NEW DELEGATES: Who'll Fill Maryland's 2 Vacant House Seats? // The Replacements for Jim Proctor & Will Campos in 27A & 47B

By Matt Verghese

BACKGROUND: Maryland currently has two vacancies in the House of Delegates, due to the recent passing of Delegate Jim Proctor and the resignation of Delegate Will Campos for personal reasons. Both members of the General Assembly served as Democrats, and under Maryland law, the vacancies will be filled by a vote of the elected Democratic Central Committees representing the counties where the members previously served. The recommendations of these county Central Committees are then sent to the Governor for formal appointment.

Notably, Delegate Will Campos' District 47B is contained wholly within Prince George's County. As a result, the elected members of the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee get to make the recommendation for Campos' replacement. In contrast, Delegate Jim Proctor's District 27A is contained within both Prince George's County and Charles County. Correspondingly, both counties' Democratic Central Committees take independent votes on a replacement for Delegate Proctor. Though the appointment process is not yet complete in either legislative district, we have a very good sense of who will replace Delegates Jim Proctor and Will Campos:

• Likely Replacement in District 27A: Susie Proctor
• Likely Replacement in District 47B: Carlo Sanchez

DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL COMMITTEES CHOOSE SANCHEZ & PROCTOR - The Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee (PGCDCC) met on October 6th to nominate people to fill the Delegate vacancies in D27A and D47B.  Without any of the drama or backroom chaos that often accompanies these procedures (on both sides of the aisle), the PGCDCC unanimously recommended Susie Proctor and Carlo Sanchez to fill the vacancies for District 27A and 47B, respectively. These names are submitted to Governor Larry Hogan, who has fifteen days to make the appointment.

For Mr. Sanchez, the process effectively concluded last night since District 47B is completely within Prince George's County, but Proctor's District 27A also includes portions of Charles County - so that Central Committee must weigh in as well for the second vacant seat. Article III, Section 13 (b) (3) states (excerpt below, emphasis mine):

If the vacancy occurs in a district which has boundaries comprising a portion or all of two or more counties, the Central Committee of each county involved shall have one vote for submitting the name of a resident of the district; and if there is a tie vote between or among the Central Committees, the list of names there proposed shall be submitted to the Governor, and he shall make the appointment from the list

Earlier this evening, the Charles County Democratic Central Committee joined their Prince George's counterparts in recommending Susie Proctor for the D27A vacancy by a vote of 14-1. Proctor faced competition from Charles County Orphans Court Judge Darlene Breck, and activist and former Commissioner-candidate Jim Easter.

MD'S UNIQUE PROCESS FOR FILLING STATE LEGISLATIVE VACANCIES - Maryland is one of 25 states that fill legislative vacancies through an appointment process, while the other 25 (including Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia) have special elections. While the Governor makes the formal appointment, the Maryland Constitution stipulates that the appointee must of be of the same political party as the person they succeed and carves out a role for the local Central Committee. Article III, Section 13 (a) (1) lays it out (excerpt below, emphasis mine):

In case of death, disqualification, resignation, refusal to act, expulsion, or removal from the county or city for which he shall have been elected, of any person who shall have been chosen as a Delegate or Senator, or in case of a tie between two or more such qualified persons, the Governor shall appoint a person to fill such vacancy from a person whose name shall be submitted to him in writing, within thirty days after the occurrence of the vacancy, by the Central Committee of the political party, if any, with which the Delegate or Senator, so vacating, had been affiliated, at the time of the last election or appointment of the vacating Senator or Delegate, in the County or District from which he or she was appointed or elected, provided that the appointee shall be of the same political party, if any, as was that of the Delegate or Senator, whose office is to be filled, at the time of the last election or appointment of the vacating Delegate or Senator, and it shall be the duty of the Governor to make said appointment within fifteen days after the submission thereof to him.

Carlo Sanchez

WHO IS CARLO SANCHEZ? - Carlo Sanchez's name was mentioned immediately following Del. Campos' resignation. He's a lifelong resident of House of Delegates District 47B, and is currently President of the Carole Highlands Civic Association. While the Prince George's Central Committee is his first elected position (he is the body's Secretary), Carlo has been active in local campaigns including managing Wanda Shelton Martin's unsuccessful bid for Delegate in the 47th in 2010. Carlo currently works as Public Safety Training Officer at Montgomery College.

