MoCo JuiceBlender: County Officials Push Gun Control, Robin Ficker Defeats MoCo Speed Camera, Towson's Bethesda Crush?

UPDATE: County Exec Ike Leggett's office has provided a clarification about the impact of Robin Ficker's court victory over a MoCo speed camera. They note that the Judge's decision in the case "does not establish a precedent that will be binding in other cases presented in court, and the decision in this case does not require a modification of Department policy.  The Department will not be reviewing other cases in which citations were issued by this speed camera."

On another note, gun control activists have created a new organization in Maryland called, Marylanders Against Gun Violence. Their mission states, "MDAGV is a grassroots organization advocating for sensible gun control legislation in the Maryland General Assembly and in Congress." You can find them on Facebook for more information. Additionally, given the surge in interest in gun control from Montgomery County residents, you can watch Ike Leggett discuss Maryland's gun control efforts in a recent News Channel 8 interview:

JUICE #1: MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICIALS PUSHING FOR GUN CONTROL IN MARYLAND - With the recent surge in support for gun control measures, Montgomery County politicians are moving quickly to take advantage of the moment. The latest email newsletter from MoCo Council President Nancy Navarro announced a few efforts from MoCo officials relating to gun control efforts (excerpt below):

Council works with Board of Education to accelerate placing new security measures in all county schools: Four years ago, the Council provided funding for MCPS to install access control systems, camera systems, and visitor management systems in County schools.... On Monday, January 7th, Council Education Committee Chair Valerie Ervin and myself sent a letter to Board of Education President Chris Barclay asking MCPS to speed up implementation of new these security measures at schools across the county. The next day, the Board of Education voted to act on our recommendation, and requested that we release about $365,000 earlier than planned so that they can finish installing these systems by the end of the school year....

Message to state and federal lawmakers: we need better gun control laws: On Tuesday, January 22nd, the Council passed a resolution to send a clear message to our representatives in the state legislature and in Congress that Montgomery County wants action on gun control. The resolution calls for the Governor and state legislature to consider and implement the recently released recommendations of the Maryland Task Force to Study Access of Individuals with Mental Illness to Regulated Firearms, and for state and federal officials to take a number of other common sense steps to reduce the number of dangerous guns in the hands of criminals or mentally ill individuals who may harm themselves or others....

ATTORNEY GENERAL 2014: Sen. Brian Frosh & Del. Jon Cardin Speak Out on MD Death Penalty // PLUS: Speed Camera Tango

Many issues of interest to a potential Attorney General are already being hotly debated at the start of the 2013 legislative session. Most observers, for example, can sense that gun control and the death penalty will be among the more emotional issues discussed by Annapolis lawmakers this year. But with only two more legislative sessions and a scant 18 months until the June 2014 Democratic Primary for Attorney General, would-be candidates are beginning to jockey on the issues. Below Maryland Juice highlights comments from two Democrats who are actively and publicly exploring bids for the AG office: State Senator Brian Frosh and Delegate Jon Cardin

O'MALLEY CONFIRMS DEATH PENALTY REPEAL IS WITHIN TWO VOTES: Governor Martin O'Malley confirmed to the Daily Record today that death penalty opponents are within two votes of securing enough support for repeal in the State Senate (excerpt below):

DAILY RECORD: Gov. Martin O’Malley says he’s confident the state Senate is within two votes of supporting a repeal of capital punishment in Maryland.

Meanwhile, national groups, such as Color of Change (an African American grassroots action group)  are now getting involved in the issue and sending out action alerts. Given the sudden legislative movement for death penalty repeal, Maryland Juice decided to conduct quick email interviews with both Cardin and Frosh. The death penalty is an interesting topic to help voters understand candidates, since the practice is intertwined with Maryland's law enforcement officials. Accordingly, we asked both interviewees for the Attorney General job whether they would be supporting death penalty repeal, and how they saw the role of the AG's office with respect to state executions. See their responses below:

MARYLAND JUICE EMAIL INTERVIEWS WITH

2014 ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATES:

SEN. BRIAN FROSH   &  DEL. JON CARDIN

MARYLAND JUICE:  Can you please tell readers whether you are supporting death penalty repeal in 2013? What do you think the AG's role is/should be on this issue?

SEN. BRIAN FROSH: I support repeal of the death penalty, as I have for many years.  I will, again, be a cosponsor of the bill. The office of the Attorney General is a bully pulpit from which past Attorneys General, like Joe Curran, have advocated repeal.  But it is up to the General Assembly to make policy.  I hope that repeal can be accomplished before the 2014 election and that the issue will be academic after that.

