Dayhoff Westminster: The latest from the Baltimore Sun blog, Maryland Politics

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The latest from the Baltimore Sun blog, Maryland Politics

The latest from the Baltimore Sun blog, Maryland Politics

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/

Mikulski endorses Edwards

The dean of Maryland's congressional delegation, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, endorsed Rep. Donna Edwards for reelection on Thursday, the first high-profile endorsement in a primary race that, so far, has mostly taken place behind the scenes.

Miller's reading hints at New Deal-ish session

Republicans, beware. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller may be channeling his inner FDR this year.

Brinkley is in for 6th District

State Sen. David R. Brinkley on Wednesday became the latest candidate to formally enter the race for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, arguing in a speech in Frederick that it is time for incumbent Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett – a fellow Republican – to “pass the congressional baton.”

Ex-judge Murphy to represent Currie in ethics proceedings

Judge Joseph F. Murphy Jr., who retired from Maryland's highest court last fall, has agreed to represent Sen. Ulysses Currie in an ethics inquiry expected to get under way in the General Assembly later this month.

John Delaney files for 6th District race

John Delaney, a multi-millionaire financier from Potomac, said Wednesday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for Maryland’s newly drawn 6th Congressional District, setting up a potentially competitive April primary with State Sen. Rob Garagiola.

Another labor group to back same-sex marriage

Maryland's AFL-CIO, a 300,000-member strong labor union, will back the same-sex marriage legislation, marking a key endorsement from a powerful political force in the state.

Citing illness, Trachtenberg withdraws from 6th District race

Duchy Trachtenberg, a former Montgomery County Council member who was the first to enter the race for the Democratic nomination in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, said Wednesday she is withdrawing.

Political coverage

Top-lobbying Maryland companies in 2011

Key figures in Election Day robocalls

Md.'s wealthiest lawmakers

Jacobs to challenge Ruppersberger in Maryland's 2nd District

State Sen. Nancy Jacobs said Tuesday she will announce her candidacy for the 2nd Congressional District this week, making her the latest state lawmaker to jump into a House race for the 2012 election.

O'Malley donates tainted campaign funds to hunger relief group

The $7,000 in campaign funds given to Gov. Martin O'Malley by a tax evader and former political appointee was sent today to Farmers and Hunters Helping the Hungry, said Rick Abbruzzese, a spokesman for the governor.

Nearly 700 apply for Balto. Co. early retirement

Baltimore County officials have received 670 applications for an early-retirement incentive package – more than three times the number they had sought.

Harris faces report of underage drinking by intern

Rep. Andy Harris came under fire Tuesday for an incident last summer in which an underage intern was allowed to drink alcohol at a farewell party on a veranda of the U.S. Capitol.

DGA hauls in $20 million in 2011

Gov. Martin O'Malley's time on the road last year paid dividends: The Democratic Governors Association, which he chairs, raised a "record breaking" $20 million last year, according to a news release from the group.

Who paid the most to influence the General Assembly last session?

Maryland's powerful teachers union topped the list of special interests paying to influence the General Assembly last session, spending $1,034,000 on lobbying lawmakers.

O'Malley to give away tax evader's donations

Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday that he will follow the lead of U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown in returning donations from Richard Stewart, a political mover and shaker who pleaded guilty this month to tax evasion.

O'Malley vows to seek curb on septics

Gov. Martin O'Malley promised a vigorous push during the coming legislative session to curb the proliferation of large housing developments on septic systems, saying that increased pollution from such sources is undermining the progress Maryland is other making on protecting the Chesapeake Bay.

Franchot schedules two fundraisers

Comptroller Peter Franchot, believed to be casting an eye on the governor's race in 2014, has scheduled two high-ticket fundraisers in early January during the countdown to the legislative session that begins Jan. 11.

O'Malley names Kratovil to Queen Anne's bench

Former U.S. Rep. Frank M. Kratovil Jr. may not have gotten a more Democrat-friendly district in which to attempt a return to Congress, but he's received a consolation prize in the form of a judgeship.

Brown returns donations from tax evader

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown has returned $5,750 in campaign funds donated by Richard Stewart, a politically connected businessman who pleaded guilty this month to tax evasion.

MD GOP says Obama, O'Malley, Cummings should return campaign donations

Maryland's Republican party Monday said that a slew of Democratic elected officials, including President Barack Obama, Gov. Martin O'Malley and U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, return thousands of dollars in campaign funds donated by Richard Stewart, a politically connected businessman who pleaded guilty last week to failing to pay $4 million in taxes.

