Teaser: Campaign Finance Reports Tell Some Tales

  We know our readers look forward to Cecil Times reports and analysis of local candidates’ campaign finance reports and we are hard at work on searching and reviewing the latest pre-primary reports that were due to be filed with the state Board of Elections this week. The state Board and the computer databases have been swamped and the reports of some important candidates who have filed are not yet available online. We will be doing detailed reports in all key races in the county and District 36 state contests in the course of the next few days.

  But we thought we’d tantalize you with a few nuggets, to be mined more fully later.

Sheriff’s Race:

— Incumbent Republican Barry Janney is, as usual, well-financed but his campaign pockets are nowhere near as full as in past campaigns when he had far less competition. He has raised nearly $21,000 so far this year, adding on to a carry-over balance from 2009 of  $26,877. After expenses, he has $19,337 left in cash on hand to carry him through his contested Republican primary.

–GOP challenger Dan Slater gets the gold star for most improved fundraising, expanding his reach to southern Cecil County with a Crystal Beach barbecue and other events. His latest report shows he raised $7,805 since January. He began the year with a cash balance of $1,151 but after expenses, he is just about tapped out. He has just $69.01 cash in the bank.

–Democratic candidate Robert “Skip” DeWitt has made a strong showing after entering the primary late in the game, after rival Chris Sutton had been fundraising for over a year.  DeWitt has raised $7,275, and after expenses still has $2,230 cash on hand.

  Sutton’s report has been filed but was not yet available online.

In other races:

–County Commissioner Brian Lockhart (D-3) is a major bankroller of Democratic Commissioner Wayne Tome’s campaign for re-election in Dist. 4.

–Wonder of wonders, Del. Michael Smigiel (R-36) has actually filed his latest finance report on time! He has been levied late fee fines repeatedly in the past by the State Elections Board, in one case for filing well over a year late. This year,  Smigiel has had to rely heavily on personal loans to his campaign as well as some political action committees and out-of-district donors.

We’ll be back with much more, soon. But first we have some unfinished business, following up on the League of Women Voters candidate forum from Tuesday night.

Candidates’ Forum: Civility and Cliff’s Notes for Cecil County Issues

  The first local candidates’ forum this week highlighted several hot-button Cecil County issues, and personalities, but the 100 or so people who attended the “Cecil County Patriots” forum for Republican county commissioner candidates heard some thoughtful observations,  politely expressed, as well as the (we admit it) headline-grabbing political outburst by one candidate.

   As The Cecil Times reported here within two hours of the forum’s conclusion Monday night, ( https://ceciltimes.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/kolodzey-blasts-pipkin-smigiel-they-will-destroy-this-county/ ) political newcomer Ted Kolodzey lashed out at the powerful GOP State Sen. E.J. Pipkin and Del.  Michael Smigiel, both R-36th District.  Three  political allies of the duo,  commissioner candidates from the Cecil Young Republicans Club, boycotted the forum sponsored by the local affiliate of the “tea party” movement.

   But apart from the brief moments of drama from one candidate, attendees were given a polite, almost academic discussion of a handful of issues, with each candidate given ample opportunity and time to respond to other candidates and to make a closing statement at the end of the evening. The forum was moderated by a member of Toastmasters’ International, who simply read questions and monitored times for responses but did not interject into the candidates’ statements.

   Some absentees from the forum have been attacking the event as some sort of a lynch mob, but for anyone present at the VFW hall in North East, nothing could be farther from the reality of the event.  Regardless of one’s agreement or disagreement with the “tea party” movement or the local group, the forum could not be characterized as anything but fair to all the candidates and raising issues of general interest in the county. There was no shouting, no catcalls and only some polite applause as each panel of candidates concluded their presentations.

   That said, some of the candidates had in depth knowledge, some had one-note responses on a variety of local issues and others had just a glancing familiarity with some basic points. So here is our report on the highlights of the issues and the candidates’ comments, with a few Cliff’s Notes for background.

    1. Artesian Water takeover of county water/sewer facilities: (County Commissioners sold county-owned water and sewage treatment plants to the private Artesian operation in what was touted as a way to get private funding for expansion of infrastructure in the I-95-Rt. 40 growth corridor. The sale is currently under court challenge.)

     Tari Moore, candidate for the GOP nomination in District 2, said that “aging” systems were a cost to the county and it was better to have them “sold” to “professionals” who could operate them properly. “I think it was a wise decision,” she said. Diana Broomell, a candidate for the Republican nomination in District 4, agreed with Moore’s assertion that “aging” systems were a burden on the county and better off sold to private interests.  Kolodzey, seeking the GOP nomination in District 3, said he favored privatization of many government services: “I support anytime anything goes private.”

    But former Commissioner Harry Hepbron, seeking his old District 3 seat, questioned the decision made after he left the board to sell the water and sewer facilities to private interests. He cited upgrades to county facilities during his tenure on the board and challenged the assertion that the county was unloading “aging” and deficient facilities. Since Artesian is a private profit-making company, citizens will clearly face higher user fees to allow the company to make profits, he said. Furthermore, by giving up water and sewer lines, the county has no power over where new lines go and loses its ability to direct infrastructure to the growth corridor. He said a better option might have been keeping county control over lines but outsourcing operation of water/sewer plants.