Mr. Sanchez received the backing of Senator Ramirez and the 47th Delegation, and surprisingly no one else threw their hat in the ring. Other names that were floated include Dinora Hernandez who sits on the Price George's County Board of Education, and former Jolene Ivey-aide Wanika Fisher. Carlo's appointment would keep the number of Latino state legislators at 6. Maryland is home to more than 500,000 Hispanic residents. District 47B is the state's first Hispanic-majority district.

Susie Proctor

WHO IS SUSIE PROCTOR? - Susie Proctor is widely assumed to be the choice to complete her husband's term in the House of Delegates. The support of Senate President Mike Miller, who represents District 27, likely sealed the deal . Susie is a former educator, having worked for Prince George's County Public Schools for 30 years. She has not run for elected office before, but is the Vice Chairman of the Prince George's Community College Board of Trustees and Chair of the County Tax Assessment Appeal Board.

Widow/widower succession is not a new concept nationally or locally. Maryland examples includes former Congresswoman Beverly Byron, former Delegate Mary Conroy and former Montgomery County Councilmember Don Praisner.

Gov. Martin O'Malley Appoints Former Del. Darren Swain to Tiffany Alston's D24 House Seat // PG Dems' Choices Rejected

Del. Darren Swain

OUT WITH THE NEW, IN WITH THE OLD: An anonymous source brings Maryland Juice readers news that Prince George's County residents in Maryland's District 24 now have a new member of the House of Delegates.

Gov. Martin O'Malley today announced he has chosen former Delegate Darren Swain to fulfill the remainder of Tiffany Alston's term. Notably, Swain was not one of the three names recently submitted for recommendation by the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee.

Previously, the saga to fill the D24 seat brought lawsuits from Greg Hall (an activist who was originally nominated for the vacancy) and Tiffany Alston. But Maryland courts ruled that O'Malley had ultimate authority to select a replacement, in this instance. See the Governor's press release below:

JuiceBlender: Don Dwyer Blames Boating Accident on Gay Marriage, O'Malley Prioritizes Death Penalty, Greg Hall Update

Below Maryland Juice highlights a few articles that may be of interest to Free State politicos, starting with some amazingly disingenuous excuses from Tea Party lawmaker Don Dwyer:

JUICE #1: MARYLAND GOP LAWMAKER DON DWYER BLAMES DRUNK BOATING ACCIDENT ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY - Media figures are beginning to highlight (and deride) amazing comments that Delegate Don Dwyer made about his drunk boating accident. As you may recall, Dwyer (a supposed "family values" -- read: anti-gay -- politician) admitted being trashed on booze when he crashed his boat, resulting in an accident that left several children seriously injured. Now he's blaming the accident on marriage equality (translation: blaming it on the gays): The Washington Blade reported on Dwyer's outrageous comments (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON BLADE: A Maryland lawmaker told a local newspaper last week that legislators who voted for the state’s same-sex marriage bill contributed to his alcohol abuse. Delegate Don Dwyer (R-Anne Arundel County) told the Maryland Gazette in an interview the newspaper posted to its website on Saturday that he felt “betrayed” when Dels. Wade Koch (R-Baltimore County) and Robert Costa (R-Anne Arundel County) and then-Del. Tiffany Alston (D-Prince George’s County) in Feb. 2012 backed for the measure that Gov. Martin O’Malley eventually signed into law....

Dwyer's attempt to blame his drunk boating accident on marriage equality was met with derision on the Internet, as best represented by the following headline on the Wonkette blog: Drunky Maryland Pol: Gay Marriage Crashed That Boat, Injured That 5-Year-Old Girl (excerpt below):

WONKETTE: It is not funny that Maryland Delegate Don Dwyer drunkenly crashed his boat last year, fracturing the skull of a five-year-old girl. But it is funny that he is blaming gay marriage for the alcoholism that made him drunkenly crash his boat last year, fracturing the skull of a five-year-old girl! Oh, did we say “funny”?...

