Prince George's County Sheriff Michael Jackson says he has made up his mind on whether he will run for County Executive in 2010, but added that he is not disclosing his decision until he has had a chance to sit down with his deputies and share it with them first.

"I have made a decision," Jackson said Friday. "I want to sit down with [my deputies] to kind of let them know what that decision is before it's printed somewhere. ...It's delicate for me."

Jackson said he could announce a decision sometime next week.

Jackson, 45, a Cheverly native, attended Crossland High School in Temple Hills, Md.; DeVry Institute of Technology; and served in the U.S. Marine Corp Reserves. (Official Bio.)

His political prospects were thought to be damaged after his deputies shot and killed two dogs belonging to the mayor of Berwyn Heights during a drug raid last year. An internal review by Jackson's office found the shootings to be justified, and Jackson said one dog was engaging an officer and that the other was running toward a second officer at the time the black Labs were shot. The mayor, Cheye Calvo, disputed the findings.

Jackson's name has long been on a list of those rumored to be eying the county's top seat. The field also includes Former Del. Rushern L. Baker III, who has run twice before, as well as County Council Member Samuel H. Dean (D-Mitchellville), Council member Tony Knotts (D-Temple Hills) and Del. Gerron S. Levi (D-Prince George's). State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey, Del. Aisha N. Braveboy (D-Prince George's) and Sen. C. Anthony Muse's names have also been floated.

Former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) has yet to say whether he is running again for governor. But the Democratic campaign against him has apparently already begun.

On Thursday, Maryland Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan W. Turnbull released an "open letter" to the former Republican governor, posing several unflattering questions for him to consider during his deliberations about 2010.

"As you conduct - in your own words - your 'objective analysis,' 'hold focus groups' and 'look at cross-tabs,' I wanted to make sure that you and your pollster ask the right questions on which to base your decision," Turnbull wrote.

Among the questions she gamely suggested: "Do voters know that ... you increased spending by almost 22 percent in your last two years in office?" and "Do voters know that ... you raised state property taxes 57 percent?"

There are several more, but you get the idea.

In response to the letter, former Ehrlich aide Henry Fawell said the Democrats "are redefining the term "paranoid.'"

"I would urge them to take the advice Governor O'Malley's campaign manager gave to fundraisers: Take a deep breath," said Fawell, who now works for Ehrlich's law firm.

Fawell was referring to a memo written this week by Tom Russell, the campaign manager for Gov. Martin O'Malley (D). Russell sought to assure financial backers that the Democratic incumbent is still well-positioned to win Maryland depsite Republican wins last week in Virginia and New Jersey.

The complete text of Turnbull's letter is below:

With 2010 around the corner, candidates in Prince George's County at all levels of government are beginning to sculpt their campaign messages. In a semi-weekly series --"Why You?" -- we sit down with the county's political hopefuls to ask about who they are, what they've done and why they're the best ones to lead.

Current Job: Maryland State Delegate; lobbyist/assistant director of the legislative department of the AFL-CIO.
Running For: County Executive
Former Jobs: Intern and legislative correspondent for former Rep. Gus Savage (D-Ill.) and legislative counsel to Sen. Dianne Feinstein. (Levi's Official Bio.)
Age: 41
Residence: Woodmoore, Md.

Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I'm originally from Chicago, and I grew up between Chicago, Houston, Texas, and Los Angeles. I lived with several different family members. I went to most of high school in Los Angeles, I went to Berkeley undergrad. I lived with my grandmother for most of my years growing up, and then I lived with my brother. ... I didn't live with my parents growing up. I lived with various relatives. But they were in my life the whole time.

Q: When did you arrive in Maryland?
A: 1991. I came here for law school. I've lived in Prince George's for seven years.

Q: How did you get into politics?
A: I got into politics...during law school. I worked for a member of Congress. ...[Doing] legislative correspondence. ... Then I worked for Sen. [Dianne] Feinstein. ... I was one of her key staff on a couple of her signature bills. That was the ban on semi-automatic assault weapons. We did the actual initial draft of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill.