2. Revenue Growth, Spending Cuts– Moore said it was “absolutely critical” to promote economic development but also key to reduce “wasteful spending” by county government. Kolodzey said there should be significant spending cuts in county government and “they have to be forced.” Broomell cited her work organizing several “tea party” events last year as proof of her commitment to cutting spending by government and said the county budget should “start at zero” each year.

    Hepbron advocated a balanced approach, calling for expansion of the revenue base through incentives to business to locate in the county and create jobs for local residents as well as “in house” efficiencies and cost-savings. He cited his role as a commissioner in promoting “green power” to recapture gases from the county landfill that could be used as energy sources for the county to cut costs as well as selling energy to business as a new revenue source.

3. Economic Development/Jobs– (The current county budget cut spending for economic growth initiatives. Recent reports show most of the BRAC economic development, due to expansion of operations at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, is going to  job creation in Harford County.)

   Kolodzey said it was a “chicken and the egg” proposition and that cutting county taxes was top priority: “You need to do that (cut taxes) first and jobs will come second.” Hepbron said that “new jobs mean new revenues” for the county so that there is less reliance on property taxes to fund the county budget. He cited his experience  as a Commissioner to lure large businesses to the county with incentives, due to competition from nearby states, and that such incentives pay off in the long run through increased revenues and job creation.

    Broomell said that local employers and Cecil College should work together to promote job skills needed by business. She also said she was concerned that “we allow franchises to come in and undercut local business…the Super Wal-Mart’s are very detrimental to our local businesses.” Moore said that the county’s economic development office had brought in more new jobs than were lost due to the recession. She said the county needs to more aggressively seek BRAC-related jobs and economic development.

4. Charter Government– (Voters will decide on the November ballot whether to approve a change from commissioners to charter government, with a highly compensated, elected county executive in charge of most day to day decisions with a lower-paid, no benefits panel of county council members acting as reviewers of county executive actions.)

  Most of the candidates opposed charter government, with some saying it would cost taxpayers more money. Broomell said she favored “code home rule,” which would keep the current 5-member commissioners’ panel without a county executive, because code home rule provides more independence from Annapolis than either the current 5-member Commissioners form of government or the proposed charter government. (But code home rule is not on the ballot for voters to consider, only a yes or no vote on whether to adopt a charter form of government.)

  Kolodzey also opposed charter, saying he favored the commissioner form of government. “It will cost more and not be more efficient,” he said of charter government. Moore said that it was “more important who we elect” than the form of government. She said there needed to be more long-range planning for the future of the county.

  Hepbron cited his experience under the old three-member commissioners board, where there could be compromises reached after back-and-forth discussions, versus the newer five-member, staggered terms board. He said the current system led to stalemate, with two or three members always running for re-election and unwilling to make tough decisions.  In contrast to this system, he said he would favor charter government. But he also indicated he would be comfortable with an enhanced-powers five-member board, such as would be provided under code home rule form of government.

   The Cecil County Patriots will host another candidates forum later this month for Democratic candidates for County Commissioner.

As the GOP Central Committee Turns: New Drama Unfolds Online

  What is rapidly becoming our favorite local soap opera, “As the Republican Central Committee Contest Turns, ” unveiled a new installment online, with the Facebook announcement of a unified “ticket” led by Young Republicans (AKA “Republicans of Cecil,” AKA the Smigiel-Pipkin team) seeking to take over the nine seats on the GOP Central Committee at stake in this year’s elections.  The group drew in two incumbents from the current Central Committee and shut out any “tea party” candidates.

  At the same time, two Young Repubican (YR)  stalwarts, Chris Zeauskas and Michael Dawson, publicly “dissed” the tea party folks (known locally as the “Cecil County Patriots”) by boycotting the group’s scheduled Monday night candidates’ forum for Republican candidates for County Commissioner. Zeauskas is running for the GOP nomination in the 2nd District against Tari Moore. Dawson is seeking the GOP nomination for Commissioner in District 4, the seat currently held by Democrat Wayne Tome.

 As The Cecil Times reported here:  https://ceciltimes.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/gop-central-committee-drama-so-many-candidates-so-few-seats/  the July 6 filing deadline for candidates created a political drama at the local Elections Board as 22 candidates filed for just 9 seats on the GOP committee.

  In the latest episode of our local drama, the new YR-led slate for the Central Committee is calling itself the “Cecil County Republican Fiscal Conservative Central Committee Team.” The group includes the usual suspects of the YR group: Ted Patterson, president of the YR and a candidate for state delegate as well as a candidate for county GOP committee; Zeauskas, vice president of the YR; Dawson, who has been the “political director” of YR; Carrie Taylor, a YR-er who recently took over as president of the county Republican Women’s club and is also running for county Treasurer; Joe Tropp, the “vice-chairman” of the new “Republicans of Cecil” (ROC) group that is hosted on the YR website and mirrors the membership of that group; and Michael W. Dunn, a co-founder of YR, the legislative aide to Del. Michael Smigiel (R-36) and also a current candidate in the GOP primary for County Commissioner in District 3.

