JUICE: Gubernatorial Candidates Trade Barbs, Apply for Ervin Seat by 1/8, MoCo Council Candidates, D18, D15, D12, D11 News

Below Maryland Juice provides a few new items that may be of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: MARYLAND GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES TRADE BARBS AT MOCO FORUM - Yesterday Maryland Juice attended the annual "Committee for Montgomery" breakfast, a nonpartisan event attended by numerous business, political and nonprofit leaders in Montgomery County. But the draw for the breakfast gathering was a forum featuring practically all of Maryland's gubernatorial candidates (Democratic & Republican) on stage at the same time. Below we highlight a few interesting statements and thinly veiled attacks from the candidates for Maryland's highest office:

L-R: Moderator Brad Bell, Anthony Brown, Heather Mizeur, Charles Lollar, David Craig, Doug Gansler, Ron George

MoCo County Executive Ike Leggett spoke moments before the gubernatorial candidates took the stage and implored once again for the contenders to help Montgomery County win increased school construction funding in the 2014 legislative session. Calling Montgomery County the economic engine of the state, he also urged the state leaders to help MoCo fund its transportation infrastructure needs. Here's what the candidates had to say about these and other matters:

DOUG GANSLER: Attorney General Doug Gansler may have provided the most notable commentary with a series of not-so-subtle criticisms of the O'Malley-Brown administration. In his opening statement, Gansler noted that this was not his inaugural appearance at the Committee for Montgomery breakfast, and that he didn't just start attending once he started running for office. In responding to Anthony Brown's commentary about Maryland's #1 school system, Gansler stated that the "the books are a little cooked." On Maryland's Obamacare roll-out, Gansler suggested that the state should've put someone in charge that had experience and knew what they were doing. On the state's recent shift of pension costs to counties, Gansler said the O'Malley-Brown administration "shifted the burden to local government and said you figure it out." He also argued that Maryland has an unsustainable situation where we just tax people and that we need to fix our transportation, not just talk about it. He specifically mentioned the Purple Line, Corridor Cities Transitway and the Rapid Transit System.

HEATHER MIZEUR: Delegate Heather Mizeur stayed on the progressive issue track during much of the forum and noted that issues like marijuana reform would not be discussed during the gubernatorial campaign if she wasn't running. She also noted that she fought Annapolis leaders on the pension shift.

ANTHONY BROWN: Lt. Governor Anthony Brown started off by answering Ike Leggett's call for more MoCo school construction dollars and pledged to work in Annapolis this session to make it happen. He also defended the pension shift and stated that the O'Malley-Brown administration made the tough decisions to keep the pensions sustainable.

RON GEORGE: Delegate Ron George, a Republican candidate for Governor, had perhaps the most unusual remarks during the candidates forum. In response to discussion about the educational achievement gap in Montgomery County and surging enrollment from the children of immigrants, George talked about charter schools and suggested that we should temporarily take the immigrant children out of the public schools and put them in a separate school until they are proficient enough to re-join the general population.

DAVID CRAIG: Harford County Executive David Craig (a Republican candidate) stated support for the Purple Line from Bethesda to Silver Spring.

CHARLES LOLLAR: Charles Lollar (a Republican candidate), gave a particularly animated performance at the forum and criticized the fact that Montgomery County sends more tax dollars to Annapolis than it receives back.

JUICE #2: DETAILS ON THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR VALERIE ERVIN'S DISTRICT 5 MOCO COUNCIL SEAT - Maryland Juice just received the following press release from MoCo Council President Craig Rice detailing the application process for the District 5 Council seat being vacated by Valerie Ervin. Note the January 8th application deadline in the press release below:

PRESS RELEASE

Council President Craig Rice Outlines Process to Fill Montgomery District 5 Vacancy

Application Deadline is Jan. 8, 2014

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 17, 2013—Montgomery County Council President Craig Rice today outlined the process to appoint a new Councilmember for District 5. On Dec. 10 Councilmember Valerie Ervin announced that she will resign from the Council on Jan. 3, 2014 to become executive director of the Center for Working Families.

As provided in Sections 102 and 106 of the County Charter, the Council intends to appoint a new Councilmember for District 5 by Jan. 31, 2014 to complete Councilmember Ervin’s unexpired term, which ends on Dec. 1, 2014. The new Councilmember must reside in District 5 and be registered to vote in the same political party as Councilmember Ervin (Democrat).

The Council intends to select a person who has shown a clear understanding of the issues that are important to residents of District 5.  To assure a level playing field for all persons interested in seeking election to the next full term from District 5, the Council expects to appoint a person who does not plan to run for election to that term.

Applicants should submit letters of interest with a resume to Council President Craig Rice, Montgomery County Council, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850 by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014.  Applications can also be submitted via email to: county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Each applicant must be a registered voter in Montgomery County, registered to vote as a Democrat, and, at the time of appointment, a resident of Council District 5.  Each resume submitted should include the applicant’s professional and civic experience, political party affiliation, home and office telephone numbers, and home and email addresses.

Each application letter, recommendation letter, and resume submitted as part of the appointment process will be made available to the public.  Each applicant must submit a confidential County financial disclosure statement for Council review. (The form will be transmitted to each applicant for completion.)  Only the financial disclosure statement of the ultimate appointee will be made available to the public.

The Council will decide which applicants to interview.  Interviews will be scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 17 at the Council Office Building.  Additional interviews, if necessary, will be scheduled for 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22, and Friday, Jan. 24.

