JuiceBlender: Controversy Over Gansler's Campaign Manager "Mudcat," MoCo Voting Rights Effort, D15 Delegate Candidates

Below Maryland Juice provides a few tidbits of news that may be of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: VIRGINIA POLITICAL OPERATIVE ACCUSES DOUG GANSLER'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER OF STEALING THE NICKNAME "MUDCAT" - Last month, The Washington Post reported that Attorney General Doug Gansler hired a new campaign manager for his gubernatorial campaign (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D), who is gearing up to announce his 2014 bid for governor next month, has hired a new campaign manager. Matthew "Mudcat" Arnold recently took over for Carrie Glenn, who has left the campaign for health-related reasons, Gansler aides said Friday.... In his LinkedIn Profile, Arnold lists his "likes" as red meat, bourbon, logic games and bar trivia. His "dislikes" include paying for parking and life without a dishwasher...

MUDCAT VS. MUDCAT: It turns out Gansler's manager, Matthew Arnold, is not the first campaign operative to use the nickname, "mudcat," and that has the "real" Mudcat (Dave Saunders) fuming. The Roanoke Times reported on the controversy today (excerpt below):

ROANOKE TIMES:  Identity theft is a big deal these days. But rarely are its victims’ nicknames appropriated, too. Which brings us to my friend Dave Saunders, who everybody knows as “Mudcat.” He was 13 when he began demanding his friends call him that. That was 51 years ago....

On Aug. 30, The Washington Post listed “Mudcat” as one of the 10 best nicknames in all of politics. Saunders was the only political operative who made the list..... But now another guy is using it — Matthew "Mudcat" Arnold, a young Democratic whippersnapper from Mississippi. Arnold’s mom was still changing his diapers when the real Mudcat was earning his chops in politics.

In August, Arnold was hired as campaign manager for Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, who’s running for that state’s governor in 2014.... He told reporters to call him "Mudcat."

This has left the real Mudcat more frustrated than an Amish electrician. When I talked to him last week, he sounded madder than a three-legged cat trying to bury turds on a frozen pond.

"What pisses me off is, I've got to deal with it," the real Mudcat told me. "Now I’m getting calls for the Maryland governor’s race.... This guy is nothing like a Mudcat. It's a very redneck nickname. And this guy isn't any kind of redneck...."

Arnold might have been better off picking a moniker he could build into his own legend. Something distinctive — like Dogslobber or Squirrelly. Or perhaps Poseur. At least that shoe may fit.

JUICE #2: MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCILMEMBERS INTRODUCE RESOLUTION CALLING FOR EXPANSION OF VOTING RIGHTS AND DC SUFFRAGE - In response to the war on voting rights by conservative politicians and the U.S. Supreme Court, the Montgomery County Council is embarking on an effort to promote 21st century voting rights in MoCo. Councilmember Nancy Navarro has introduced a resolution, co-sponsored by the entire County Council calling for a series of voting reforms (excerpt below):

1. The Council calls on Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would grant an individual right to vote to every American citizen of voting age. 

2. The Council calls on Congress to restore Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by creating a new coverage formula to determine which states and local jurisdictions should have voting changes reviewed for potential discriminatory impact. 

3. The Council calls on Congress to give residents of Washington, DC full representation and voting rights in the House of Representatives and United States Senate. 

4. The Council supports Maryland’s recent expansion of early voting and the adoption of same-day voter registration. We support placing new early voting sites at locations that are easily accessible by public transportation. 

5. The Council establishes a Right to Vote Task Force to:

a. Review all local laws and practices that may affect the right to vote;  

b. Review and recommend changes at the local level to uphold voting rights and increase voter participation;  

c. Develop plans and take action to promote early voting and same-day registration and make recommendations to the Council on any policies or actions needed to strengthen these efforts;  

d. Develop plans for a voter registration program designed to register eligible high school students and support voter education programs to increase citizenship knowledge and participation in the democratic process;  

e. Review Maryland election laws and regulations and recommend legislation that would strengthen the right to vote in Montgomery County, including whether the General Assembly should adopt automatic voter registration, allowing eligible voters to “opt-out” of the voter registration database instead of “opt-in”; and  

f. Review with the Montgomery County Board of Elections the strengths and weaknesses of our election practices and regulations after the 2014 general election. 

