Jimeno won’t run again

Friday, April 28, 2006

by Margie Hyslop and C. Benjamin Ford

Staff Writers

Sen. Philip C. Jimeno has decided not to run for re-election after almost three decades in the General Assembly.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said he was surprised when Jimeno told him on Tuesday.

‘‘When he came to me his mind was made up. The only people he told before me were his wife and [fellow District 31 Democrat Del. Joan Cadden],” said Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach.

What Jimeno said ‘‘was almost word for word” what Sen. Leo E. Green (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie had said in announcing his retirement last week, Miller added.

Green has said his decision to retire was a 50th anniversary present to his wife and a move to spend more time with his large family.

‘‘All the partisanship takes a lot out of you if you are a decent, honorable human being,” Miller said.

Jimeno (D-Dist. 31) of Brooklyn Park is the most recent senator to step down. Others include Green (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie, Leonard H. Teitelbaum (D-Dist. 19) of Leisure World and Sharon M. Grosfeld (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington. Paula C. Hollinger (D-Dist. 11) of Pikesville is leaving the Senate to run for the open seat in the Third Congressional District.

Miller said he is worried about finding a Democratic candidate to fill the slot in Jimeno’s conservative-leaning district.

Of three delegates in District 31, two are Republicans.

Asked if he has any candidates in mind, Miller mentioned Anne Arundel County School Board President Edward P. ‘‘Ned” Carey.

Del. John R. Leopold (R-Dist. 31) of Pasadena, who heard about Jimeno’s decision Thursday afternoon, said he might reconsider running for Anne Arundel county executive. ‘‘It’s something I did not anticipate or expect, but it’s one [possibility] I should at least consider and talk to my supporters about,” he said.

Leopold has been campaigning for county executive for about a year, but has not filed yet as a candidate for that office.

He, four other Republicans and two Democrats have been campaigning for Anne Arundel executive.