  Although he doesn’t meet the age-bracket of the YR-ers, County Commissioner James Mullin (R-1st) has signed up for the YR-led Central Committee slate. But he has said he “owes” the YR-ers for volunteering in his successful campaign two years ago. Mullin has also been firmly aligned with the Smigiel-Pipkin camp in the past. (But we ARE wondering what is going on on his Earleville front lawn, which in the past has always displayed huge Pipkin-Smigiel signs but so far this year is only posting small signs for Bob Ehrlich, a Kent County GOP candidate for Delegate, and a local GOP candidate for clerk of the court.)

  Then there are the two “pick-ups” from the incumbent GOP Central Committee: James W. Hutchinson, currently secretary of the committee, and Brad Carrillo, a member.

    The fact that the “tea party” folks who also filed as candidates for the  GOP Central Committee were shunned by the new YR-led slate makes for some interesting dynamics in this emerging contest. That could lead the other incumbent committee members to court some of the five  or six “tea party” candidates who filed for the committee, plus some of the ‘wild card’ candidates, if the remaining incumbents choose to form a slate.  

   One question that has yet to be answered: why are the YR-ers running for everything– state office, county elective office, and county GOP committee slots– simultaneously?  Could it be that someone is channeling that famous line from the movie “Wall Street,” that is scheduled for a sequel to be released this fall?

36th Delegate Seat: With GOP Friends Like This, Who Needs Democrats?

   Queen Anne’s County Democrats have taken a pass on fielding a candidate for that county’s resident Delegate in the 36th District but incumbent Republican Richard Sossi got a last-minute challenge from an unexpected source: the former campaign treasurer for fellow 36th District Republican Sen. E.J. Pipkin’s failed race for Congress two years ago.

   Stephen S. Hershey, Jr. of Queenstown, an unsuccessful 2002 candidate for Queen Anne’s County commissioner and a political appointee in former Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s administration, filed his candidacy for the Delegate seat on July 6, the last day to file. No Democrat filed by that deadline to seek that party’s nomination for the seat and the county’s Democratic Central Committee had until July 21 to appoint a candidate to run.  But state election records show no such candidate was put forward.

   Hershey, a commercial real estate executive, served as an assistant secretary of the state Department of Planning and also as an assistant secretary in charge of state property management in the Department of Natural Resources in the Ehrlich administration. The Baltimore Sun reported at the time that Hershey was one of three “political appointees'” named by Ehrlich to newly created top positions at the planning agency. ( http://www.latimes.com/features/bal-jobs061603,0,5461236,full.story )

   In the 2008 election season, Hershey served as the campaign treasurer for E.J. Pipkin’s failed attempt to obtain the Republican nomination for the First District Congressional seat.  Federal Election Commission records show that Hershey, as treasurer, was cited for failure to file a required campaign finance report for the Pipkin campaign account and the campaign was fined $250 in September, 2009.

   In an interview with The Cecil Times, Hershey said he “had a lot of conversations,” including with Pipkin, about filing in the GOP primary for the House of Delegates seat. Since there was a period of uncertainty over Pipkin’s plans and whether he would run for his Senate seat again, “there were a number of us discussing the Delegate’s seat,” Hershey said. (If Pipkin had given up his Senate seat to run for another office, possibly state Comptroller, Sossi was expected to seek the Senate seat and give up his House seat.)

  Pipkin filed for re-election to his Senate seat on June 30, a week before Hershey filed for the Delegate’s race. Sossi filed for re-election to his House seat nearly a month before Hershey filed.

  “I think the timing was still correct” to run for the Delegate’s seat, Hershey said, adding that “most people I talked to about it” did not oppose his getting into the race. ( He did not speak to Sossi before filing.)

   “Everyone who knows me knows I’m a hard worker,” Hershey said.

    Hershey, 46, a native of Bowie, MD, has lived in Queenstown for more than ten years. He graduated from Catholic University and holds an MBA degree from George Washington University. He has been active in Queen Anne’s County GOP groups, including the Republican Central Committee and the county’s Republican Club. He has also done volunteer work and coached youth football.

   State campaign finance records show he donated $500 to Ehrlich’s gubernatorial campaign in 2006, a modest amount to have been rewarded with a plum assistant secretary’s job paying more than $74,000. Hershey said he worked hard as a volunteer for Ehrlich’s campaign. The state records also show Hershey donated $300 to Pipkin’s 2006 Senate re-election campaign. He has also made donations to the county Republican Central Committee but not to Sossi’s campaigns.

    Sossi, who has been aggressively fund-raising for more than a year in anticipation of a possible state Senate seat run, is well-positioned financially for a re-election bid  to the House and the fact that Democrats chose not to challenge him means he can aim most of his considerable warchest at Hershey in the GOP primary.   

     Sossi didn’t seem particularly concerned about Hershey’s late entry into the primary, telling The Cecil Times, “Well, he paid his filing fee, that’s his right.”  But, Sossi added, “I still haven’t heard why is he really running.”