DC101 DJ Mike Jones commented on the radio station's Facebook page: "The Maryland gay marriage vote caused him to drink. Could be the biggest BS politician excuse I've ever heard. -mike jones"

SOURCE: Facebook.

JUICE #2: O'MALLEY TO MAKE DEATH PENALTY REPEAL A LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY - The likelihood of finally banning government executions in Maryland increased greatly this week. News outlets and advocates are reporting that Gov. Martin O’Malley will sponsor death penalty repeal legislation and put the weight of his office behind the effort in Annapolis. Check out the following report from The Death Penalty Information Center (excerpt below):

DEATH PENALTY INFORMATION CENTER: On January 15 at a press conference with leaders of the NAACP, Maryland's Governor Martin O'Malley announced he will be making the repeal of capital punishment a priority in the upcoming legislative session and will submit a repeal bill to the legislature later this week. Among the concerns about the death penalty expressed by the governor were its high costs and the lack of any benefit to society: "Is it worth wasting taxpayer dollars on a policy that does not work?" Senate President Mike Miller, who supports the death penalty, said the bill will be given a vote in the full Senate and will likely pass this year. Maryland has not had an execution or death sentence since 2005, and the state's lethal injection procedures have not been approved by the courts.

The Washington Post highlighted the potential impact of O'Malley's leadership on the issue (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Though the governor’s decision does not guarantee passage, “it makes a huge difference,” said Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery), chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, where repeal bills have stalled in past years....

A repeal “can’t get done without the governor, and having his active engagement will be vital,” said Frosh, who favors the abolishment of capital punishment.

With O’Malley’s name on the bill, it is certain to get heightened media attention, as well as the focus of a team of lobbyists employed by the governor’s office and personal attention from O’Malley himself....

JUICE #3: PRINCE GEORGE'S DEMOCRATS RETRACT GREG HALL'S NOMINATION FOR TIFFANY ALSTON'S DELEGATE SEAT  //  3 NEW NAMES SUBMITTED - The unusual saga surrounding efforts to appoint a replacement for former Delegate Tiffany Alston (District 24) lurched forward today. As you may recall, the Prince George's Democratic Central Committee's (PGDCC) choice for the seat was activist Greg Hall. But news of Hall's dark past gave some PGDCC members pause and last night they voted to revoke his nomination. The Prince George's Democrats also forwarded three new names to Gov. O'Malley. Check out the report from The Gazette (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: The Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee revoked its nominee to fill a vacant delegate seat Tuesday night, leaving the task of filling the seat firmly in the hands of the governor.

In a contentious meeting that saw Greg Hall, the committee's original choice, trading barbs with committee Chair Terry Speigner, the committee put forward three non-binding recommendations that Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) is free to disregard if he chooses....

"At the end of the day, the governor gets what he wants, and Prince George's County once again gets screwed," Hall said....

The Washington Post described the three new nominees for the District 24 seat as follows (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: O'Malley's spokeswoman Raquel Guillory said the governor "will take into consideration" the panel's recommendations. They are: Vicky L. Orem, an orphans' court judge; Clayton Aarons, an attorney; and Phillip Raines, a defense contractor.

Photo Sources: Gazette, Twitter

HOLY MACKEREL: Gov. O'Malley Asks Prince George's Dems to Withdraw Greg Hall's Name For Tiffany Alston's MD House Seat

BACKGROUND: Just days ago, local news outlets were abuzz with news that Greg Hall, the choice of the Prince George's Democratic Central Committee (PGDCC) to replace Delegate Tiffany Alston (D24), had previously been involved in a drug-dealing gun-shootout that resulted in a dead child. The PG Democratic Central Committee had appointed Hall to replace Alston after she copped a plea on criminal charges involving misuse of government resources. Maryland Juice highlighted a few news articles indicating that the PG Dems were uncomfortable with the revelations and began changing their vacancy appointment process to preempt this kind of a problem in the future.

O'MALLEY ASKS PG CENTRAL COMMITTEE TO WITHDRAW HALL'S NAME: But now, The Washington Post is reporting that Governor Martin O'Malley is asking the Prince George's Democratic Central Committee to withdraw Hall's name for the District 24 seat, and it sounds like they are inclined to listen (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has asked Prince George’s County Democrats to withdraw the name of businessman Greg Hall to replace Tiffany Alston in the House of Delegates until the state’s attorney general rules on whether the seat is actually vacant....

