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…”

Del. Richard Sossi Files for Re-Election–But Hedges Bets Against Pipkin Moves

   Del. Richard Sossi, a Queen Anne’s County Republican, has filed for re-election to his 36th District House of Delegates seat– but that doesn’t mean he has a magic divining rod to determine the intentions of State Sen. E.J. Pipkin, who may run for re-election but then again might run for Comptroller and vacate his Senate seat.

   For months, Sossi has, in effect, been running for both his old House seat and for the 36th District Senate seat, raising a substantial campaign warchest that could be used for a race for either post. On Tuesday, June 8, Sossi filed for re-election to his House seat, according to state Elections Board records. Those records also show that Pipkin had not filed for re-election or any other state elected position.

   You wouldn’t want to play poker with Sossi, who is continuing to hedge his bets. “Yes, I filed for re-election,” Sossi told The Cecil Times. “But I also picked up another application to run for Senate and an application to withdraw” from the House campaign, he said with a chuckle.  The filing deadline is less than a month away, and Sossi could still file for the Senate seat if Pipkin decides to vacate it, and then withdraw his House seat candidacy.

   Sossi said he called Pipkin’s office as a courtesy to inform the senator of Sossi’s intentions to file for re-election. But Sossi still has had no word from Pipkin on just what he plans to do.  “In fairness, I don’t think he really knows in his own mind yet what he is going to do,” Sossi said of Pipkin.

    Sossi said he felt it was “the fair thing to do” to send a signal to other Republicans who might be interested in his own seat. Foremost among them is Diana Waterman, vice chair of the Queen Anne’s County Republican Central Committee, who has been on pins and needles waiting for the trickle-down decision-making from on high. Sossi said he called Waterman to inform her of his filing for re-election, and she agreed not to run against him, but would be interested in running if Sossi shifts his focus to the Senate seat.   So far, no Democratic candidate has come forward to run for the seat.

All the mixed signals and silence from Pipkin has roiled some local Republicans– and confounded Democrats– as many potential candidates are left to play a waiting game to see what Pipkin will do. As the Cecil Times reported last fall, https://ceciltimes.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/e-j-pipkin-campaigning-in-cecil-but-for-what-job/ Pipkin has been periodically campaigning with old ‘re-elect” signs and tee shirts implying he would run for his Senate seat. But then his aides insist no decision has been made and that other possible races are still on the table.

    Pipkin appears to be focusing on the state Comptroller position as an alternative to another four years in the state Senate. He is believed to have commissioned a poll to test the waters but the results have not been disclosed. If he does get into the race against incumbent Democrat Peter Franchot, Pipkin would first have to win the Republican primary, in which two others have already filed: William H. Campbell, a political newcomer but an experienced financial manager and former Chief Financial Officer of Amtrak; and a young student from Baltimore County, Brendan Madigan.

    Franchot has been campaigning for re-election virtually from the day he won the post four years ago. He has a current cash-on-hand campaign fund balance of $513,413, according to a report filed in mid-January with the state Board of Elections.  For anyone but Pipkin, that much money in the bank would be a deterrant. But Pipkin , a former junk bond trader in New York, has a long history of self-financing his campaigns and given his past track record could match or even double that amount with his own checkbook.

  All the “what will Pipkin do” speculation hasn’t really changed Sossi’s campaigning. The House and Senate districts are the same– covering all of Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s County and part of Caroline– and Sossi is omni-present throughout the district even in non-election years. He is well ahead of his past fund-raising track record, as the Cecil Times reported in January here:  https://ceciltimes.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/del-richard-sossi-fundraising-success-but-for-which-seat/

  Regardless of what seat he eventually REALLY runs for, Sossi is feeling good about this election season. “It’s going to be a Republican year,” he said, noting the top-of-the-ticket governor’s race by Republican Robert Ehrlich against incumbent Democrat Martin O’Malley should bring out a strong GOP vote that will flow down to lower-ticket GOP races such as his own.

 Sossi was the top vote-getter of all three winning Delegates in the 36th in the last election. Del. Mary Roe Walkup, R,  who placed second in the vote tally last time, has announced she will not seek re-election this year to her Kent County-based seat. Del. Michael Smigiel, R,  of Cecil County, was in last place and did not carry his home county. (The 36th District elects three “resident delegates,” one each from Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s counties, but voters in all those counties, plus part of Caroline County, vote for candidates from their own and the other counties.)

    Early voting is a new wrinkle in the campaign this year and Sossi said it is unclear what impact it will have on the 36th contests. He said some estimates project early ballots could amount to about 20 percent of the total votes cast. “It is what it is,” he said, adding that it will make it harder for candidates to reach out to voters in the final days of the campaign.

E.J. PIPKIN: Campaigning in Cecil, but for what job?

   Our spies around the county tell us that State Sen. E.J. Pipkin, R-Upper Shore, was in full campaign mode on Route 213 in Cecil County on Wednesday morning, waving from a pick up truck with aides holding signs declaring, “Pipkin for State Senate.” Now that would seem like the declarative statement many have been waiting for to answer the question: what is E.J. running for in 2010?

   But, no, like that movie ‘international man of mystery,’ Sen. Pipkin’s  signs do not necessarily reflect his intentions, according to an aide.

   “This was part of the Senator’s listening tour,” said Katie Nash, Pipkin’s Chief of Staff. “He’s continuing to listen to citizens,” she said, after doing similar roadside waves in Queen Anne’s County on Tuesday.  He will also be in Kent County on Thursday, waving signs to protest the Governor’s proposed closing of the Upper Shore Mental Health Center, she added.

   (As we were writing this post, we received an automated “robocall” from Pipkin urging us to call the Governor to protest the proposed closing of the Kent County facility as part of the latest budget cuts.)

   Although the signs said “Pipkin for State Senate,” that doesn’t necessarily mean he is indeed running for re-election to that post, the aide said. So he might still be looking at the Republican nomination to run against incumbent Democratic Congressman Frank Kratovil in the 1st District, or challenging Democratic incumbent state Comptroller Peter Franchot.

    If Pipkin does not seek re-election to the state Senate, we’d put our bets on the Comptroller slot. Republican State Sen. Andy Harris– who beat both Pipkin and former Rep. Wayne Gilchrest in the 1st District Congressional Republican primary two years ago– is already fund-raising for a general election re-match with Kratovil and has strong backing from the national Republican party. 

   Pipkin usually self-funds most of his campaigns, but given the uber price tags of the last 1st District Congressional race, there’s only so much self-funding a candidate can do. Federal campaigns are much more restrictive in donation rules than Maryland election law so it is virtually impossible to shift state campaign funds to a federal contest.

      So far in the 2010 state election cycle, Pipkin has raised a modest $60,348, with expenditures of $43,773. Most of his donations– 38 percent– came from Political Action Committees based in Maryland with 32 percent coming from  individual donors, according to state election records.

    Comptroller Franchot has been running a non-stop re-election campaign almost since the day he was elected but  it is not a job that most voters pay a lot of attention to until shortly before the election.  It’s a post that could be a good fit for Pipkin, with his Wall Street financial background, and the fact that it really doesn’t require a lot of heavy lifting  day in and day out. 

 But it’s a job that does require a lot of campaigning and PR– remember Willie Don Schaefer, and before that Louie Goldstein? Not many voters had the slightest idea what they actually did in the job but they sure did campaign a lot.  Pipkin has shown he likes campaigning, a lot, and the Comptroller job might suit his style and aspirations.  A statewide win for the Comptroller slot would position him for a potential gubernatorial or U.S. Senate bid in the future.

   But he’d have his work cut out for him challenging Franchot, who is very popular in his home base in the populous Montgomery County  and other suburban areas of the state where Pipkin barely registered on the political pulse in his last statewide race against U.S. Sen. Barbara Milkulski.

    Meanwhile, as Sen. Pipkin waves signs that may or  may not signal his intentions, other Republicans are left in the lurch on whether they can aspire to his state Senate seat or not.  Del. Richard Sossi, R-36, has signaled his interest if Pipkin moves up or on. Sossi is one of the most visible members of the Cecil County delegation, even though he doesn’t actually live in the county.  Last time we checked his Twitter schedule, we were exhausted just contemplating all those community meetings he attends.