Within one hour, it will be May - the start of the HOT election season. And yet, former MCEA President Bonnie Cullison, who is one of the county's top open seat Delegate contenders, still has a website that looks like this over six months after starting a campaign account and four months after purchasing an ad. This is unthinkable for a modern Montgomery County political campaign.
Friday, April 30, 2010
How Long Can This Go On?
A Little Credit for the Blogs, Please?
On Thursday at 7:46 PM, Red Maryland broke the story that Carmen Amedori was leaving Brian Murphy's GOP gubernatorial ticket. Today at 10:42 AM, the Post reported the same thing with no credit to Red Maryland. This reminds your author of the massive Annapolis mayor race scandal first reported by blogger Paul Foer and then amplified by the mainstream media with no mention of him.
This blog and many others constantly link to and credit the MSM for their work. Some MSM sources, like NBC 4 and the Washington Business Journal, return the favor. Would it really kill the rest of them to do the same?
American Idol’s Strange Alliance with MPW
In news we never believed we would report, fans of American Idol are driving additional traffic to MPW. Yes, dear readers, that is not a typo!
Silverman Explains Northrop Loss
Montgomery County Director of Economic Development Steve Silverman sent the following letter to members of the business community explaining Maryland's failure to land Northrop Grumman.
Berliner Sweeps State Legislative Endorsements
District 1 County Council Member Roger Berliner is crushing challenger Ilaya Hopkins on endorsements. In addition to a gigantic list of state and local elected officials and community residents, he has now drawn the support of every state legislator from the three districts that overlap the vast majority of his council district. We are not aware of any elected endorsements of Hopkins. Following is Berliner's press release.
As the Chair of the Montgomery County House Delegation, I can tell you why your Delegates from District 15, 16 and 18 unanimously endorse Councilmember Berliner – he is a legislator’s legislator and we have the utmost respect for him. In this session alone, two bills were introduced in the state legislature modeled after landmark measures he sponsored on the County Council. When my colleagues have questions on energy and environmental issues, we reach out to Roger for his counsel. He makes us better and we need that type of teamwork more than ever in these challenging times.Councilmember Berliner responded to the outpouring of support and recognition of his leadership qualities:
It is deeply gratifying to have the unanimous support of three of the strongest delegations in Annapolis. As Delegate Feldman observed, in difficult times like these, strong, trusted relationships between council and state leaders are more important than ever to protect Montgomery County and District 1 residents’ quality of life. These are also challenging times for our party, and unity is more important than ever. I am proud to support our District 15, 16 and 18 Delegations and am proud to have theirs.In January, Berliner’s campaign announced more than 150 endorsements of local and elected leaders, a list which included United States Senator Ben Cardin, Attorney General Doug Gansler, and State Comptroller Peter Franchot.
“Stay tuned, folks,” Campaign Manager Heather Mills added, “There’s more to come.”
By Authority, Friends of Roger Berliner, Jeffrey Ross Williams, Treasurer.
Farrington Drops Out of District 16 Delegate Race
Former District 18 Delegate candidate Dan Farrington, whom we picked as the early favorite for the District 16 open Delegate seat, has dropped out. Following is his statement.
Franchot, Gansler and Edwards Deny Endorsing Lenett
The Gazette is reporting that Comptroller Peter Franchot, Attorney General Doug Gansler and Congresswoman Donna Edwards are not endorsing District 19 Senator Mike Lenett in his race against challenger Roger Manno. Lenett had claimed their endorsements in a campaign press release. We also talked to representatives of Franchot, Gansler and Edwards and received the same response.
Lenett (D-Dist. 19) of Silver Spring said all three previously endorsed him before Manno decided to run and their respective decisions to withdraw them are reasonable.This reminds your author of a mistake committed by District 17 Senator Jennie Forehand when she claimed the support of Senator Jamie Raskin and former Montgomery College President Charlene Nunley last summer. Raskin told us his name was added without his knowledge or consent and Nunley told us she was supporting Forehand's opponent, Cheryl Kagan. Endorsements are very sensitive things. If you are a candidate seeking to claim one, our suggestion is to get it in writing and confirm it if circumstances in the race change.
"I believe they have reviewed and revised their policies on endorsing candidates in a Democratic primary," he said. "It's my understanding that they would now like to stay out of those races. I don't want to put them in any difficult positions."
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Saqib Ali on Washington Current Review
Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39) posted a series of videos on his website. This one from last August offers the most political and issue content.
County Partnering with Non-Profits on Capital Needs
By Patrick Lacefield.
The six capital projects for non-profit agencies recommended for funding by the County Executive in FY11 are worthy projects that will enhance the quality of life for Montgomery County residents for many years to come. Each one of them will leverage the County contribution many times over by bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars in State and private matching funds.
Police Union Accuses Gazette of Irresponsible Journalism
Following is a letter sent to the Gazette by Walt Bader, Executive Director of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35, concerning a recent article published by the newspaper on the budget and a reader's response to it. When the Gazette addresses this, we will link to their comment.
Brian Murphy, Republican Challenger to Robert Ehrlich, on "Political Pulse" on Ch. 16 TV in MoCo
Brian Murphy, who is running against Robert Ehrlich to be the Republican nominee for Governor of MD, will be on the "Political Pulse" political talk show on:
Twitter to Post: Bloggers Aren't Your Slaves
Egged on by Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas and film critic Roger Ebert, thousands of Twitterers are pouring in to MPW to read our rejection of the Washington Post's "offer" to work for them for free. As a result, MPW has earned more site traffic by turning down the Post than we would have ever gained through blogoscabbing.
Kagan Hires Campaign Staff
District 17 Senate challenger Cheryl Kagan has announced that she has hired a campaign staffer. Following is her press release.
Business Groups Band Together to Fight Energy Tax
Thirteen business organizations have sent a joint letter to the County Council protesting the County Executive's proposal to double the energy tax. They have attached some truly eye-popping numbers on what the tax would cost MoCo businesses.
Following is the letter and the data supplement.
King and Ali Lock Horns Over Debates
Clearly weary of needling from Delegate Saqib Ali on the subject of debates, Senator Nancy King has responded that she will meet the challenger on her terms. And of course, Ali had something to say about that. Hide the children and enjoy the entertainment, folks!
April 28, 2010Within hours, Ali emailed the following response to King:
Dear Saqib:
Several friends of mine forwarded your press release “challenging” me to debate – your first such challenge since announcing your intention to enter the race to represent District 39 in the Maryland Senate. After receiving their emails, I checked my voicemail, my email and my snail mail. I did not find a message from you anywhere.
Sending a press release in place of direct contact might be the style of Washington politics, but it’s not how our constituents expect us to treat each other. In fact, the people we serve are tired of politicians who go for cheap points in the press, but deny each other basic courtesy when no one is watching.
I welcome the chance to debate. I am proud of my lifelong service to our community and my track record of championing our public schools and protecting our community’s families. I look forward to the opportunity to confront your repeated distortions of my record in open public forums.
Your press release was not specific about your challenge, so I am offering my own. In addition to the candidate forums hosted by community organizations in our district, let’s hold three debates this summer – one in June, one in July and one in August. Each debate will be hosted by a neutral moderator and will be open to the general public.
I hope you will give me the courtesy of a direct response, either by phone, email or snail mail. If you prefer to respond by press release, I hope you will give me the courtesy of adding me to your distribution list.
Sincerely,
Senator Nancy King
Nancy,
Thank you for your prompt response to my debate request. I am glad that you are willing to join me in discussing the issues that most affect our constituents in District 39.
As you know, I have said many times that I have great personal respect for you and hold you in the highest regard. However, I will take strong exception to any accusation that I have distorted your positions. Every statement that I have made about your record has been strictly based on publicly-verifiable votes you have cast and public statements you have made. These are clear matters of public record and I stand by my words. Such an accusation of distortion rings hollow without citing any specific statement. I urge you to provide such a citation if you can find one.
Frankly, I was a bit surprised to see your letter insinuating that I was going for "cheap political points in the press." I have never leveled a single personal attack against you but instead have steadfastly argued only about substantial policy issues. I pledge to continue to do so throughout the entirety of this campaign. Debate and criticism of our legislative records is certainly fair game. On the other hand, you have publicly called me "crazed" and "desperate" in the newspapers and even made false ethics allegations against me. For this reason your complaint would seem to be devoid of any credibility.
In addition to the three debates that you recommended, I insist that we also hold one joint appearance on a radio or television broadcast for those constituents who cannot attend the public forums. I know that Mr. Charles Duffy often hosts such debates on the television show “Political Pulse” on Comcast. I am confident that he would invite us to make a joint appearance on his show. Otherwise, Kojo Nnamdi seemed open to us making a joint appearance on his radio show on WAMU.
Our campaigns can coordinate to arrange the logistics surrounding all four events. As you mentioned in your letter, we should take extra care to ensure that the moderator is unbiased.
All the best,
Saqib
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Governor O'Malley Endorses District 18 Democratic Team
Governor Martin O'Malley has issued the following statement of support for the District 18 Democratic Team, which includes Senator Rich Madaleno and Delegates Ana Sol Gutierrez, Jeff Waldstreicher and Al Carr.
President Obama showed us that when Democrats stick together, we can accomplish incredible things. The District 18 Democratic Team has shown the ability to work together in Annapolis to create economic opportunity, promote public schools, fight for social justice and maintain Montgomery's quality of life. That is why I endorse Senator Madaleno and Delegates Carr, Gutierrez and Waldstreicher: the District 18 Democratic Team. Together, we are moving Maryland forward.The Governor has joined Congressman Chris Van Hollen in endorsing the team for re-election. (Disclosure: your author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.)
Senate Leaders Endorse Lenett
Senator Mike Lenett (D-19) has announced the endorsements of nearly the entire Democratic leadership team in the State Senate, an apparent effort to rebut challenger Roger Manno's claim that "we need a more collaborative type of leadership in Annapolis." Manno's campaign slogan is "Leadership Takes Teamwork."
Following is Lenett's press release.
Ali Challenges King to Debate - Again
Following is the press release from the very busy Ali for Senate campaign.
Delegates Ana Sol Gutierrez and Al Carr Endorse Ali for Senate
District 18 Delegates Ana Sol Gutierrez and Al Carr have endorsed Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39) for Senate against incumbent Nancy King. Following are their statements.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
GreenWheaton Installs Demonstration Garden in Downtown Wheaton
Following is a press release from GreenWheaton.
Hopkins Responds to MPW
Council District 1 candidate Ilaya Hopkins sent the following email to her supporters last night explaining her previous history as an unaffiliated voter and urging them to vote in MPW's poll on her race. Hopkins's email was remarkably effective in moving our poll from an early 80% advantage for Roger Berliner to more than 50% supporting the challenger before Berliner recovered. Now they're running neck and neck, which is really good for Hopkins.
Check this out.
Lenett Mans Up for Manno
Prior to Delegate Roger Manno's announcement for District 19 Senate, we learned that incumbent Senator Mike Lenett's campaign has taken a number of steps to prepare for the anticipated challenge.
MCGEO Slams Leggett for "Obvious Lack of Vision"
In a letter to the County Council last week, MCGEO President Gino Renne sharply criticized County Executive Ike Leggett for failing to abide by language he negotiated with the union calling for a "formal partnership" and "a cost efficiency study group to conduct a top-to-bottom analysis of the County’s management and operational practices." Renne asks the County Council to "step into the leadership void that the Executive Branch has created" and consider "alternatives to the punitive and lopsided recommendations that have been advanced by the County Executive."
Following is the complete letter dated April 16 and posted on MCGEO's website on April 19.
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