Comptroller Peter Franchot must be feeling a cool breeze right now. He lobbied against the special session, against slots, and would not even let his staff participate in the budget process. While Franchot may be positioning himself for a primary challenge to Gov. Martin O'Malley, others speculate that Franchot will face a primary challenge if he runs for reelection:
And Franchot’s interference during the special session has further incinerated relationships and fueled speculation that party leaders could field a primary challenger in 2010, probably Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith, who is term-limited.It looks like an anti-Franchot candidate won' t have to look far for support:
And to think we thought all would be quiet with the departure of Comptroller William Donald Schaefer.‘‘I think he has hurt himself dramatically...” said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach. ‘‘He’s become an albatross in terms of moving the Democratic Party forward.”
‘‘I think he needs to revisit his job description. He’s not a policy guy,” said Del. Galen R. Clagett (D-Dist. 3A) of Frederick, who encouraged Franchot to run against Comptroller William Donald Schaefer (D) last year. ‘‘It ain’t what you do, it’s how you do it. Maybe he ought to look for a less flamboyant way to get his message across.”
But Franchot has not backed off. He sent a letter to the presiding officers opposing the special session, protested the Senate’s plan to expand the sales tax to computer services and continued to demonize legalized gambling.
Earlier this year, he clashed with O’Malley (D) and Budget Secretary T. Eloise Foster (D) over increasing salaries for his top staffers. And this week, Franchot lobbied his former House colleagues to vote against slots, placing personal calls to a number of delegates.
