Ex-director aces ‘progressive’ report card

Republican O’Donnell rips Progressive Maryland for ‘socialist’ slant

Sean Dobson, Progressive Maryland’s executive director, saw nothing unusual in Hucker’s ranking.

‘‘He’s a lifetime advocate for working families, so it’s not surprising at all,” Dobson said.

Hucker (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring said the scorecard showed he was doing what he promised during the 2006 election.

‘‘I would think it would be weird if I got a low score,” said Hucker, who led the organization for seven years. He is now a regional coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Laborers Union, based in Reston, Va.

All lawmakers in the rankings, released Monday morning, averaged 66, Dobson said. Democrats averaged 84 in the House and 80 in the Senate.

Republicans received low scores, which pleased House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell, who received a 3.

‘‘I am actually happy of my very low score with that organization, and actually disappointed that I scored three points. I’m going to have to work harder to reduce it,” said O’Donnell (R-Dist. 29C) of Lusby.

He called Progressive Maryland a socialist front.

‘‘I don’t say that rhetorically. These are the political socialists who have rebranded themselves as quote-unquote progressives to fool Marylanders and American citizens,” he said. ‘‘They have not been able to get a political foothold under their previous banner of the Socialist Party of America, so they’ve rebranded themselves.”

In addition to Hucker, Dobson singled out House Ways and Means Chairman Sheila E. Hixson (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring and Del. Roger Manno (D-Dist. 19) of Silver Spring as ‘‘champions of working families.” Both scored 98.

Sens. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Dist. 22) of University Park, James N. Robey (D-Dist. 13) of Elkridge and James C. Rosapepe (D-Dist. 21) of College Park were singled out as leaders in the Senate. Each received a 97 score.

Members of the GOP were singled out as ‘‘champions of wealthy special interests.” They were Sens. Janet Greenip (R-Dist. 33) of Crofton and Bryan W. Simonaire (R-Dist. 31) of Pasadena, each with a score of 11. In addition to O’Donnell, Dels. Joseph C. Boteler III (R-Dist. 8) of Carney, Donald H. Dwyer Jr. (R-Dist. 31) of Glen Burnie and Warren E. Miller (R-Dist. 9A) of Woodbine also scored 3s.

The top 124 positions on the list went to Democrats, who outnumber Republicans in the 188-member legislature 137-51. The highest-ranked Republican on the list with a 51 was Del. Richard A. Weldon (R-Dist. 3B) of Brunswick, considered a moderate among the GOP caucus.

The rankings incorrectly listed Robey as a Republican.

The General Assembly was rated on votes for nine pieces of legislation, in addition to the leadership score. Leadership was measured by what lawmakers did in subcommittees to advance or hold back legislation.

‘‘The leadership score is a judgment based on the bulk of work done behind the scenes and what lobbyists witness firsthand,” Dobson said in a telephone news conference. ‘‘Progressive Maryland has three professional lobbyists, and we know who behind the scenes is helpful and who’s not.”

Lawmakers received either a plus or minus based on their votes on legislation.

Nine bills went into the scorecard, and progressive income tax reform was weighted most heavily, Dobson said. Two other bills — public financing of political campaigns and expansion of health care — were also more heavily weighted than the six other pieces of legislation.

How lawmakers scored

Go to www.gazette.net⁄links for Progressive Maryland’s rankings and methodology.