   However, the political signs going up all over the 36th District might tell the tale.  In southern Cecil County, individual Hershey signs have been posted in clusters with joint  signs touting the candidacy of Pipkin and his comrade-in-GOP-arms, Del. Michael Smigiel, R-36. Our spies in Kent and Queen Anne’s counties tell us the same thing is going on there. Hershey’s small signs are brown and look like the candy bar of the same name, but with a few modifications to probably keep the trademark lawyers at bay.

   Individual Sossi signs are showing up in the company of joint Ehrlich for Governor and Andy Harris for Congress signs in Kent and Queen Anne’s, our spies tell us.  

   Sossi has been carving out an increasingly independent course from the Pipkin-Smigiel duo. He refused to co-sponsor their attempt to impose from Annapolis a  mandated Cecil County property tax rate on the county commissioners.  The Pipkin-Smigiel legislation was killed in Annapolis– an embarassing outcome for local lawmakers’ sponsorship of a local bill– after the Cecil County Commissioners hired a lobbyist and commissioners personally appeared in Annapolis to oppose the Pipkin-Smigiel gambit.

 (On their own, the Cecil County Commissioners cut the local property tax rate and potential revenues to the county in the new Fiscal 2011 budget, cutting the past rate to the “constant yield” tax rate. But, to meet their bare bones budget, the Commissioners then cut popular services such as free recycling of plastic bottles and cans at the county landfill.  Smigiel and Pipkin have attacked the Cecil County Comissioners repeatedly on tax issues but have been notably silent on the recycling and trash “fee” increase imposed by the majority Republicans on the five-member county board. One Democrat opposed it and the other Democrat abstained.)

     Sossi was the top vote getter in the 2006 House of Delegates races in the district. Under the arcane system for voting in the district, three Delegates are elected but each must be a resident of Cecil, Kent OR Queen Anne’s Counties. Residents of each county, as well as three precincts in Caroline County, cast ballots for three Delegates to represent the District. (In Cecil County, about half of the county is in the district, including southern Cecil, Elkton and a few westward precincts.)

   Sossi  is a graduate of the University of Colorado and served five years in the U.S. Navy, including duty in Vietnam. He also served his country as a deputy branch chief of the super-secret National Security Agency and received advanced training in Chinese language studies and cryptology.  Before running for political office, he owned and operated a military antiques store.

36th Senate: Democratic Dances with Pipkin

 Comparing the two Democrats who have filed to run against incumbent Republican Sen. E.J. Pipkin in the 36th District Senate race is like comparing the 1960’s Bristol Stomp to a courtly minuet, or the classic English “contra dancing” performed professionally by one of the candidates.

  Former Elkton Mayor Robert Alt gets right to the point: “I would improve communications between the local municipalities and the county with our state delegation. It’s hard to get the state to hear our voices in Annapolis with our state delegation the way it is now.” (How does that old song go: “the kids in Bristol are sharp as a pistol when they do the Bristol Stomp…”)

   Steven Mumford, of Chestertown, making his first bid for elected office, said in an interview with The Cecil Times: “I don’t want to say anything bad about Senator Pipkin.”  (Cue the violins for a courtly rendition of Eighteenth Century ballroom dancing in a country castle…)

   The two Democrats will square off in the September primary for the expected chance to oppose Pipkin in November. Pipkin has a GOP primary challenger, Donald Alcorn, who is considered a longshot against the always well-financed (and usually largely self-financed) Pipkin campaign.

  Mumford is a political newcomer but members of his family are firmly planted in the Kent County political soil. His mother, Mabel Mumford-Pautz, is a  long time member of the Chestertown town council from Ward 3 and his brother, Mark Mumford, is Clerk of the Court.

   Mumford currently operates a business offering walking tours of historic houses in Chestertown and with his family has restored historic properties in the area. He has been a professional dancer, appearing in the movie “Wedding Crashers,” and currently dances with English contra dancing groups that peform at historical properties such as Mount Harmon in Cecil County. He has also coached youth swim teams. His Washington College Class of 1986 reunion profile is posted here:  http://1986.washcoll.edu/stevenmumford/

    Alt,49, grew up in Chesapeake City and attended Salisbury State. He was elected to the Elkton town council in 1994 and was elected mayor in 1998 and served until 2002.  He is also a former member of the Cecil County Democratic Central Committee. Alt was named “Outstanding Marylander of the Year” by the Jaycees in 2000 and he was a member of the Maryland Municipal League and served on several committees of the organization.

    Alt sees the problems in Annapolis from the perspective of the towns and counties in the 36th District, which includes about half of Cecil County, part of Caroline County, and all of Kent and Queen Anne’s counties. “I’m a municipality guy,” he said, adding that the towns, and in turn the counties, are suffering in difficult economic times and face dwinding aid from the state. That directly impacts local citizens, he said.

    The delegation could do more to promote local economic development, Alt said, and pointed to his own partnership role in re-developing the old Pirelli building in Elkton into a small business “hub” that is now about 40 percent occupied despite the current economic climate.