Assistant States’s Attorney General Dan Friedman had advised the General Assembly that Alston’s seat was vacant upon her conviction. But an Anne Arundel County judge last week agreed to modify Alston’s one-year suspended jail sentence to probation before judgment, essentially striking her conviction....

[PGDCC Chair Terry] Speigner said the 24-member panel is already scheduled to meet Tuesday. At that meeting, he said “we will comply with the governor’s request to rescind Hall’s nomination.” He said the committee would do what O’Malley asked.

O'MALLEY DODGES BULLET: Governor O'Malley may have caught a very lucky break with the sudden legal ambiguities about whether Tiffany Alston has been suspended from the legislature or not. After all, if Hall's nomination for the vacancy had proceeded, O'Malley himself would have had to ultimately appointment him to the D24 seat. It seems pretty easy to imagine how O'Malley's rivals could have used this issue either in a primary or a general election.

Even more interesting to think about is what will happen to Tiffany Alston. Did she just find a way to stay in office? We shall know soon enough!

UGLY: Prince George's Democratic Chaos // Vacancy Process May Shift After Unelected Lawmaker's Gun Violence Revealed

Things continue to remain a little crazy in Prince George's politics. First, it should be noted that two of Councilmember Will Campos' aides just received vacancy appointments from the PG Dems Central Committee: former aide Greg Hall and Chief of Staff Alonzo Washington. Hall won a close vote to replace Del. Tiffany Alston (D24) right before the presidential election, while Washington won his appointment to Del. Justin Ross' seat (D22) with a fairly large margin last night. But the way in which these appointments are being handled is going to differ. The reason being that after Hall won the vote for Alston's seat, The Washington Post's Ann Marimow reported that the soon-to-be District 24 lawmaker was involved in a drug-dealing, gun shootout that resulted in a dead child:

WASHINGTON POST: Two decades ago, Gregory A. Hall was a 21-year-old crack dealer who took part in a gun battle that killed a seventh-grade honors student as he and his family left a church service in Capitol Heights.... County Democrats named him to finish Alston’s term, which ends in January 2015.

But Hall’s troubled past has resurfaced as Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) considers the appointment. Some local Democratic activists have said privately that Democratic Central Committee members are having second thoughts after choosing the 42-year-old in a 12-10 vote....

O’Malley has until Thanksgiving to approve Hall’s nomination, and the governor’s spokeswoman has said the administration is aware of Hall’s criminal record and that “everything is being taken into consideration.”

PG DEMS TO START SUBMITTING TWO NAMES FOR VACANCIES? - Shortly after Hall was appointed to fill Tiffany Alston's seat, the Prince George's Democrats had occasion to fill yet another seat -- that of retiring Delegate Justin Ross. Fresh off the Greg Hall controversy, it appears that the PG Dems may start submitting two names to the Governor for vacancies. The press accounts are not perfectly clear on this point, but at a minimum candidates will go through more vetting than in the past. The top two Democrats for Ross' District 22 seat were Alonzo Washington with Karren Pope-Onwukwe in second place. Check out the following report from The Gazette (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: The submission of two names to the governor is a break from tradition, said Terry Speigner, chairman of the central committee.... “The committee feels it needs to do a better job of vetting candidates,” Speigner said....

Speigner said the committee would take the top two vote-getters for the District 22 seat [Alonzo] Washington and [Karren] Pope-Onwukwe and do more thorough research into their backgrounds before submitting a name to the governor. “That’s totally different than we’ve ever done before,” he said.

The Washington Post's Miranda Spivack provided more detail on the vacancy controversies following Alonzo Washington's appointment to Delegate Justin Ross' seat (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: The decision to take a closer look at Washington comes as the 24-member committee has been circulating reports that Greg Hall, 42, selected two weeks ago to replace Del. Tiffany Alston (D-Prince George’s), had a criminal history. The committee plans to do more research on its selections before sending them to the governor, beginning with Washington, said Terry Speigner, the committee chairman who had sought Alston’s seat and lost to Hall.