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Maryland Juice will soon publish a list of some of the names we have been hearing may be interested in the District 5 interim appointment.


JUICE #3: UPDATE ON POSSIBLE CANDIDATES FOR PHIL ANDREWS' MOCO COUNCIL DISTRICT 3 SEAT - Councilmember Phil Andrews is the other MoCo official vacating a seat in 2014, and after bumping into people at holiday parties over the weekend, Maryland Juice has an updated list of potential candidates for the June 2014 Democratic Primary:

• Activist Guled Kassim
• Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney Katz
• Gaithersburg Councilmember Ryan Spiegel
• Rockville Councilmember Tom Moore

There is at least one more potential candidate, but they did not respond to our inquiries before publication.


JUICE #4: D18 UPDATE // DELEGATE ANA SOL GUTIERREZ FILES FOR RE-ELECTION - Many MoCo politicos had been speculating that D18 Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez might retire at the end of her current term. But she posted the following message on Facebook last night indicating she has filed for re-election:

Indeed, according to the Board of Elections website, all of the District 18 incumbents have now filed for re-election (Sen. Rich Madaleno and Delegates Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutierrez and Jeff Waldstreicher):

JUICE #5: UPDATE ON DISTRICT 15 DELEGATE CANDIDATES // REP. JOHN DELANEY'S AIDE KEVIN MACK IS OUT - David Fraser-Hidalgo was recently appointed to the District 15 House of Delegates seat vacated by Brian Feldman, and many have been wondering who might run for the D15 seat in the June 2014 Primary. Sources indicate that Congressman John Delaney's aide Kevin Mack has decided not to run for the D15 Delegate seat. But sources indicate Democratic activist Hamza Khan, who previously applied for the D15 appointment, is now weighing a run for the Delegate seat in 2014. Lastly, progressive attorney Bennett Rushkoff is waging a liberal campaign for the D15 seat. I ran into Rushkoff this weekend, and I overheard him describe his platform to someone as one focused on schools and the educational achievement gap, stopping fracking and promoting wind power, and creating a "public option" for Maryland's health care system.


JUICE #6: SHELLY HETTLEMAN (AIDE TO SENATOR BEN CARDIN) ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN FOR D11 HOUSE OF DELEGATES - Maryland Juice received the following press release from Shelly Hettleman announcing a campaign for the District 11 House of Delegates seat being vacated by Attorney General candidate Jon Cardin (excerpt below):

PRESS RELEASE

Shelly Hettleman announces run for 11th District House of Delegates at Campaign Kick-Off
On Sunday, December 15, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin will introduce his former Campaign Director, Shelly Hettleman, as she announces her candidacy to represent the 11th District in the House of Delegates.  “A woman with Shelly’s character and commitment to public service will represent our community well in Annapolis,” said Senator Cardin.  There is an open seat in the 11th District as Del. Jon Cardin has declared a run for Attorney General.

Ms. Hettleman is committed to public service.  She has worked in numerous community programs, including advocacy groups for parents and abused women. She served as Sen. Cardin’s Campaign Director and as one of the leaders of the 2012 Maryland Democratic Coordinated Campaign, she co-led the re-election campaign of the entire Maryland Democratic congressional delegation.

Shelly has the skills, work ethic, and vision to be an effective legislator. “It’s not about flashy promises,” Ms. Hettleman says, “To get things done, it takes hard work and being in close touch with the needs of children, families and seniors.”

At the Kick-Off, Ms. Hettleman will spell out some of her legislative priorities, among them: better public schools and early childhood education, more and better jobs, a fuller range of services for seniors, protecting the environment, and a series of steps to ensure robust citizen and neighborhood involvement in her work as a Delegate.

“It will be an honor to represent the people of the 11th District, and I will work tirelessly to earn their trust.”   

If elected, Ms. Hettleman would be the first woman to represent the 11th in nearly 30 years....

A graduate of Pikesville High School, Shelly Hettleman and her husband Jeff raised their son and daughter in the Dumbarton community.  In addition to her work with Senator Ben Cardin, she helped found CHANA, an aid network for abused women in the Baltimore region and Parent Action, a grassroots organization dedicated to strengthening early childhood education and family friendly workplaces.

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JUICE #7: RETIRING DISTRICT 12 DELEGATE STEVE DEBOY WEIGHING UN-RETIREMENT? - A few months ago, all three District 12 Delegates announced they would be retiring from office. As a result, several candidates have announced for the D12 race. The district was dramatically altered in the last round of redistricting, so that the more liberal voters in Columbia, MD and Howard County are disproportionately represented in the new D12. But Center Maryland's Josh Kurtz recently reported that one of the retiring Delegates Steve Deboy may be rethinking his retirement decision:

JOSH KURTZ (VIA CENTER MARYLAND): Word on the street in Annapolis is that Baltimore County Del. Steve DeBoy (D) is reconsidering his decision to retire.

DeBoy, the thinking goes, is less than thrilled with the lineup of liberals that has formed to replace him. What’s more, as he ponders a race for Baltimore County sheriff – in 2018, when veteran Sheriff Jay Fisher (D) is expected to retire – he is wondering whether he’ll be in a stronger position to run as an officeholder rather than someone who has been out of the public eye for four years, even with his 32 years of law enforcement experience.

DeBoy did not respond to phone messages and an email left at his Annapolis and district offices. But when he announced his plans not to seek reelection in 2014, just days after the end of this year’s General Assembly session, he made it clear that redistricting was a factor in his decision....

