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Monday, May 20, 2013

Insider Politics Blog

Towson Man Eyes Republican County Executive Nomination

Residency requirements could thwart Timothy Tenne's efforts to get his name on the 2014 ballot

Timothy Tenne has lived in Baltimore County nearly all his life except for the time he spent in the Air Force. The retired Lt. Colonel and commercial airline pilot wants to be Baltimore County Executive but he may need a little help to meet the residency requirements. "There is going to have to be some kind of an opinion from the Attorney General or we're going to need a Charter change," Tenne said speaking of his eligibility. Tenne filed earlier this year and is listed on the Maryland State Board of Elections website as a provisional candidate. "He is provisional until he satisfies his residency requirement of 5 years living in Baltimore County," wrote Katie Brown, director of elections for the Baltimore County Board of Elections. The …

Lablover

9:37 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013

Bob Hurley wrote: Kamenetz is and has been a good manager and has controlled spending and has rid the county of waste. Bob, if Mr. Kamenetz is such a good manager why did he allow his county administrative officer Fred Homan to create such a huge mess involving workman comp cases with county employees. Because of Mr. Homan's actions (under Kamenetz) the county had to pay and will continue to pay …   more ›

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Insider Politics Blog

O'Malley Finishes Last In New Hampshire Presidential Poll

The New England College poll previewing the 2016 Presidential primary shows Hillary Clinton with a commanding lead.

Gov. Martin O'Malley finished last among a field of 2016 Democratic Presidential hopefuls, according to a poll released by New England College. The poll released Tuesday by the New Hampshire-based college found that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the field with 65 percent of those surveyed saying they would vote for her in 2016. O'Malley finished last among the field of six with zero percent saying they would vote for the two-term Democratic Maryland governor. Rounding out the field is Vice President Joseph Biden with 10 percent, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 5 percent, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 4 percent and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick with 3 percent. The college surveyed 314 New Hampshire Democratic …

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CP

3:35 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013

Obamanomics is another scandal in itself.   more ›

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Insider Politics Blog

Brochin Gives Death Penalty Referendum '50-50 Chance'

The three-term Democratic senator believes the death penalty should be placed on the 2014 ballot but finding voters to sign the petition might be a challenge.

  Getting the signatures required to place the death penalty on the 2014 ballot is going to take a lot of work, according to Baltimore County State Sen. Jim Brochin. "I give it a 50-50 chance," Brochin said during an interview with Jimmy Mathis on WBAL Radio. The trouble, Brochin said, is finding a constituency to support the petition effort to re-instate capital punishment in Maryland. "If you wanted to get same-sex marriage on the ballot, you went to the Catholic Church. If you want to get the gun issue on the ballot you can go get signatures in North County," Brochin said. "If you're gathering signatures for he death penalty, where do you go?" Brochin, the three-term Democratic Senator from Towson, is part of an effort to reinstate the …

amark

12:17 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013

I have already signed the petition. If it makes it to a vote, I believe the people would say yes to reinstating capital punishment. I never had confidence that the ones last year would not be wins for owe'malley.   more ›

Insider Politics Blog

Kach Announces County Council Campaign

The 10-term Republican state delegate will challenge First-term incumbent Todd Huff in the 2014 primary election.

State Del. Wade Kach Tuesday announced he will challenge fellow Republican Todd Huff for the 3rd District seat on the Baltimore County Council. Kach made the announcement on his Facebook page. “When I look at the 3rd District, I see a need for an experienced, tested legislator to deal with the challenges we face,” Kach wrote on his Facebook page. “I believe that by moving from the House of Delegates to the County Council, I can bring the kind of responsive public service that the citizens want and need.” Kach was expected to make the announcement. In March he said he was considering the campaign. Sources who know Kach said the delegate began to consider the race in February after Huff was arrested on drunken driving charges. Huff pleaded …

John Doe

10:37 am on Friday, May 17, 2013

Why is competition seen as a negative? It (usually) forces the person to get it together.   more ›

Monday, May 13, 2013

Insider Politics Blog

Zirkin Files For 2014 Re-Election Bid

The two-term Democratic senator's decision comes one month after he said he was considering leaving public office.

Democratic State Sen. Bobby Zirkin is running for re-election in 2014 after all. Zirkin, in a text message to a reporter late Friday, write that he "officially filed for Senate today." The decision to run for a third term in the Maryland Senate comes a month after an interview in which he said he was considering leaving public office. "The most important thing in my life is my family," Zirkin said last month. "I have two small children and whatever decision I make will be all about them. I love the Senate and the public policy debates even when they are controversial. It's hard to juggle all those things, to keep all those balls in the air. The balls I refuse to let drop are my kids. I don't want to miss anything with them." Zirkin said at…

cavey

3:04 pm on Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Zirkin sponsored a veterans bill for my neighbor and got it through to help families of vets fighting overseas. Never heard much about it but a great bill. My neighbor brought it to his attention and a year later it became law. I'm a Republican. But this guy is really good. I'm embarrassed of my fellow Rs on this blog. I dont like too many Democrats but most of my Republican friends love this guy…   more ›

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Insider Politics Blog

Toilet Activist Files to Run for Maryland Lt. Governor

Duane Davis, known for leaving toilets as political protest outside the Historic Courthouse in Towson, is running as a Republican in 2014.