   Alt said the state delegation should work more co-operatively, both with each other and with the counties and towns on a wide array of issues.  But the current leadership of the delegation,  now chaired by Pipkin ally Del. Michael Smigiel (R-36), “doesn’t want to meet and they really don’t want to hear from anyone else,” Alt said. “They only want to have their own way and I believe that is being driven by Sen. Pipkin.”

    Alt said he was concerned with environmental issues and protection of the Bay and noted that Sen. Pipkin has had low scores from the Maryland League of Conservation Voters. Alt said he would actively seek support from environmentally-concerned voters. (The League has already endorsed Pipkin’s opponent, Alcorn, in the Republican primary.)

    Until finally filing for re-election a week before the deadline, Pipkin did a few dances of his own:  first tangoing with Andy Harris for a potential re-match in the GOP primary for a shot at the 1st District congressional seat, and then performing a dosie-do over whether to jump into the statewide race for comptroller against incumbent Democrat Peter Franchot. Finally, he decided to dance with the voters who first brought him to the 36th District Senate seat in 2002 and re-stamped his electoral dance card in 2006.

    “I’m not sure Pipkin knows what job he really wants,” Alt observed.

     Mumford said the biggest difference between himself and Pipkin is “I’m from here, the Eastern Shore, and he is not.” Pipkin grew up in Dundalk, in Baltimore county, and moved to Queen Anne’s County after retiring from a career as a junk bond trader in New York. Several years ago, Pipkin sold his waterfront estate and moved to Elkton, but he filed for re-election using a Queen Anne’s County mail box address.

    Mumford grew emotional as he talked about his love for the Eastern Shore, crying a bit as he spoke about growing up swimming in the Bay and “playing in the dirt” of the Shore. “I’m a passionate person,” he said.

    If Pipkin can recall whatever dance was popular in his Dundalk youth, this year’s 36th Senate contest might be a contender for broadcast on the TV show, “So You Think You Can Dance…”

Breaking News: Janusz Files Against Del. Rudolph, Broomell Resurfaces

   Democrat Joe Janusz filed Tuesday to challenge veteran incumbent Del. David Rudolph in the Democratic primary for the Dist. 34B seat, embarking on what some political observers from both parties characterize as a political suicide mission.

   Janusz had initially filed for the Third District County Commissioner seat currently held by fellow Democrat Brian Lockhart, who initially planned not to seek re-election. But, as the Cecil Times previously reported, Janusz decided this spring to pull out of the race for family reasons. (He and his wife, Sara, are going through a divorce and the couple has several young children.) Lockhart filed for re-election last week.

   Democratic political circles had been buzzing for a week or more that Richard (Tucker) Mackie, a former delegate himself, was pushing Janusz to run against Rudolph. But few, if any, thought Janusz would actually do it.

   Janusz was seen as a young rising star in the county Democratic party after his impressive, but losing, campaign against Lockhart in the Democratic primary for county commissioner in 2006. Lockhart later appointed Janusz to the county Planning Commission.  Janusz had been carefully planning for a commissioner run for a long time. But with his personal concerns, his political future seemed to be on hold, with a potential revival a few years down the road.

   Now, with his filing to run against the popular and well-financed Del. Rudolph, Janusz’ political future in the county would seem to be in doubt. It’s an odd turn of fate and political fortune to jeopardize a future political career by jumping in at the last minute to such an uphill battle. The winner of the Democratic primary will face Ted Patterson, a leader of the county’s “Young Republican” club and recently graduated student at the University of Delaware.

   Another last minute surprise, and another Phoenix-like rise from the political graveyard, came when Diana Broomell filed Tuesday as a Republican for the 4th District County Commissioner seat now held by Democrat Wayne Tome. Broomell, a former longtime aide to Del. Michael Smigiel, R-36, ran a spirited campaign against Tome in 2006 but lost. She became active in the Tea Party movement last summer but then disappeared from that and other local political activity, after taking a job in Harford County.

   The 4th Dist. Commissioner contest is a crowded field. Tome is already facing a tough Democratic primary challenge from Carl Roberts, the former county Superintendent of Schools.  Broomell will face Mike Dawson, a political newcomer and a former Prince George’s county police officer. Dawson has been considered to be aligned with the GOP faction led by State Sen. E.J. Pipkin, R-36, and Smigiel. Broomell is much better known in the county than Dawson.

BREAKING NEWS: New Sheriff Candidate, GOP Committee Wars

  It’s been a very busy morning at the Board of Elections office, with many new candidate filings– and a few surprises– for this year’s elections before tonight’s 9 p.m.  filing deadline.

 NEW SHERIFF CANDIDATE: Just when we thought the ballot couldn’t get any more crowded, William T. Gerczak, of Rising Sun, filed Monday as a candidate in the Democratic primary for Sheriff.  According to a Cecil Times check of court records, there is a Baltimore City police officer by that name who has appeared in court in prosecution of drug cases in the city. No home phone was listed nor did he give any phone number in his filings with the state Board of Elections.  The Democratic primary is already crowded with Chris Sutton, a current corporal in the Cecil County Sheriff’s Department and unsuccessful candidate in 2006, and Robert “Skip” DeWitt, a long-time deputy and the son of popular former county sheriff Jack DeWitt.