After Washington’s selection, committee members huddled in private to discuss Hall. Hall said he has not hidden his history and discussed some of the details as he pressed his candidacy two weeks ago during the selection meeting. Campos told The Washington Post, “It’s never been a secret. He talks about it....” The committee came to no consensus about Hall’s nomination, and Speigner said it will now be up to O’Malley. Hall defeated Speigner in a 12-10 vote on Nov. 2.

It is worth noting that the man who lost the vacancy appointment to Greg Hall was the current PG Democratic Chair himself -- Terry Speigner. This creates an obvious self-serving aura in his pursuit of complaints against his rival - but even still, there is something to be said about Speigner's view that this just looks bad. Remember that the Prince George's Democrats are filling a seat that is currently left vacant due to Del. Tiffany Alston's alleged misuse of taxpayer and campaign funds -- and they are filling that seat with someone who was involved in a gun shootout that left a child dead. No wonder Tiffany Alston is hanging around making her case! Even still, Speigner would do well to state clearly that he will not seek the D24 seat himself, and instead try to ensure a process that works for the public. This seems impossible to achieve when the person in charge is seeking the seat himself -- and it also just looks bad.

CONCLUSION: Here's the real question for the Prince George's Central Committee -- how did it come to this? In a County of thousands, were there honestly no other Democrats worthy of appointment to the State House? Perhaps the real problem is that machine politics continue to take priority over sound outcomes. Surely there were more Democrats to consider other than political aides and members of the Central Committee itself?

If the Prince George's Democrats want to really clean this up, they're going to have to try harder to undo machine politics -- not simply replace one machine with another. I'm beginning to think this pressure is going to have to come from the outside though, unless there is a miraculous shift in mentality among politicos. In the meantime, it'll be interesting to see who runs for these seats in 2014. After all, just because someone has been appointed by insiders doesn't mean they can win an election. Maryland politics has a few examples of appointees who were unable to win their seats outright.

Fingers crossed for a #CleanSlate for Prince George's Democrats.

PG County Dems Choose Alonzo Washington (Councilmember Will Campos' Chief of Staff) to Replace Justin Ross in MD House

The Hyattsville Times reported on Twitter tonight that the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee has chosen Alonzo Washington to replace Delegate Justin Ross (D22 Democrat) in the Maryland House of Delegates. Ross stunned politicos by announcing his departure from the House earlier this fall. Notably, The Hyattsville Times also states that Washington was who Ross wanted to replace him:

A couple of tweets from The Times earlier in the night also provided some context on the battle:

We previously talked about the race to win the District 22 appointment and noted that a few PG Democrats' names were being tossed around as possible successors. But Alonzo Washington prevailed, and notably the now defunct-Real Prince George's blog noted that he was also interested in attempting to replace termed out PG Councilmember Will Campos in 2014.

Washington is currently Will Campos' Chief of Staff. See an excerpt from the Real PG blog below:

REAL PRINCE GEORGE'S BLOG: Rumors are a number of local leaders are potentially lining up to seek that appointment including Central Committeeman Alonzo Washington, Chief of Staff to Prince George’s County Councilman Will Campos. Washington is often mentioned as a frontrunner to replace Campos on the council when he is termed out in 2014.

This outcome will likely have a mini-domino effect on the candidate field for other races in 2014. More on the emerging Prince George's political dynamics soon!

Prince George's Democratic Central Committee Chooses Greg Hall over Terry Speigner to Replace Delegate Tiffany Alston

UPDATE: An anonymous source adds a great deal of color to the battle for the D24 vacancy. Apparently, this was a battle between the good guys and the bad guys (see below):

ANONYMOUS SOURCE: There is sooooo much you're missing about what went down Friday night- this was a proxy fight between the progressives (Joanne Benson, SEIU, Wil Campos and Victor Ramirez) versus the old boys *corrupt* network (Camille Exum, al Wynn, Michael Vaughn and Carolyn Howard)- Arms were twisted, mud was thrown- they ALMOST prevailed by Terry Speigner taking the extraordinary step of VOTING for HIMSELF, but that one act was so offensive that one or two key people defected to our side and for once, the good guys won one !