Bartlett aide raises concerns over GOP's payroll stance

A spokeswoman for Republican Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett sent an e-mail to House leadership aides arguing that the GOP is "not playing this right," in regard to the protracted debate over extending the payroll tax cut.

Sarah Palin calls Obama's Christmas card with Bo 'odd'

Sarah Palin, it seems, finds the Obama family Christmas card featuring First Dog Bo something less than appropriate.

Md. delegation battles over payroll tax extension

(Dec. 21) Maryland Democrats continued to ramp up pressure on House GOP leaders Wednesday over a stalled effort to extend a payroll tax cut that benefits as many as 2.6 million wage earners in the state.

Baltimore rabbis call for end to death penalty

The Baltimore Board of Rabbis has renewed its call for the abolition of the death penalty in Maryland, arguing that the only safeguard against the exection of innocent people is to have no executions at all.

Romney names new Md. endorsements

(Dec. 20) GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney released 37 new Maryland endorsements on Tuesday, including Anne Arundel County state Sen. Bryan W. Simonaire and Baltimore County Del. William J. Frank.

Edwards offers resolution on Fla. congressman's Nazi comment

(Dec. 20) Rep. Donna F. Edwards offered a resolution on the House floor Tuesday that would disapprove of Florida GOP Rep. Allen West for telling reporters recently that Nazi propagandists would be proud of the Democrats’ “propaganda machine.”

Bevins: County pension deal 'sounds like double dipping'

Baltimore County Council members are privately discussing the lucrative pension deals of County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and former councilmen Sam Moxley and Vince Gardina.

Capital debt limit raised over Franchot's objections

The Capital Debt Affordability Committee, dominated by appointees of Gov. Martin O’Malley, raised the state's debt limit by $150 million Monday over the dissent of Comptroller Peter Franchot.

Hughes, Glendening join O'Malley to hail growth framework

Two former governors joined Gov. Martin O'Malley Monday morning at a State House news conference marking the formal adoption of Plan Maryland, a growth management framework that has aroused opposition in parts of rural Maryland.

Baltimore Co. Council plans to scale back ethics bill

Baltimore County Council members plan to introduce a set of amendments tonight that would weaken parts of County Executive Kevin Kamenetz’s ethics reform proposal.

Occupy Baltimore considering new sites, including youth jail, endangered post office

Since Baltimore police ousted the members of Occupy Baltimore from their encampment at the Inner Harbor's McKeldin Square last week, the activists have been deliberating about where -- and whether -- to continue a physical encampment.

Defense bill includes Md. projects

A massive, $662 billion defense measure that authorizes hundreds of millions of dollars in spending on Maryland's military facilities cleared a final vote in the Senate Thursday and now heads to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it into law. The bill, which divided Democrats and Republicans in Maryland's congressional delegation, includes more than $108 million for projects at Fort Meade and an additional $101 million for Aberdeen Proving Ground, according to Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, who represents both facilities. Broadly, the annual legislation authorizes spending on troops and weapons systems used by the military, but the proposal had been caught up in a debate over how the U.S. should handle the arrest of terrorism suspects. The White House threatened to veto the measure because it will require the military, instead of civilian law enforcement agencies, to arrest terrorism suspects on U.S. soil.The administration dropped its opposition when lawmakers agreed to allow the president to waive the requirement if the nation's security is at risk, but several Democrats continue to oppose the measure. "We have a solemn obligation to support the health and welfare of our troops...however, the role our civilian-led military plays within the borders of the U.S. has always been balanced with the protections of civil liberties and civil rights," said Sen. Ben Cardin, one of 13 senators who voted against the measure Thursday. "Unfortunately, the defense authorization bill that was approved by the House, and now the Senate, does not keep that balance."The legislation nevertheless includes several provisions that could affect Maryland. For instance, Ruppersberger included language in the bill that would set aside additional federal transportation dollars to pay for road projects near military bases to alleviate BRAC-related traffic."This bill pays for some of the most pressing needs at Maryland military facilities while acknowledging our...

Panel to set legislature's budget goal to cut gap

The General Assembly's Joint Committee on Spending Affordability is expected to set a goal Thursday night of trimming the state's long-term budget shortfall -- known in as the structural deficit -- in half during the legislative session that begins in January.

Dayhoff Westminster

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The latest from the Baltimore Sun blog, Maryland Politics

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