Lou Simmons Breathes Fire, Burns Bridges on Slots

Kathleen Miller of the Examiner picked up some nice quotes from flame-throwing Delegate Luiz Simmons (D-17) blasting his colleagues for not supporting the anti-slots campaign. Here's a sample:

“Slots are the easy road for politicians to travel down; it holds the promise of a free lunch, all net-net and no cost,” the Montgomery Democrat said. “Overwhelmingly, those who lose money are the poor, the old, the vulnerable and racial minorities, the very same people we’re always saying we are trying to help...”

Simmons said, “The Montgomery County political establishment has caved in here.” What bugs him the most, he added, is that Montgomery’s state legislators, who largely fought together against slots proposals from former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, were vital to passing this year’s referendum.

“I thought when many people spoke out against Ehrlich’s slots, that they spoke on principle,” Simmons said. “It turns out they spoke on politics. Here’s a group that said rhetorically, we’re against slots, but when push came to shove, the referendum couldn’t have passed without them.”

Well now! We ran a complete list of the elected leaders who joined the anti-slots campaign back in May, along with those who voted against the referendum but did not sign on with Marylanders United to Stop Slots. Delegate Simmons is a longtime opponent of slots, but one wonders whether statements such as these are the best way to persuade his fellow politicians to join his cause.

Would you care for some saltpeter to go with that nitroglycerin you've been drinking, Delegate?

Are Domestic Workers Employees or “Help?”

Montgomery County’s domestic workers protection bill, introduced way back in January, is finally coming up for a vote tomorrow. At last we will learn its fate.

The bill, co-sponsored by Council Members George Leventhal and Marc Elrich, would provide domestic workers with the right to negotiate a binding contract with their employers. It was prompted by a 2006 study by George Washington University documenting extensive abuses in working conditions for domestic workers. While the bill would make domestic worker employment contracts enforceable by the County’s Office of Consumer Protection, it does not prescribe wage or benefit levels. Those items are subject to negotiation between the worker and the employer.

In a lengthy post in February, I defended the bill against critics who alleged that illegal immigrants employed as domestic workers could not be covered by contracts and faced risk of deportation. But the question really is more basic: are these workers employees or “members of the family?” If the latter category applies, “members of the family” are often expected to perform “chores” without compensation. The refusal to recognize these workers as bona fide employees is the source of many derivative abuses such as failing to pay overtime or respect U.S. labor laws as documented in the 2006 study.

The bill has a decent chance of passage. It has two co-sponsors. Council Members Valerie Ervin and Duchy Trachtenberg are believed to support it. And Council Member Don Praisner voted in its favor in a meeting of the council’s Public Safety Committee (which has jurisdiction over the Office of Consumer Protection). But the bill has opponents and nothing is certain.

So will the County Council see domestic workers as employees or “help?” We’ll find out tomorrow.

State Government Proud that Maryland is Anti-Union (Updated)

When I saw this post on Free State Politics, I could not believe my eyes. But it's true: the state's Department of Business and Economic Development is trying to paint Maryland as an anti-union state to attract new businesses.

I encourage everyone to read the original post on FSP but here is the issue in a nutshell. The state is telling business that even though it does not have a right-to-work law, businesses have nothing to fear because unions here are (in their opinion) weak. Here's a sample of their language:

While not a "right-to-work" (RTW) state, Maryland offers businesses a very favorable labor climate.

A quality workforce supplies a great resource, key to achieving corporate goals.

The percentage of private sector union membership in Maryland is 7.2 percent, which is lower than the national average of 7.5 percent and lower than most northeast and midwest states.

13.8 percent of the state's private sector manufacturing workers are union members, a lower percentage than two of the RTW states, as well as other states including New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

(Source: Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.)

An analysis of companies new to Maryland from 1990 to 2001 (excluding firms that were already unionized upon their entry to the state and firms with fewer than 25 workers) reveals that:

Only two percent of the over 3,200 companies were petitioned by unions.

Half of Maryland's counties experienced no petitions for union elections.

Unions won representation rights for only one percent of the total new firms during the period analyzed.

Although petitions were filed most frequently in the services and manufacturing industries, unions won representation rights in just four percent of new Maryland manufacturing firms.

Now Governor O'Malley has been fairly pro-labor. I am sure that he had no knowledge of this vile propaganda spewed by underlings scurrying within the bowels of the state bureaucracy. But as I write this, outraged emails are flying across the state's entire labor movement. We cannot believe that rhetoric typical of Georgia and Oklahoma would be sanctioned at any level inside the O'Malley administration.

FSP's Eric Luedtke is asking blog readers to register their protests with the state's leadership. I agree with him and I refer you to his post for the relevant email addresses. If the Governor acts swiftly to revoke the state's anti-union pandering, most reasonable people will probably view it as a mistake and be willing to move on. But quick action is in order.

Update: The state's union-bashing is based partly on National Labor Relations Board election data from 2006. That data would not have been available until well into 2007, after Governor O'Malley assumed office. That proves that the propaganda was at least partially drafted during the O'Malley administration and cannot be blamed entirely - or perhaps not at all - on his predecessor.

Senator Madaleno Comments on the Budget

Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18) sent the following message to his constituents on the budget. We reprint it here with his permission.

On Tuesday, the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee was briefed by the Department of Legislative Services (DLS) on our state’s finances and economic outlook. Unfortunately, the news is not good. I wanted to share with you some of the highlights from this meeting. All of the briefing documents are available on-line – just click here. The documents include a detailed summary of the budget reductions approved by the Board of Public Works last week.

While Maryland continues to perform better than other states during this national economic slowdown, we are seeing our revenue sources under perform estimates. Most critically, our two largest revenues accounting for 81% of total revenues, the personal income tax and the sales tax, continue to come in lower than predicted. Through May, the income and sales taxes were down $46.3 million and $23.9 million, respectively. Tobacco taxes have also come in $24 million lower than expected. Cigarette purchases are down by 25%. While this is good health news, it does add to our fiscal challenges.

It looks now as if our official revenue forecast for the fiscal year that began July 1st will also prove to be overly optimistic. If these same patterns continue for FY09, revenues will be off between $100 and $200 million. Fortunately, we have built in buffers in the FY09 budget totaling $226 million. However, every dollar of expected revenue that does not materialize eats into this buffer. As the buffer disappears, the anticipated deficit for the following year grows. Right now, the estimated FY10 deficit is $243 million. Without any excess revenue carryover from FY09, the FY10 deficit would be nearly $500 million.

The only good news is that this deficit is “cyclical” as opposed to “structural.” Our current problem is caused by a cyclical downturn in the economy as opposed to a structural imbalance in our spending and revenues. As a result, deficits are now only estimated for the next two fiscal years (10 & 11) if the slots referendum passes. We could use the $700 million plus we have in our Rainy Day Fund to help get through this cycle. However, without the revenues from slots, we will once again be facing a more than $1 billion structural deficit by FY12, and use of the Rainy Day Fund in this situation would be imprudent.

Perhaps the most interesting observation of our economic slowdown was that we are in a “slow-motion recession.” In 1991-92, the last time our state faced a severe economic crisis, our state experienced a rapid decline in our performance indicators. For example, at their peak in 1991-92, 35,000 Marylanders were making initial unemployment insurance claims per month. In the 2001-2002 downturn, initial unemployment claims were made by 25,000 Marylanders per month. Today, we have roughly 20,000 people making initial unemployment insurance claims per month, but that reflects an 18% rise over this time last year. Rather than a sharp rise in unemployment insurance claims coinciding with a steep set of job losses as we saw in 1991-92, we are seeing a gradual slowing of job growth combined with a steady increase in unemployment insurance claims.