JUICE #3: UPDATE ON POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR A FUTURE DISTRICT 15 DELEGATE VACANCY - Maryland Juice previously published a list of potential candidates for a District 15 Delegate vacancy, in the event that Delegate Brian Feldman is selected to replace Rob Garagiola in the State Senate. We have a few updates to our running list (details below):

• Saqib Ali, former House of Delegates member
• Lori Askinazi, founder/President of L.A. Interiors (business)
• David Fraser-Hidalgo, area director for Regus (business)
• Tim Hwang, founder/CEO of FiscalNote, Inc (business)
• Hamza Khan, communications coordinator at Cont3nt.com (business)
• Kevin Mack, aide to Congressman John Delaney
• Tony Puca, senior loan officer at Meadowbrook Financial Mortgage Bankers (business)
• Venattia Vann, MCDCC Vice-Chair
• Jinhee Wilde, principal and managing partner of Wilde & Associates (business)

The changes to the list above are as follows: 1) Sources previously indicated that Kevin Mack would likely skip the MCDCC appointment process and run straight for the June 2014 Primary, but we are now hearing that Mack may seek an appointment after all, 2) Based on a source's information, we've added Tony Puca of Potomac, Maryland to the list of potential candidates, and 3) We've dropped Tim Whitehouse from the list above, as he's now indicated he has decided to run for a voting position on the MCDCC instead of Delegate (see email below):

From: Timothy Whitehouse <xxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.com>
Subject: Voting member of MCDCC
Date: September 10, 2013

Hi everyone:

I wanted to follow up with all of you about my plans for the coming election season.  After considering my various options, I have decided that I would like to seek a voting position on the MCDCC.  I think I would be a great assets to the MCDCC in their effort to build and maintain a strong party in Montgomery County.

I'll keep you all posted.

Thanks,

Tim

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Maryland Redistricting Law // Fletcher v. Lamone Decision Counts Prisoners in Home Districts

Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld Maryland's “No Representation Without Population Act,” which instructs redistricting plans to count prisoners at their home addresses, rather than where they are incarcerated (See bill sponsors: Maryland House & Maryland Senate).

The high court upheld the law in a summary disposition, meaning the Justices based their ruling on existing briefs and did not engage in oral arguments.  A negative ruling could have impacted Maryland's new redistricting plan. The Supreme Court-focused Cert Pool blog briefly explains summary disposition:

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Sen. Ben Cardin Talks Dream Act, Marriage Equality, DOMA & More // PLUS: Netroots Nation Photo Album

Maryland Juice had the opportunity to shadow U.S. Senator Ben Cardin this weekend, as he talked to various groups at the Netroots Nation conference. The annual gathering of progressive, Internet-based organizers brought together a few thousand people to share strategies and talk issues.

Sen. Cardin was there to speak on a panel titled the War on Voting Rights. MarylandReporter today carried coverage of the Senator's talk (excerpt below), which compared the Republican push to scrub voter rolls and make voting more difficult to the Jim Crow laws of the past:

MARYLAND REPORTER: “These laws are the new Jim Crow laws of our times,” said Maryland U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin on a panel about “The War on Voting” at Netroots Nation, a large conference of progressive activists. “This is really an effort to control the outcome of elections” and not protect “the integrity of our electoral system.”

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO & PHOTO COVERAGE: Below see exclusive content from Maryland Juice, including various videos of Sen. Cardin's remarks. We captured video of him talking to LGBT activists, organizers from various communities of color, and more. Senator Cardin gave surprisingly candid remarks about the political and electoral dynamics regarding DOMA, the Dream Act, marriage equality, immigration reform, racial profiling, judicial nominations and much more. See seven videos below.

Within his comments, Sen. Cardin noted that senior members of the Senate were impeding reforms that could help President Obama clear judicial nominees. He also promised to raise the Maryland marriage equality ballot effort at every campaign stop, but also stated that the chances of DOMA repeal this year looked very difficult.

See the videos of Cardin's comments below, along with a photo gallery of Maryland politicos at Netroots Nation. As always, feel free to use any of my content as you see fit, with or without attribution.

NETROOTS NATION 2012 - PHOTOS OF MARYLAND POLITICOS (full album online)

GUEST POST: Maryland Senate Fails to Expand Montgomery County SMOB Voting Rights // A Local Student's Perspective

By Benjamin Feshbach, student at Thomas S. Wootton High School

Maryland State Legislature skips bills

On Monday, the Maryland state Senate seemed to think it a good idea to spend time celebrating one page asking his girlfriend to the Prom. On Monday, the Maryland state Senate also spent time arguing over gambling regulations. And on that same Monday, the Maryland state Senate failed to pass necessary revenue bills.