In our previous round-ups of contentious roll call votes, we noted that Delegate Steve Deboy voted against Maryland's recent Dream Act, marriage equality, death penalty repeal, gun control, gas tax, and immigrant drivers licenses bills. The only hot-button liberal issues he seems to have supported recently are medical marijuana and stopping the Lockheed Martin corporate welfare handout.

JUICE: Sen. Robey, Del. Deboy & Del. Malone Retiring (Zirkin Too?) // PLUS: Don Dwyer Raffles AK-47 & 2014 AG Forum

Below Maryland Juice presents a round-up of recent tidbits relating to the 2014 election cycle, including several retirement announcements that promise to re-align politics in the Howard County area:

JUICE #1: DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR JIM ROBEY NOT RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION - District 13 State Senator Jim Robey has announced he will not be running for re-election in 2014. The Baltimore Sun's Blair Ames reported on the development (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: The end of the 2014 General Assembly session in Annapolis will mark the end of 48 years in public service for Howard County Sen. Jim Robey. Robey, an Elkridge Democrat, confirmed Tuesday, April 16, that he will retire next year after eight years in the Maryland Senate.... "I just feel it's time to step aside and let someone else step in."

Robey, 72, has served in the Senate since 2007 representing District 13, which covers much of southern Howard County. He previously served two terms as Howard County Executive from 1998 to 2006.... Robey said he "thoroughly enjoyed" his time in Annapolis, but acknowledged the legislature has made some tough decisions over the past two years....

Maryland Juice first caught wind of Sen. Robey's retirement when a reader pointed us in the direction of the following remark on Howard County Executive Ken Ulman's Facebook page:

KEN ULMAN: Senator Jim Robey is a solid public servant who does what he thinks is right on behalf of others. That's the legacy he'll leave behind. Wishing him lots of luck on his retirement! Thank you for your service to Howard County!

JUICE #2: DELEGATES STEVE DEBOY & JIM MALONE ALSO RETIRING // 3 OPEN SEATS IN MARYLAND HOUSE DISTRICT 12 - State Senator Jim Robey's retirement is piled on top of multiple retirements from politicians representing parts of Howard County. Indeed, all three House of Delegates seats in Maryland's District 12 will be vacant in 2014. Last September, Delegate Liz Bobo announced she would not seek re-election, and this week Bryan Sears from Catonsville Patch reported that the other two District 12 Delegates Steve DeBoy and Jim Malone are also not running for re-election (excerpt below):

CATONSVILLE PATCH: Dels. Steve DeBoy and Jim Malone say this term in the House of Delegates will be their last. In separate interviews, the two Democrats who represent the Catonsville and Arbutus areas said they have decided not run for a fourth and fifth term respectively....

DeBoy, who is finishing his third term, said redistricting and political changes in the House of Delegates were two factors in his decision..... Some of the issues that concerned DeBoy was the recent passage of the repeal of the death penalty and the recent gun control law....

Indeed, Steve DeBoy attributes his retirement decision to his disagreement with death penalty repeal and Maryland's new gun regulations. But Deboy's colleague James Malone was a bit more muted in his response. Shortly after the Patch article came out, Del. Malone emailed the following public announcement to his supporters:

DEL. JAMES MALONE: First and foremost, I want to thank you--my family, my friends and my supporters for your kindness and friendship over almost two decades of public service in the Maryland House of Delegates.  I feel that I have proudly served with distinction the area where I grew up, live and continue to raise my children. 

After serious and careful consideration, I have decided not to seek re-election to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2014.  As a result, I am canceling my fundraiser scheduled on May 16th, 2013.  I look forward to spending more time with my daughter Danica and my son Little Jimmy.

Over my and my family's lifetime in politics, my Dad, Mom and I have met so many wonderful people.  Thank you for sharing with me your time, your stories, your support and your friendship.

I look forward to continuing to serve the rest of my term and promise to always be a positive influence in our community,

May God Bless each and every one of you!

James E. Malone, Jr.
Delegate, District 12A 
Baltimore & Howard counties 

REASONS FOR THE RETIREMENT: Maryland Juice contacted some Annapolis sources for reaction to the news, and the consensus seems to be that District 12 is likely to elect three progressive Democrats to the House of Delegates in 2014. But one source explained some of the backstory to the retirements:

ANONYMOUS SOURCE: I can't tell you how bizarre this is. DeBoy and Malone were redistricted into a more Democratic district to give them easy elections and keep them around. But they were so used to voting conservative that they literally couldn't become liberal enough for their new districts.

Redistricting was designed to help these two, but they couldn't have it both ways. They couldn't have both the easy elections they wanted, AND vote the conservative way they wanted to. They voted their old districts perfectly but couldn't seem to make the transition to their new district. Well, that likely means two more progressive Dems from the Columbia-area.

Indeed Delegates DeBoy and Malone are both Democrats but over time have built relatively conservative voting records for Maryland Democrats. Notably, their current district includes parts of Baltimore and Howard counties, but starting in the 2014 election cycle their two seats will be merged with the far more liberal District 12B to create a new three-member House of Delegates District 12. Most importantly, the new D12 is projected to be dominated by the liberal Democrats in Columbia, Maryland. A second anonymous source remarked to Maryland Juice: "I think they saw the writing on the wall."

CONSERVATIVE VOTING RECORDS ENDANGER INCUMBENT DEMOCRATS: The writing on the wall in this instance was that DeBoy and Malone's voting records were clearly out-of-step with the new District 12. Delegate Steve DeBoy voted against the Dream Act, marriage equality, death penalty repeal, the gas tax, gun regulations, and drivers licenses for undocumented residents. Similarly, Delegate James Malone voted against the Dream Act, death penalty repeal, gun regulations, and the gas tax.