SCHOOL BOARD: Donna Zane, a member of the county’s first elected school board who had said she would not run again, suddenly filed for re-election Tuesday morning, according to state election records.  Zane, of Rising Sun, filed in the 4th district school board race in which Bill Herold, a controversial member of the old appointed school board, has declared his candidacy for election. Also running in that district is Thomas Wesley of Elkton, a retired school principal. Another late entry, June S. Reasin of Conowingo, filed July 1.

REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE: It’s been a minute-by-minute update as allies of State Senator E.J. Pipkin (R-36) and Del. Michael Smigiel (R-36) troop on in to the elections board to file for the 9 slots on the county’s Republican Central Committee. County Commissioner Jim Mullin, R-1st, from the Earleville area, filed this morning, as did Mike Dawson, a Republican candidate for county commissioner in the 4th District.  Both Mullin and Dawson are strongly aligned with the Pipkin-Smigiel camp.

   In addition, the Cecil County Young Republicans Club, another bastion of  the Pipkin-Smigiel powerbase, has fielded three other candidates for the GOP committee. One of those candidates, Michael W. Dunn of Rising Sun, has also filed in the Republican primary for 3rd District County Commissioner. Dunn is a longtime legislative aide on the payroll of Del. Smigiel.

    As the day wears on, we’re sure there will be even more candidates filing in what is shaping up as a power struggle between the current Central Committee and the Pipkin-Smigiel forces trying to gain control over the party structure in Cecil County.

   Cecil Times will continue to file updates as news events unfold throughout the day.

Brian Lockhart Files for Re-Election as Third Dist. Commissioner

     Cecil County Commissioner Brian Lockhart, the current president of the Board, filed for re-election as a Democrat on Wednesday, saying he was proud of the Board’s accomplishments in the past four years.

   Lockhart filed his candidacy a few days after Democrat Joe Janusz formally withdrew his candidacy for the Third District seat. Lockhart had previously decided against running again and had given his blessing to Janusz to run for the seat. But when Janusz decided to withdraw from the campaign for personal reasons, Lockhart decided to get back into the race. (See previous Cecil Times report on Janusz’ decision here: ttp://ceciltimes.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/family-concerns-led-to-janusz-pullback-on-commissioner-race/

   In an interview with The Cecil Times, Lockhart said one of the most important accomplishments of his term was the creation of a citizens’ comprehensive plan review panel and the adoption of a new comprehensive plan to guide future growth policies. The panel’s recommendations were generally well received in the community and were adopted with just a few revisions.

   The board president also cited the renovations and expansion of the county detention center expected to get underway soon after many years of planning.  However, the county is currently seeking concessions from the Town of Elkton on more than $400,000 in fees that the town wants to assess on the project and Lockhart said at this week’s Commissioner’s work session he would be willing to look for another site outside town limits if the town does not lower the fees.

    Lockhart said he was pleased that the Commisioners were able to adopt a budget for Fiscal 2011 that cut the tax rate.  “We need to keep the tax rate as low as possible but still keep services like police and ambulance,” he said.  “When people dial 911 they want an immediate response.”  He added that the budget was cut without layoffs or furloughs, which was important to “maintain our county workforce and keep up morale.”

     While Lockhart’s district is based in the Rising Sun area, he has to run countywide. In a nod to southern Cecil County, he said he would support creation of new parks south of the Canal. The county currently has a small boat ramp at the state-owned Earleville Wildlife Management Area but no county parks in the area. However, a proposed senior citizens/community center in Cecilton was dropped from the county’s five-year Comprehensive Plan this year. Lockhart said that due to the tight budget  new projects such as the Cecilton proposal were shelved. But he claimed that the county parks and recreation department might be able to “do something in the south county.”

     Being a Commissioner “is a full-time, seven day a week job,” Lockhart said. But Lockhart also wears other hats, some of which have required him to abstain from votes on important issues pending before the Board and led to an Ethics Board finding that he failed to file proper financial disclosures.

  He owns two trash removal companies and abstained from voting on the recent controversial plan to cut back hours at the landfill and trash transfer stations and to charge fees for people who bring recyclables, even if they do not deposit trash, as well as higher fees for those who bring their trash to the county facilities. The plan was adopted on a 3-1 vote, so Lockhart’s abstention did not affect the outcome. (Opponents of the proposal said it could lead to people dumping trash by the roadsides or force them to hire private trash services that could be cheaper in the long run than the new county fees.)

   Lockhart is also a member of the Board of Directors of the parent company of Cecil Bank, and this week he abstained from voting on selling a parcel of county-owned land to profit-making developers of a proposed senior citizens apartment building in Elkton. Cecil Bank is involved in financing the project and is set to sell an empty building and its land to the developers. The land was not included in the original senior housing plan but was added recently for “open space and a garden,” according to a representative of the developer.  The Town of Elkton is currently being sued by two citizens over concessions made to the developer and Cecil Bank as part of the project.