On Monday, our legislature once again failed to approve a bill, known as HB701, expanding the rights of the Montgomery County Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) to include a vote on budgets and other matters. The ‘SMOB voting rights’ bill already passed the Montgomery County House and Senate delegations, the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee, the full Maryland House of Delegates, and the Maryland Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, always with wide margins. Last Friday, April 6, Senator Brian Frosh (D- District 16), made a special order on the bill to delay it until Monday.

What happened Monday?

Monday morning, I personally witnessed Senator Frosh repeating his views against the expansion of  student member voting rights. Dubbing HB701 "the eleven-year old bill" (as 6th graders can vote for the SMOB), he called expanded voting rights "undemocratic" as the SMOB represents a different number of constituents than the rest of the board members do.  Both Senator Karen Montgomery (D- District 14) and Montgomery County Senate delegation chair Jamie Raskin (D- District 20) defended the bill, with Senator Montgomery asking to "just call a vote already." Senator Roy Dyson (D- District 29), who spoke with Senator Frosh before the bill’s introduction, motioned to again special order the bill.

The debate resurfaced hours later, before a prompt special order delay by Senate Majority Leader Robert Garagiola (D- District 15). Soon afterwards, the Senate temporarily adjourned.

The new legislative session started around 5:45 with an "official citation" order to certify that a Senate page invited his girlfriend to the Prom this May. One Senator smartly remarked that rather than "solving the budget crises, we're solving two young lovers". Shortly before 7 p.m., HB701 reappeared on the Senate floor. Senator Frosh told colleagues to "put Montgomery County out of its misery and vote against  this bill."

Senators Montgomery and Raskin argued for the bill, as well as for local legislative courtesy, the principle that other legislators should respect local bills passed by a county delegation. The debate over HB701 soon turned into that of different Senators arguing over why their own local bills and pet projects were not passed. Nevertheless, Senator Frosh ended up successfully making yet another special order.

The Senate never voted on HB701.

What now?

Current Montgomery County Student Member Alan Xie quickly responded to the Senate inaction, remarking that "our countywide SGA leaders and I are extremely disappointed and outraged at the lack of transparency and representation within this process, one in which a bill that has passed all the proper legislative hurdles can still be single-handedly shut down by a dissenting minority."

Considering the outcome, Xie noted that "we are examining the possibility of having the SMOB voting rights bill reintroduced during a special session that the Governor will likely call to resolve pressing budget issues; however, it does not seem likely that we will be able to reintroduce or successfully pass the bill during such a session. Nonetheless, we will persevere, and whether it is this year or the next, we hope to finally pass this much-needed piece of legislation”.

Student leaders were not alone in voicing outrage at the legislative failure. Commenting on the campaign for voting rights, Senator Jamie Raskin said, "student activists came closer than ever to victory in this Session and it took a series of parliamentary obstructions and evasions to kill the bill...The good news is that we have a strong pro-SMOB majority on the Montgomery County delegation. So we live to fight another day. I salute the students who came to testify and fight for their rights in Annapolis!" .

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has so far declined to call a special legislative session to solve the state’s looming budget issue, but many speculate O'Malley may still call the session.

When a minority of Senators oppose a bill, the democratic thing to do is to at least allow that bill to come to a vote, because that's what democracy is all about - not using legislative power to delay, defer, and purposely procrastinate.

*disclaimer-these remarks do not necessarily represent the opinions of any student groups, MCPS, or any organization of any type

Sen. Brian Frosh Unilaterally Kills Youth Empowerment Bill // Majority of Colleagues Backed School Board Voting Rights

BACKGROUND - Over the last few weeks, Maryland Juice wrote about legislative progress to expand student representation on the Montgomery County Board of Education. For years, students throughout the county have voted on a high school senior or junior (aka the SMOB) to represent them on the school board. For almost as long, students have also fought for their SMOB to have a larger role in the Board of Education deliberations. This year, as Maryland was poised to grant Montgomery County's student rep a full vote on the school board, Senator Brian Frosh intervened to kill the effort.

Several notable youth advocates and education figures have spoken out, including Board of Education Member Chris Barclay, the MoCo Young Democrats, and more. A ruckus even broke out on the floor on Monday as several Montgomery Senators tried to save student representation from Senator Frosh's hatchet-job. Aided by a few leadership figures like Senators Rob Garagiola, Roy Dyson and Joan Carter-Conway, Frosh succeeded in using the clout he has developed after years in power to kill the young people's legislation. Below we print a quick recap of the issue, along with key Tweets from politicos

FROSH MAKES BLOCKING STUDENT VOTING A PRIORITY - Last Friday, reports from Annapolis indicated that even though a super-majority of Montgomery County's lawmakers supported full voting rights for their student school board member, Senator Brian Frosh decided to overrule the votes of his colleagues. Indeed, he could've simply voted against the bill on the floor to register his difference of opinion. Instead, Senator Frosh went out of his way on Monday -- while the budget negotiations were melting down -- to squash a student voting rights bill.

