http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/ News and notes from the Maryland political scene. en Copyright 2008 Thu, 15 May 2008 10:09:32 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The Prince George's County Board of Education will be divided into nine single-member districts under a bill signed into law this week by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D). The law returns the county's school board to the way it used to be, with each member representing one district. The system was dissolved in 2002 by state legislators fed up with constant bickering. At first the state appointed the board members, and then, in 2006, county voters elected five members representing districts and four at-large members. Under the new law, the four candidates who win the greatest percentages of the vote in their districts in the 2010 election will serve four-year terms. The remaining five winners will serve two-year terms. When those five seats come open again in 2012, the winners of that election will serve four years. The result is to have roughly half the school board come up for election http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/pr_geos_school_board_back_to_s.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/pr_geos_school_board_back_to_s.html Thu, 15 May 2008 10:09:32 -0400 Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley cited a scene from a 1935 Marx Brothers film today in making the case that his administration had acted boldly to take responsibility for the state's fiscal challenges. Speaking to a gathering of the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce, O'Malley (D)compared Maryland's past practices to a scence from "A Night at the Opera" in which a character played by Groucho Marx is given an inflated dinner bill by a waiter. "This is an outrage!" the Marx character says, handing the bill to a woman at the table. "If I were you, I wouldn't pay it!" For too long, O'Malley said, Maryland leaders had been "like Groucho Marx at the dinner table," passing along the state's fiscal challenges without really addressing them. O'Malley credited his administration with tackling a $1.7 billion structural deficit though a combination of spending cuts and tax increases -- the latter of http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/omalley_maryland_overcame_grou.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/omalley_maryland_overcame_grou.html John Wagner Wed, 14 May 2008 16:35:18 -0400 An executive with Baltimore Gas and Electric told members of the Maryland Public Service Commission today that electricity prices are rising due to global market forces and reregulating the industry would serve to worsen the problem. The comments came at a public hearing by the commission on its December report that said that seven years after deregulation, state intervention is now needed to prevent further price increases and future electricity shortages. The commission will be finalizing the report over coming months. Among the report's recommendations was a suggestion that regulators order utility companies to buy power through long-term contracts to provide price stability. William Pino, a BG&E official, told the commission his company opposes long-term contracts, suggesting they are a gamble that decouples prices from market forces. Representatives of Maryland's Office of the People's Counsel, which advocates for residential ratepayers, as well as the American Association for Retired People, argued http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/psc_hears_from_utilities_consu.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/psc_hears_from_utilities_consu.html Rosalind Helderman Wed, 14 May 2008 15:55:53 -0400 As it turns out, voter participation in yesterday's special election in Montgomery County Council District 4 was even lower than the Board of Elections first calculated late last night. Instead of close to 11 percent, turnout was actually 8.56 percent or 8,896 votes cast of the 104,000 registered voters. Democrat Don Praisner, the widower of council member Marilyn Praisner, defeated Republican Mark D. Fennel with 66 percent of the vote. Neil Greenberger, the council spokesman, said today that Praisner's swearing in ceremony would take place sometime between May 23 and June 10, when the council returns from a two-week recess. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/how_low_can_you_go_in_moco_spe.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/how_low_can_you_go_in_moco_spe.html Ann Marimow Wed, 14 May 2008 12:34:41 -0400 Democrat Don Praisner has won a low-turnout special election to serve out the term of his late wife, Marilyn, on the Montgomery County Council. Praisner defeated Republican Mark D. Fennel with 66 percent of the vote in the eastern county's District 4, where Democrats hold a more than two to one edge in registration. Marilyn Praisner died in February following heart surgery, after serving 17 years on the council. Don Praisner, a retired CIA analyst, campaigned to protect his wife's legacy as a fiscal watchdog and an advocate for slowing down development. Praisner will not take office until after the council is scheduled to vote on the county budget for fiscal 2009, according to Council President Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty). The specific date for him to be sworn in has not yet been set. In the Democratic primary last month, Praisner defeated School Board President Nancy Navarro (Northeastern County) with 44 http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/praisner_wins_in_moco_district.