Given these voting records, the potential challenges facing DeBoy and Malone were becoming more real every day. After all, when Del. Bobo announced her retirement last September, almost a dozen candidates' names emerged as possible challengers for the single open District 12 seat. And in recent weeks, one 2014 candidate even began making an issue out of the incumbents' votes on death penalty repeal. Even still, the two conservative Democrats did themselves no favor with their new voters by continuing to vote against progressive issues in the face of these challengers. The race is now on to see what becomes of the new District 12, but one thing is certain: we are likely to see a stampede of HoCo Democrats running for the three open seats in 2014!


JUICE #3: IS STATE SENATOR BOBBY ZIRKIN CONSIDERING RETIRING? - Take the following bit of juice with a grain or two of salt, but several Maryland Juice sources are indicating that State Senator Bobby Zirkin is also weighing a potential retirement in 2014. I'll believe it when I see it, but a few sources swear that the District 11 Democrat sounds like he's serious. To be sure, Zirkin is fairly young for someone rumored to be weighing retirement, but after two terms in the House and two terms in the Senate, he will have been in office for 16 years when his current term ends.

If Zirkin does retire, there could be some interesting dynamics in the race for his seat. District 11 is currently represented by three Democratic members in the House of Delegates: Jon Cardin, Dan Morhaim and Dana Stein. An open Senate seat could provide Delegate Cardin a fall-back plan for his 2014 Attorney General run -- but sources seem to think that is an unlikely path for Cardin. Maryland Juice will be keeping an eye on a possible Zirkin retirement!


JUICE #4: TEA PARTY DELEGATE DON DWYER RAFFLING AK-47 AND AR-15 RIFLES FOR 2014 FUNDRAISER - Tea Party Delegate Don Dwyer faces a difficult re-election in 2014. First, redistricting drew him into an inhospitable new district, and then he was involved in a drunk boating accident that left several children injured. At last check Dwyer was embarking on a quixotic bid to switch parties and try and retain his seat as a Democrat. But Dwyer's latest move might be his strangest stunt yet.

To fundraise for the 2014 cycle, Dwyer is now raffling the now notorious AK-47 and AR-15 rifles that were recently banned in Maryland. He is hosting the event before the state's new gun regulations take effect, so for $10 Dwyer's supporters have a chance to take him assault weapons. ABC News reported on the development (excerpt below):

ABC NEWS: Maryland Delegate Don Dwyer has announced a fundraising event in support of guns rights and his re-election campaign. As part of the event he is selling raffle tickets for an AR-15 and AK-47. Tickets for the assault riffles are available for $10 and can even be purchased online.

 Check out the following screencap from Don Dwyer's fundraising website:

JUICE #5: BALTIMORE'S BEST DEMOCRATIC CLUB HOSTS 2014 ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDIDATES FORUM - Baltimore's "B.E.S.T. Democratic Club is hosting a forum with candidates for 2014 Attorney General on June 6, 2013. See the event announcement below:

BEST DEMOCRATIC CLUB: We hope to see everyone at the next general meeting which will be June 6, 2013 from 6:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M. The location is 4709 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214. The theme for this meeting is “The Attorney General Round Table” where we have invited all those that are running for the Maryland Attorney General seat to have a discussion with Baltimore.

Invited Guest

Delegate Aisha Braveboy
Delegate Jon Cardin - Confirmed
Delegate Bill Frick - Confirmed
Senator Brian Frosh

MORE ON THE 2014 BATTLE SOON!

Maryland House Approves Transportation Funding Plan 76-63 // ROLL CALL: Analysis of How Lawmakers Voted on the Gas Tax

Maryland Juice recently highlighted the state's efforts to raise critical transportation funds to help maintain highways & bridges and build new transit lines (eg: the MoCo/PG Purple Line and Baltimore Red Line). Our sources were indicating that the vote on Maryland's $3.4 billion infrastructure funding bill was going to be very close, since the primary vehicle for raising funds was a proposed gas tax increase. But on Friday afternoon, the House of Delegates did indeed approve the historic transportation funding package in a fairly close 76-63 vote.

22 DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MEMBERS JOINED MARYLAND GOP IN OPPOSING O'MALLEY'S TRANSPORTATION FUNDING PLAN - The Washington Post's  John Wagner printed the full roll call for the vote, but below we analyze the details a bit and highlight the unusual votes. First, it should be noted that every single Republican Delegate voted against Governor O'Malley's revenue plan. Meanwhile, 22 Democrats joined 41 Republicans in opposing transportation funding.