As Maryland Juice previously reported, Frosh's unusual efforts concern a bill that would grant full voting privileges to Montgomery County's elected student member of the Board of Education. The bill MC 9-12 passed unanimously in the Montgomery County House Delegation and 5-2 in the Senate. Students have fought for these rights for years, but Mr. Frosh decided to replace the judgment of the rest of the colleagues with his own by effectively placing a hold on the youth representation bill.

WHY SO CRAZED ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND NOT OTHERS? -  Of all the things to use your political clout for.... Notably, the student representation bill was filed as a "local bill" since it only applies to Montgomery County. As a matter of custom, these bills are approved by the members from other counties, as long as a majority of lawmakers from the affected county agreed to support the bill. In short, one should only violate the custom of local courtesy in an extreme circumstance -- otherwise, you create a precedent for lawmakers blocking bills for personal or trivial reasons. Amazingly, Senator Frosh saw voting representation for students on the school board as such a grave threat to democracy, that he was willing to overturn longstanding tradition (aka use his insider skills) to kill this bill. Maryland Juice would be curious to see how many times in his multi-decade legislative career Mr. Frosh has blocked a local bill. I would also like to see what other issues he has deemed so important that they warrant thwarting democracy and upending the legislative process.

YOUNG DEMS AND STUDENTS FIGHT BACK - The Montgomery County Young Democrats and high school activists alike fought until the bitter end to save student representation from Senator Frosh's rampage. See a few Tweets from over the past week below. Our panel of conscripted Tweeters includes: Delegate Anne Kaiser, Senator Bill Ferguson, Board of Education member Chris Barclay, former SMOB Tim Hwang, the MoCo Young Dems, MD Young Dems VP Joseph Kitchen, and Young Dems John Howes & John Mannes.

COMMENTARY ON TWITTER 

A TWITTER SNAPSHOT OF THE LEGISLATIVE FIGHT

WTF MARYLAND SENATE LEADERSHIP: Maryland Juice thinks the current generation of Senate leaders acts as if "Rock and Roll" music (aka issues like same sex marriage and student voting rights) will be the downfall of society. GROW UP SENATORS.

NO MORE DINOSAUR POLITICS.

Montgomery County Lawmakers Approve Bill Granting Full Voting Rights to Student Member of Board of Education

UPDATE: A reader clarifies that the bill must now be approved by the full Maryland Senate (so far, it has been approved by the Montgomery County delegation in Annapolis). But this is usually a pro-forma vote (ie: it will be unusual for the bill not to pass).

A few days ago, Maryland Juice received the following email message from Tim Hwang, the former student member of Montgomery County's Board of Education. He announces that after years of persistent student-led efforts, the State House and Senate officials who represent Montgomery County have voted to approve full voting rights for the student member of the Board of Education (aka SMOB). Montgomery County public school students all vote in a countywide election to select a fellow student to represent their voices on the school board, and now their deputy is one step closer to voting on budget, labor and other policy matters -- just like the adult members.  The legislation was sponsored by Delegates Anne Kaiser and Tom Hucker:

Juice,

I thought you'd like to know that I was just in Annapolis and the bill MC 9-12 passed unanimously in the Montgomery County House Delegation and 5-2 in the Senate Delegation.

The Student Member on the Montgomery County school board now has full voting rights (ie: they are now a completely equal member of the school board and can vote on everything including the budget, legislative proposals, collective bargaining, etc). This changes the dynamic of the discussion with public unions (MCEA, SEIU, etc) and the County Council and shifts the power dynamic on the school board to respect student opinion more.

This is a bill I introduced back when I was on the school board (http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/12092009/montnew175705_32555.php) and the delegation finally took the initiative to pass it out - making MoCo the second county in the state to allow a completely equal student member of the board.

Tim Hwang

Last November, Maryland Juice wrote a little bit about the history of the student voting rights struggle on the Montgomery County Board of Education. We quoted an informative entry from Mr. Hwang on the My High School Journalism website from October 2009:

TIM HWANG: The Student Member of the Board is a 31-year-old appeasement for students. In 1977, the Maryland General Assembly created a nonvoting seat on the Board of Education, and a year later, David Naimon was elected as the first student member of the Montgomery County Board of Education.... 

In 1989, Maryland’s General Assembly gave the student member a limited vote within the board..... When the General Assembly gave “limited voting rights,” they meant it. The Student Member may not vote on “budget items, negative personnel matters, school closings/openings, and boundary changes,” according to the Montgomery County Public Schools website....

