Council At-Large candidate Will Jawando has released this campaign video.
Monthly Archives: June 2018
Vignarajah’s Day in Court
The Anne Arundel County Circuit Court made its first decision in Horn v. Vignarajah et al, the case on Krish Vignarajah’s eligibility to run for governor. The court granted the motion by the defendent’s (i.e. Vignarajah’s) attorney to dismiss a request for declaratory judgement by the plaintiff.
I suspect this decision will allow Vignarajah to remain on the primary ballot. There probably is not enough time between now and the primary election for the judge to hear the case and to reach an outcome.
The Vignarajah campaign has called a press conference on the steps of the Anne Arundel Circuit Court – no doubt to declare this a victory and probably to reiterate her claims that her eligibility is beyond question despite having only voted here once and repeatedly declaring her residency in D.C.
Careful observers, however, should note that the case continues. The judge made no determination on the underlying issue of her eligibility, which is also clouded by the time limit for a challenge arranged by the State Board of Elections.
The most likely outcome to the case is dismissal due it being moot after Vignarajah loses the primary. Of course, it would continue if she somehow managed to win the nomination. Her voting record and residency issues provide a buffet for Hogan in any case.
Vignarajah has heavily implied questioning of her ballot access is sexist and racist:
Vignarajah’s campaign spokeswoman, Aryn Frazier, told the Post in an email in response to the lawsuit that “Sadly, it’s no surprise that the only two candidates in this race who have had their ballot access questioned by political operatives are the two women of color.”
Except that Valerie Ervin and Krish Vignarajah’s cases are wholly different. Ervin unquestionably meets the requirements. The judge’s decision focused on the ability to reprint the ballots – not on her eligibility – and all candidates and Democrats agree that she is eligible and would have preferred fixing the ballot.
Instead of claiming sexism or racism, it’d be nice if she would fulfill her promise to release her tax returns.
Nancy Navarro’s Crane Mailer
By Adam Pagnucco.
The county government is investing a tremendous amount in Wheaton now, including constructing a new headquarters for Park and Planning and a new library and recreation center. District 4 County Council Member Nancy Navarro is a big reason why. She is a fierce, relentless advocate for Wheaton and makes sure the area gets its fair share of county dollars. Your author is proud to be her constituent.
A Request for the State Board of Elections and the General Assembly
By Adam Pagnucco.
One of the purposes for the disclosure of political contributions is to help voters decide whom to support in elections. In order to serve that role, contributions should be disclosed with enough time remaining before the election so that voters can review them before proceeding to the voting booth. But that’s not quite the case in Maryland.
Recently, we wrote that the percentage of voters who vote early has been rising for years. That percentage hit a high of 31% in the 2016 general election and could be between 20% and 25% in the upcoming primary. Unfortunately for some of those voters, they will not have access to the latest campaign finance reports when they vote. Consider the following entries on the state’s election calendar.
Primary Election
Annual 2017 campaign finance report due: 1/17/18 (11:59 PM)
Pre-primary 1 campaign finance report due: 5/22/18 (11:59 PM)
Early voting begins: 6/14/18
Pre-primary 2 campaign finance report due: 6/15/18 (11:59 PM)
General Election
Pre-general 1 campaign finance report due: 8/28/18 (11:59 PM)
Early voting begins: 10/25/18
Pre-general 2 campaign finance report due: 10/26/18 (11:59 PM)
The above calendar shows that people voting during the first two days of the early voting period will have no way to know about the contents of the last pre-election campaign finance reports when they vote. This is potentially important because there are sometimes surprises in those last reports. In 2014, the Baltimore Sun reported on October 26 that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Anthony Brown received a $500,000 loan from the Laborers Union in his final pre-general report, an unusual event that far exceeded the $6,000 limit on PAC contributions. However, early voting started on October 23. According to the State Board of Elections, 101,537 people voted during the first three days of early vote in the 2014 general election and would have not seen that report in the Sun. One can easily imagine similar surprises occurring with regards to big self-funding checks, bundled corporate contributions, out-of-state PAC checks or the like.
To remedy this problem, we request that the State Board of Elections and/or the General Assembly change the due date of the final pre-election campaign finance report to 72 hours before early voting begins. This will give the media time enough to report on anything interesting in those last reports and for voters to consider it before they head to the booth.
Bill Conway’s Campaign Video
Our Revolution is Neither
Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign resonated with Democratic voters in a rare way. While he did not achieve the success of Barack Obama’s electrifying 2008 election, his campaign helped create a spontaneous movement of support. Certainly, I saw it among my students who overwhelmingly favored Sanders and felt about him much like I had about Obama.
But spontaneous happenings only achieve long-term success if they institutionalize themselves and evolve into something more than what was once known as a happening in the 1960s. The Sanders movement has done that as the Sanders’ call for “a revolution” has evolved into the decidedly non-revolutionary organization called Our Revolution.