Q: Tell me about your campaign for state delegate in 2006. What made you want to run?
A: A lot of my motivation comes from watching and studying global trends. I feel somewhat the same way now as I felt then--that we are in the global challenge of a generation. I felt as if, in many respects, our community was not prepared to meet that global challenge.

Q: Was it a tough race?
A: I was running against the incumbents. ... It was an enormous challenge. The Bowie Blade [newspaper] at the time, they called me Gerron "Sore Feet" Levi, because of the number of doors I knocked on. About 8,000 doors. [The biggest hurdle was] getting my name out there, getting known with voters. I was an unknown. Whenever you run against the machine or against the slate, there are a lot of inside politics that really test the mettle of any candidate. ... I was on my own, with my volunteers and the money I could raise.

In a memo to top financial backers Wednesday, Gov. Martin O'Malley's campaign manager urged Marylanders "to take a deep breath" and argued that O'Malley remains well-positioned to win re-election next year, despite Democratic losses last week in Virginia and New Jersey.

"When you look at the record and the numbers, I think you'll see how Maryland's political landscape provides Governor O'Malley with a superior advantage over any potential opponent in 2010," wrote Tom Russell, the governor's campaign manager. "There has been plenty of speculation in recent days about who our opponent might be. After a long process of soul searching, 'cross tab' analysis and focus groups, will it be former Governor Ehrlich? Will it be Michael Steele, Larry Hogan, Delegate Pat McDonough or some other name we haven't heard yet? Frankly, it doesn't matter who the Republicans settle on. We'll be prepared for them, and we will beat them."

Russell's reference to Ehrlich's "soul searching" refers to comments by Maryland's former Republican governor in the aftermath of the Republican victories last week. Speculation about a gubernatorial candidacy by Steele, the current chairman of the Republican National Committee, seems to have waned considerably in recent months. Hogan, a former Ehrlich Cabinet official, and McDonough, who represents parts of Baltimore and Harford counties, have both said they will bow out of the race if Ehrlich decides to run.

Russell argues there are several important differences between Maryland and the two states in which Republican gubernatorial candidates prevailed last week -- starting with Maryland being "a more reliably Democratic state."

President Obama carried all three states last year, but his margin of victory in Maryalnd (62 percent to 37 percent) was larger than in both New Jersey (57 percent to 42 percent) and Virginia (53 percent to 46 percent), Russell points out.

"Voters in New Jersey and Virginia were expressing frustration with the pace of change and NOT rejecting President Obama or Democrats," Russell argues.

His letter also previews what are likely to be issues on which O'Malley will campaign next year, including: a freeze on public university tuition during the governor's term; Education Week magazine's ranking of Maryland schools as best in the nation; and a decrease in crime.

The text of the memo is printed in its entirety below:

Since landing on the cover of the November issue of Governing, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has trumpeted the magazine's praise in his fundraising appeals. He also has played it up on his campaign Web site, and the cover now appears as the profile picture on O'Malley's Facebook page.

In all instances, O'Malley, who is up for re-election next year, says he was named "Governor of the Year" by Governing.

Well, that's kind of true, but not exactly.

"We don't use that title," said Governing Editor Alan Ehrenhalt.

In fact, the magazine named eight "Public Officials of the Year" for 2009, including O'Malley. Of the eight, he was the only governor, which is in keeping with past practice, Ehrenhalt said. The honor tends to alternate between Democrats and Republicans. Last year, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) made the list.

"I suppose by extrapolation ... it's functionally true," Ehrenhalt said of O'Malley's claim.

Ehrenhalt also said that O'Malley is being recognized specifically for his work on measuring government performance. O'Malley has become known nationallly for statistics-driven accountability programs like StateStat.

"It's not necessarily an endorsement of everything he's done his entire time in office," Ehrenahlt said, though he added that, in his view, O'Malley has done a pretty good job overall.