In these remarks on August 31, outgoing long-time District 19 Delegate Hank Heller says that Hoan Dang is the House candidate most like him. How curious that he did not give that designation to Bonnie Cullison, who like Heller is a former MCEA President.
Showing posts with label Henry Heller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Henry Heller. Show all posts
Monday, September 13, 2010
Hank Heller Praises Hoan Dang
Friday, April 16, 2010
Lenett's Statement on Heller's Retirement
District 19 Senator Mike Lenett released the following statement on the retirement of Delegate Hank Heller.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2010
STATEMENT OF SENATOR MIKE LENETT ON THE RETIREMENT ANNOUCEMENT OF DELEGATE HANK HELLER
Contact: Sen. Mike Lenett 301-858-3151
Annapolis, MD- I want to thank Delegate Hank Heller for his many years of distinguished public service on behalf of District 19 and the State of Maryland. As Delegate Heller is one of our district’s longest serving representatives on any level of government, we will sorely miss his keen grasp of the issues, steady leadership on budget and education issues, and ongoing contributions to the communities of our district. On a personal level, I will miss his deep institutional knowledge and guidance, which has been invaluable to me, although I fully intend to continue to seek his advice on many issues. I also have admired Hank as someone who has always placed the importance of substantive policy and high integrity above personal political ambitions. I hope people take note of the fact that Hank has finished his legislative career with the same gusto as when he began it – he has had a distinctly vigorous and successful session this year. I am extremely glad we had him there for us in one of the most challenging budget processes in our state’s history. There may be a bunch of candidates clamoring for his seat now, but there is no one that can replace Hank Heller, only succeed him.
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Thursday, April 15, 2010
Delegate Hank Heller to Retire
We have it on good intelligence that Delegate Hank Heller (D-19), who has served six terms in the House, will be publicly announcing his retirement in the near future. This is a noteworthy event in District 19 and could be the first of multiple open seats.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Manno Praises Kramer, Heller; Says Little About Lenett
In an email to his constituents entitled, "Looking Forward to 2010," Delegate Roger Manno (D-19) heaps praise on fellow District 19 Delegates Ben Kramer and Henry Heller, but mentions Senator Mike Lenett only in passing. This is sure to fuel rumors of a primary challenge. We reprint the email below.
2009: Giving thanks, taking stock
and looking forward to 2010...
Dear neighbors:
With 2009 just about behind us, I would be remiss if I didn’t take a few moments to reflect, to thank you for all of your support, and to wish you and your families peace, health and happiness in 2010.
Like so many other states, Maryland faced unprecedented challenges in 2009 due to the national economic climate – and it was clear throughout the year that the everyday difficulties facing working families, retirees and small businesses created additional responsibilities on state government to be resourceful and diligent in addressing these needs.
In addition to working to advance meaningful legislative solutions (please visit www.RogerManno.com for more information), my Annapolis office was inundated with requests for assistance with unemployment benefits, health care benefits, foreclosure assistance, and other aid from every level of government. In all my years working in government, 2009 was among the most challenging and humbling years I’ve encountered, with many heartbreaking cases of average folks facing great adversity. Throughout it all, however, I’ve been amazed by truly remarkable examples of personal triumph by residents coming together to help one another and collaborate for a better community. And throughout the year, my office has worked tirelessly to make government function efficiently in order to provide a high level of responsive public service.
In this regard, I’d like to thank my staff. First and foremost, I’d like to recognize the tireless work of my Office Administrator, Ms. Patricia Fallon. “Ms. Pat” came out of retirement to join our office team in 2007 after working for Maryland governors for several decades. Her understanding of state government, attention to detail, and diligence are only matched by her genuine commitment to public service and her loyalty to the 110,000 residents of the 19th Legislative District. It is always a great personal honor and learning experience for me to serve with her.
In addition, I’d like to thank Kevin Gillogly, Evan Goodman, and numerous volunteers, interns and Fellows in our office, including Ezra Rosenberg, Arie Stock, and Brian O’Laughlin. While all focused on different aspects of legislative, policy and constituent service, all did their level best in 2009 to improve the lives of our District’s residents.
I would also like to thank Delegate Ben Kramer and his terrific aide, Mrs. Sue Chessis, with whom I and my staff share an office in Annapolis. Over the last three years, Ben and I have collaborated to build a “one-stop-shop” legislative office in the House of Delegates that has collectively assisted with thousands of constituent and community concerns on a full-time, year-round basis. He is a hard working, serious legislator with whom I have been proud to work on numerous legislative and community initiatives.
In addition, I’m sure Ben and I can both attest to the leadership and enduring work ethic of our District’s senior legislator, Delegate Hank Heller. A soft spoken, learned public servant, Hank’s contributions to our community over the last 23 years are too vast to adequately articulate here – from extraordinary legislative leadership in the areas of disability rights, education funding and land preservation, Hank has represented our interests in Annapolis for decades. I’m sure that State Senator Michael Lenett and other elected officials will similarly attest to Hank Heller’s leadership, as well.
Finally, thank you for taking time out of your busy lives this year to share with us your thoughts and concerns on how to improve state government, and for working collaboratively with us to improve our community.
Once again, all the best to you and your family in 2010.
Monday, November 30, 2009
District 19 Race Snowballs Early
Three Delegate challengers are now raising money in the District 19 Battle Royal. But here’s the problem: there is no evidence that any of the incumbents are going anywhere.
