Tea Party Legislator to Delegate Tony O'Donnell: Resign as Minority Leader // Democrats Call O'Donnell "Out of Touch"

UPDATE: The Washington Times reports that the Tea Party leader in Maryland's House, Delegate Michael Smigiel, is calling on Delegate Tony O'Donnell to step down as Minority Leader:

Maryland House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell said Wednesday he plans to keep his state leadership role while running for Congress next year despite questions about whether his candidacy could be a distraction....

The House Republican Caucus would have to re-elect Mr. O'Donnell next year as minority leader, but he could receive a challenge from Delegate Michael D. Smigiel Sr., a Cecil Republican who has criticized him for taking “inconsistent positions” on such issues as the use of bond bills for local projects.

Mr. Smigiel, chairman of the House tea party caucus, said he is still mulling a run for minority leader and suggested Mr. O'Donnell step down - following the example of former Senate Minority Leader Nancy Jacobs, who quit her leadership role in October after deciding it “wouldn’t be fair” to continue as leader while mounting a campaign for higher office....

Meanwhile, Maryland Juice received the following press release from the Maryland Democrats responding to Del. O'Donnell's decision to challenge Rep. Steny Hoyer in 2012:

MARYLAND DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRESS RELEASE

Maryland Republicans Promote Failed Leadership with Out of Touch O'Donnell

Annapolis, MD (December 14, 2011) - Maryland’s floundering Republican Party chose another out of touch, obstructionist tea party candidate to run for higher office today. With House of Delegates Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell announcing his candidacy for Congress, the GOP signaled they believe in promoting failed leadership.

Which Maryland Politicians Are Raising Money Right Now?

UPDATE: Maryland Reporter has their own article about which Maryland pols are fundraising. It is well worth reading! They also point out that two lobbying firms Bruce Bereano and Alexander & Cleaver maintain competing lists of fundraising events.

You can often tell when politicians are up to something based on their fundraising activity. Because Maryland law prohibits State lawmakers from fundraising when the legislature is in session (typically January through April), there is often a surge in fundraising activity at the end of each year. The prominent Annapolis lobbying firm Alexander & Cleaver publishes a monthly list of events on its website. Though I am sure the list is not complete, it gives you a snapshot of what's going on. That Guy With the Speak English Lawnsign is raising money, along with a few candidates for Comptroller (see below):

Who Is Maryland's Person of the Year? // FYI: TIME Magazine Names "The Protester" 2011 Person of the Year

[ See All of the "Marylander of the Year" Nominations ]  

 
Maryland Juice is thinking about naming a 2011 Maryland "Person of the Year" in the spirit of TIME Magazine's annual tradition. Details on this concept soon. But if you have any nominations please leave a comment below, email me at david@marylandjuice.com or contact me anonymously.

In the meantime, FYI on TIME Magazine's 2011 Person of the Year:

Here's an alternate image they could've used:

CD5: MD GOP House Minority Leader Tony O'Donnell Challenges Rep. Steny Hoyer // MD Legislators Weigh In (anonymously)

Numerous news outlets are reporting that Maryland's House GOP Leader Anthony "Tony" O'Donnell is challenging Rep. Steny Hoyer for Congress in the newly redrawn 5th Congressional District. This race would pit Maryland's Statehouse Republican Leader against Congress' Democratic House Minority Whip. Del. O'Donnell kicked off his campaign with a video announcement:




The Washington Post reported on this CD5 development:

Maryland House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Calvert) plans to launch an uphill bid Wednesday for the 5th Congressional District in which he will argue that long-time incumbent Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) is part of what’s wrong with Washington....

O’Donnell, who is kicking off his campaign with the release of a video, argued that the environment has become better-suited to change and that he starts off better-known than recent Hoyer opponents. O’Donnell promised “a spirited, spirited campaign.”

In a preview of what’s to come, O’Donnell said Hoyer’s voting record is “nearly identical” to that of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), but added: “Maryland’s 5th Congressional District is on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, not the western shore of the San Francisco Bay.”

Maryland Juice, in turn, would like to remind Mr. O'Donnell that CD5 is not Tea Party territory and it is nothing like Sarah Palin's Alaska. In fact, the WaPo article continued:

The new 5th remains comfortably Democratic. Roughly 65 percent voted for President Obama in 2008 and 63 percent for O’Malley last year.

Anonymous Sources Weigh In: I asked a few Democratic legislators to tell Maryland Juice readers what they know about Mr. O'Donnell. Here's what they had to say (note: we'll post new responses as we receive them):

DCCC: "Representative Bartlett Votes For Higher Taxes and Higher Medicare Premiums, Protects Billionaires"

PRESS RELEASE

This evening, Representative Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06) voted to force a $1,000 payroll tax hike on 3.2 million middle income Maryland families and raise Medicare premiums for seniors instead of ending tax breaks for billionaires. While voting for higher Medicare premiums for seniors in retirement, Bartlett even voted against cutting his own Congressional retirement pension.

Bartlett had previously voted three times to let these payroll taxes go up by $1,000 while letting House Republicans leave Washington for their holiday vacation.

“Representative Roscoe Bartlett is forcing a $1,000 middle income tax increase on 3.2 million Maryland families and higher Medicare premiums for seniors in order to protect tax breaks for billionaires,” said Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Bartlett even opposed savings from his own Congressional pension while voting to raise taxes on middle income Maryland families and raise Medicare premiums for seniors. Roscoe Bartlett’s priorities shined through today — higher taxes for the middle class and health care costs for seniors while the ultra wealthy get more tax breaks.”

This afternoon, the Associated Press reported that Bartlett’s vote would mean “Millions who don’t consider themselves wealthy would also end up paying more” in Medicare premiums.

Background

Rep. John Sarbanes Announces Self-Imposed Campaign Finance Restrictions // New Project Highlights Public Financing Effort

UPDATE: I just finished participating in Rep. Sarbanes Facebook Town Hall meeting. Very interesting. It was sort of a telethon-style format where he explained his new fundraising concept, along with the policy reasons driving the experiment. But, he also started answering live questions from people online. Once I saw that, I couldn't resist tossing some legislative advocacy into the mix (see screencap of my question below). But kudos to Mr. Sarbanes for trying something different!

The HoCo Rising blog recently wrote about a interesting new effort from Rep. John Sarbanes to highlight legislation calling for publicly financed, clean elections:

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet with Congressman John Sarbanes.  After explaining how the constant treadmill of fund-raising is ruining politics and preventing legislators from doing much more than vote and chase additional funds, he presented the Grassroots Donor project.  In essence, Con. Sarbanes is imposing the public financing model on himself to show it works and focus more on grassroots campaigning....  Essentially, John is cutting himself off from his own funds, raised in the normal course of fund-raising, which will only be available once he has over 1,000 donors of $100 or less.

Rep. Sarbanes new fundraising website, www.GrassrootsDonor.com, explains his new project and asks the following question:

What if we could find a better way to fund Congressional campaigns that puts the grassroots donor ahead of the special interests?

CD6 LEAK: Polling Results from Maryland's 6th Congressional District Democratic Primary // A Wide Open Race?

Maryland Juice received the following leaked polling memo regarding the 6th Congressional District Democratic Primary. The poll was conducted by GarinHartYang for John Delaney. The results generally indicate a wide-open race with most voters undecided. There are no real surprises in the summary results, especially since media spending has not yet begun. See the summary results below: