Archive: May 2006
Where's Duncan?
A half dozen state and local lawmakers from Montgomery County gathered in a steaming hot field yesterday to help Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) celebrate the federal government's stamp of approval on the intercounty connector. Noticeably absent from...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 31, 2006; 6:54 AM ET | Comments (31)
Guns and the Guv
Why are gun owners less than thrilled about a Republican governor who came to office making friendly gestures to gun owners, and who has even caught flak from Democrats and gun-control groups for his stance on firearms? Ask John H....
By Phyllis Jordan | May 30, 2006; 10:48 AM ET | Comments (11)
Securing Early Voting
Democrats and Republicans in Maryland don't agree about much when it comes to the subject of early voting. But they do agree that if early voting is to take place, there needs to be some way to ensure that people...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 27, 2006; 7:13 AM ET | Comments (20)
Duncan and the Money from Saipan
Seven years ago on a single day in July, Doug Duncan's campaign recorded five, $4,000 checks from donors in Saipan. That's in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific. Another contribution came in December 1999 from a...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 26, 2006; 3:33 AM ET | Comments (49)
Ethics Complaint Filed
There was more fallout today from news about the activities of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s personal lawyer, David Hamilton, who has been helping his legal clients set up meetings with the governor and other state officials in Annapolis but...
By | May 25, 2006; 1:22 PM ET | Comments (3)
O'Malley Camp Takes Off the Gloves
Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's campaign appears to be shedding its gloves when responding to its Democratic rival for governor, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan. The latest evidence came yesterday in the form of an O'Malley news release carrying this...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 25, 2006; 10:08 AM ET | Comments (25)
October Surprise
Democrats succeeded in keeping the politically explosive issue of same-sex marriage off the ballot in November, but they may not be able to outrun the issue altogether. That's because the Maryland Court of Special Appeals has tentatively scheduled arguements about...
By | May 24, 2006; 7:21 AM ET | Comments (0)
Duncan's Fighting Words
Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan's latest ad looks a lot like his first five, featuring the county exec and cardboard cutouts of his opponents in the governor's race. This 15-second spot, which begins airing this week on Baltimore television...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 24, 2006; 6:51 AM ET | Comments (0)
Trench Coat Politics
His January 2003 appearance rattled state government. And soon after the mysterious figure in the dark trench-coat began handing out pink slips at the behest of Gov.-elect Robert L. Ehrlich's incoming administration, T-shirts appeared: "Ehrlich-Steele. History is Here," they said...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 23, 2006; 4:49 PM ET | Comments (0)
Where's Joe, Part II
The state legislature held what they figured would be the final hearing in a probe looking at the dismissals by the administration of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. And they did it without hearing from the man whose at-times audacious...
By | May 23, 2006; 10:15 AM ET | Comments (0)
BGE Bites Back
Fed up with criticism from politicians and electricity customers, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. is fighting back this week with a $1 million media campaign. Expect to see the company's advertisements on television, radio and in the newspaper for at...
By Ann Marimow | May 23, 2006; 7:18 AM ET | Comments (0)
O'Malley Changes Horses--Updated
Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley last night announced a shakeup in the senior staff of his campaign for governor, naming a former leader of the Maryland Democratic Party to replace a national Democratic operative as his campaign manager. The campaign said...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 22, 2006; 7:01 AM ET | Comments (43)
Endorsement Stalemate
Maryland's largest teachers union deadlocked yesterday over endorsing a candidate for governor, denying both Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley a coveted prize in the Democratic primary. Representatives of the 64,000-member Maryland State Teachers Association...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 20, 2006; 7:37 PM ET | Comments (41)
Another Week, Another Set of Ads
Douglas M. Duncan's cardboard cut-out campaign continues on TV. The Democratic gubernatorial hopeful says he will debut two more ads tomorrow that take aim at his two opponents, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R)....
By Phyllis Jordan | May 19, 2006; 10:37 AM ET | Comments (2)
Hail and Farewell
Today marks Tim Craig's final day with the Maryland Moment. Starting Monday, he moves from his perch in Montgomery County to the Post's Virginia staff, where he'll team up with Mike Shear to cover state politics and the General Assembly...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 19, 2006; 10:25 AM ET | Comments (4)
Who Will Win Montgomery?
Prince George's Del. Anthony G. Brown swaggered onto the home turf of Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan yesterday and made a bold claim: Not only will Duncan lose his bid for governor in this September's Democratic primary, but he...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 18, 2006; 7:42 AM ET | Comments (20)
Duncan Challenges Ehrlich on Guns
The props this time were not lifesize cutouts of the other candidates. They were real guns, and they came in handy as Montgomery County executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) took a few potshots at Gov. Robert E. Ehrlich Jr.'s...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 17, 2006; 4:51 PM ET | Comments (0)
Dangerous Talk
The two leading Democrats seeking to replace Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday sought to turn on its head the Republican incumbent's well-known exhortation to the business community to "be dangerous." Ehrlich (R) has used the phrase to encourage...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 17, 2006; 10:18 AM ET | Comments (17)
Into the Ring
Doug Gansler made it official today: he will seek the Democratic nomination for the attorney general's seat being vacated by five-term incumbent J. Joseph Curran Jr. Gansler, 43, the Montgomery County chief prosecutor who's been considering a bid for quite...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 15, 2006; 5:54 PM ET | Comments (0)
Gun Ban in the Crosshairs
Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan's new television ads have set off a dispute with Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s reelection team about just where the governor stands on assault weapons. In the 15-second spot, Duncan addresses a cutout figure of...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 15, 2006; 10:37 AM ET | Comments (0)
Running to the Left
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md), a critic of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, is facing an opponent in this year's Democratic primary who says he's merely paying lip service to the anti-war movement. Since being elected in 2002,...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 14, 2006; 7:28 AM ET | Comments (0)
The Ice Dancer Cometh
The special committee investigating Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.'s (R) personnel practices heard yesterday from key administration officials who some former employees said were involved in purging state government of Democratic loyalists and hiring people with political connections and little...
By Ann Marimow | May 12, 2006; 4:35 PM ET | Comments (0)
Duncan Ads Go Negative
Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan put up two new television commercials in the Baltimore media market today, bashing Democratic primary rival Martin O'Malley for Baltimore's crime rate and its failing schools and taking on Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich for his...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 12, 2006; 9:33 AM ET | Comments (23)
Shifting into Campaign Mode
There was another sign yesterday that Gov. Bob Ehrlich is ramping up his still-undeclared campaign for reelection. The governor's front-line press aide, Shareese DeLeaver, will leave her job as deputy press secretary to take over media duties for the campaign...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 11, 2006; 6:04 AM ET | Comments (15)
Where's Joe?
The Maryland legislative committee that's investigating Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. for the way his administration handled the termination of dozens of longtime state workers was expecting tomorrow to be a banner day. They had planned to call Joe Steffen...
By | May 10, 2006; 1:48 PM ET | Comments (5)
Analogy of Steele
As Lt. Gov. Michael Steele expands the campaign team that will assist in his U.S. Senate bid, it seems there's a bit of branding going on. When Steele announced his bid, he billed himself as a bridge -- a bridge...
By | May 10, 2006; 11:33 AM ET | Comments (8)
Electricity Rates on Trial
The lawyer for Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley will be in court this morning to try to block the plan utility regulators approved last month that gives electricity customers the option to delay higher rates. City Solicitor Ralph Tyler argues in...
By Ann Marimow | May 10, 2006; 7:58 AM ET | Comments (3)
Strange Bedfellows
Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Michael Steele was in Minneapolis Monday morning for a breakfast fundraiser hosted by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.). The $1,000-per-person event, hosted by Coleman's NorthStar Leadership PAC, honored Steele and GOP Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana). Democrats said...
By | May 9, 2006; 7:27 AM ET | Comments (6)
The Race is On
Within a day of J. Joseph Curran's retirement announcement this morning, it appears as though a Republican will be entering the race to replace the long-serving Democratic attorney general. Scott Rolle, the Frederick County State's Attorney, issued an advisory Sunday...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 8, 2006; 9:35 AM ET | Comments (5)
Legal Technicality for AG Hopeful
Article 5, Section 4 of the Maryland Constitution is just one sentence, but it's one that Montgomery County Council member Tom Perez probably should have read before he started raising money and quietly campaigning to become the state's next attorney...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 8, 2006; 7:25 AM ET | Comments (21)
Steele and Same-Sex Marriage
Gay and lesbian advocates expressed deep displeasure today with Lt. Gov. Michael Steele's decision to headline a "marriage protection summit" in Lanham earlier this week. Steele told about 100 ministers gathered at the Hope Christian Church that he believes "marriage...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 5, 2006; 9:25 AM ET | Comments (39)
Montgomery Teachers Pick Duncan, Mfume
Montgomery County teachers have recommended that educators throughout Maryland endorse their county's leader for governor and former congressman Kweisi Mfume for U.S. Senate. The support of the teachers union for County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) came after the group...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 5, 2006; 7:12 AM ET | Comments (13)
Another Candidate for Comptroller
Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens said today she plans to join the race for comptroller, taking on incumbent William Donald Schaefer, as well as Montgomery County Del. Peter Franchot in the Democratic primary. Owens, who is leaving the...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 4, 2006; 2:10 PM ET | Comments (21)
Taxing Tobacco
Health care advocates are determined to make their issue the issue of the upcoming elections for governor and General Assembly. Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, released a new poll this week, showing two-thirds of likely voters...
By Ann Marimow | May 4, 2006; 6:07 AM ET | Comments (0)
Senate Forum Highlights Affordable Housing
Democrats vying for retiring U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes' seat squared off this morning during a candidates' forum at a Montgomery County affordable housing conference. The crowded field of candidates backed tax credits for developers who build affordable units, vouchers for...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 3, 2006; 3:55 PM ET | Comments (11)
Duncan on the Air
Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) becomes the first candidate for governor to start advertising on television, debuting spots in the Baltimore media market this morning, the same day he formally unveils his new running mate. Duncan appears...
By Phyllis Jordan | May 3, 2006; 6:12 AM ET | Comments (10)
It's Official: It's Simms
Doug Duncan's campaign confirmed today that Baltimore lawyer Stuart O. Simms will be formally introduced as the Montgomery County executive's running mate in the governor's race on Wednesday,. Duncan's choice of Simms, a former prosecutor and Cabinet official under then-Gov....
By Phyllis Jordan | May 1, 2006; 2:24 PM ET | Comments (7)
