House Majority Leader Kumar "Bad Boy" Barve was first elected in 1990 and has been wisecracking his way through Annapolis ever since. Here are three lit pieces from early in his career.
1990: "Hey Kids!!" That's right - only Kumar would recruit volunteers by openly calling them "kids."
1990: "Who Cares?" This is an unusual slogan for someone trying to earn votes for office, but this is the offbeat Kumar we know and love.
1994: "Draft Notice." We predict the Bad Boy will not be sending out any more of these!
Showing posts with label District 17. Show all posts
Showing posts with label District 17. Show all posts
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Best of the Bad Boy
Monday, November 01, 2010
Kumar Barve's Economy Mailer
This is the second of two general election mailers from House Majority Leader Kumar Barve (D-17).
Domestic Violence Victim Takes on Simmons
Amy Castillo is a MoCo pediatrician who unsuccessfully tried to get a final protective order against her abusive husband, who later drowned her three children. Castillo testified before the House Judiciary Committee in support of a bill sponsored by Delegate Sue Hecht (D-3A) and Senator Jennie Forehand (D-17) that would have made it easier for abuse victims to obtain protective orders. Delegate Luiz Simmons (D-17) went after Castillo at the hearing and the committee killed the bill. Now Castillo is endorsing Simmons's Republican opponent, Dan Campos, in this mailer.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Campos Goes After Simmons on Domestic Violence
Republican District 17 House candidate Dan Campos has sent out the mailer below going after Democratic Delegate Luiz Simmons on domestic violence. Simmons is running on that issue, but Campos reminds voters of his introduction of the abuser expungement bill and his vote against a bill that would have made it easier for abuse victims to get protective orders. These sorts of votes are a big reason why Montgomery County NOW and NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland have endorsed Campos instead of Simmons despite Campos's running as a Republican.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Kumar Barve's Education Mailer
This is one of two general election mailers House Majority Leader Kumar Barve (D-17) is sending out this week.
Luiz Simmons Runs on Domestic Violence Issue
Delegate Luiz Simmons (D-17) has sent out the following general election mailer touting his credentials in fighting domestic violence. We find his issue choice ironic given his introduction of a bill to allow accused abusers to expunge their court records, his vote against another bill that would have made it easier to obtain protective orders from abusers and his conduct in a hearing with a victim whose children were killed by an abuser.
Friday, October 08, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Cheryl Kagan's Concession Statement
District 17 Senate challenger Cheryl Kagan has sent the following email to her supporters after losing a very close race to Senator Jennie Forehand.
Dear Friends:
Now that the Primary Election is behind us, I want to thank you for your support throughout this campaign and for your kind words in the past few days. Both have meant the world to me.
I congratulate Jennie Forehand for her 32 years of service to our district and her victory on Tuesday. I wish her well in these next four years. Surely, they will be challenging ones for the State… and therefore for Montgomery County’s fiscal stake in it.
I continue to be proud to be a Democrat… and a democrat. I am proud of the progressive ideals of our Democratic Party. We stand for justice, equality, compassion, economic opportunity, common sense fiscal solutions, and a commitment to protecting our environment and the people who live in it.
I am also proud that we live in a democracy, where open debate, dissent, and dynamic elections are expected and encouraged.
Thanks to over 1,000 donors and volunteers, we communicated our message to every corner of District 17. The voters in Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Garrett Park were warm and welcoming when I knocked on their doors. They shared their concerns and their hopes for the future. I met so many active, engaged citizens and was always inspired by their stories.
Election Day fell this year in the midst of the Jewish High Holy Days, which are a time to look back to evaluate our behavior and to look forward with hope. This confluence of events was both a challenge and an opportunity. As a candidate it is hard to put aside worldly considerations four days from Election Day. But it was also fitting, because in elections we review history and chart future directions.
My sincerest thanks go out to everyone who contributed their time, money and ideas to our effort. We pulled together a dynamic and diverse community that believed that tough times call for tough choices, hard work, and the effective advocacy needed to bring about change. I hope that each of you will continue to stay engaged in the political process. Our democracy depends on the involvement of talented, thoughtful and caring people like you. And I hope that you will see the extraordinary challenges we face as opportunities for the creative solutions that can result from a fresh look at what is possible and a renewed energy to bring it to fruition.
I will continue to be active in the Party and in our community. Right now, however, I am looking forward to taking some time to relax with my wonderful husband and address a lengthy to-do list that has grown during the months I was on the campaign trail.
I am humbled by the kindness and generosity I have received from so many. Even though we didn’t achieve the result we were hoping for, this is truly one of those efforts in which the journey is an end in itself.
Political campaigns are busy, noisy, exhausting and sometimes bewildering, but in a certain, special way, they are quietly enlightening. Even if you’ve lived there for years, you get to know your district better than you ever did before. Though you’ve studied them in theory, you understand the issues better and in a deeper, more concrete way. And you get to know the people you’re working with-- often during 14 hour days, often in difficult circumstances-- in a way that’s revealing and endearing and fascinating. For all of that, I am grateful.
Best wishes to you all,
Cheryl
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Absentee Ballot Counts
One of our informants forwarded the following absentee ballot counts by legislative district. These counts have implications for a number of close races.
Democratic Absentee Ballots, as of 10am this morning...