In the short term, we are able to adjust our budget outlook to reflect these changes. In the long term, it seems as though the bottom of this recession will continue to elude us and will present larger budget concerns in the future. Should the recovery also turn out to be slow-motion, than our current revenue estimates for the out-years could also prove overly optimistic.

The housing slowdown is also causing significant economic problems for the state. Home prices are expected to be down anywhere from 5-8% for 2008, with a 12 month supply of homes on the market. While the state government does not use property taxes or transfer taxes for general fund expenditures, the housing market slowdown is impacted sales tax revenues. Construction-related sales tax revenues are down 6% this year. The decline in home sales and prices has a much greater impact on local government finances. The Maryland housing market does not appear close to a recovery and is expected to continue its decline, which is further evidence of the “slow-motion recession” that may stick with us for some time.

The general downturn is also having a significant impact on the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF). Both the gas tax and titling tax are below estimates. Coupled with a decline in sales tax revenues and the $50 million TTF reduction included in the legislation repealing the computer services tax, the TTF is behind $150 million in anticipated revenues. DLS reported that the current transportation program is unsustainable in this fiscal environment. As a result, projects will have to be eliminated from the program plan when the new six-year plan is released in the fall. This could make any new major construction unaffordable.

Compounding our transportation funding problem will be a lack of debt capacity should any new revenue become available. During the briefing, State Treasurer Nancy Kopp reported that the state will exceed its debt capacity guidelines next year for the first time in decades. Maryland has a self-imposed debt limit of 3.2% of total personal income. Thus, the state government’s total debt cannot exceed 3.2% of the total combined personal income of all residents.

Over the past six years due to a lack of surpluses, the state has issued bonds more aggressively to pay for projects such as new schools, roads, and prisons. With a slowdown in income growth, we will now exceed our debt limit. This is an extremely troubling development and one that the mainstream media did not report.

Treasurer Kopp informed the committee that her office will be contacting the credit rating agencies over the next few weeks to determine what effect this situation might have on our cherished AAA bond rating. As you know, Maryland has maintained the highest bond rating (AAA) for decades because of our fiscal prudence. Our excellent credit rating reduces the interest rates incurred for state borrowing, ultimately saving the state, and taxpayers, millions of dollars. In order to retain our rating, we may need to scale back our commitment to capital expenditures dominated by schools construction and transportation improvement to keep our debt within our guidelines. With the rating agencies already concerned about our fiscal situation if slots revenues do not materialize, this confluence of issues could be just the “perfect storm” needed to jeopardize our AAA rating.

I certainly wish I had better news to report. It is often said that timing is everything in life. Last year, we finally took action to correct the state’s structural fiscal imbalance through a number of budget cuts and tax increases. I continue to applaud Governor O’Malley for addressing this issue which had festered for years. Unfortunately, this downturn comes just as we restored balance to our fiscal affairs. Such timing!

As always, I will update you on our state’s fiscal outlook as we get a clearer picture of our revenues.

Rich Madaleno

Editor's Note:
Given recent developments on the budget, we are not surprised by many elements of the Senator's commentary. But two items he reports have not been generally acknowledged in the mainstream media.

1. The possibility of cancellation or postponement of transportation projects.
Back in April, I made this prediction about the Transportation Trust Fund:

The loss of $50 million from the computer tax repeal, the slowdown of TTF revenue sources and rising commodity prices will greatly reduce the amount of money left for new projects. As a matter of fact, if the state protects tens of millions of dollars in planning money for mass transit projects (like Baltimore’s Red Line and MoCo’s Purple Line and CCT), it is entirely possible that all other new work aside from the ICC will be deferred.

This may be dangerously close to reality.

2. The risk of losing the state's AAA rating.
No politician of either party wants to lose this rating and face higher interest payments on state debt. It will be the highest priority of the entire leadership in Annapolis to protect it. That means no spending program is safe.

I would expect slots supporters to attempt to capitalize on this budget news in the near future.

Update: Maryland Moment completely missed the real story on the state's credit rating.

Slots Polling Foreshadows New Marketing Initiative

Someone has hired a sophisticated polling firm to analyze voter attitudes on slots, as my wife and I found out last night. This signals a new marketing effort on the issue.

Have you ever made the mistake of answering the phone right before dinner? I rarely do that – I am too busy fielding cell-phone calls from complaining MPW readers! Anyway, my wife actually answered the phone and the call was from a polling firm identifying itself as “Issues and Opinions.” The caller kept her on for over a half-hour with questions broken out into the following categories:

1. Ratings of Politicians and Economy
The caller began by asking my wife to rate Barack Obama, John McCain, Martin O’Malley and other politicians on a scale of 1 to 10. Then he asked her to comment on the state of the economy in Maryland.

2. Tests of Slots Arguments
The caller tested a variety of arguments favoring and opposing slots. He would read one argument and then ask her to rate it as very convincing, somewhat convincing, somewhat unconvincing or totally unconvincing. Examples of the tested arguments in favor include “slots are an alternative to tax increases,” “slots are necessary for education,” and “Marylanders are spending lots of money on slots in other states.” Examples of the tested arguments opposed include “politicians will raise taxes anyway,” and “slots will cost more dollars to fight crime and addiction than they will generate for the state.” There were many, many other tested arguments on both sides. Clearly, the caller wanted to know what would work.

3. Questions on Supporters or Opponents of Slots
The caller asked my wife whether knowledge of a politician’s or organization’s position on slots would affect her position one way or the other. Tested supporters or opponents included Martin O’Malley, Mike Miller, Peter Franchot, “your state legislators,” the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and the Maryland State Teachers Association.

4. General Demographic Questions
The caller finished by asking my wife to identify her age, race, party affiliation (and strength of affiliation), political ideology and religion.

This was a long and sophisticated poll with dozens of questions. The details will provide ample opportunity for informative cross-tabulations if the firm contacts enough respondents. The firm is seeking to develop a matrix that will illustrate the most effective arguments, both favoring and opposed, for each of many racial, age-based, political and geographic sub-units. This is clear preparation for an advanced mass-marketing effort.

My hunch is that the anti-slots activists do not have enough money to afford professional research of this kind. That means it is a project implemented by the well-financed pro-slots forces. Get ready, people – whatever your opinion on slots, you will be hearing scientifically-tested arguments on them very soon!

On Senator Currie and the Ethics of Office

The recent revelations of Senator Ulysses Currie’s relationship with Shoppers Food and Pharmacy may be the beginning of the fall of a man once widely thought to be an admirable public servant. But it is more than that: it is a warning about the kinds of conflicts that can happen in a citizen legislature.

Maryland, like most states, allows state legislators to hold outside employment. The General Assembly meets for three months each year (not including special sessions) and pays its members over $40,000 annually. Nevertheless, members of legislatures with similar configurations to Maryland’s report that they spend 70% of the equivalent of a full-time job on their legislative work. These positions are clearly time-consuming, even for rank-and-file members lacking Senator Currie’s responsibilities.

The benefit of a citizen legislature is that it allows members to bring significant expertise to their jobs. But there is a price: the potential for conflicts between a legislator’s public and private roles.

The Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics Guide lays out general rules for dealing with conflicts of interest. Legislators must disclose their financial dealings, including employment, contracts and corporate ownership; refrain from voting on matters of direct and personal financial interest to themselves, their relatives and their employers; and file disclaimers before voting on other matters with more indirect conflicts of interest.