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/praisner_wins_in_moco_district.html Ann Marimow Tue, 13 May 2008 22:29:39 -0400 Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said today that he would likely make an announcement early next month about whether he will seek re-election in 2010. Miller (D-Calvert), who has presided over his chamber for more than two decades, the longest stint in Maryland history, is hosting a fundraiser in Baltimore on June 4. The Post reported last week the speculation among Senate colleagues and associates that Miller would use the event to announce that he is abandoning previously announced retirement plans. Addressing reporters this morning, Miller, 65, did not explicitly say what his announcement would be and said he is weighing many factors. All those he named, however, seem to suggest he will run for a 10th term in the Senate. Among them: His wife is not opposed to his running again. "She indicates it's my decision," Miller said. "She's not adverse to it." Also: Many, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/miller_decision_on_reelection.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/miller_decision_on_reelection.html John Wagner Tue, 13 May 2008 14:09:17 -0400 Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson, a Democratic convention delegate pledged to support Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, told Washington Post reporter Rosalind S. Helderman yesterday that he thinks Sen. Barack Obama has "in a real sense" won the Democratic nomination and that he now plans to support Obama at the August convention. This is Johnson's second change of heart in the race. He initially allowed himself to be listed as a supporter by the Obama campaign in December, then switched to Clinton in February. Here is Helderman's story. What do you think about Johnson's argument? Should Clinton's Maryland delegates switch to Obama, in the interests of party unity? http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/johnsons_switch_to_obama_what.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/johnsons_switch_to_obama_what.html Tue, 13 May 2008 09:29:48 -0400 Coming up this week in Maryland politics: MONTGOMERY COUNTY A special election will be held Tuesday in County Council District 4 for the seat left vacant by the death of Marilyn Praisner. Praisner's husband, Democrat Don Praisner, a retired CIA analyst, faces Republican Mark D. Fennel, a marketing analyst. The polls in the eastern county district are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. District 4 includes all or parts of Aspen Hill, Burtonsville, Calverton, Cloverly, Colesville, Derwood, Fairland, Olney, Sandy Spring, Silver Spring, Spencerville, Wheaton and White Oak. PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY O'Malley will deliver the keynote address at the Prince George's Chamber of Commerce Annual Governor's Luncheon on Wednesday. It will take place at 12:45 p.m., University of Maryland Ritchie Coliseum, Room 1100, College Park. STATE GOVERNMENT Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Calvert), and House Speaker Michael Busch (D-Anne Arundel) will hold a bill http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/coming_up_in_maryland_politics_25.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/coming_up_in_maryland_politics_25.html Mon, 12 May 2008 07:56:36 -0400 U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) joined Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson (D) and other local leaders at an Upper Marlboro home last night for a fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidate Donna Edwards. Jack Johnson and Donna Edwards at her political fundraiser in Upper Marlboro. (By Hamil Harris -- The Washington Post) While Edwards was once a political outsider, her defeat of U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn (D) in the Democratic primary in February turned her into the party standard-bearer as she approaches a June 17 special election. She faces Republican Peter James in that election, called when Wynn decided to resign from his seat. "I think that it is really important that we all recognize that it is time to move forward," Edwards said last night. "We have a lot on our plate and we can do that separately. We all have to come together to move forward." In addition http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/raising_funds_for_edwards_talk.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/raising_funds_for_edwards_talk.html Fri, 09 May 2008 12:21:54 -0400 Montgomery County election officials were reprogramming voting machines yesterday after failing to include the party affiliation of candidates on the ballot in Tuesday's special election in County Council District 4. Two candidates - Republican Mark D. Fennel, a marketing analyst, and Democrat Don Praisner, a retired CIA analyst - are competing to fill the seat left open by the death of Praisner's wife, Marilyn, who represented the eastern county for 17 years. Board of Elections director Margaret Jurgensen said officials learned of the mistake yesterday and had decided to manually type in the candidates' party affiliations on about 5,000 provisional ballots. The board also is sending letters to the district's roughly 100,000 registered voters to alert them to the error on their sample ballots and remind them of the May 13 election. Jurgensen said there could be a silver lining in the mistake. "There doesn't seem to be a lot http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/glitch_in_moco_district_4_elec.