Sam “Hunk of the Hill” Arora was the first one out of the gate in September. He has now held three fundraisers, one each in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. His latest fundraiser featured former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe. Interestingly, House Majority Leader Kumar “Bad Boy” Barve (D-17) showed up. Arora is now a registered candidate with the State Board of Elections.
Bad Boy Barve and McAuliffe discuss why Annapolis needs a Hunk.
Multiple sources have received phone calls from former MCEA President Bonnie Cullison, who told them that she is running for Delegate and asked them for money. And now Lockheed Martin auditor and civic activist Hoan Dang has held his own fundraiser in the district.
Dang’s campaign card lacks both an authority line and a union bug.
All of this will surely pressure other Delegate contenders to step up their own activities. They are no doubt assuming that one or more of the incumbents are about to leave. Are they right?
Maybe. Here’s a rundown.
Senator Mike Lenett
Lenett is the most certain of the incumbents to run again for his current seat. He made a pre-emptive strike in October with an extravagant mailer touting his progressive institutional support. In 2006, Lenett helped drive long-time Senator Len Teitelbaum from his seat and knocked off two Delegates in the Senate race, producing a possible MoCo record for incumbent removal in one contest. He is smart, tough and well-financed. He also employs David Goodman, a notably aggressive campaign consultant who helped produce Nancy Navarro’s infamous negative mailers in the 2009 District 4 special election.
Delegate Roger Manno
Manno was the top vote-getter in the 2006 Delegate primary, his first race for office. He has a reputation for good constituent service, introduces and fights for numerous pro-labor bills and has many supporters inside the progressive community. If Manno stays in his Delegate seat, he would be a lock to return to Annapolis. But rumors of his considering a challenge to Lenett will not die, even though he has done nothing publicly to encourage them. If Manno ran against Lenett, that campaign would tie the District 17 Senate race as the premier state legislative contest in Montgomery County.
Delegate Ben Kramer
Kramer made it clear that he would rather be in Rockville than Annapolis by running for the District 4 seat in the recent special election. But above all, Kramer wants to be in public life, having run unsuccessfully for council in 1994 and 1998. The safe play for Kramer is to stay in his Delegate seat, which he won in 2006 without being on the Apple Ballot. Kramer is a late decider and a self-funder, so he may not make his decision until next summer.
Delegate Henry Heller
Everyone assumes Heller is retiring, but he has said nothing about it. The six-term Delegate and former MCEA President (see a trend here?) is retired and lives in Leisure World, so he has nothing else to do other than to be a Delegate. We wonder whether Heller will see the machinations of the challengers as disrespectful, causing him to gear up for yet another race. Heller has deep support in Leisure World and it is nearly inconceivable that MCEA could keep him off the Apple Ballot, so he has a real chance to return even if he does not knock on a single door.
So what happens if all four incumbents run again? Could they run as a slate? How many of the challengers will stay in? Would MCEA target an incumbent to help Bonnie Cullison? At this point, there are more questions than answers.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Abuser Expungement Bill Rises From the Grave
Yesterday, we reported that a bill sponsored by Delegate Luiz Simmons (D-17) allowing accused domestic abusers to expunge their records was defeated. But we spoke too soon: the House of Delegates acted today to revive the bill and send it back to the Judiciary Committee to be re-worked.
Simmons’ bill would allow people accused of abuse who had their civil protective orders dismissed or denied by a judge to get those records expunged. Simmons and other bill supporters claim that the existence of these records caused problems for the accused in seeking employment and housing even though they were not upheld in court. Opponents responded that nearly all other civil defendants do not have the right of expungement and questioned why that right should be given to accused abusers alone. Others, including Delegate Cheryl Glenn (D-45), claimed that abused spouses are often reluctant to press charges in court, so their abusers should not be rewarded with expungement rights.
The expungement bill’s 64-69-8 defeat attracted substantial coverage from the Post and the Sun yesterday. But in a startling reversal, the House of Delegates reconsidered its vote on the bill today by a 76-63-2 margin, sending it back to the Judiciary Committee for revamping. The bill’s resurrection is due to the following group of 16 Delegates who voted against it yesterday but then voted to revive it today:
Saqib Ali (D-39)
John Bohanan (D-29B)
Rudolph Cane (D-37A)
Virginia Clagett (D-30)
Steven DeBoy (D-12A)
Adelaide Eckardt (R-37B)
Donald Elliott (R-4B)
James Gilchrist (D-17)
Guy Guzzone (D-13)
Marvin Holmes (D-23B)
Stephen Lafferty (D-42)
Murray Levy (D-28)
James Malone (D-12A)
Shane Pendergrass (D-13)
Justin Ross (D-22)
Frank Turner (D-13)
How could these legislators change their opinion on one bill that was not amended in just 24 hours?
Another fact worth noting is that support for the bill split partially along gender lines. On the first vote, female legislators voted against the bill 15-29-4 while male legislators voted for it 49-40-4. On the second vote, female legislators voted against the bill 17-30-1 while male legislators voted to reconsider it 59-33-1.
Among Montgomery Delegates, Luiz Simmons (D-17), Brian Feldman (D-15), Ben Kramer (D-19) and Henry Heller (D-19) voted for the bill both times, Kumar Barve (D-17) voted for the bill the first time but voted against reconsideration, Saqib Ali (D-39) and James Gilchrist (D-17) voted against the bill but then voted to revive it and the rest of the delegation opposed it consistently.
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