The following statement on page 13 of the guide is relevant to Senator Currie’s case:

The Ethics Law states that a member of the General Assembly is prohibited from assisting or representing another party, for compensation, in a matter before or involving any unit of the State government or a local subdivision of the State, unless covered by one of the exemptions to the prohibition. The prohibition relates to representation in the course of any type of employment relationship, including regular salaried employment, contractual consultant work, and representation in a professional capacity (e.g., attorney-client.)

None of the exemptions to this rule apply to the allegations against Senator Currie. This is a clear problem for him as he was a paid consultant to Shoppers – a relationship that he did not disclose.

But there is more. Consider this account of the evidence of Senator Currie’s lobbying for Shoppers reported in the Post:

The documents, released by several state transportation agencies, show a pattern of interventions by the Prince George's Democrat dating to at least 2003, not long after he became chairman of the powerful Budget and Taxation Committee.

Currie held meetings with state officials and made phone calls about traffic lights at Shoppers stores in Owings Mills and Laurel and about road changes at a store in Anne Arundel County.

“Senator Currie asks me every time he sees me whether we have resolved the Reisterstown Road Shoppers Food Warehouse issue,” Neil J. Pedersen, the head of the State Highway Administration, wrote in a 2004 e-mail to a staffer. “How close are we to resolving it?”

Neil Pedersen has been the State Highway Administrator since 2003. He is not regarded as a political player but rather as a highly-respected professional. He is one of only a handful of powerful officials to survive the transition between the Ehrlich and O’Malley administrations. The State Highway Administration oversees more than a billion dollars a year in capital projects across the state. This agency is not a minor organization and any legislator can only harass it so much.

It is a matter of political capital, that intangible stock of favors, influence and goodwill that is vital to the fortunes of any politician. It must be raised energetically and spent carefully. Even Senate President Mike Miller, the most feared politician in the state, does not wantonly bully his Senators on every single issue but only on what he views as the most important ones. If Senator Currie spent as much political capital on the needs of Shoppers as the Post suggests, what was left over for his constituents?

The most typical comment by state legislators I have spoken with about Senator Currie has been some version of, “He was the last person I expected to be involved with something like this.” If the Senator hid his conduct behind a cloak of propriety, then everyone in Annapolis should look around carefully at everyone else. There may very well be others like Senator Currie who have yet to be revealed, at least for now.

The bottom line is this: when state legislators set foot into the statehouse, they work for us – the people – not for their employers or their extracurricular paymasters. The politicians need to remember that. So too do the voters.

How to Get Clout in Annapolis, Part Four

In Part Three, we recommended that Montgomery County’s state legislators do three things together to begin building clout in Annapolis: get organized, control the county’s campaign funding and limit new legislation. Today we finish the plan.

4. Jam the Committees

Most of the action in the state legislature happens in the committees. Prodded and spurred by leadership, the committee chairmen try to steer the Governor’s and the leaders’ priorities through their committees along with those of individual legislators and important groups. Most bills never make it out of committees. Montgomery’s legislators only chair one committee in each chamber, far less than the delegations from Baltimore City and Prince George’s County. But because of sheer numbers, Montgomery’s legislators have the most Democratic members of many of these committees. And through that membership comes power.

When the committee chair and the leaders begin polling committee members for their support on the leadership's priority bills, Montgomery’s legislators should not say yes or no. Instead, they should say something like, “I’m studying it.” “I’m talking to my colleagues about it.” “I’m undecided.” The Republicans can be counted on to oppose anything desired by the Governor or the Democratic leadership, so hesitation on the part of Montgomery’s legislators will throw the fate of more than a few bills into doubt.

This will make some of these committees very difficult for their chairs to manage. Consider the all-important Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. It has 15 members, of whom three are from Montgomery and four are Republicans. If all the Montgomery members and all the Republicans did not support a measure, Chairman Ulysses Currie would have a remaining margin of just one vote. That is awfully tight.

Consider the House Judiciary Committee. It has 22 members, of whom five are from Montgomery and six are Republicans. If all of the Montgomery and Republican delegates did not support a bill, it could not pass through the committee.

Here’s how the ten standing committees of the two chambers break down:

Senate Budget and Taxation: 15 members, 3 from Montgomery, 4 Republicans. Remaining margin: 1 vote.
Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs: 9 members, 1 from Montgomery, 3 Republicans. Remaining margin: 1 vote.
Senate Finance: 11 members, 1 from Montgomery, 3 Republicans. Remaining margin: 3 votes.
Senate Judicial Proceedings: 11 members, 3 from Montgomery (including the Chair), 4 Republicans. Remaining margin: Negative 3 votes.

House Appropriations: 26 members, 4 from Montgomery, 6 Republicans. Remaining margin: 6 votes.
House Economic Matters: 23 members, 3 from Montgomery, 6 Republicans. Remaining margin: 5 votes.
House Environmental Matters: 23 members, 3 from Montgomery, 6 Republicans. Remaining margin: 5 votes.
House Health and Government Operations: 24 members, 3 from Montgomery, 7 Republicans. Remaining margin: 2 votes.
House Judiciary: 22 members, 5 from Montgomery, 6 Republicans. Remaining margin: Zero votes.
House Ways and Means: 21 members, 6 from Montgomery (including the Chair), 5 Republicans. Remaining margin: Negative 1 vote.

By sticking together, the Montgomery delegation can make many of these committees difficult (or even impossible) to control. This is a gigantic opportunity for leverage over the leadership that can only be exploited through cooperation and discipline.

5. String it Out Until the End

Everyone knows that little happens in Annapolis until the last two weeks of the general session. Consider the order of battle if the prior four steps are followed. Montgomery’s legislators have agreed on a common program to protect their county. A few rogues have strayed, been chastised, and been brought back into compliance. Prior to the session, many political contributors in the county have mysteriously slowed down their rate of giving to anti-Montgomery politicians. Montgomery’s legislators have introduced an unusually low number of bills. Few of the Governor’s and the leadership’s priorities have moved out of the committees because of a lack of support from the Montgomery delegation. And now the end of the session is approaching.

Suddenly, Big Daddy and the Governor will be ready to deal. What is Montgomery’s price? At this point, the concessions demanded by the newly-empowered Montgomery delegation could be significant: no transfer of teacher pensions, more education money, more transportation money. And they will get most of it if they stick to our plan because the Governor and the leaders will have no other choice.

Organization defeats disorganization, willpower defeats weakness and leadership defeats fecklessness. Every single time. So what are you waiting for, Montgomery legislators? It's time to take charge in Annapolis!

How to Get Clout in Annapolis, Part Three

In Part Two, we heard from a Montgomery County budget official that a possible state shifting of teacher pension funding down to the counties would result in a fiscal “nuclear explosion.” Montgomery’s statehouse delegation successfully resisted that fate in 2008, but it may happen next year. If not, Governor O’Malley, Senate President Mike Miller and the other statehouse leaders will find some other way to extract money from “the state’s piggy bank.” It is time for our state legislators to fight back. They can do it successfully if they implement the following five steps:

1. Get Organized

When Senator Rona Kramer (D-14) revolted against the special session tax package because she believed it drew too much on Montgomery County, no other Montgomery Senator joined her and she was demoted by Mike Miller. When Senators Kramer and Rich Madaleno (D-18) revolted against the millionaire tax, again because they believed it would damage their county, only a minority of the county’s delegation supported them. Lonely rebellions fail. Organized revolts can succeed.

Montgomery’s state legislators have a county delegation structure, as do many other counties in the state. This delegation structure does not function as a hierarchical, authority-wielding organization, but rather as a clearinghouse to develop and focus the priorities of the legislators. So far, it has proven insufficient to unite and direct the delegation. That must change. Unless the delegation agrees on a common list of priorities, a strategic plan to enhance the county’s clout and an accompanying internal enforcement mechanism, it will never out-Miller Big Daddy.