A Milford Mill man known for political protests involving putting toilets in front of a county government building in Towson has filed as a candidate for Lt. Governor in 2014. Duane "Shorty" Davis has filed as the running mate with Brian Vaeth, a Perry Hall man. Davis was charged in February 2011 with planting a fake destructive device in the form of a toilet outside the Historic Courthouse in Towson and making false statements about a fake destructive device. He was acquitted of those charges seven months later. Davis, a caterer, said in a February 2013 article that the incident in 2011 was a protest of alleged corruption in Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration. He claims that he had made political statements using toilets previously, …

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10:16 am on Thursday, May 16, 2013

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Insider Politics Blog

Poll: Americans Support Death Penalty For Terrorists

The results of the Quinnipiac University poll come as proponents of reinstating the death penalty in Maryland say the law is needed because of incidents such as the Boston Marathon bombing.

Americans support the death penalty for terrorists, according to a national poll released by Quinnipiac University. The national survey found that 63 percent favored the death penalty for someone convicted of murder involving an act of terrorism compared to 32 percent who said they opposed capital punishment. The results of the poll come as political leaders including Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott announced a plan to collect more than 55,000 signatures in order to reinstate the death penalty in Maryland. "One only has to look back to Oklahoma City, Aurora, CO, Newtown, CT, and the recent massacre in Boston to recognize that if these crimes were …

Monday, May 6, 2013

Insider Politics Blog

O'Malley Fares Poorly In Early Presidential Polling

A Quinnipiac University poll shows the Maryland governor in the back of the pack regardless of whether or not Hillary Clinton decides to run in 2016.

The early prospects for 2016 White House bid for Gov. Martin O'Malley are dim, according to one national poll. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would get 65 percent of the vote in a Democratic primary, according to a poll released last week by Quinnipiac University. Trailing Clinton is current Vice President Joseph Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 13 and 4 percent of the vote respectively, according to the poll. O'Malley joins Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner at the back of the pack. Each polled with 1 percent of less of the support in the national poll. If Clinton were to decide not to run, Biden becomes the frontrunner with 45 percent of those polled saying they would support the vice …

Maggie Mae McGrath

11:19 am on Wednesday, May 15, 2013

I had to listen to O'Malley speak about how much he has done for the state of Maryland during my daughter's commencement speech. Then President Urgo told us just think how much he can do nationally. I, along with most people there, just about threw up.   more ›

Friday, May 3, 2013

Death Penalty Proponents Push for 2014 Referendum

The effort to place the issue on the ballot will be led by Democratic Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott.

Proponents of the death penalty in Maryland will attempt to overturn at the ballot box a new law repealing capital punishment. The effort to place the issue before voters in 2014 will be spearheaded by Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Washington County Del. Neil Parrott. The pair is expected to make the effort to collect the required 55,736 official during a Friday morning announcement near Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Shellenberger said the death penalty is an important tool for prosecutors. "One only has to look at what has taken place in our country in the last 10 years—Virginia Tech; Aurora, CO; Boston," Shellenberger said. "We don't know what is going to happen in the future but we should at least have the …

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Corbin Dallas Multipass

3:27 pm on Friday, May 10, 2013

"Innocence projects are far less likely to scrutinize the evidence for someone given life (or a long sentence), so the probability of a successful appeal is much smaller." If that were the case, then why would, as has been stated earlier in this very thread, the number of people exonerated through the innocence project that spent time on Death Row be only 18 of 306? If they were only focusing on …   more ›

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Death Penalty Repeal Could Head To 2014 Challenge

Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger and Del. Neil Parrott are scheduled to make an announcement Friday morning.

Two elected officials Friday are expected to make an announcement related to a possible effort to overturn Maryland's repeal of the death penalty -- a measure signed into law this week by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott are expected to make an announcement related to an effort to place the issue on the 2014 ballot as a referendum question. Parrott runs the website MDPetitions.com, which was responsible for placing laws such as the state's recognition of same sex marriage on the 2012 ballot. Shellenberger testified against the repeal of the death penalty during hearings in Annapolis earlier this year. A March poll released by the …

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Christopher Kidwell

1:35 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Exactly right. Our 'system of justice', what some people call a 'system of just-us' (pointing out the numerous inequities of our system) is not fool-proof in the slightest. We have documented cases of people being put on death row or even being executed for crimes that they did not commit. When that is the case, it's well past time to get rid of the death penalty and realize that until we have …   more ›

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