Our Revolution Maryland’s (ORM) approach in this election is emblematic of this new highly institutionalized, even establishment, approach. The campaign by Ben Jealous, a co-chair of Sanders’ 2016 bid, has all the spontaneity of your average Brezhnev-era central committee meeting. The contrast with the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign could hardly be greater.
While Sanders supporters bitterly objected to what they viewed as the Democratic National Committee’s tilt in favor of Hillary Clinton, that has nothing on ORM’s “process” for endorsing a gubernatorial nominee. Before the official process even began, Jealous told other candidates in no uncertain terms that ORM and Sanders’ organization would back him.
Prior to the launch of ORM’s kabuki endorsement process, ORM’s Director appeared right behind Jealous at the announcement of his gubernatorial campaign. Unsurprisingly, no other gubernatorial candidate agreed to participate in ORM’s endorsement charade because they didn’t want to validate a pre-determined outcome.
The Jealous campaign has been no less establishment. Its pollster, for example, is Fred Yang. He’s a deservedly well-respected Washington Democratic pollster. Yang has also worked on campaigns for numerous other mainstream Democratic candidates and issues, such as the Maryland marriage equality referendum in 2012.
Jealous’ running mate, Susie Turnbull, has held no elective office but she practically defines the term “insider” as a wealthy and connected former Maryland Democratic Party Chair – and not a renegade choice for that position. Turnbull has also long been very active in national DNC politics. Hardly the choice of a self-proclaimed revolutionary running to take down the Democratic establishment.
ORM has also made the highly strategic choice to avoid endorsing in the U.S. Senate campaign in order to support Jealous. Most mainstream Democrats regard U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin as a great guy but the more overtly hardline progressives are not happy, especially about Cardin’s unflinching support for Israel. ORM didn’t endorse either of Cardin’s more left-wing primary challengers as part of an effort to keep the influential Cardin out of the gubernatorial race.
As it turns out, the vaunted vanguard of the progressive revolution is not so different from the mainstream Democratic Party. Jealous hires the same political people, has an establishment running mate and received the pre-determined support of a political organization that, in turn, has tactically decided not to endorse other progressive candidates to help out Jealous.
It’s not surprising that Jealous would take this route. The NAACP remains the grand old dame and most established of African-American organizations. Moreover, the reason smart candidates don’t expect their campaign to be spontaneous electrifying happenings is that approach generally doesn’t work.
Just don’t expect much revolutionary out of Our Revolution or its candidate. Jealous decries half-measures and enjoys citing his grandmother’s wisdom that if you only fix half of a problem, you still have a problem. But, if elected, you should still expect lots of compromises, a hallmark of the American political system, or not much to happen at all. The revolutionary rhetoric cannot really mask a non-revolutionary approach.
That’s all to the good, as revolution is vastly overrated and most don’t turn out nearly as well as the American version.
Aruna Miller Endorsed by Three Democratic Minority Clubs
Del. Aruna Miller, candidate for the Democratic nomination in the Sixth Congressional District, has been endorsed by three local Democratic clubs: the Coalition of Asian Pacific American Democrats (CAPAD), Association of Black Democrats, and the Latino Democratic Club of Montgomery County.
You can see their full list of joint endorsements here:
MoCo Mailboxes: “God Help Us”
By Adam Pagnucco.
Mailboxes across MoCo are reeling from fatigue as they are crushed daily by tidal waves of political mail. On Friday, your author received mailers from Action Committee for Transit, the sitting judges, Council At-Large candidate Will Jawando, District 18 Senate candidate Dana Beyer and District 18 House candidate Emily Shetty. The next day your author received mailers from County Executive candidates David Blair and Roger Berliner, Council At-Large candidates Bill Conway and Evan Glass, District 18 House candidates Leslie Milano, Joel Rubin and Jared Solomon and the Maryland Realtors on behalf of District 18 Senate candidate Jeff Waldstreicher. That’s thirteen political mailers in two days.
District 18 is an unusually busy place. It has at least six General Assembly candidates with six-figure campaign budgets, or close to it. But lots of places around MoCo have serious competition, including Congress District 6, Council Districts 1 and 3 and all the state legislative districts except 14. In addition, there are strongly contested races for Governor, County Executive and Council At-Large.
Candidates line up to door knock at a Super Democrat’s house.
In the old days, the rule of thumb was that early mail was a waste of money. Now we wonder about that. There was a time not so long ago when Congress District 6 candidate David Trone, County Executive candidate David Blair and District 18 Senate candidate Dana Beyer – all self-funders – had the mailboxes largely to themselves. Now the mailboxes may not be big enough to hold each day’s batch. Everyone’s mail is getting lost in the shuffle. And when so much of it looks the same – almost everyone is a “progressive leader” who promises to fund schools, fix congestion and resist Trump – it’s unclear that anyone can win through mail. It’s going to take something else to get across the line.
The best of the mailers: District 18 House candidate Emily Shetty and her adorable son.