In the next four steps we will suggest the elements of such a plan. But organization and discipline are key prerequisites. Once a plan is agreed to, there must be consequences for renegades. Possible punishments range from defeat of an offender’s local bills (bills that apply to the county and must be approved by the delegation) all the way up to bans from district campaign slates. Without punishment, Montgomery’s legislators will strike out on their own and the delegation will not hold together – a situation that critics allege happens all too often right now.

2. Control the Campaign Funding

Many state politicians rely on Montgomery County for one thing: campaign money. Even when they act against the county’s interests, Mike Miller and his co-conspirators will periodically swoop in here for cash. But most of the contributors who live here depend on our state legislators for one thing or another. That gives our legislators leverage over who gets that money and who does not.

Our delegation needs to send a message to all major contributors who live in Montgomery and rely on them for help: do not give money to state politicians who damage the county. Any contributors who break this rule will fall into disfavor with the delegation. This message will be doubly effective if it is also delivered by county politicians. It is bad enough for a major contributor to cross the state legislators; it is even worse to run afoul of the county’s power-brokers at the same time. When Big Daddy’s allies begin to see their private campaign spigots go dry, they will understand that a new day is coming.

3. For Now, Limit New Legislation

Montgomery’s eager, idealistic legislators introduce lots of bills and many of them work hard to get them passed. That is perfectly understandable: the best legislators have clear policy goals and do their best to get them implemented. Over the long run, that is great for both the legislators and the people. But in the short run, there is a cost.

Simply put, getting a bill passed requires an expenditure of political capital. Any legislator who convinces someone else to vote for their bill – or especially, someone in the leadership to support it – is in their debt. Now a favor is owed. When the leader returns to that legislator asking for repayment, the legislator has to seriously consider the request, even if it goes against his or her hometown interest. And so some Montgomery legislators may find themselves pressured to go against the county’s interests to support their public policy goals.

The solution to this is to stop introducing lots of bills. Now the relationship is reversed. A legislator who supports other legislators’ bills accumulates political capital and owes less of it to anyone else. At the appropriate moment, those debts can be cashed in. If the Montgomery delegation followed a common policy to limit introduction of bills, its members would gradually build up a treasure trove of favors by helping others. This will prove valuable later.

We will finish our plan in Part Four.

How to Get Clout in Annapolis, Part Two

In Part One, we covered the prevailing opinion of many about our county’s state legislators: they need to improve their effectiveness in protecting Montgomery’s interests in Annapolis. Step one in doing that is examining the incentives of the opponents.

One of the biggest obstacles to Montgomery’s clout in Annapolis is Senate President Mike Miller. Back in May, we offered this description of Miller’s practice of power:

Better than anyone, Mike Miller understands the volatile and fragile mix of ego, fear, hope, insecurity and the needy desire to be loved that defines most politicians. He knows how to push every one of those buttons. He praises obedient Senators as courageous. He predicts dire consequences for the wayward. He shuffles subcomittee chairmanships and vice-chairmanships like cards in an ever-winning hand. He elevates junior Senators above senior ones when they stick with the boss. A longtime Annapolis player told me, “We call him Big Daddy. When people screw up, he doesn’t get mad at them. Instead, he tells them he's ‘disappointed.’ No one wants to let Dad down.”

Big Daddy is a formidable opponent for anyone seeking more power in state politics, including Governors. Mike Miller wants two things: first, as many Democratic seats in the Senate as he can get, and second, making the holders of those seats dependent on him for money and support. Those two goals go together. As the Democratic Party pushes out into conservative areas (like the Baltimore suburbs, the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland) and increases its Senate ranks, the Democrats who hold those outlying seats are vulnerable. Both Miller and Governor O’Malley have an obvious incentive to direct as much campaign money and state funding to those districts as possible. If Miller can help those vulnerable Senators survive, they will be grateful – and obedient – to the boss. This will increase Miller’s stranglehold on power. But the strategy is only feasible if the resources controlled by Miller and O’Malley are directed to these fragile districts. That means they cannot be tied up in Montgomery County, especially if the delegations in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County are restive.

House Speaker Mike Busch has similar incentives as the Senate President, but he has a larger margin in his chamber and is generally more subtle than Miller. As for the Governor, he is focused on winning Baltimore County in his re-election campaign. So the three most powerful politicians in the state are united in one objective: directing state funding to just about anywhere else other than Montgomery County. Why? Because it does no good to them to shore up an area that is supposedly wealthy enough to take care of itself and liberal enough to vote Democratic no matter what. This is a severe problem for every Montgomery County politician, state and local.

Montgomery has carried this burden for a long time but now things are coming to a head. As we have previously chronicled, the tax hikes of the 2007 special session and the spending cuts of the 2008 general session have not eliminated the state’s long-run budget deficit. Since the legislature will not implement any more major tax increases prior to the next election year and many significant spending cuts have already been made, only two options remain: revenue from the slots referendum and sending teacher pension obligations, which are now mostly paid by the state, down to the counties. Montgomery budget officials tell me that if pension funding is shifted down from the state, the county would face an extra $120 million per year in costs or more. Putting that in perspective, each percentage point of the county’s 5% public employee union pay increase equals about $20 million. That means Montgomery County could cancel the entire pay increase for all of its unionized employees and still be unable to pay the cost of assuming state-funded teacher pensions. One high-ranking budget official described the fiscal impact of a state handoff of pension funding as “a nuclear explosion.”

Will Montgomery County be spared this fate if the slots referendum passes? Not necessarily, for three reasons. First, it will take several years for any casinos to be up and running. Second, slots revenues may not be as high as projected (currently estimated at over $500 million per year). Third, an election year is coming in 2010. The Governor and the legislative leaders will be looking to spend some serious money to get votes. If slots money is not enough, pension obligations may have to be shed. And that means a state-sponsored fiscal nuke will annihilate Montgomery County’s budget.

But our delegation can fight back. We’ll learn how in Part Three.

How to Get Clout in Annapolis, Part One

Montgomery County Council President Mike Knapp, during the council’s recent budget debate:

Montgomery County is “the state’s piggy bank.”

Senator Rona Kramer (D-14), commenting on Governor O’Malley’s broken promise on Montgomery school construction funding:

“I think he's not sensitive to the needs of Montgomery County, and that he's taking the county for granted.”

Gazette columnist Blair Lee:

“The problem is: once a chump, always a chump. Lawmakers who sell out are promoted but never respected. That’s why it was so easy this week for Governor O’Malley to break his promise to give MoCo $55 million of school construction aid in exchange for MoCo’s special session tax and slots votes. Instead, we’re only getting $46.3 million. Can you imagine O’Malley ripping off PG County or Baltimore city that way?

Until MoCo stands up on its hind legs, it will always be shortchanged, double-crossed and pushed around in Annapolis.”

Unnamed Montgomery County politician:

“Our guys are pathetic. Every year they go to Annapolis and every year we get jacksh*t!”

And so it goes. I hear some version of this from nearly everyone outside of the county’s statehouse delegation (and even a softer variant from a couple legislators themselves). The common assessment is that the county’s state legislators are, for the most part, intelligent and progressive but insufficiently parochial. They may get occasional wins on a few liberal priorities, but Baltimore City gets huge amounts of state subsidies and the Prince George’s delegation received a state bailout of their hospital. In the meantime, Montgomery taxpayers get 15 cents back in aid for every dollar they pay in taxes, less than half the state average of 35 cents.

It does not have to be this way. I have met most of our state legislators. Almost all are extremely bright. In fact, no other delegation from any other part of the state can match our people in sheer braininess. Many of our legislators have experience in the federal government as staffers or lobbyists. Many are experts in their policy areas. While the delegation is handicapped by a lack of seniority, the younger legislators are clever and ambitious. And they have the advantage of numbers: Montgomery’s legislators account for 8 of 34 Democratic Senators (24%) and 24 of 104 Democratic Delegates (23%), the biggest bloc in the state. Our legislators have the makings of a great fighting unit for the interests of Montgomery County residents. But first they have a bit of work to do. We’ll get started in Part Two.

Al Gore, America’s Greatest President

By Adam C. Pagnucco, Jr.
November 1, 2023
Essay Contest, Richard Madaleno Middle School, Silver Spring, MD

Al Gore almost did not become President. The 2000 election was the closest in U.S. history. Gore won only when the Supreme Court decided by a 5-4 margin that every vote in Florida should be counted. While it took a month to certify Gore’s 427-vote victory in the state, it turned out to be the wisest decision the Supreme Court ever made.

Less than a year in office, the Gore administration confronted America’s worst tragedy in sixty years: the September 11, 2001 attack on New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon. After swiftly implementing a rescue and recovery operation, Gore turned to dealing with those responsible. “We will meet terrorism with justice,” he told Congress. “We will meet fear with freedom. And we will offer the people of the world a path to peace with honor and dignity for all.”

The administration responded on two tracks. First, Gore activated the mutual defense provision of the NATO treaty. The NATO countries expelled Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda group and its hosts, the Taliban, in a quick joint campaign in Afghanistan. But NATO’s mutual defense was also expanded into intelligence and financial operations. Working as a group, the NATO countries and their allies were able to root out al-Qaeda cells in London, Madrid and Bali that were planning follow-up attacks. While bin Laden continued to hide for many years, his organization was defanged.

The administration’s second track was even more ambitious. Gore’s national security team believed that Islamic militant groups gained strength by continued conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, and by extension, Israel’s western protectors. So President Gore made renewed peace negotiations between the two sides one of his highest priorities. While the final peace agreement was not signed until after the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, it has mostly held up since then. As a side benefit, extremist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah faded away once the agreement (as well as a treaty with Syria) led to economic prosperity throughout the region.

The Gore administration’s biggest decision was on how to handle Iraq. Many Republicans and some Democrats, including Vice-President Lieberman, argued that Saddam Hussein’s regime needed to be removed. But Gore ultimately decided that war against Iraq would undermine negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Instead, NATO, the UN and the United States pressured Iraq into admitting that it did not have any weapons of mass destruction or any relationship with al-Qaeda. The survival of the Hussein regime prompted Vice-President Lieberman to decline to run again in 2004, leading to his replacement on the ticket by Virginia Governor Mark Warner.

It was not until many years later that we learned about President Gore’s most controversial initiative. In the secret 2004 Ankara Pact, the administration forged an alliance with the Hussein regime and internal Iranian opposition groups to work against Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Over the next three years, a combination of escalating UN sanctions, Iraqi border incursions, and sabotage of Iranian nuclear facilities led Iran’s leaders to force out their fanatical President and negotiate. While many later objected to Gore’s willingness to work under the table with America’s former enemies, the secret program probably kept Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The issue’s sensitivity is reflected by the fact that UN Secretary-General Gore will still not discuss it.

President Gore had his disappointments. He never could win universal health care; that had to wait for President Warner’s administration. He could not convince the Congress to accept the amended Kyoto treaty on climate control, but his 2005 cap-and-trade legislation started America down a path of declining greenhouse gas emissions. And his administration was sorely tested by Hurricane Katrina. After dealing with initial shortcomings in the rescue operation, Gore proposed an ambitious plan to rebuild Louisiana’s wetlands. An entire generation of engineers, architects, scientists, environmentalists and construction workers was trained in the greatest American public works project since the New Deal. Completed in 2010, the Louisiana wetlands restoration has served as a model for the rest of the world ever since.

Many conservatives still imagine what would have happened if Texas Governor George W. Bush had been elected. They question whether toppling Saddam Hussein would have given America more leverage in dealing with other rogues. It is true that aggressive regimes continue to be a problem. Qusay Hussein, Saddam’s successor, has been accused of arranging the 2015 assassination attempt on the Emir of Kuwait and is believed to be financing Shiite rebels in Saudi Arabia. President Van Hollen is now dealing with two crises: the recent missile exchange between Taiwan and China and Russia’s invasion of Georgia.

But Gore’s critics miss the central lesson of his presidency. Gore’s greatest successes did not come through military action, but rather through coalition building. Large groups of countries worked together to suppress terrorism, bring peace and economic growth to the Middle East, reduce disease and poverty in Africa and, most crucially, to collaborate in developing EFE (emission-free energy) technology to fight global warming. America’s prestige and influence have never been higher around the world. A new era of optimism based on American leadership, genuine multi-lateral cooperation and rising shared economic growth began during the Gore administration and has been ably continued by his successors.

I for one am glad that the U.S. Supreme Court decided to count every vote in Florida. The first eight years of the 21st Century were some of the most critical in U.S. history. It is difficult to imagine how the country would have fared without Al Gore, America’s greatest President.

State and County Budgets Create Perfect Storm for MoCo

The Gazette and Free State Politics have both covered the state’s continuing budget problems. Now the Gazette informs us that Montgomery County is facing at least a $240 million deficit next year even after closing a $297 million deficit this year. These twin typhoons are coming together to pound the county once again.

First, let’s look at the state budget. Back in April, we noted that despite tax hikes and spending cuts in the 2007 special session and the 2008 general session, the state had not completely closed its long-term deficit. At that time, the state’s Department of Legislative Services (DLS) projected a $243 million deficit in FY 2010 and a $596 million deficit in FY 2011. Thereafter, deficit amounts depended on the passage of the slots referendum. DLS said:

Based on the assumption that the constitutional amendment to implement video lottery terminals is approved by voters in the fall of 2008, the projected cash and structural shortfall narrows significantly by fiscal 2013. It is estimated that revenue from video lottery terminals will add nearly $500 million in revenue in fiscal 2012, increasing to an estimated $660 million in fiscal 2013. If the constitutional amendment is not successful, the structural deficit is projected to remain at the roughly -$600 million level.

Since then, the Comptroller’s office released estimates of state revenues through May. The Comptroller wrote:

General fund revenues for the month of May totaled $961.0 million, an increase of 15.1% over May 2007. For the fiscal year to date, general fund collections are $11.312 billion, growth of 5.1%. After a steep decline in April (adjusted for the rate increase), the sales tax showed some growth in May. Year-to-date, revenues are slightly under expectations, with underperformance in the individual income tax, sales tax and tobacco tax offset by strong performance from most other revenue sources.

We reproduce the summary data below.


A 5.1% increase in general fund revenues is not a disastrous performance, but the Comptroller states that it is “slightly under expectations.” That is the key. A very large chunk of state spending is driven by formulas, including education, special education, community colleges, Medicaid, library subsidies, land conservation, community services to seniors and aid to counties, municipalities and local health departments plus more. That says nothing of benefit payments to state employees. If these formulas call for a spending rate growth that exceeds the growth in revenues, there will be a gap that must be resolved by the Governor and legislature. Right now it appears that the state’s deficit may very well exceed the $243 million originally projected for next year.

And now we look at Montgomery County’s budget. This blog blanket-covered the County Council’s agonizing, but ultimately successful effort to close its $297 million deficit in May. Now they face at least a $240 million deficit next year. But that could change depending on the state of the county’s economy.