D14: 636 requested -- 320 returned so far
D15: 692 requested -- 312 returned so far
D16: 1735 requested -- 868 returned so far
D17: 814 requested -- 461 returned so far
D18: 1266 requested -- 599 returned so far
D19: 925 requested -- 528 returned so far
D20: 731 requested -- 297 returned so far
D39: 430 requested -- 208 returned so far
The spy notes, "If the absentees returned don't increase dramatically, Rona Kramer would have to take 60% of them, Kyle Lierman would need 65% and Cheryl Kagan would need 80%."
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
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Monday, September 13, 2010
A Personal Perspective on the District 17 Senate Race
By Sima Osdoby.
It is no secret that I am supporting Cheryl Kagan in the District 17 Senate race, since my husband and I hosted her kick off fundraiser.
I have a long history with both Cheryl Kagan and Jennie Forehand and consider both of them friends. I respect Jennie and appreciate her 32-years of service, but believe strongly that the focused and activist leadership that Cheryl offers is very much needed right now as we face tough choices in the worst economic environment in generations.
This race is wonderful in some ways because the voters of District 17 are choosing between two fine candidates, and they also happen to be women. But this race has presented me, and others, with a choice that we wish we did not have to make. It raises issues about tenure, how campaigns are conducted, and more recently, what standards of conduct should be respected in campaigning.
Anna Quindlen’s last regular column for Newsweek in May 2009 captured some of what for me was at issue regarding tenure. In it she states "Throughout the country there seems to be an understanding that this is and ought to be a time of reinvention, in the economy, in education, in the office. But no one seems eager to reinvent on an individual level. Yet never has there been a time when fresh perspective and new ideas were more necessary." Beyond this quote, the column also examines the difficulty of knowing when it is time to let go and move on.
Businesses, nonprofits and even government agencies face similar issues such as deciding when founders or long-time staff should leave, if there should be mandatory retirement, or how to implement the now accepted best practice of term limits to insure turnover in nonprofit governing boards.
But in politics, tenure is what is at stake. Being an “insider” can be good in terms of “bringing home the bacon” but it also can have a downside if and when incumbents lose touch with their constituents. More often than not, in elections, incumbency presents an overwhelming advantage. If incumbents vote “right” on the issues, the default or general rule is that they get support from political allies and PACs. Senate President Mike Miller’s support for Senator Forehand was completely expected. It would have been a surprise if he had not supported a loyal incumbent of his own party.
As this campaign progressed, Cheryl Kagan, the challenger, amassed increasingly more endorsements and support from community leaders; current and former elected officials; labor, business, and advocacy organizations. As people began to take sides, some people were annoyed that Kagan was challenging the incumbent, was too assertive and should wait her turn, but discontent with the incumbent also surfaced more openly. Neighbors abutting the new District Court building were angry with Senator Forehand because they felt that she had not done enough to address concerns about the impact of its overwhelming size and mass on a fragile historic district – an important part of her base.
There were also those who hoped that Jennie would take the opportunity to leave on a high note. I was among them. The prospect of the kind of campaign that a challenger would have to wage against a long-term incumbent was not inviting. Jennie did not step aside, and, inevitably, “The Classiest Race in MoCo” turned negative.
Even in this most competitive and ambitious of places, our campaigns have generally focused on issues. Putting aside some of the more contested municipal races, District 17 has not seen a competitive, vigorous one-on-one primary race since 1990, when then-Delegate Mary Boergers defeated incumbent Senator Frank Shore with 71% of the vote. For 20 years, legislative succession has occurred when open seats were filled in generally polite competition.
But in competitive races, candidates have to make their case before the voters, draw a contrast and give reasons to vote for them and not their opponent. Like them or not, the negative mailers that began arriving in mid-August were what one might expect in a competitive race.
But last week I received a mailer that I found so disturbing that I shared it with MPW and wrote that “I was really upset when today’s mailer came from Jennie. It really crossed a line for me.” In what MPW calls “The Tobacco Mailer” I found the visual images, references to a personal relationship and the implications of the text sleazy and loaded with innuendo.
With apologies to Justice Potter Stewart, I cannot define where the boundary is between vigorous campaigning and being nasty, but I know it when I see it. This was nasty. Personal and nasty. I was disappointed and concerned. I still am.
This, and the previous “gift” mailer from Senator Forehand, seemed more like a Machiavellian tactic out of Karl Rove's book, mischaracterizing and distorting opponents' strengths. Even more troubling was its arrival a few hours before Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the most solemn time of year for the many Jews in District 17. A Robocall the next day, in the midst of this religious holiday in which even area public schools are closed, made me wonder even more, not only about whose advice she was taking, but if this courteous and thoughtful woman whom I have known for more than two decades had lost touch with the sensitivities of her district.
I hope not.
I am not a pundit and cannot predict how this election will turn out. When it is over, I hope that there is some discussion and agreement about what is and what is not acceptable in our campaigns, and at least some exploration of where to draw lines where vigorous campaigning ends and nastiness begins.
A 36-year Montgomery County resident, Sima Osdoby has been active in civic affairs and politics. In 1990, she managed the Democratic slate that included Jennie Forehand.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Unforced Error
Several sources report that Senator Jennie Forehand's campaign made a robocall on Rosh Hashanah! One spy says, "It was a vanilla message, but it came at 2 pm Thursday, just as Jewish families were sitting down to an important holiday meal after spending the morning in synagogue." Forehand should know better because she is a veteran of many elections. But... most of those elections did not have a serious opponent.
Friday, September 10, 2010
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