   Lockhart has also abstained from votes on projects by his father-in-law, prominent developer Barry Montgomery, including a recent proposal for an apartment project in the Appleton Road area.

    Lockhart has abstained from voting on the controversial Aston Point housing development, which is receiving financing through Cecil Bank. But citizens opposed to the project filed an ethics complaint because he spoke in favor of granting water and sewer services to the project at a county commissioners’ work session.  After an inquiry that cost taxpayers $25,000, Lockhart and the ethics panel signed an agreement stipulating that he improperly failed to disclose his ownership of stock in the bank’s parent company on mandatory financial disclosure forms. He told the Cecil Times that he mistakenly thought he did not have to list the stock in a publicly-traded company in which he was a small investor and that his ties to the bank were a matter of common knowledge.

   At the time of his election in 2006, Lockhart was an employee of the bank, as vice president for business development. Lockhart’s picture and cell phone number were prominently displayed throughout the campaign season in commercial advertising placed by the bank in local newspapers. Those ads were not counted as campaign expenditures and Lockhart ran a low-budget campaign. He also did not attend candidate forums to face questions from community groups and voters.

    He said he plans to run for re-election in much the same way, without a lot of yard signs or other trappings of political campaigns. “I’m not a big sign waver,” he said. “And I’m not going to spend $70,000 for a job that pays $30,000 a year.” He said he would rely on personal contacts with voters, phone calls, and “taking people to lunch.” He said he takes people to lunch “two or three times a week” at his own expense.

    In 2006, Lockhart defeated incumbent Republican Harry A. Hepbron, who had served two terms on the board. Hepbron filed his candidacy this week to try to regain his old seat.  Hepbron faces a contested Republican primary but a potential re-match between Hepbron and Lockhart could be one of the more interesting local contests this year. Hepbron is the owner of Dove Valley Vineyard and Winery in Rising Sun, where he grows grapes and produces award-winning wine with his family.

Bill Manlove Files Against Smigiel for Delegate

    It will be a battle between a man of few words and a man whose words never end when former Cecil County Commissioners Board President William (Bill) Manlove, of Earleville, files as a Democrat to run against incumbent Republican Michael Smigiel for the 36th District Delegate seat. Manlove will file his candidate and campaign finance committee papers in Annapolis on Friday, April 9.

   Manlove is scheduled to meet with influential state Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Michael Busch, in Annapolis. Speaker Busch is no fan of Smigiel and even contemplated throwing Smigiel, who is an attorney, off the House Judiciary Committee in 2009. (That gambit failed when another delegate, a Baltimore City Democrat, was also targeted for ouster but the powerful city Democrats protested, with the result that both committee members were allowed to keep their seats.)  Busch has a Democratic House slate fundraising organization that could help Manlove, who in the past has run low-budget local campaigns but will need to step up the fundraising to challenge Smigiel.

   The 36th District covers part of Cecil County, all of Kent and Queen Anne’s counties, plus part of Caroline County. Residents of those counties vote for a total of three delegates, one from each of the three larger counties. So candidates have to appeal to voters outside their own home county.

   Manlove, who grew up and worked on his family’s dairy farm in Earleville for many years, has enjoyed strong political support in the southern end of Cecil County that he represented as a Commissioner. He stands to benefit from strong name recognition and contacts honed over many years in his base area, which is the northernmost section of the 36th House district.

   Smigiel, of Chesapeake City, is particularly vulnerable in his home county. In his last re-election bid in 2006, he lost Cecil County to Democrat Mark Guns by more than 600 votes. But Smigiel won his last race with a strong showing in Queen Anne’s County, no doubt helped by the then-residency in Queen Anne’s of his Republican political ally, Sen. E.J. Pipkin. But Pipkin now resides in Elkton and it is unclear how much influence his alliance with Smigiel will hold in Queen Anne’s.

   As a former farmer, Manlove is well known in the influential, but dwindling, agricultural community in the 36th District. Manlove also has strong ties to the burgeoning land preservation and environmental groups, stemming from his opposition to development in rural areas and his support of Transfer of Development Rights legislation to preserve farmland while a county Commissioner. Those credentials should serve him well in Queen Anne’s County, where a past county Board of Commissioners was thrown out of office a few years ago and replaced by slow-to-no growth politicians.

   Smigiel received a zero positive rating last year from the influential Maryland League of Conservation Voters. He responded by launching a blistering attack on the group and challenging its policies and priorities.

  Manlove has always been a low key leader, in contrast to the high volatility quotient of Smigiel. In his announcement, Manlove emphasizes his determination to avoid a “waste [of] time and energy on confrontation and political bickering.”  He promised to “roll up my sleeves and work with the counties in the district to make sure their residents’ voices are heard in Annapolis” and to “work to solve problems before they become a crisis.”

    Smigiel and Pipkin have a long track record of seeking to micro-manage the Cecil County Board of Comissioners, which escalated this year with their advocacy of state legislation to mandate the local property tax rate and to set a referendum on binding arbitration and collective bargaining for Sheriff’s Deputies. The tax rate proposal was killed in committee and the Deputies’ bill was watered down in the Senate to reflect most of what the county comissioners had already supported: collective bargaining with non-binding mediation, with no referendum on the matter.

