2018 Governor's Race

Madaleno’s Radical Kiss

Who knew a kiss could be so radical?

Political advertisements rarely do something different. In public, straight people kiss all the time. In the media, they often do a lot more. For all the real and significant advances of the LGBT-rights movement, LGBT people are far more cautious.

Even mainstream television shows with LGBT characters rarely show much basic, normal affection. Will & Grace, which has two major gay characters, is practically the archetype for the absence of physical affection. (Andrew Sullivan refers to Will as the “eunuch.”)

Political ads take it to a whole new level. After all, political ads try to present candidates as wholesome, family oriented individuals. Candidates don’t want to threaten target voters but make them think he or she is “one of us.”

By showing himself kissing his husband with his two terrific African-American children, Madaleno pushes the boundary – and not in a safe, made for cable series but in a political advertisement. It explicitly makes the case and challenges voters that his marriage and his family are just as good as anyone else’s.

Now THAT’s progressive.

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Adam Pagnucco, early voting

What Percentage of Voters Will Vote Early?

By Adam Pagnucco.

Long ago, the overwhelming percentage of voting occurred on Election Day.  Absentee and provisional ballots played roles mainly in tight races.  So campaign activities were performed on tight, escalating schedules and reached a climax on the one day when voters headed to the booth.  But in the era of early voting, it’s not so simple anymore.

Early voting in Maryland was established by a state constitutional amendment passed in 2008.  It was first used in the 2010 elections.  Usage of the option started slowly, with only 10% of voters voting early in the 2010 primary.  But in the 2014 general and 2016 primary, 18% of voters voted early and the percentage spiked to 31% in the 2016 general.  Democrats tend to vote early at higher rates than Republicans and unaffiliated voters.

Early voting has been less heavily used in MoCo than in the rest of the state but MoCo closed the gap in 2016.  In that year, MoCo’s early voting percentages were very close to state averages.

There are huge variations in early voting between counties.  Talbot County, on the Eastern Shore, is the early voting champ.  Forty-five percent of Talbot’s voters voted early in the 2016 general election.  Kent, Prince George’s and Queen Anne’s Counties also stand out.  On the other side, early voting is least frequent in Western Maryland’s Allegany and Washington Counties.

What percentage of voters will vote early this time?  Our hunch is that the huge spike in the 2016 general election was anomalous and related to strong feelings about the presidential candidates.  If we throw those results out, the long term trend is still up.  Our best guess is that between a fifth and a quarter of Democrats at the state level and in MoCo will vote early in the upcoming primary.  We shall see if we are right!

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MCDCC

MCDCC Slams Phony Dem Club

By Adam Pagnucco.

The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) has issued a press release denouncing a group that claims to be a “Democratic club” but has not been chartered by the party. The group has attacked Delegate Aruna Miller (D-15), who is running for Congress.  We reprint the release below.

*****

For Immediate Release

6/6/2018

Contact: Dave Kunes, Chair

Chair@MCDCC.org

The MCDCC has received several complaints about the origins of the officers and disputed claims of the unchartered organization calling itself, “Asian American Democratic Club.” While the Democratic Central Committee does not censor the comments of local Democratic voters or organizations, in this case we must publicly make clear, the group, “Asian American Democratic Club” has never applied for an official charter with the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee.

Central Committee Chair Dave Kunes said, “We have already seen the damage fake news and fake groups can do to our elections. The ‘Asian American Democratic Club’ is representing itself as a chartered Democratic organization and publishing highly questionable claims about Democratic primary candidates. Earlier this year, the founding treasurer of this group was exposed as using an identity stolen from a Texas student from Baylor University. Based on these issues, the Montgomery County Democratic Party disavows this group. We are also filing a complaint with Facebook to stop outside influencers who masquerade as legitimate Democratic organizations in order to inappropriately influence our elections.”

“This unsanctioned group should not be confused with our chartered organization the Coalition of Asian Pacific American Democrats (CAPAD). CAPAD has a longstanding reputation of legitimate and outstanding work supporting the communities of Democratic Asian American and  Pacific Islander communities in Montgomery County. The job of the Montgomery County Democratic Party is to protect our legitimate and chartered organizations, who put in the work to engage Democratic voters.”

Dave Kunes

Chair

Montgomery County Democratic Party

www.mcdcc.org

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Prince George's

Leggett Endorses Alsobrooks

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has endorsed State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks for Prince George’s County Executive. Here is the press release from the Alsobrooks campaign:

MONTGOMERY COUNTY EXECUTIVE IKE LEGGETT ENDORSES ANGELA ALSOBROOKS FOR PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY EXECUTIVE

LARGO, MD – Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett today endorsed Angela Alsobrooks to be the next County Executive for Prince George’s County. During a press event at Alsobrooks’ campaign headquarters, Leggett said Alsobrooks was best prepared to hit the ground running day one and address challenges that impact the county and the region.

“After serving as Montgomery County Executive for the last 12 years, I know the leadership abilities a person needs to be successful in this job and Angela Alsobrooks has them,” Leggett said. “She is a leader who holds herself and everyone around her to the highest ethical standards and she leads by being present, getting to know those she serves so she can address the specific challenges they face. She also has a good temperament and the ability to work with anyone and everyone, even those who disagree with her, to get the job done. Her record as State’s Attorney speaks for itself and I know she will be a County Executive to lead Prince George’s County into the future.”