Democratic opposition to Gov. Martin O'Malley's transportation funding plan came mostly from ideologically conservative Dems in the House of Delegates (details below). While some of the members surely have alternate explanations for their votes against the gas tax hike, it is worth noting that of the 22 Democratic House "no" votes, all but four members also cast votes against either the Dream Act, marriage equality or death penalty repeal:

HOUSE DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED AGAINST MD TRANSPORTATION FUNDING PLAN:

1. Pamela Beidle (Anne Arundel) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
2. Aisha Braveboy (Prince George’s) - also voted against marriage equality
3. Eric Bromwell (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
4. Emmett Burns (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act & marriage equality
5. Rudolph Cane (Wicomico) - also voted against marriage equality
6. Frank Conaway (Baltimore)
7. Norman Conway (Wicomico) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
8. Steven DeBoy (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
9. Barbara Frush (Prince George’s)
10. Mary-Dulany James (Harford) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
11. Kevin Kelly (Allegany) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
12. Stephen Lafferty (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act
13. James Malone (Baltimore) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
14. Joseph Minnick (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
15. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam (Baltimore County)
16. John Olszewski (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
17. David Rudolph (Cecil) - also voted against Dream Act & death penalty repeal
18. Luiz Simmons (Montgomery)
19. Theodore Sophocleus (Anne Arundel) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
20. Geraldine Valentino-Smith (Prince George’s) - also voted against marriage equality
21. Michael Weir (Baltimore County) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal
22. John Wood (St. Mary’s) - also voted against Dream Act, marriage equality & death penalty repeal

DEL. LUIZ SIMMONS CAST THE LONE "NO" VOTE FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY - Meanwhile, in liberal Montgomery County, 23 out of 24 Delegates cast votes in favor of the transportation plan. Only Democratic Delegate Luiz Simmons cast a vote against the gas tax (Note: he previously served in the legislature as a Republican). Simmons represents House District 17, alongside Sen. Jennie Forehand and Delegates Kumar Barve & Jim Gilchrest. But while Simmons voted against the transportation funding plan, his colleagues Barve & Gilchrest voted for the bill. Maryland-based political consultant David Goodman responded to Luiz Simmons' gas tax "no" vote with the following remark on Twitter:

Indeed, Maryland Juice has been hearing buzz about a potential 2014 run for State Senate by District 17 Delegate Luiz Simmons. The seat is currently held by fellow Democrat, State Senator Jennie Forehand.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC "NO" VOTES IN THE MARYLAND HOUSE - Three Prince George's Democrats voted against the revenue package: Delegates Aisha Braveboy, Barbara Frush, and Geraldine Valentino-Smith. Del. Braveboy represents District 25 in a 3-member House District with Dereck Davis and Melony Griffith. But Braveboy parted ways with her D25 colleagues in voting "no" on the transportation plan. It is worth noting that she's also a potential candidate for Attorney General in 2014.

Meanwhile, the Delegates representing District 12 continued to demonstrate ideological differences. House District 12 is currently represented by three Maryland Democrats: retiring Delegate Liz Bobo in subdistrict 12B and Delegates Steve Deboy and Jim Malone in subdistricct 12A. But even those these three Delegates are all Democrats, Deboy and Malone persistently join the Republicans on close votes -- even though their new 2014 district will include liberal Columbia, Maryland and scores of new progressive voters. Naturally, Bobo voted for the transportation funds, while Deboy and Malone voted against the infrastructure money. Some of their 2014 Democratic Primary competitors have taken notice of these political dynamics.

Here are a few more instances of Democrats in the House disagreeing with their legislative district colleagues:

MARYLAND GOP HEADS TO SOUTH CAROLINA DURING GAS TAX DEBATE - Amusingly, while the House of Delegates held a close vote on a Maryland gas tax hike, the Maryland Republican Party was holding press events in South Carolina. The Baltimore Sun's Erin Cox noted that the Maryland GOP's Executive Director David Ferguson drove his truck to Charleston, South Carolina for the weekend (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: Gov. Martin O'Malley took the stage Saturday at a high school in this early presidential primary state, telling an auditorium of South Carolina Democrats that his principles worked in Maryland — and they'd work elsewhere....

The Maryland Republican Party's executive director took issue with the achievements O'Malley cited. David Ferguson drove his truck down to Charleston to stage an event outside the West Ashley High School where O'Malley spoke....

MORE ON THE MD TRANSPORTATION DEBATE SOON!

2014 RUMBLE: Anthony Brown Attacks Doug Gansler on Death Penalty // PLUS: HoCo Candidate Highlights Incumbents' Votes

The 2014 campaign season is just beginning to develop, right as the current Maryland legislative session is beginning to wind down. But already we are seeing signs of the battle royale ahead. In the last few hours, Maryland Juice has received two interesting email blasts from candidates in the upcoming Democratic primaries. Both candidates are contrasting themselves with their opponents by highlighting their own opposition to the death penalty:

EMAIL BLAST #1: ANTHONY BROWN ATTACKS DOUG GANSLER FOR SUPPORTING DEATH PENALTY - This morning Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown launched an email blast highlighting an an op. ed. he recently published in support of death penalty repeal in Maryland. But Brown's message also slammed rival gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Doug Gansler for his continued support of taxpayer funded executions (excerpt below):

ANTHONY BROWN: Last week the Maryland Legislature passed legislation abolishing the death penalty. I believe the time has come to repeal the death penalty because it is racially biased, demonstrably unreliable, and not an effective deterrent....

Supporters of the death penalty often rely on false or incomplete information to make their case. Attorney General Doug Gansler is a supporter of the death penalty and he recently attempted to argue that the death penalty was administered in a "fair" and "race neutral" manner. Regrettably, the facts show that the death penalty is anything but fair and race neutral...

Attorney General Gansler suggests that the death penalty is race neutral by stating that in the majority African American jurisdictions of Prince George's County and Baltimore City, the State's Attorneys haven't "traditionally" sought the death penalty. That is simply wrong. In Prince George's County alone, they have sought the death penalty at least 11 times over the last 20 years....

Attorney General Gansler describes the threat of the death penalty as a "wonderful tool for prosecutors" to get a confession and perhaps an eventual plea bargain from a defendant. However, the reality is when presented with the choice of confessing or being sentenced to death, even an innocent person may rationally choose to "confess." The 2008 Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment – led by former U.S. Attorney General Civiletti – found that confessions alone can be unreliable....