DEL. JON CARDIN: I have supported abolishing the death penalty in Maryland in the past. In short, it bankrupts our judicial system, disproportionately affects African Americans, and does little to deter crime. While I acknowledge the moral argument for retribution, I believe government has a higher duty to fairness and equal protection under the law for all citizens.

Nevertheless, the Attorney General takes an oath to uphold the laws of the state of Maryland. Furthermore, the Attorney General is responsible for prosecuting all death penalty appeals, so as long as the death penalty is on the books, as the Attorney General, I would execute the office to the best of my ability and vigorously prosecute all death penalty appeals. Interestingly, in upholding the law, the Attorney General should use all its resources to keep Marylanders safe, and protected. Therefore, from policy, fiscal and pragmatic perspectives, the death penalty may detract from that goal.

The Attorney General is responsible for advising the General Assembly and the Governor on the best course of action regarding all legal matters. As the chief legal officer of the state, the Attorney General has a vested interest in a policy that is cost-effective and has the greatest chance of protecting every person in the state. Abolishing the death penalty frees up millions of taxpayer dollars to devote to better transparency, fairness and protection from threats of all kinds, including violent crime.

CARDIN & FROSH TANGO ON HOT-BUTTON ISSUES // SPEED CAMERAS ON THEIR RADAR: It appears that both Senator Frosh and Delegate Cardin agree that Maryland should repeal the death penalty this year. But that's not the only issue they agree on. Maryland Juice just noticed that both Frosh and Cardin are promoting laws to reign in abuses by speed camera manufacturers. State and local governments have been ramping up photo tickets during the recession, and numerous Marylanders have become irate at persistent news coverage indicating that camera manufacturers are reaping massive windfalls from false or erroroneous tickets. Check out the pair of dueling press reports below from WJLA and CBS News:

WJLA: A portion of each $40 speed camera ticket goes back to the vendor. It varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but the distribution can be as much as 40 percent.... Driver Kim Naylor said, "I think it's a kickback. I think it's not good...and they shouldn't do it. That's how I feel about it." In fact, Maryland State Senator Brian Frosh says lawmakers never wanted the camera companies to get a per ticket bounty. But somehow cities are using a supposed loophole, and Frosh wants it to stop....

Ij response to the issue, Frosh is trying to prohibit speed camera manufacturers from receiving a commission for every ticket they issue a driver. Not to be outdone, here comes Delegate Jon Cardin on the same issue, but his proposal is to issue fines to camera manufacturers who issue erroneous tickets:

CBS NEWS: A state lawmaker proposes punishing speed camera companies for the giving out of bogus tickets after reports of camera glitches at a handful of Baltimore City cameras.

In response to complaints about speed camera accuracy, [Del. Jon Cardin] proposes each county be required to audit their speed camera system for errors, holding contractors accountable. He says each inaccurate ticket should result in a $1,000 fine.

Maryland Juice will try and keep tabs on other issue developments in the 2014 Attorney General Race. But up next, we will soon be releasing commentary from the field of candidates for 2014 Governor about the death penalty. More soon!

WARNING: Beltway Speed Cameras Begin Ticketing TODAY // Why That Stinks

UPDATE: We just noticed that it appears College Park is (not so ironically) using its speed camera revenues to install surveillance cameras in the city! At least we know our officials are clever -- they can leverage one "big brother" project for another. Will College Park end up like London?

Editor's Note: Former Del. Saqib Ali writes in the comments, "I introduced a bill entitled the 'Speed Camera Fairness Act' a few years ago that would remove the conflict of interest that I considered inherent in Montgomery County Police Department's contract. However, the bill garnered very little traction." I notice that the bill's Senate Sponsor, Mike Lenett, is also no longer in office. Hopefully, that doesn't end the chances for accountability with our speed camera practices.

WARNING TO AREA DRIVERS: Starting today, Maryland will begin photo enforcement on the Beltway. Fox 5 reported yesterday (the last day warning tickets were being issued):

We found one of the mobile, car-mounted cameras on the outer loop near New Hampshire Avenue flashing away on this last day drivers are getting just warnings - not the 40 dollar fine.

The new beltway speed cameras are only in construction zones. One is where a bridge deck rebuilding project has started over the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River. The second beltway construction zone is a five mile repaving project on the inner loop through Prince George's county.