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/glitch_in_moco_district_4_elec.html Ann Marimow Fri, 09 May 2008 07:14:52 -0400 Council member Duchy Trachtenberg, who leads Montgomery County's key fiscal committee, said today that she would recommend trimming raises for most county workers by 2 percent and by a half percent for firefighters. Trachtenberg's proposal comes as the council considers raising property taxes and cutting government services next week to close a projected $300 million budget shortfall. Before today, Phil Andrews was the only council member to directly take on the issue of employee salaries. "The contract terms are the white elephant in the room and it's time we all have an honest conversation about them," Trachtenberg said. "We have to honor the contributions of our employees and provide good wages, but we need to do it in a responsible manner." John Sparks, president of the firefighters' union seemed cool to the idea. A half percent reduction over a career, he said in an e-mail, "adds up to quite a http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/moco_council_member_moves_to_r.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/moco_council_member_moves_to_r.html Ann Marimow Thu, 08 May 2008 13:13:45 -0400 It was billed as an educational forum for local minority business owners. But it turned into a rally for a state senator and a strategy session to increase the number of contracts awarded to minority contractors on huge developments in Prince George's County, such as National Harbor. About 120 minority business owners and elected officials in the county gathered at Tantallon Country Club in Fort Washington last week for the meeting. Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George's), was cheered for his recent actions against National Harbor during the General Assembly session, and business owners testified about their unsuccessful attempts to obtain contracts at National Harbor. Muse said he delayed action on liquor license legislation for National Harbor because he had received complaints from business owners and because he was concerned about the number of contracts given to minority business owners in the county. "He is our leader," said Jerry Mathis, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/muse_lauded_by_business_owners.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/muse_lauded_by_business_owners.html Thu, 08 May 2008 09:53:19 -0400 Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) suggested today that an automotive safety inspection station in Prince George's County will receive increased monitoring from the Maryland State Police as he defended his administration's decision to issue a new license to the facility four years after its previous one was revoked for fraudulent practices. The Washington Post reported this week that police issued a license to Hilltop Fleet Services of Capitol Heights in March despite objections by the commander who ran the inspections program. Capt. Robert F. Bambary alleged in a memo that "strong political pressure" from the governor's office and a Prince George's senator was behind the decision. Hilltop's license was revoked in 2004 after police found evidence that the station had issued certificates for hundreds if not thousands of inspections its mechanics did not conduct. The station's owners alleged they had been treated unfairly in seeking a new license and sought help http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/omalley_defends_hilltop_decisi.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/omalley_defends_hilltop_decisi.html John Wagner Wed, 07 May 2008 14:35:11 -0400 Montgomery County's special election to pick Marilyn Praisner's successor on the County Council is next Tuesday, but campaign finance reports released this week reveal behind-the-scenes loyalties from last month's primary. In the Democratic contest, Praisner's widower, Don, defeated School Board President Nancy Navarro with 44 percent of the vote. But the reports filed with the state Board of Elections show that Navarro raised more than three times as much money as Praisner. She collected $104,221 compared with Praisner's $27,145. Praisner was backed by County Executive Isiah Leggett and four council members - Phil Andrews, Roger Berliner, Marc Elrich and Duchy Trachtenberg. The only other council member to pubicly take sides was Valerie Ervin, who had served on the school board with Navarro. But the reports show that Navarro also received donations from Council members George Leventhal and Nancy Floreen. Praisner refused to accept contributions from development interests. Among Navarro's donors http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/money_in_mocos_district_4_race.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/money_in_mocos_district_4_race.html Ann Marimow Wed, 07 May 2008 06:23:07 -0400 Prince George's voters have elected Springdale resident Andrea Harrison to the County Council, in a low turn-out special election to fill a vacant seat. Harrison, a Democrat, overwhelmingly defeated Republican Steven W. Johnson, a consultant from Cheverly for the District 5 seat, which represents a swath of central Prince George's County stretching from the northeast District border through Glenarden. With all but absentee and provisional ballots counted, Harrison had captured more than 86 percent of the vote. She will be sworn in to the nine-member body on May 19. The seat became vacant when former council member David C. Harrington (D) was selected to fill a state senate seat that opened with the January death of Sen. Gwendolyn T. Britt (D). Harrison, a lifelong county resident, served as a staffer in the offices of both previous occupants of the seat. She was endorsed by Harrington, as well as by state http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/harrison_elected_to_pr_geos_co.html?nav=rss_blog http://blog.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2008/05/harrison_elected_to_pr_geos_co.html Rosalind Helderman Tue, 06 May 2008 22:32:29 -0400