Back in May, I wrote the following on the county’s budget:

As for the future, the most volatile components of the county’s revenues are the two tied to real estate sales: the real property transfer tax and the recordation tax. According to the county’s Department of Finance, residential real estate sales volume averaged over $500 million per month from 2006 through the first eight months of 2007. Since then, residential real estate sales volume has averaged between $200 and $300 million per month. It is this collapse in residential real estate transactions that has caused many of the county’s current budget problems. All policymakers – both inside the government and inside the unions – should watch this figure in the Finance Department’s monthly economic updates. If it rises back up to $400 million per month or more, the county’s real property transfer and recordation taxes will begin to recover. If it falls further, tougher times are ahead.

Since then, the county’s Department of Finance reported residential real estate volumes of $287 million in March, $385 million in April and $381 million in May. Average home prices are still down in the low five hundred thousands (well below the July 2007 peak of $601,995), but unit sales exceeded 700 homes in both April and May, the best performance since last August. If the real estate market continues to improve, the county’s budget office may need to adjust its deficit estimate.

Still, the county’s budget deficit will be substantial and that means the public employee union contracts may very well be back on the table. Right now, the vote count looks precarious for the unions. Council Members Phil Andrews and Duchy Trachtenberg both recommended a 2-point cost-of-living adjustment cut last time. Council Member Roger Berliner supported a two-day furlough. New Council Member Donald Praisner ran on the notion that the contracts should be “reviewed.” The unions may be only one vote away from a contract cut.

Council Member Trachtenberg, Chair of the Management and Fiscal Policy Committee, had this to say to the Gazette:

“Clearly we are expecting revenue that is not on the high end, and we certainly recognize that next year’s budget cycle will be a difficult one,” said Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At large) of North Bethesda, chairwoman of the council’s finance committee. “It wouldn’t surprise me if at the end of the calendar year, we won’t have to look at more program savings, and a possible mid-year savings plan, which are what we try to do in a difficult deficit situation.”

Savings at mid-year would reduce next year’s deficit. That will in turn relieve the pressure on the unions’ contracts. It may therefore be in the unions’ interest to consider scouring their agencies’ budgets for potential reductions.

But any détente at the county level could be easily undone by the state. The lords of Annapolis may very well be preparing a nasty witches’ brew for Montgomery County, including a handoff of funding responsibility for teachers’ pensions. That move alone would easily swamp any savings identified by the unions. And so dealing with the county’s budget problems is not merely the responsibility of the county politicians and the public employee unions. It is also the responsibility of Montgomery’s state legislators to protect the county from any damage threatened by the state’s budget difficulties. We will be discussing this at length next week.

The Scandals of MoCo

That really is one humdinger of a scandal Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is embroiled in! It’s got everything – money, corruption, sex, evil developers, furs, sex, contracting violations, sex, and probably even more sex. I hope for Baltimore’s sake that she doesn’t have some kind of perverted competition going on with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. (My money’s on Kwame because the text messages are documented.) But then I started thinking – how does MoCo compare on the scandal meter? The answer is that we are just pathetic. Take a look at the pitiful scraps we are offering:

1. Jerry Weast’s meeting with the unions
When MCPS superintendent Jerry Weast discussed support for Nancy Navarro in the recent District 4 race with the county’s unions, he must have thought he was helping the school board president. He wasn’t. All he got for his trouble was spankings from bloggers and three straight weeks of negative Gazette coverage. Weast wound up hurting Navarro by giving ammo to her opponents and encouraging Don Praisner’s voters to turn out. This was a legitimate scandal because no school superintendent should be involved in elections, but its ultimate impact was to backfire on Weast. Scandal meter (1= Bennifer, 10=Monica): 3.

2. Illegal anti-Navarro robocalls
In a story first reported here and then picked up by the Gazette, illegal anonymous robocalls went out branding Navarro a tool of the developers. This played right into the hands of her opponents, all of whom rejected developer money. A few of us held a nice parlor game trying to figure out the source (I think it’s Foolio) but I doubt the calls alone tipped the race. And let’s face it – a Baltimore candidate who didn’t use illegal calls would be regarded as soft. Scandal meter: 3.

3. Duchy challenges council trips to Israel
When County Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg found out that the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington was paying for trips to Israel by council members, she requested an opinion from the county’s ethics commission. Ultimately, the commission ruled the group could not pay for the trips even though they had been going on for 20 years. Duchy’s instincts were proven right although I think the Council Members could benefit from some time away from each other every now and then. Scandal meter: 2.

4. Silverman and Knapp caught breaking the ex parte rule
Near the end of the 2006 primary election, the now-deceased MoCo Progressive blog publicized meetings between a developer lawyer and Council Members Steve Silverman and Mike Knapp. The meetings violated the county’s ex parte rule, which forbids private discussions between Council Members and outside parties on zoning issues.

Now I know that the ex parte rule is supposed to prevent developer (and citizen) influence over land use issues, but this may be a little silly. I want the right to talk to my Council Members about anything! Only in MoCo would we label a conversation between a developer and a politician a scandal. In Baltimore, that’s called “lunch.” Scandal meter: 2.

5. Ann Marimow catches Praisner campaign manager in council building
During the District 4 special election, Washington Post reporter Ann Marimow exposed Praisner campaign manager Eric Hensal’s trips to meet allied council staffers in the council building during business hours. The staffers claimed they used personal cell phones to communicate and ate lunch outside the grounds.

This is not just small potatoes, it's tater tots. The real scandal is how much time I spend in Rockville. One of these days the receptionists will get wise to my fake County Council staff badge and throw me out onto the street where I belong! Scandal meter: 1 (Hensal), 4 (Adam).

So what's next? Will one of the Council Members forget to wear green on St. Patrick's Day? Will MCDCC appoint Itchy or Scratchy to the next delegate vacancy? (Can you imagine their presentations before the committee?) Will Marc Elrich be caught skinny-dipping in Sligo Creek? Unfortunately, none of the above will probably occur.

Yawn... I guess I'll wake up when Marion Barry moves here.

Give Them a Raise!

Folks, I have been in the labor movement for almost 14 years and rarely have I seen a more oppressed group of workers. They are vastly underpaid compared to their peers. They work extremely long hours with no overtime payments. They toil in cramped, noisy worksites with constant chaos all around. Their employers are brutal, never thanking them for good work and always flogging them for more output. Worst of all, when they screw up, their bosses drag their names into the newspapers.

Am I talking about carpenters? I could be, but not in this column. How about construction laborers, roofers, bricklayers, janitors or domestic workers? No, not this time. I’m talking about workers who are, in their own way, almost as exploited: the members of the Montgomery County Council.

OK, I just heard you yell, “Adam must be eating too many bon-bons again!” But please bear with me.

Montgomery County Council Members are paid $89,721 per year. The Council President, an office that rotates annually, is paid $98,693. That’s barely a middle-class income in this county. Just look at our housing costs. As of a year ago, the average price of an existing detached single-family home in Montgomery County was $540,000. If you assume annual property taxes of $3,000, an interest rate of 5.75% and $40,000 down, then 42% of a Council Member’s pre-tax salary would be required to make the monthly payment. So we don’t pay our Council Members enough to allow them to afford a house!

Now look at their peers. D.C. Council Members earned $115,000 each last year. There’s thirteen of them serving just over half the population that our nine Council Members cover. Maryland state legislators start at just over $43,000 for three months of work. And there are even quite a few county government staffers that make more money than their superiors on the Council.