EMAIL BLAST #2: HOCO DELEGATE CANDIDATE CLARENCE LAM HIGHLIGHTS D12 INCUMBENTS' SUPPORT FOR DEATH PENALTY - This morning, Maryland Juice also received an email blast from Howard County Democrat Clarence Lam, a candidate for District 12 House of Delegates. Notably, D12 is currently represented by retiring Delegate Liz Bobo (a progressive) and her more conservative colleagues: pro-death penalty Democratic Delegates Steve Deboy and Jim Malone.

In addition to voting against death penalty repeal, Delegate Steve Deboy also voted against the Dream Act and marriage equality, while Delegate Jim Malone also voted against the Dream Act. But D12 has been recently redistricted to increase the influence of the liberal voters in Columbia, Maryland. Clarence Lam has apparently taken note of this fact, judging by his latest email blast (excerpt below):

CLARENCE LAM: Last week, the Maryland General Assembly voted to end the use of the death penalty as a form of punishment against criminals in our state.  As a strong proponent of the repeal of the death penalty, I applaud the delegates and senators who voted to abolish this inhumane practice.  (Click here to see how your state delegate or senator voted.)  My reasons for supporting the repeal are clear and straightforward. 

As a physician, I swore an oath to “do no harm” and committed to saving the life of everyone under my care, regardless of whether the patient was a convicted felon or accused of a heinous crime.  The death penalty is fundamentally at odds with my duty to provide life-saving care to all individuals unequivocally....  For these reasons, many advocacy groups in Maryland such as the ACLU, League of Women Voters, and the NAACP have all expressed support for the repeal of the death penalty.... I’m proud to live in a state where our progressive values continue to be enacted and urge you to support our elected officials who voted in favor of repealing Maryland’s death penalty.... 

Seeing as how neither of the Delegates seeking re-election in Clarence Lam's district supported death penalty repeal, I think his message is loud and clear.


More on the battle for 2014 soon!

Maryland Finally Abolishes the Death Penalty & Joins Civilized World // Here are the Democrats Who Voted Against Repeal

Today Maryland joined the civilized world and finally abolished its use of the death penalty. Last week the State Senate voted to repeal the death penalty (roll call here), and today the House of Delegates followed suit with a 82-56 vote in support of abolition.

It's about freaking time, people.

ON LIFE VS. DEATH, A SAD PARTY LINE VOTE - The death penalty repeal vote was (sadly) a mostly party line affair, with all but two Republican House members voting against the "pro-life" position. Only two Republican Delegates maintained consistency in their "pro-life" beliefs and joined Democrats in repealing executions: Susan Aumann and Bill Frank (both Catholic Republicans). In contrast, most Democrats voted to end state murder. But 18 Democrats joined the GOP (including one Charles Barkley from MoCo) and voted to continue using taxpayer dollars to pay state employees to kill people. You can see the Democratic Hall of Shame below. I also flagged the pro-death penalty Democrats who voted against marriage equality and the Dream Act. Interesting patterns:

GOP HOUSE MEMBERS WHO VOTED PRO-LIFE:

1. Aumann, Susan - Baltimore Co.
2. Frank, William - Baltimore Co.

DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MEMBERS WHO EMBRACE VIOLENCE:

1. Barkley, Charles - Montgomery
2. Beidle, Pamela - Anne Arundel - ( also voted against Dream Act )
3. Bohanan, John - St. Mary's - ( also voted against Dream Act )
4. Bromwell, Eric - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act )
5. Conway, Norm - Wicomico - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
6. DeBoy, Steve - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
7. Donoghue, John - Washington - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
8. James, Mary-Dulany - Harford - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
9. Jameson, Sally - Charles - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
10. Kelly, Kevin - Allegany - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
11. Malone, Jim - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act )
12. Minnick, Joseph - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
13. Olszewski, John - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act )
14. Rudolph, David - Cecil - ( also voted against Dream Act )
15. Sophocleus, Theodore - Anne Arundel - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
16. Weir, Michael - Baltimore Co. - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )
17. Wilson, C. T. - Charles - ( also voted against Marriage Equality )
18. Wood, John - St. Mary's - ( also voted against Dream Act & Marriage Equality )

Erin Cox from The Baltimore Sun Tweeted the unofficial roll call (see full vote below):

GOP NOT PLANNING ON PETITIONING EXECUTION BAN TO REFERENDUM - Now the death penalty repeal measure heads to Gov. Martin O'Malley's desk to be signed into law -- and believe it or not, The Washington Times reported this week that Republicans appear unlikely to petition the ban on executions to referendum (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON TIMES: Maryland Republicans might concede the fight over the state’s death penalty, saying that they are unlikely to mount a referendum effort as the House prepares to grant final passage to a repeal....

In recent years, outnumbered Republicans in Maryland have used online petitions to send several controversial Democratic proposals to referendum, but the lawmaker who helped lead those efforts says he doesn’t see it happening for the death penalty....

Delegate Neil C. Parrott said he hasn’t completely ruled out leading a petition drive, but that a campaign would face long odds and might not do much to affect policy in a state where recent laws have already made it extremely difficult for prosecutors to pursue executions.

Maryland Juice hopes that Parrott and his crew of petitioners hold to these statements, because right now the only other person who desires a death penalty referendum is Senate President Mike Miller.