Lately, your author has been performing a cruel experiment. Our son just turned nine. He much prefers Star Wars, nerf guns and video games to politics, but he understands that he has an eccentric Dada whose strange wishes must be occasionally tolerated. So when the new batches of mail come, your author gives them to him and asks which ones are his favorites. At first, the oppressed son dutifully complied and gave curt opinions. (He likes Will Jawando because he met him and David Blair because he owns Badlands Playspace.) But now, the requests for review are met with eye rolls and crankiness. “Do I really have to look at this stuff?” he groans.
We suspect more than a few MoCo voters might agree!
Nancy Floreen’s Recommendations for the June Primary
By Council Member Nancy Floreen.
As someone in the unique position of watching the campaign season after 15 and a half years of being on the inside, I have pretty strong feelings about who are the right folks for electoral office.
My criteria:
Is that candidate well informed about the office he or she seeks?
Is that person an honest broker – ie – with the experience and grounding in reality that leads to genuine capacity for problem solving?
Is that person candid, or does that person have a different story for every audience?
Is that person humble or does that person take credit for shared initiatives or make promises that cannot be kept?
Does that person have the demonstrated temperament to treat people he or she disagrees with respectfully?
Is that person an independent thinker, or likely to be more influenced by endorsers?
Does that person have a track record of credible community engagement ?
Does that person have the backbone to stand up to political pressure?
Does that person have a genuine passion for the office, or is it just another job?
Does that person stand a chance in the General Election?
There are a lot of candidates out there, but not that many who satisfy my standards..
Here’s who I believe warrants your vote.
Noteworthy are my current council colleagues running for re- election – Hans Riemer, Craig Rice, Sid Katz, Nancy Navarro and Tom Hucker. We don’t all agree on everything all of the time, but they are hard working, committed and all have long histories of community engagement.
As for the open seats – these are my picks :
Governor – Rushern Baker. You try wrestling with an entrenched school system and come out alive! Tough, rational and caring.
County Executive – Rose Krasnow – an experienced, yet independent voice. The former Mayor of Rockville, she has wide ranging financial, government and nonprofit management expertise, and is deeply grounded in the county and community issues.
County Council At Large –
Gabe Albornoz – long experience with the reality of our community and the ways of government through the Recreation Department
Marilyn Balcombe – a long term fighter for the largely ignored upcounty
Evan Glass – a staunch community organizer, known for his work with the Gandhi Brigade
Council District 1 – Reggie Oldak – the only candidate who actually knows the county and how the Council works (as a former staff member) and a long time community advocate.
This is a very important election for our collective futures! Be thoughtful in your choices!
Franchot Endorses Blair
By Adam Pagnucco.
Comptroller Peter Franchot has endorsed County Executive candidate David Blair. Franchot is popular with moderate, anti-establishment and pro-business Democrats and this could help Blair consolidate those groups. We reprint Franchot’s blast email below.
*****
Dear:
As a proud Montgomery Countian who has lived in Takoma Park for nearly 40 years, I’m proud of the caliber of the candidates who are running to succeed my friend, the great Ike Leggett, as our County Executive. When we head to the polls on June 26, or during the early voting period, we will have the privilege of choosing one of several talented public servants with records of true accomplishment in both local and state government.
As your Comptroller and Maryland’s Chief Fiscal Officer, I believe we must elect the candidate with the right blend of values, experience and vision to ensure our County’s long-term competitiveness and economic prosperity. For me, that candidate is David Blair.
David is a lifelong Montgomery Countian who built one of America’s most successful health care companies right here in the county – one that began in a single room and went on to sustain thousands of family-supporting jobs. There is nobody who has a clearer understanding than David of the pressures facing Montgomery County’s working, middle-class families – far too many of whom have seen the size of their paychecks stagnate while the costs of living continue to rise.
There is also nobody who knows better than David that Montgomery County simply cannot sustain necessary investments in exceptional public schools, gridlock relief, safer communities and community reinvestment if we do not act immediately to create a stronger and more competitive business climate. The priorities that we all share are essential, but none of them are free.
That is why it is so essential that we create an environment where the government is more responsive to the entrepreneurs and small business owners who are the backbone of our economy. That’s why it’s so vital to send the message that in Montgomery County, economic development and social justice are complementary values, and that one cannot occur in the absence of the other. And it’s why we must embrace policies that allow the innovation of the free market to thrive – beginning with an end to the government liquor monopoly that has done such a profound disservice to our consumers, small business owners and the Montgomery County economy. This is the change that David Blair will bring to Montgomery County.
David has the vision and the experience of a leader. As someone who has given so much back to our community through his work to end homelessness and poverty, create better early childhood learning opportunities and improve the lives of people with disabilities, he also has the values of a true public servant. David Blair is my choice for Montgomery County Executive, and I respectfully ask that you consider his candidacy.
To learn more about David and his campaign, please visit www.blairformontgomery.com.
Thank you, as always, for your continued friendship and support.
Peter