Senator Nancy King was elected as a Delegate in 2002 after serving two terms on the Board of Education. When Senator P.J. Hogan resigned in 2007, the MoCo Democratic Central Committee appointed King to his seat over freshman Delegate Saqib Ali. Ali won his seat in 2006 by defeating incumbent Delegate Joan Stern and is now running against King for Senate. Here is how Progressive Maryland, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters and Equality Maryland have scored both candidates over the last term.
Progressive Maryland
Scores
Ali: 94% in 2007, 94% in 2008, 92% in 2009
King: 94% in 2007, 91% in 2008, 85% in 2009
Votes
Ali: 6-0 in 2007, 6-0 in 2008, 5-0 in 2009
King: 5-0 in 2007, 6-0 in 2008, 7-1 in 2009
Reasons for Scoring Against
Ali: None
King: Voted against electricity reregulation in 2009
Maryland League of Conservation Voters
Scores
Ali: 100% in 2007, 82% in 2008, 100% in 2009
King: 90% in 2007, 70% in 2008, 75% in 2009
Votes
Ali: 13-0 in 2007, 14-3 in 2008, 11-0 in 2009
King: 9-1 in 2007, 7-3 in 2008, 6-2 in 2009
Reasons for Scoring Against
Ali: Voted to delay a ban on phosphorous discharges into the Bay in 2008
King: Voted against tax incentives for high efficiency heating and cooling installation in 2007, voted against strengthening the Global Warming Solutions Act in 2008, voted against a fine on dish detergent manufacturers discharging phosphorous into the Bay in 2008, voted to weaken the Critical Areas Act Reform in 2008, voted to exempt utilities from forest preservation in 2009, voted against stormwater fees in 2009
Equality Maryland
Scores
Ali: 100% in 2008, 100% in 2009
King: 60% in 2008, 75% in 2009
Votes/Co-sponsorships
Ali: 3-0 in 2008, 6-0 in 2009
King: 2-1 in 2008, 3-1 in 2009
Reasons for Scoring Against
Ali: None
King: Did not co-sponsor gay marriage in 2008 or 2009
Average, All Groups
Score
Ali: 95.3%
King: 80.0%
Votes/Co-sponsorships
Ali: 64-3
King: 45-9
Our Take:
Ali has been running to King’s left since last summer, when he called her out on gay marriage, alcopops and combined reporting. But that’s not all. King voted for the slots amendment and Ali voted against it. (Curiously, both voted for the implementing bill.) King co-sponsored and voted for the private school-financing BOAST bill in 2008 but voted against it this year. Ali opposes it. Ali will no doubt seek out other votes to amplify their differences.
Still, King is not Rona Kramer. She is a political moderate who has been endorsed by MCEA, Progressive Maryland and the Sierra Club in the past. District 39 has a history of electing moderates like King and former Senator (and former Republican) P.J. Hogan. Ali’s politics are a good fit for super-liberal District 20, but we do not know if a very progressive message will sell quite as well in this district. Ali is a formidable campaigner who is sticking with his positions, so we’ll find out in a few months.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Senate 39 Voting Records: King vs. Ali
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Ali is perpetual inquiry who seems truly interested in what he is doing and in gathering opinions of the voters, not just the special interests that dominate Montgomery County's Democratic primaries. Any thinking person would vote for Ali; for, he is the greatest. I can't say enough good things about him. Robin Ficker
FYI,
The positions I have continually espoused are not just tailored for "super-liberal District 20". Things like closing corporate tax loopholes, marriage equality and opposition to vouchers for private religious schools are all pretty main-stream Democratic positions. Are they not?
2) Voting for the slots implementation bill is certainly not the same thing as voting for the slots referendum. Here's why: the implementation bill was contingent on passage of the referendum. So I voted against the constitutional amendment because I opposed slots. I voted for the implementation bill so that if the amendment passed, we would have the necessary parameters in place. There was nothing in the implementation bill that made passage of the referendum easier or more likely.
Saqib,
Unfortunately, they are not mainstream Democratic positions in Maryland, only in some hazy, far-off Shangri-La that was formerly known as the Democratic Party.
That's why I'm challenging the "Democratic team" in 18, and why, I expect, you're doing your thing as well.
Dana, I think you were being sarcastic, but I'm not sure. So here is some data:
Marriage equality is supported by
55% of Marylanders now.
So if 55% of all Marylanders support marriage equality, it's reasonable to assume that number would be higher in Montgomery County. And its reasonable to assume that number would be still higher amongst Montgomery County Democrats.
As for closing corporate tax loopholes through combined reporting 23 states have enacted this important tax reform.
School Voucher are a well known issue that many Democrats oppose. It's pretty well known.
Saqib, I was not being sarcastic. I was simply reinforcing what you said, and using it to point out that these are, unfortunately, not positions that the Party holds dear. The people, yes. The Party, no.
As Aaron Davis pointed out on March 1st in The Post in the story about the AG's recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages, we are a center-left state being governed from the right.
I believe that needs to change.
Post a Comment