WE MUST PRESERVE THIS SHAMEFUL HISTORY - Maryland Juice thinks that we need to preserve the evidence of our state's shameful past and make a museum out of our soon-to-be-defunct execution chambers:

HEAD START: Howard County Pols Launch Campaigns for 2014 // Candidates Enter County Exec, Council & State House Races

BACKGROUND: Maryland Juice has been somewhat surprised to see a surge in recent activity from a few politicians representing Howard County. Indeed, it seems that several would-be 2014 candidates are already aggressively launching campaign operations. Below we highlight a few items that came across our desk.

KEN ULMAN'S DEPARTURE FROM TRIGGERS HOWARD COUNTY DOMINOES: First, it is worth noting the circumstances that may be driving much of the political activity. There are several reasons for the early campaigning in HoCo. First of all, term-limited HoCo Executive Ken Ulman is off running for Governor right now, making his office available to ambitious politicians in the area. Political observers expect some number of the five HoCo Councilmembers to enter the County Exec race, which is going to trigger dominoes further down the political ladder. Indeed, it already appears that the County Exec jockeying could be causing folks to eye the soon-to-be-vacated HoCo Council seats.

Last June, The Baltimore Sun's "Explore Howard" website noted that Republican State Senator Allan Kittleman was gearing up for a 2014 run for County Executive. They also noted his likely Democratic competitors (excerpt below):

EXPLORE HOWARD: Asked if there were any other Republicans interested in running for county executive, [HoCo GOP Chair Loretta] Shields said: "No one has stepped forward to say they're interested."

In addition to the many people who have encouraged him to run, Kittleman said he commissioned a poll.... The poll showed Kittleman 20 points ahead of both Del. Guy Guzzone and County Council member Courtney Watson, widely considered the two most likely Democratic candidates.

"The results of that poll show that someone who's pro-business, a fiscal conservative and supports individual freedom can win in Howard County, even with an 'R' next to their name," Kittleman said....

A couple weeks ago, HoCo Rising blogger Tom Coale highlighted the status of fundraising for key Howard County politicians:

HOCO RISING: With many thanks to our local politicians for filing early, here are some of the more interesting fundraising totals for Howard County elected officials:

Courtney Watson -- $254,410 Raised; $374,457 On Hand
Guy Guzzone -- $61,600 Raised; $227,475 On Hand
Calvin Ball -- $85,425 Raised; $190,384 On Hand
Mary Kay Sigaty -- $753 Raised; $21,120 On Hand
------------
Allan Kittleman -- $170,655 Raised; $184,194 On Hand

It is not insignificant that right now Kittleman does not have a challenger in the 2014 Republican Primary, whereas Democrats appear to be headed into a contested primary. Nevertheless, Democratic HoCo Councilmember Courtney Watson has banked almost twice as much cash as Kittleman so far.

SEN. ALLAN KITTLEMAN ON THE ISSUES: HoCo Rising also noted recently that Sen. Kittleman is now promoting a good government agenda in Annapolis, ahead of his run for County Executive. Notably, Kittleman was also named Maryland Juice's 2011 "Marylander of the Year" after he stepped forward as the only GOP State Senator to support marriage equality, during the era of the Tea Party. This year Kittleman is also co-sponsoring the non-discrimination bill against transgender residents, and he is weighing whether to support repeal of the death penalty in Maryland. This issue positioning makes sense, given that Kittleman is running for office in an increasingly liberal county. Sadly, some of Kittleman's Democratic colleagues in the state legislature seem to be less savvy about electoral math.

LOOMING STATE HOUSE BATTLES: Turning our attention to HoCo's state legislative campaigns,  much of the action is being generated by the departure of progressive Delegate Liz Bobo from her HoCo-anchored District 12 House seat. Last September, Bobo announced she would be retiring at the end of her current term. A number of area politicos are expected to wage campaigns for her seat in 2014, but Bobo's retirement is only one of the factors drawing in new challengers. After all, in the last round of state legislative redistricting, two of Howard County's State House districts were merged into an at-large 3-member district. This could create unpredictable dynamics for the D12 incumbents, given that candidates running for Bobo's open seat will now also be challenging incumbent House members Steve Deboy and Jim Malone (both Democrats from the Baltimore County part of D12).

PRIMARY DEL. STEVE DEBOY: Notably, as Sen. Allan Kittleman is noticing, Howard County has become increasingly liberal and Democratic in its voting behavior. But Democratic elected officials like Delegate Deboy still voted against both marriage equality and the Dream Act. Maryland Juice would not be surprised to see this voting record become in issue in a 2014 Democratic Primary, especially with a flood of new voters in Deboy's redrawn district. After all, politicians like Deboy (a former cop) make advocates waste gobs of effort trying to persuade them to do the right thing. What an unnecessary waste of our time.


Here are a few bits of juice about Howard County politicians lining up for the 2014 battles:

JUICE #1: HOCO COUNCILMEMBER COURTNEY WATSON HIGHLIGHTS FUNDRAISING RESULTS - As noted above, HoCo Councilmember Courtney Watson is currently the fundraising leader in the race for 2014 Executive. A couple weeks ago, she put out the following press release touting her success (note: photo added by Juice):

PRESS RELEASE

Howard County Councilmember Courtney Watson Releases Fundraising Results

Courtney Watson

Ellicott City, MD.  Howard County Councilmember Courtney Watson is filing the annual Campaign Finance Report to the Maryland Board of Elections today and will show $254,000 raised during the past year with a $374,000 bank balance.