   This year’s battles between Smigiel/Pipkin and the Cecil County Commissioners– a majority of whom are their fellow Republicans– have left a bitter taste among many Cecil residents, including Republicans. Although they won’t say it in public, many Republicans in the county have privately encouraged Manlove to run for Delegate.

  And the recent battles played a role in convincing Manlove to run for Delegate, according to informed sources. 

   One significant factor in the contest may be the role of the “Tea Party” movement that has been mostly aligned with Republicans and the “Young Republicans” in Cecil County that have been aligned with Smigiel. They represent an Internet-savvy new force in local politics. Some of the most ardent “Tea Party” and “Liberty” partisans in the District are based in Queen Anne’s County.  In addition, Smigiel has enlisted a former aide to Pipkin, Andi Morony, as his chief of staff and she has strong ties to mainstream Queen Anne’s County Republicans.

    But many Republican activists in the District will be focused on the Congressional race between incumbent Democrat Frank Kratovil and the expected Republican nominee, Andy Harris.  And the “Young Republicans” are fielding candidates for Cecil County Commissioner in three local races, meaning their attention will be diverted to more local contests.

Demmler Bankrolls Mullin: Commissioner Payback Time?

    We’re BAACK– Sorry to have taken a hiatus, but we were sick and tired,  and mostly sick. So since we don’t get paid for this,  it has taken us a while to report and write what our local “newspaper” with full time paid employees hasn’t: new campaign finance reports– filed 10/24/08– for local County Commissioner candidates. First, we’ll look at the 1st District Commissioner race between Republican Jim Mullin and Democrat Pamela H. Bailey.

     There’s not much to report on Pamela Bailey, who has not filed a detailed campaign finance report.  According to Cecil County election officials, she filed an affadavit saying she would not be raising or spending over $1,000, so she does not have to file a full report either on paper locally or online with the state Board of Elections.  In that case, we are surprised to see so many printed yard signs around her home base of Earleville. As she has stated to the public, she already has a full-time job as a secretary at the School of Technology and two part-time jobs. So who knows how much time she has to spare for fundraising, campaigning or actually serving as a County Commissioner.

    Without a serious opponent, Republican Jim Mullin of Earleville seems to be a shoo-in in the 1st District. But looking at his campaign finances, there is a very interesting angle: current County Commissioner Rebecca Demmler is his biggest donor. Could it be payback for the financial support Mullin gave her when she was running for County Commissioner in the last local election? Or could it be “pay it forward,” with Demmler donating to a pal she expects will vote along with her as a Commissioner?

    In his pre-general election report, Mullin states he has raised a total of $10,294 in individual, party committee and Political Action Committee donations.  He has also made a personal loan to his campaign of $8,550, which is counted as a separate line item in addition to the $10,294 in donations.

    But the telling category is the sub-set of individual and business donors, amounting to $7,094. Of that figure, current County Commissioner Rebecca Demmler made an outright donation of $2,000 on 5/03/08 and $500 on 9/15/08, for a total of $2,500– or nearly a third of all donations. Mullin also does not report individual identities of purchasers of tickets to his fundraisers– listing instead, a “lump sum” of receipts from two campaign fundraisers, amounting to a total of $1,429. So there is no way of telling whose other donations might be included under this anonymous category.

    Mullin also received a $1,000 Political Action Committee (PAC) donation from the Cecil County Lodge #2, Fraternal Order of Police in Elkton, on 9/25/08. But drilling down in his expenditures, you find he made a “transfer” of funds  of $280 out of his campaign treasury previously, on 7/24/08, to the same FOP lodge, “including ticket purchases.” So the net FOP cash into the Mullin campaign amounts to $720. The ‘transfer’ from Mullin to the FOP occurred before the FOP donation to him.

    Mullin also received $2,200 from the county’s Republican Central Committee. (Funny, but we didn’t see a Mullin donation to fellow Republican Robert Hodge, who chairs the GOP central committee and is running in the 5th Commissioner district, beyond a puny $25 fundraiser ticket.)

   It is also telling who hasn’t yet donated to Mullin’s campaign. No members of the local Republican state legislative delegation whose districts coincide with Mullin’s local turf–Del. Michael Smigiel, Del. Dick Sossi or Mr. Moneybags State Sen. E.J. Pipkin– have donated to Mullin. That is probably because they know a sure thing when they see it and are saving their cash for their own  re-election efforts, or other Republican candidates with more contested campaigns this year.

   But we are struck by Commissioner Demmler’s investment of such a large amount in the sure-thing candidacy of Mullin.  Both Demmler and Mullin are Republicans, but more than party loyalty is at work here, as we will document subsequently. (Demmler has made a hiccup $50 ticket purchases donation to fellow Republican Robert Hodge, running in the 5th District Commissioner race, while her husband has donated lots more to 5th District Democratic opponent Sharon Weygand and he also made a donation to write-in candidate Tom McWilliams in that 5th District contest. More on that in our next posting.)