Will group bend rules for mayor?

Progressive Maryland ponders endorsement dilemma in wake of O’Malley’s nonresponses

Friday, March 31, 2006

by Margie Hyslop

Staff Writer

Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley’s refusal to provide ‘‘yes” or ‘‘no” answers to Progressive Maryland’s questions leaves the liberal activist organization to decide whether it will break its rules to endorse his bid for governor.

O’Malley (D) has been granted two deadline extensions and has returned essay responses, with few yes or no answers, said Craig Simpson, Progressive Maryland’s political director.

‘‘You have to ask, if he were lucky enough to be elected governor, would he sign or veto legislation or write an essay about it?” Simpson said.

Progressive Maryland postponed posting other candidate questionnaires until interviews were conducted earlier this week, he said.

But answers from Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, the Baltimore mayor’s rival for the Democratic nomination, have been posted on Progressive Maryland’s Web site (www.progressivemaryland.org), and that poses a problem because O’Malley has had a chance to review those responses, Simpson said.

Under the organization’s rules, O’Malley would be ‘‘precluded” from endorsement.

O’Malley ‘‘has been consistently supportive of our major issues, so I was surprised he didn’t complete the questionnaire,” said Progressive Maryland Executive Director Tom Hucker. ‘‘I look forward to working with him after this disagreement.”

But that decision is up to the group’s board, which could change its rules and consider O’Malley when it is slated to meet April 18, Simpson said.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) did not respond to the questionnaire and has apparently decided not to seek the group’s endorsement, Simpson said.

O’Malley’s campaign is still lobbying Progressive Maryland’s board members to gain their endorsement.

‘‘This is a complex state with complex issues,” said O’Malley campaign spokesman Rick Abbruzzese.

‘‘Martin O’Malley really believes that many answers to our state’s problems are more complex than a simple yes or no. Most Marylanders are looking for that kind of thoughtful, positive leadership,” he said.

‘‘It’s a shame that Mayor O’Malley didn’t show Progressive Maryland the respect they deserve during their endorsement process,” said Duncan campaign spokeswoman Jody Couser. ‘‘This is another example of his desire for a coronation.”