The endorsement continues to add to the broad and diverse support that Alsobrooks has earned during the campaign. She has also been endorsed by 15 local labor unions representing more than 65,000 working families and all four of the county’s public safety unions.

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2018 Governor's Race

Vignarajah Eligibility Challenged in Court

Douglas Horn has filed a lawsuit against the Maryland State Board of Elections asking for a declaratory judgement that Krish Vignarajah is ineligible to run for governor and mandating the removal of her name from the ballot.

The claim essentially reiterates many of the same issues I have raised here regarding her failure to meet the requirement for being registered for five years in advance of the election. It cites her voter registration and record in D.C. along with her wedding license declaring D.C. her residence.

Here is the complaint:

The most likely successful defense by the BOE is related to laches, the idea that lawsuits must be filed in a timely manner. A court has already ruled that it’s too late to grant Valerie Ervin’s request for her ticket to replace the Kamenetz/Ervin ticket on the ballot even though it has much merit even according to the court.

Otherwise, I cannot see how Vignarajah wins on the merits. A more interesting lawsuit would be the one inevitably filed by the Republicans if she somehow won the nomination, as there would be plenty of time to remove Vignarajah from the ballot.

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education, Montgomery County Council

Was Montgomery College Funding Cut? Councilmembers Clash

After what I thought would be a relatively non-controversial post about the huge asset that Montgomery College is to the county, I received a request for a correction from Council President Hans Riemer (D-At Large):

David, while I certainly agree that Montgomery College is a gem, it is not true that the Council cut the budget for MC. The Council increased the budget for MC. The college will receive about $2.5 million more this year than last year. The Council even increased the amount for the College over what Ike recommended, by $750,000.

Craig Rice wanted even larger increases. We weren’t able to provide them due to our fiscal constraints.

I would like to request a clarification. To forward the assertion that we have cut the College’s budget is not accurate.

Hans

I appreciate Hans taking the time to lend his view and provide more information on the subject. I asked Councilmember Craig Rice (D-2) for his perspective. He took the time to provide a very thoughtful discussion of the topic that is well worth reading for its insight into the process and the politics:

David,

I think the best way to explain it to you is the same way in which Montgomery County public schools does their budget. The board of trustees and the president come together with a budget that supports not only the additional programming but the overall expenses for the college in the particular year.

Then they present this budget to the county executive who then presents it to the County Council. The county executive reduced or cut the approved budget that was approved by the board of trustees and the president. That then was sent over to us at the county council. We (education committee and then full council) decided to restore some of those reductions or cuts to the tune of $750,000 but still left $1.1 million in cuts or reductions from the college’s approved budget.

Now while technically this is an increase over last year due mainly to MOE just as Montgomery County public schools has an increase every year if we were to not fund maintenance of effort or not find the Board of Education to request it would be seen as a reduction i.e. cut.
And the crux of the issue is this. Montgomery college was very clear that it was stuck in a hard place between deciding on funding negotiations or funding equity gap programs or increasing tuition. We had a choice on the council to not force them to make that decision. But that did not happen.
The other challenge is that Montgomery college actually already reduced/cut their budget to adjust to the numbers that the county executive was hinting that they needed to be at anyway. To then layer on another reduction on top of what they had already proposed initially is why the college was severely at a disadvantage.
Craig Howard can give you exact numbers related to the college in terms of what they actually gave up. I have attached the packet for MC from Craig Howard which has more detail than you’d ever want.  http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=169&clip_id=14923&meta_id=154281
Thanks,
Craig Rice
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Department of Liquor Control

No Free Drinks for Me: The DLC Bites Back

Yesterday, the Director of the Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control wrote me regarding about my recent post on the DLC. It’s unusual for a civil servant to dive into public political debates involving his department, especially during an election, so I thought I would print his email and my response.

David,

As I finished reading your blog ON “THOSE GOOD UNION JOBS” AT THE DEPARTMENT OF LIQUOR CONTROL, I was inclined to finally respond to your ongoing one-sided, dated, often inaccurate portrayal of the DLC, and particularly your lack of knowledge of the Federal and State alcohol regulations.

Simply put, you need to get out more.

Even our most vocal critics have acknowledged the significant improvements that we’ve made. You should come and see for yourself.

We can disagree with this or that policy but the demeaning and disparaging comments that you made about our several hundred hard working and dedicated DLC employees really crossed the line. I am proud of the work they do. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Regards,
Bob

Here is my reply:

Bob,

I did not disparage the work. I also did not attack the job done by the employees as a group. However, I think it is well within my rights to describe the service experience as variable despite the stores having seemingly more staff than equivalent private competitors inside and and outside the County. It’s also utterly reasonable to think that the DLC should exist to serve county residents, not that we exist to provide employment at the DLC. I just saw your latest sales figures and I see little sign of any change in the sales pattern that would indicate residents perceive a change. Certainly, I have heard little in the community or from restaurant operators.

More broadly, I’m entitled to my opinion, and one voice countering the weight of the DLC and county government agitprop hardly seems close to balance. In any case, I get vocal pushback on many posts, but heard less criticism than I thought I’d get on that one.

I call them as I see them and I see no shame in that.

If you have good news to share instead of shaking your finger at me, please let me know. I’m always glad to learn more.

David

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