And what do our Council Members get for these crumbs? For starters, they get over a hundred emails a day. (I get about that many, but most of them are scams or porn.) They endure endless meetings with wild-eyed activists. (I can hear my wife laughing.) The particularly unlucky Council Members are hauled into Marc Elrich’s office for long lectures on growth policy.

Want more? How about nasty phone calls at home. And pickets in front of their houses. And just to add insult to injury, voters approved a 2006 ballot measure to designate Council Members as “full-time” without raising their pay.

Now if you’ve ever met these Council Members, you know that they are all smart and capable. All of them could be earning far more in the private sector. Take Valerie Ervin. She has 25 years experience in the labor movement plus five more in local government. Any international union would be on its hands and knees to hire her as a political director for more than twice her council salary. She could be flying out to conferences in Palm Springs and Disney World and eating fist-sized shrimps with U.S. Senators if she wanted. Just think about that the next time you’re yelling at her over a cracked sidewalk! And good luck finding anyone who was smarter or worked harder than the late Marilyn Praisner. If she had stayed at the CIA, Osama bin Laden would be on the business end of a bunker-buster by now.

If ever a group of workers needed a union, this is it. So let’s get organized! Every Council Member should wear a button that says, “Pay me what I’m worth!” (Can you imagine the reaction at town hall meetings?) We’ll set up a picket line outside 100 Maryland Avenue. And maybe we’ll have to call a strike. That will stick it to those miserly residents!

Council Members of MoCo, unite! You have nothing to lose but your Blackberries!

End of Column

(Psst… OK, all the readers have left their computers, people. I held up my end of the deal. Now let’s talk about that pedestrian tunnel project…)

The State of Maryland Blogdom, Part Five

Remember our landmark interview with Senate President Mike Miller last January? I described a weird scene as nine liberal bloggers, some with pony tails, others with earrings and several in T-shirts were summoned to a rare audience with the most powerful man to never serve as Governor in the history of the state. It was a heady time for the blogosphere. The special session had driven Maryland political blog readership, both on the left and the right, to record levels and the Annapolis leaders had finally recognized our reach.

As far as I know, of the bloggers who participated in that meeting, I am the only one who still posts on a near-daily basis. Almost all of the rest are gone.

The fundamental building blocks of a political movement are not money, slogans, literature pieces or hired consultants. They are IDEAS and the people who generate them. Maryland is not a blue state because of Mike Miller’s personal power or Martin O’Malley’s campaign war chest. It is blue because residents want a stronger economy, quality education, widely available and excellent health care, a clean environment and, above all, social justice. They want to know how we will get there. And that takes creativity, willpower and risk.

We cannot leave these tasks to our politicians. They are ill-suited for them. The vast majority of the state and local politicians I have met are intelligent, possess superior people skills and are individuals of good will. But they are often cautious by nature and tend to balance their beliefs against their electoral needs. They function within a system that encourages incrementalism and seniority and punishes provocateurs. Many of them can and do implement good ideas but few create lots of them. Those people who do are seldom viable candidates for office.

Red Maryland, possibly the most-read political blog in the state, is a seething lava-pit of ideas, criticism, debate and above all hunger. Its contributors are outsiders. They have little access to money, influential officeholders, mainstream media or any of the conventional tools of political power. All they have left are ideas – lots of them. And thousands of their readers share them with their friends and spread their message. This is exactly what William F. Buckley, Paul Weyrich, Milton Friedman and many other conservatives did before the Reagan presidency. This is how to build a movement.

What about the left? We control every political resource in the state and assume that the right will never be competitive. There are many people on our side who would be excellent bloggers. But they are mostly current officeholders, staffers, lobbyists, activists who work within the system or national players. We hear from them by press release, newspaper soundbite, fundraiser speech or often not at all.

In its prime, Maryland’s liberal blogosphere provided an intellectual vigor that kept the Democratic Party in fighting form. With the decline of many liberal blogs, the ideological field of battle has been nearly abandoned to the right. This is complacency at its worst. It is very dangerous for the Maryland Democratic Party and the state’s political left in general. It must be reversed.

So if you are a progressive and have an idea for something better, write it up. Put it on Free State Politics, start your own blog or email it to us at acp1629@hotmail.com. Don’t assume that someone else will come up with it. They probably will not. Maryland’s blogosphere is wide open and thousands of liberals across the state are waiting to hear what your idea is. Ladies and gentlemen, now is an excellent time to blog.

The State of Maryland Blogdom, Part Four

Political blogs in Maryland really began to roll in 2006, an election year. Back then, a lot of blogs sprang up to cover state and local campaigns, especially in Montgomery County. Remember MoCo Progressive, MoCo Politics, Outside the Beltway, On Background, Sprawling Towards Montgomery, Quid Pro MoCo and the notorious MoCorruption? Most were run anonymously (with Michael Raia's Outside the Beltway the exception) and all offered frequent posts with mostly liberal viewpoints. And now all of them are gone.

Then came the era of Free State Politics. Isaac Smith’s grand experiment set up a common forum in which liberal bloggers from around the state, some open and others anonymous, could post on any state or local issue they wanted. The bloggers fed off each other, shared their experiences in online diaries and elevated the quality of left-wing discourse across the state. Red Maryland, now possibly the state’s most-read political blog, was founded in July 2007 as a counterbalance to Free State Politics.

At its peak last fall, Free State Politics boasted an all-star line-up including Smith, Eric Luedtke, Andrew Kujan, Paul Foer and others, often posting multiple times per day. Free State’s coverage of the special session rivaled the mainstream media, led by Luedtke’s near-daily reporting from Annapolis. Red Maryland bloggers sometimes began their posts by denouncing one of Free State’s contributors (usually Smith or Foer) and much smack-talk was exchanged.

But Red Maryland surpassed Free State in visit count starting in October 2007 and soon had twice as many visits. Luedtke, Kujan and Foer stopped posting and left Smith to battle on alone. Free State has been resurrected in the past and may be revived again, but Red Maryland has won the lead for now.


Like the conservative blogs, the liberal blogs peaked because of the special session and the last general session. MPW, Free State, Bruce Godfrey’s venerable Crablaw and the now-dead MoCo Politics together recorded 8,000-11,000 monthly visits between July and November 2007. Combined visit counts spiked to 21,894 in February before falling to 12,124 last month. That fall is mostly due to Free State’s 66% decline in visits – from 8,892 in February to 3,013 in May. MPW, with 7,320 visits last month, is now the biggest liberal political blog in our dataset.


One blog for which we do not have data is Jim Kennedy’s Vigilance blog. Kennedy is President of Montgomery County’s Teach the Facts group, which advocates for a liberal, open curriculum on gender identity issues in the county’s schools. Kennedy acts as a patient ringmaster in the Chuck Barris mold while dozens of mostly anonymous liberals and conservatives battle it out on everything from nature vs. nurture to the origins of religion. MPW friend Dana Beyer even made news there by announcing her 2010 candidacy for District 18 delegate against a crowded forum of hostile anons. Vigilance must get tons of visits judging from its comment counts but Kennedy seldom strays into non-gender issues.

The decline of the liberal blogs is an important event in the state’s blogosphere. We will discuss the consequences of the left’s fall in Part Five.

How the Planning Board Vote Went Down

The Gazette reported the County Council’s selection of Joseph Alfandre and Amy Presley to the Planning Board yesterday. But the details of the vote are more interesting than the results.

By law, the council had to select one Democrat and one Republican to fill the two vacancies created by the departure of Allison Bryant and the death of Gene Lynch. On the Democratic seat, the first vote taken by the council resulted in four votes for Action Committee for Transit President Ben Ross (from George Leventhal, Valerie Ervin, Duchy Trachtenberg and Phil Andrews), three votes for Kentlands developer Alfandre (from Marc Elrich, Roger Berliner and Mike Knapp) and two votes for former Prince George’s County Director of Parks and Recreation Marye Wells-Harley (from Nancy Floreen and Don Praisner). Since no candidate had a majority, a run-off vote was held. Ms. Floreen and Mr. Praisner supported Alfandre, giving him a 5-4 victory.

The interesting fact here is the nature of the two voting blocs. Many observers expected the five slow-growth Council Members (Elrich, Andrews, Trachtenberg, Berliner and Praisner) to decide on one candidate. This group has been sticking together, more or less, on votes on the budget, free parking at libraries and demolishing the Hillmead house. But that did not happen this time even though the selection of a Planning Board candidate is about as critical a development decision as the council will ever make. Council Members Leventhal, Ervin and Trachtenberg are known to be enthusiastic Purple Line supporters and perhaps that was one reason why they supported Ross. But most of the others concluded Alfandre was the better overall candidate. Most surprisingly, anti-development bad boy Marc Elrich and former End Gridlock slate member Nancy Floreen agreed on the same Planning Board candidate – and a developer no less!

This is a very positive event for a rather rancorous county government. What else might Mr. Elrich and Ms. Floreen agree on? Perhaps they should find out. I for one would love to see the product of an Elrich-Floreen alliance, if only because its very existence would bewilder the rest of the council!

Legendary Clarksburg activist Amy Presley was expected by everyone to win the other seat. But her move to the Planning Board creates some challenges for her Clarksburg Town Center Advisory Committee. Clarksburg has been a mess in recent weeks with the filing of multiple lawsuits and an apocalyptic showdown in which residents turned against each other in front of developer Newland Communities. (As an activist, I can tell you that there is nothing worse than seeing your own troops go to pieces in the face of the enemy.) Presley’s successors must find a way to get the best deal possible from Newland while keeping their own people together. That is going to be a challenge.

A word on outgoing Planning Board Member Allison Bryant. I will not soon forget how Bryant nearly fell out of his chair with roaring laughter at the sight of our Crossing Georgia video last winter. I have testified many times before many panels and have often wondered whether some of the presiding officials were paying attention. I never asked that question of Bryant, an engaging man who delighted in sparring with speakers. I did not always agree with him, but the Planning Board will not be the same without Bryant’s rolling eyes and thigh-slapping good humor. Planning, politics and life are more enjoyable if you can have fun, a valuable lesson taught by Allison Bryant to the rest of us.

Delegate Gutierrez Wins Progressive States Network Award

On Monday night, the Progressive States Network honored District 18 Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez for her work in defeating anti-immigrant legislation in Maryland. We carry her acceptance remarks below.

The State of Maryland Blogdom, Part Three

With only two of eight Congressmen, 14 of 47 state senators, 37 of 141 state delegates and no statewide officeholders, Maryland’s Republican Party is in bad shape. That cannot be said of the state’s conservative blogosphere. Right-wing blogs have established a loud, robust, and active online conservative community that eclipses the state’s Republican establishment.

Of the 25 state blogs for which we have collected statistics, twelve are conservative political blogs. Prior to the fall of 2007, these twelve blogs saw a combined 16,000-22,000 visits per month. But the special session and the 2008 general session caused readership to explode to a peak of 39,917 visits in February. Since then, visits have dropped to 30,411 in May – down 24% from the peak, but still much higher than a year ago.


Red Maryland is the most widely-read blog among all those for which we have data. The site had a peak level of 14,614 visits in January before falling to 9,839 visits last month. Red Maryland is a common site shared by 20 conservative bloggers, many of whom cross-post from their own individual blogs. With so many contributors, the site offers multiple posts on many days and acts as a one-stop shopping center for Maryland conservatives. Whether free-state right-wingers want quick-and-dirty Democrat bashing or more detailed critiques of liberal policies, they will find it on Red Maryland.

Other leading conservative blogs include the Baltimore Reporter (4,000-5,000 monthly visits), the often-national issue Pillage Idiot (3,000-5,000 monthly visits) and Howard County (also 3,000-5,000 monthly visits, but declining). No other right-wing blog for which we have data reliably cracks 2,000 visits per month but that is deceiving. Many of these blogs cross-post to Red Maryland and so many readers no doubt receive their content there rather than click on multiple sites.


One important blog for which we do not have data is the infamous O’Malley Watch. There is no policy debate or prescription here: it is pure and endless bashing of the Governor, thrown out as blood-dripping red meat to his legions of enemies. While calling for transparency and open government from O’Malley, the blog’s author hides behind anonymity and does not release visit data. But since the blog’s posts often receive over 100 comments each, mostly from anonymous readers, its visit count must be high. In fact, the venomous O’Malley Watch may be the most-read blog in the state, a sad comment on the politics of the free state’s blogosphere.

In Part Four, we will look at Maryland’s left-wing blogs.

The State of Maryland Blogdom, Part Two

Maryland political blogs generally fall into one of three categories: liberal, conservative or local. Today, we will focus on the local blogs.

Liberal and conservative blogs are self-explanatory. Local blogs tend to cover a specific area, like Baltimore, Silver Spring or Howard County. They are sometimes not directly political in the sense that the author does not have a strong ideological bias. But they often touch on political issues as they apply to a particular local area. The Silver Spring blogs, for example, offered outstanding coverage of last year’s photography dispute on Ellsworth Drive and the recent debate over the Birchmere/Live Nation project.

Of the 25 blogs for which we have obtained visit statistics, nine are local blogs. Of those, Inside Charm City is the most widely-read with a peak of 16,267 visits in April. Inside Charm City is a general news blog reporting on events in and around Baltimore. Jeff Quinton has established himself as perhaps the city’s most prominent blogger since founding the site in April 2007.

Dan Reed’s Just Up the Pike ranks second with a peak of 6,331 visits in April. In a previous post, I proclaimed Dan the “best interviewer in MoCo blogdom.” He is that and more. Dan chronicles often over-looked East County and occasionally branches out to Downtown Silver Spring and Wheaton. Dan is an architectural student and often comments on development-related issues. He is one of a handful of MoCo bloggers who has kept his blog alive since the summer of 2006. Before I started with MPW, I was a guest-blogger on Just Up the Pike and I continue to read it daily.

Rethink College Park wants Maryland’s biggest college town to become “a walkable, inclusive, and dynamic city.” The site peaked at 7,977 visits in December 2007 and now draws around 4,000 visits a month. Authors David Daddio and Rob Goodspeed have a style similar to Dan Reed’s: highly detailed, very local and forward-looking.


The nine blogs for which I have data have grown steadily in visit counts. Prior to the fall of 2007, they drew combined monthly visit counts in the low twenty thousands. Now they are drawing around thirty thousand visits a month. But that understates their influence because I do not have data for some of the most prominent local blogs including the Pocomoke Tattler, Delusional Duck (in Charles County), Salisbury News and most of the other Silver Spring blogs. Silver Spring, serviced by not only Just Up the Pike but no fewer than three other long-running, frequently-updated blogs is probably the blog capital of Maryland.


Local blogs offer a mix of news, opinion, humor and detail that are indispensable supplements to mainstream media (MSM) sources. That is why demand for them is rising steadily and surely. The only constraint to their growth is the time demands on the bloggers themselves. That is an important constraint (as I can testify!) but enough people have overcome it to make this sector of the blogosphere a serious factor in the state’s political scene.

In Part Three, we will cover Maryland’s conservative blogs.