“I am working hard to make Howard County an even better place to live and work.  We should all be proud of the progress we are making.  Our schools continue to perform at the highest level, we are providing new recreation opportunities, and have attracted our first Whole Foods to Columbia’s downtown.  I am committed to continuing this progress in Howard County”.

Watson surpassed her fundraising goal this year and said she was particularly pleased that nearly 70% of the 574 contributions were of $250 less.  Watson was elected to the Board of Education in 2002 and was twice elected to the County Council in 2006 and 2010.

###

JUICE #2: FORMER DISTRICT 9A HOUSE CANDIDATE JON WEINSTEIN LAUNCHING CAMPAIGN FOR SOMETHING - Maryland Juice was recently invited to the campaign kickoff of former District 9A House candidate Jon Weinstein. In 2010, Weinstein was one of two Democrats nominated for the D9A race, but he came in fourth place against two Republicans and a fellow Democrat. His upcoming event is titled simply, "Jon Weinstein for Howard County," and doesn't specify what he is running for:

Notably, Weinstein no longer lives in House District 9A, as redistricting placed him in the new District 9B -- currently represented by GOP Delegate Susan Krebs. Weinstein does however live in Sen. Allan Kittleman's District 9 -- and as we noted above, that is likely to be an open seat in 2014. Moreover, Weinstein also lives in Courtney Watson's HoCo Council District 1. Which office is he running for?


JUICE #3: CLARENCE LAM CAMPAIGNING FOR DISTRICT 12 HOUSE SEAT - Previous rumors indicated HoCo Councilmember Mary Kay Sigaty might run for Liz Bobo's open House seat, and if that happens, there would obviously be another open seat on the County Council. Notably, Councilmembers face a three-term limit, while State House members have no term limits.

But in the meantime, HoCo Democratic activist Clarence Lam is already up and running with an exploratory campaign for Liz Bobo (and Steve Deboy's) District 12 House seats. On his campaign website, Lam describes himself as an President of the HoCo Young Democrats and co-director of the Maryland Dem's Asian American Outreach. He has also been sending out email blasts touting his early campaign organizing (see one example below):

Dear Friends,

Thank you to all of you who have supported me over the last few weeks as I explore a run to serve as your delegate in District 12 of the Maryland General Assembly.  Our event on Monday has been an overwhelming success, with over 120 attendees, a tremendous outpouring of diversity including many new faces, and a great deal of genuine excitement and enthusiasm.  Through your generous support, our campaign has exceeded our interim fundraising goal by raising over $15,000 in just a few short weeks.  I’m proud that our efforts so far have led a prominent local blogger to conclude, “Clarence Lam’s candidacy bears watching as time goes on.”

But there’s still much work left to be done, and here are a few things you can do to help:

1) Talk to your friends and neighbors about our campaign.  If you know of others who live in West Columbia, Elkridge, Catonsville, or other key constituency groups, please make them aware that we want to hear from them.
2) Reach out to your communities and contact me with any organization’s events or meetings that you would like me to attend so that we can continue our outreach efforts.
3) Organize house parties and meet & greet receptions in order to increase the awareness and visibility of our campaign.
4) Please consider making a donation at www.clarencelam.com/donate.  While we’re off to a great start in fundraising, your continued support is needed to ensure that we can run a successful campaign.

I hope to be able to count on your support as we work together in launching this campaign for District 12!

Thanks so much to all of you, and stay tuned for upcoming announcements,

-Clarence

More on HoCo's 2014 battles soon!

Delegate Liz Bobo of Howard County to Retire // Several Columbia-Area Politicos May Seek District 12 Seat in 2014

Delegate Liz Bobo

The Baltimore Sun's Explore Howard site is reporting that longtime Delegate Liz Bobo of Howard County will not seek re-election in 2014 (excerpt below):

EXPLORE HOWARD: Columbia Democrat Liz Bobo's long political career will come to an end in 2014. Bobo, 68, a former Howard County executive now serving as a state delegate from District 12B, announced Thursday in an email to constituents that she does not plan to run for re-election when her term ends in 2014....

Currently, Bobo is the sole delegate from District 12B, which covers west Columbia and parts of Ellicott City. Halethorpe Democrats Steven DeBoy and James Malone, both of whom have expressed interest in running for re-election in 2014, currently represent District 12A, which includes parts of Elkridge, Ellicott City, Jessup, as well as parts of Baltimore County.

Maryland District 12 to Become More Progressive in 2014 // Columbia-Based District Creates New Electoral Dynamics

For those Democrats who live in State Legislative Districts 12A (currently represented by Delegates Steve DeBoy and James Malone) and 12B (currently represented by Delegate Liz Bobo), there will be a fairly significant change in the 2014 election cycle.

As you are likely aware, in the Maryland House, legislative districts have varying numbers of elected officials in them. Some voters only vote for a single member of the House of Delegates in a small district, while others may vote for up to three members in much larger districts.

District 12A is currently a two-member District, which includes parts of Baltimore and Howard counties. District 12B, on the other hand, is a Howard-based district that is dominated by the more liberal community of Columbia, Maryland.

Under the 2012 legislative district plan, all three seats in D12A and D12B are now merged into a three-member-district. Maryland Juice has heard rumors of interest from potential D12 candidates, but I couldn't figure out the impetus. Now it makes sense --  it appears as if liberal Columbia voters may make up a majority of the Democratic Primary population in the new D12 in 2014. Notably, the three Delegates currently representing D12 do not see eye to eye on every issue.

See the before and after maps below: