Senator Brian Frosh (D-16), who is the Chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee and has endorsed committee member Jennie Forehand, has released a statement defending Forehand from Cheryl Kagan's first negative mailer. In the mailer, Kagan criticized Forehand for missing a vote on a critical amendment to a bill repealing the death penalty that changed its purpose to restricting rather than ending it. Following is Frosh's statement, which was circulated by Forehand's campaign.
Setting the Record Straight
August 2010
Dear Friends:
I worked closely with Governor O'Malley to repeal the death penalty. Senator Jennie Forehand was a critical ally in our fight to end capital punishment in Maryland. Jennie voted with repeal advocates in each critical vote during the process.
Jennie voted for the repeal in the Judicial Proceedings Committee;
When the repeal fell short in committee, Jennie voted to bring the bill to the Senate floor over the objections of the Senate President;
When her vote was needed to start debate, Jennie was there - casting the deciding vote to move the debate forward;
When Senate Republicans tried to kill the bill by sending it back to Committee, Jennie voted to keep the issue on the Senate floor; and
Jennie voted for the final version of the bill, which dramatically restricted capital punishment in Maryland, limiting it to the rarest of situations.
We took a dozen tough votes on the issue, and Jennie voted with repeal advocates at each critical step. You can see the final Senate vote that passed the bill here and the full public record here.
I was there, and I know the important role that Jennie played. She was there when repeal advocates needed her, taking tough votes and standing up to the Senate President when she thought he was wrong.
Jennie Forehand takes her duties seriously. She's never backed away from a tough fight, and she works hard for the residents of District 17. Whether you vote early or on Election Day this year, I hope you vote to send Jennie back to the Maryland Senate.
Sincerely,
Brian E. Frosh
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Frosh Defends Forehand from Kagan's Negative Mail
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2 comments:
While I respect Sen. Frosh and the work that he does in Annapolis, I must take issue with the partial story he told about Jennie Forehand’s record on the death penalty.
In the path from idea to law, bills usually face one particularly critical juncture in the legislative process. In the case of Senate Bill 279, it was the amendment that turned the bill from a complete repeal of the death penalty to simply a restriction on its use. That’s a big change, and that’s the vote Jennie ducked (http://mlis.state.md.us/2009rs/votes/senate/0293.htm.)
When faced with one of the most solemn public policy issues-- whether or not to repeal the death penalty-- Jennie Forehand seems to want it both ways...or rather, multiple ways.
First, she voted for total abolition of the death penalty in committee. Then, she took a walk when the bill came to the floor. Now, on the campaign trail, she says that the death penalty is appropriate in some situations (see debate footage at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrUVr5F1G0s&feature=player_embedded). Yes, undecided, and no: wherever you stand on the issue, Jennie Forehand has a position you’ll like. Very polite of her, but that’s not leadership.
William Rice
Campaign Manager
Cheryl Kagan for State Senate
I advocate for the repeal of the death penalty in Maryland, which politics, like the kind being played out here in black and white, has thus far prevented. If Kagan's campaign manager considers this a "solemn" issue why then does the Kagan campaign persist in this disingenuous course? Kagan does not support the repeal of the death penalty. Forehand's missing one vote on the Senate floor is a non-issue. What exactly is Kagan's point? Is she upset that her own tactics have resulted in publicly pushing an incumbent who has consistently voted the right way on this issue to the right, where Kagan herself has always been? Kindly leave the repeal out of your campaign rhetoric and let those of us who actually believe the death penalty should be abolished decide where the fault lies.
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