Last November, the fate of the student voting rights effort was uncertain, as the bill seemed stalled in the Senate. But the movement forward is now encouraging. Either way, it seems like across the county, students are becoming very savvy in building political alliances and advocacy strategies -- and politicians are noticing! First the anti-curfew organizers stopped MoCo's curfew plan, then competing candidate slates revitalized the MoCo Young Democrats, then the Young Dems helped change the conversation on marriage equality, then #JSA succeeds in getting their friend released, and now this (fingers crossed).

What will the young people do next?

EVENTS: The DOJ's Tom Perez on Redistricting, MoCo Town Hall with Councilmember Hans Riemer & More...

Maryland Juice decided to flag a few upcoming events that may be of interest to readers, starting with an upcoming event on redistricting:

Event #1: American Constitution Society on 2012 Voting Rights and Redistricting // Keynote: Tom Perez (former Montgomery Councilmember). More details & RSVP link on the ACS website:

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: A NATIONAL CONVERSATION
EXAMINING THE STATE OF VOTING RIGHTS FOR 2012

Thursday, December 1, 2011 - 10:00am - 2:00pm

American Constitution Society
1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

WARNING: 14 Polling Locations in Montgomery County May Close Down

A Maryland Juice reader has forwarded notice (and criticism) of proposed election precinct changes in Montgomery County. Essentially, the Board of Elections is proposing closing some polling locations and moving the voters to other sites, in order to save a little money. There are 14 precincts in MoCo that are targeted for merger. See the warning note below:

Juice, this was forwarded to me -- short notice of proposed changes. For Woodside Park, this means a voting place that is on the far side of the beltway, no public transportation access, limited parking, limited shelter in inclement weather, a space too small to handle the number of voting machines. Most significantly, it discourages votes turnout in an important year to save approx $2,000 -- what could be more penny wise and pound foolish?

The details of some of the proposed polling location changes are contained within the following (redacted) email from Barbara Sanders of the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County. The message was provided by our source above:

Guest Column: Juicing Maryland's Investment in Startups and Innovation // Plus, a Quick Note on Youth Voting Rights

In response to yesterday's article, Maryland & MoCo in 2020: Business Leaders Make "Altruistic" Suggestions As Defense Jobs Bubble Bursts, a Maryland Juice reader submitted a lengthy response in the comments. I've decided to publish Tim Hwang's note as Maryland Juice's second-ever guest column. Our first guest post was from Pee Wee Herman's Chairy, so this one might be a little bit more dignified.

Tim Hwang previously served as the Student Member of the Montgomery County Board of Education (aka SMOB). He comes from a long line of politically involved, intelligent SMOB's. The My High School Journalism website in October 2009 noted this history of the student Board position:

The Student Member of the Board is a 31-year-old appeasement for students. In 1977, the Maryland General Assembly created a nonvoting seat on the Board of Education, and a year later, David Naimon was elected as the first student member of the Montgomery County Board of Education....

In 1989, Maryland’s General Assembly gave the student member a limited vote within the board..... When the General Assembly gave “limited voting rights,” they meant it. The Student Member may not vote on “budget items, negative personnel matters, school closings/openings, and boundary changes,” according to the Montgomery County Public Schools website....

Our current student member, Tim Hwang, hopes to bring a new era for student representation. Mr. Hwang certainly has an impressive résumé. He founded and is currently the head of an international non-profit organization fighting poverty and homelessness. He worked for President Obama’s campaign. He has been involved in the county SGA since his freshman year. He has worked with the state SGA, the Democratic Party, the Maryland Youth Advisory Committee, and the list goes on.

Indeed, the preceding article appears (in hindsight) to have been one of the opening salvos in the (as of yet) unsuccessful SMOB voting rights campaign that followed. Notably, the students want full voting privileges, but their proposal also includes a compromise preventing them from casting tie-breaking (ie: decisive) votes. 7 out of 8 "grownup" Board of Education members supported the students, and their bill was sponsored by MoCo Senators Jamie Raskin & Rich Madaleno, along with Delegates Anne Kaiser, Tom Hucker and Ana Sol Gutierrez. According to The Gazette, the bill has been stalled by opponents in the Senate this year. Without further ado, here is Tim Hwang's response to Maryland Juice's latest diatribe on Maryland tax policy:

Juicing Maryland's Investment in Startups and Innovation

Hi Juice,

As usual a very well thought out policy analysis and overview of some of the current challenges that the state and region faces as we come up in the next couple of years. I do disagree on some points.