Tonight the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee (PGDCC) met to appoint a replacement for District 24 Delegate Tiffany Alston. We previously noted that the PGDCC chair himself, Terry Speigner, had been openly campaigning for the job. But the Prince George's Young Democrats earlier today joined others in endorsing one of Speigner's competitors, Greg Hall. The Washington Post is now reporting that Greg Hall has prevailed and was appointed to the D24 seat earlier tonight (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Prince George’s County Democrats on Friday selected businessman Greg Hall to replace Tiffany Alston in the Maryland House of Delegates. Alston, a first-term Democrat, was suspended from the legislature last month after she was sentenced for misconduct in office....

Hall’s nomination by the 24-member Democratic Central Committee after voting Friday night requires the approval of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). The vote was 12 to 10, according to Terry Speigner, chairman of the committee, who said he was runner-up....

Earlier today, the Prince George's Young Democrats sent out an email endorsing Greg Hall for the D24 appointment. Their message also contained a few items from Hall's resume. See an excerpt from their email blast below:

PRINCE GEORGE'S YOUNG DEMOCRATS: Good Evening Juice, As you may know Tiffany Alston, former MD Delegate representing the 24th legislative district, has been suspended from office after entering a plea agreement to settle two separate criminal cases. The Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee will make a formal recommendation to fill the vacant seat, to Governor Martin O'Mally, who will most likely confirm the recommendation. Greg Hall, a former Prince George's County Young Democrats President and a major supporter of ours is in the running -- And now PGCYD is supporting Greg Hall!

This isn’t Mr. Hall's first time seeking office. In November of 2010 he sought to represent the 24th legislative district as delegate and earned over 3,000 votes from the Prince George’s County populace. Mr. Hall came close to victory with a shy margin.Greg Hall is a community activist, an entrepreneur, and a devoted citizen focused on the success and growth of the 24th legislative district. Additionally, he’s worked with the environmental and business communities to identify new opportunities for economic growth in the district....

Respectfully,

Prince George's County Young Democrats Executive Board

Maryland Juice previously shared our uneasy feeling that there was a conflict of interest in allowing a candidate for the appointment to also run the candidate selection process -- and as it turns out, the vote was indeed very close! Also, now that the race is over, Maryland Juice must admit that someone had been slipping us negative information about Greg Hall. In other words, this race was getting hot!

CONFLICT: Prince George's Democratic Chair Terry Speigner Campaigning to be Del. Tiffany Alston's Replacement

UPDATE: OBVIOUS CONFLICT OF INTEREST - Am I the only one that finds it strange that candidates for the D24 vacancy, have to send their materials to one of their competitors (aka PGDCC Chair Terry Speigner)? Look closely at the email below, which indicates that candidates to replace Del. Tiffany Alston need to send their applications to another candidate for the seat. Speigner tries to pre-empt this issue in the letter below, where he states:

TERRY SPEIGNER: In closing, I know some people are wondering if I can serve as the simultaneously as the Chairman of the Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee and in the House of Delegates. The simple answer is yes I can do both.

Well, I'm glad HE decided he can be objective! The optics of this are just terrible, considering that the reason why there is a vacancy has to do with the appearance of impropriety.


BACKGROUND: We recently discussed how there was a looming vacancy for Delegate Tiffany Alston's District 24 House seat. We noted that Alston had copped a plea after facing criminal charges for misuse of taxpayer funds and that prosecutors insisted the agreement would trigger Alston's suspension from office. Now Delegate Alston's Prince George's-based seat is going to filled through a vacancy appointment process in the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee (PGDCC). It also turns out that the recently re-elected Chair of the PGDCC himself, Terry Speigner, is interested in the position. This is a bit "ironic" since The Gazette just noted that Speigner would be guiding the recommendations of the PGDCC as it worked to fill the vacancies created by Alston and Delegate Justin Ross (excerpt below):

GAZETTE: As chairman, Speigner will guide the committee as it makes recommendations to fill two House vacancies in the next few weeks: one in District 22, for the seat held by Del. Justin D. Ross (D) of Hyattsville until he retires from the House on Nov. 9; and one in District 24, for the seat held by Del. Tiffany T. Alston (D) of Mitchellville until two weeks ago, when she was suspended from office after pleading no contest to a charge that she misused campaign money. Hearings to fill the two seats are scheduled for Nov. 15 and Nov. 2, respectively.

