Redistricting Plan
• Question 6: Marriage Equality
• Question 7: Gambling Expansion

VIDEO: Maryland Juice & Sen. David Harrington Explain Budget Battle on News Channel 8 // P.G. Casinos, Pension Shift & More

BACKGROUND: This morning, Maryland Juice had the opportunity to appear on News Channel 8's News Talk show. I appeared alongside former State Senator David Harrington (Prince George's Democrat) to talk about what outcomes to expect from Maryland's special legislative session.

As you may have heard, Maryland lawmakers failed to pass a complete budget package when they adjourned last April. The Maryland House and Senate returned to work today to try and pass a plan that would reduce the State's structural deficit, preserve education funding, and impact only the top 16% of earners with a modest 0.25% tax hike. Under the new plan, a family making $170,000 a year would see their tax bill rise a little over $20/month. We posted leaked copies of the budget plan on Friday night. Most observers expect these bills to pass without significant change, and for the legislature to be done with its business by Wednesday.

Watch my News Channel 8 conversation with former Sen. David Harrington below:




The Associated Press today had a quick summary of Maryland's budget debate (excerpt below):

AP: Lawmakers headed back to Annapolis for a three-day special session to approve a budget deal hashed out by Gov. Martin O'Malley and House and Senate leaders....

The Democratic governor says the tax hikes are necessary to avoid cuts to education and other critical services.

O'Malley met with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch to craft the tax plan and other measures after the Democratic-controlled legislature failed to approve a budget plan on the final day of the session.

Outside the special session, Americans for Prosperity, a Tea Party group, carried signs for hours, angry over the likelihood of major tax hikes.

However, the governor, House and Senate reached a deal to raise $250 million in taxes on the 17 percent of Maryland residents who make at least $100,000 a year alone or $150,000 jointly with a spouse.

They will also shift more of the burden for teacher pensions from the state and onto counties.

MORE ON MARYLAND'S SPECIAL SESSION SOON!

CD6: Sen. Rob Garagiola on Pension Shift, Fracking, Mike Miller & More // Plus, Attend CD6 Dem & GOP Debates SUN 3/25

Maryland Juice just stumbled upon an interesting interview with State Senator Rob Garagiola on News Channel 8. Host Bruce DePuyt kicks off the segment by noting that he had on multiple occasions invited Garagiola's competitor John Delaney to sit next to the State Senator for a head-to-head debate. Delaney has apparently refused to directly debate Mr. Garagiola. Senator Garagiola took advantage of the empty chair that was debating him, and suggested that his opponent John Delaney had aggressively foreclosed on homeowners -- sometimes over a matter of only a few thousand dollars. 

ROB GARAGIOLA ON PENSION SHIFT - Watch Bruce DePuyt's interview of Rob Garagiola below. The CD6 Democrat fields questions about a U.S. troop drawdown in Afghanistan, fracking, Senate President Mike Miller, and much more. The interview starts off with a discussion of Maryland's controversial pension shift proposal. Bruce DePuyt opens up by suggesting to Garagiola that there is a disconnect between Montgomery County leaders and politicians in Annapolis. He asks Garagiola about the fact the teacher-pension shift will move a large financial burden from the state to localities: "are you listening, have you heard them, and are you representing the concerns that local leaders have?" Below I transcribe a portion of Rob Garagiola's response as a teaser for the interview:

ROB GARAGIOLA: The people that we need to represent are all the voters, not just the local elected officials, and I feel that we're doing that. In fact, over the ten years I've been in the Maryland senate, we've nearly doubled education funding that has gone to the counties. That's why we've got the best schools in the country four years in a row.

So we've made the critical investment in education. Its unfortunate that last year the county government used some of those dollars, so they can make reductions at the local level for education funding. As a father of three children in the public school system in Montgomery County, that actually upsets me.

Watch the News Channel 8 interview with Rob Garagiola below:





STRAY FROM THE SCRIPT - While Bruce DePuyt is upset that John Delaney won't sit down for a head-to-head debate, Maryland Juice is simply trying to get either of the candidates alone to agree to an unscripted interview. I literally just want the chance to pick open their brains and discuss Democratic party base issues that always get ignored in the primaries.

I truly wonder whether voters are going to find enough differentiation among the candidates, based solely on their views about schools, health care, and the environment. I doubt it. I previously tried to get some of the candidates to agree to a voter forum on the Internet -- but with questions generated by the public. So far, neither of them has yet agreed to stray from the conventional candidate script -- but perhaps that is because they are in fact conventional candidates? Sigh. Self-financing candidates and party-backed establishment candidates have the ability to say and do so much more than other less privileged candidates. And yet they never seem to push the boundaries, do they?

Below, the AARP & Maryland Reporter invite you to Democratic and Republican candidates' debates in Maryland's 6th Congressional District. Maybe you can shake things up in person:


AARP and Maryland Reporter Host Candidates Debate // 6th Congressional District

RUH ROH: Biggest Maryland Counties Launch Grassroots Effort to Fight Shift of Teacher Pension Costs from State to County

Maryland Juice woke up today to discover that many of the Free State's politically influential counties have banded together to fight a proposal to shift the cost of teachers' pensions from the State to Maryland's various counties. A new website and advocacy effort called "Stop the Shift" launched today:

Last month, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett called the proposal a "non-starter." But Capital News Service reported that the Senate President was putting his muscle behind the proposal:

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said Tuesday morning that he supports the shift, calling it “a fair and equitable way to assist the counties while balancing the budget.” 

Notably, the Hagerstown Herald-Mail indicates that Democratic Senate President Mike Miller borrowed the pension shift idea from Republican Senate leaders:

Two years ago, [6th Congressional District GOP candidate David Brinkley] and Sen.E.J. Pipkin, the current Senate minority leader, crafted an alternative plan to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed budget. Elements of the alternative plan were adopted, Brinkley said.