Below you can see that Terry Speigner is now actively seeking the appointment for the District 24 House vacancy. An anonymous Maryland Juice reader forwarded us a copy of the email Speigner is sending to activate his supporters. Check out his action campaign below -- it also happens to include instructions on how District 24 residents can apply for the vacancy themselves:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Terry Speigner 
Date: Monday, October 29, 2012
Subject: URGENT REQUEST: I personally need your help this week
To: Terry Speigner <speigner@ngen.com>

Hello neighbors,

As you may recall, Delegate Tiffany Alston was suspended from the Legislative District 24 Maryland House of Delegates on October 9, 2012. The Maryland Constitution requires that the Central Committee submit a name to the Governor within 30 days to fill a vacancy. This could be a temporary appointment or an appointment to complete her unexpired term through December 2014.

I am writing to let you know that I am seeking the appointment of the Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee to fill the vacancy in the Legislative District 24 Maryland House of Delegates.

For many years, together we have worked to make District 24 and our County a place where our children, our seniors, schools, safety, economic prosperity and high community standards are priorities. I am running because I want to continue the great work we have done and with your support I will continue our work in Annapolis, where I along with Senator Joanne Benson and Delegates Carolyn J.B. Howard and Michael Vaughn can bring back money and resources to our communities.

The vacancy public hearing for this process will take place on Friday, November 2, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Glenarden City Hall – Goldroom. I am asking you to attend and to show your support for my candidacy.

How can you help? You can send a letter of support via email to me as soon as possible before Friday, November 2, 2012. Please address the letter to: PGCDCC| 4725 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland 20746 (Please remember to email your letter of support to me).

Ways You Can Help District 24 and Terry Speigner:

1.       Write a letter of support for me. What do you put in a letter of support?

·         I know Terry through his involvement with….

·         Terry will serve us well because….

·         He is committed to his community…..

2.       Please attend the hearing on Friday, November 2^nd @ 7pm to testify for me or to just show your support.

In closing, I know some people are wondering if I can serve as the simultaneously as the Chairman of the Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee and in the House of Delegates. The simple answer is yes I can do both.

Please see the information below on the public hearing for the vacancy appointment hearing.

Please call me should you have any questions at 202.550.2782. I thank you in advance for your support.

Best Regards,   Terry L. Speigner 9907 Rosa Vista Court | Mitchellville, MD 20721
202.550.2782 – Cell

Contact: Terry Speigner, Chairman Phone: (202) 550-2782

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

24^th District House of Delegates Vacancy appointment PUBLIC hearing

Suitland, MD, October 21, 2012:  The Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee (PGCDCC) will hold a hearing on Friday, November 2, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. for the purpose of filling a vacancy in the Maryland House of Delegates for Legislative District 24. The hearing will be held at the City of Glenarden Municipal Center – Goldroom, 8600 Glenarden Parkway, Glenarden, MD 20706.

Legislative District 24 residents interested in being considered for appointment to this vacancy must follow the instructions below:

1. Submit a letter of interest and resume to the PGCDCC no later than Wednesday, October 31, 2012 by 11:59 p.m. (letters received after this date and time will not be accepted)
2. Include a copy of your voter registration card. Only registered Democrats will be considered for the vacancy.
3. Include evidence that you currently live in Legislative District 24 (copy of utility bill and one of the following; copy of apartment lease or copy of property tax bill or record)
4. Bring 24 copies of your complete package to the hearing on November 2, 2012 (one copy for each PGCDCC member)

Please email, fax or mail your complete package as follows:

• Via email to: Nora E. Carmichael (nec872@aol.com); Alonzo T. Washington (atwashington@gmail.com) and Terry L. Speigner (terry@ngen.com) – Send email to all three.
•  Via mail delivery: PGCDCC | 4725 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland 20746
•  Via fax: 301-531-9722

-End-

Best Regards,   Terry L. Speigner Chairman | Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee 4725 Silver Hill Road Suitland, Maryland 20746 202-550-2782 - Cell http://www.pgdems.com terry@ngen.com