More News

Slew of new faces heading to Annapolis

Friday, Sept. 15, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Zaid Hamid⁄Special to The Gazette District 20 State Senate candidate Jamie Raskin (center) meets with supporters, including Curry Rose Hoskey (left) and James Klein (right), at Mayorga Coffee Factory in Silver Spring on Tuesday.

Two incumbent senators and 10 incumbent delegates were unseated in Tuesday’s primary — all but one, Del. Joanne S. Parrott (R-Dist. 35A) of Fallston, are Democrats — and the departure of at least 20 other legislators to retirement or failed bids for other offices guarantees substantial turnover.

In the wake of Tuesday’s primary results, at least 10 new faces will be in the Senate and at least 27 in the House. Ten senators have either retired or were defeated. Twenty-two delegates either didn’t make it through their primaries, lost their bids to move to the Senate or are stepping down. Del. Anthony G. Brown is running as Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley’s gubernatorial running mate and Del. Peter V.R. Franchot (D-Dist. 20) of Takoma Park won the Democratic comptroller nomination.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said each election generally brings up to a half-dozen changes in his chamber, so such significant shake-up is uncommon but not unprecedented.

More than a dozen new senators arrived in 2003 and even more eight years before, said Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach. Still, he believes the acrimonious political environment in recent years has contributed to this year’s transformation.

‘‘Politics has also gotten to the point where it’s not as enjoyable as it once was. There’s not the feeling of camaraderie, of the parties working together. It’s a lot of anger and ill will that sometimes comes when people say unkind things about other people that we didn’t use to have in Annapolis,” Miller said. ‘‘It was more fraternal ... People got along with one another and now you see more decisions being made in caucuses rather than the two sides working together for a common good.”

The 2003 legislative session was unique in that all four Senate chairmen were new — Senate Finance Chairman Thomas ‘‘Mac” Middleton replaced former Senator Thomas L. Bromwell, Senate Judicial Proceedings Chairman Brian E. Frosh succeeded former Senator Walter M. Baker, Senate Education Health and Environmental Affairs Chairwoman Paula C. Hollinger followed former Senator Clarence W. Blount and Senate Budget and Taxation Chairman Ulysses S. Currie took over for former Senator Barbara A. Hoffman.

‘‘You had a complete change of the guard and you had a completely different philosophy,” said Middleton (D-Dist. 28) of Waldorf, comparing the differences of Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda, a liberal suburban lawyer, and Baker, a conservative rural attorney.

The change won’t be quite as large this year, but there will be several leadership holes to fill — Hollinger’s chairmanship, the No. 2 post on Judicial Proceedings vacated by retiring Sen. Leo E. Green and Senate President Pro Tem, formerly occupied by ousted Sen. Ida G. Ruben.

Meanwhile, the House will lose Minority Leader George C. Edwards (R-Dist. 1A) of Grantsville, who hopes to succeed Sen. John J. Hafer (R-Dist. 1) of Frostburg, its Majority Whip, Brown, and its longest-serving member, Del. Pauline H. Menes.

Said Hoffman, of the coming transformation: ‘‘It’s going to be just enough to change things, but not enough to throw things in a tizzy.”

Montgomery County

The state’s largest jurisdiction will experience drastic changes, as nine lawmakers with a combined 152 years of state legislative experience will be replaced.

Sens. Sharon M. Grosfeld (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington and Leonard H. Teitelbaum (D-Dist. 19) of Leisure World resigned, while Ruben (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring was dethroned by American University law professor Jamie B. Raskin.

Del. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Dist. 18) of Kensington is expected to defeat a Republican opponent and succeed Grosfeld, while Michael G. Lenett handily dispatched Dels. Adrienne A. Mandel (D-Dist. 19) of Layhill and Carol S. Petzold (D-Dist. 19) of Aspen Hill, who gave up their House seats in a bid to replace their longtime ally Teitelbaum,

Lenett, 44, a consumer protection attorney and a former U.S. Senate counsel, said his campaign was ‘‘in some ways about leadership and change.”

‘‘We only have eight Senate seats in Montgomery County,” he said. ‘‘And I think people regard the Senate seat as a job that requires a level of leadership that’s different from the House of Delegates.”

Six candidates, including incumbent Del. Henry B. Heller (D-Dist. 19) of Leisure World, will vie for the district’s three delegate seats.

Elsewhere, the retirement of six-term Del. Michael R. Gordon (D-Dist. 17) of Gaithersburg and Franchot’s bid for comptroller provided two openings. First-term Del. Gareth E. Murray (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring was last in a seven-person primary for three spots on the November ballot. Heather Mizeur, who ran U.S. Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign in Maryland, was leading the pack, while former Progressive Maryland executive director Tom Hucker and House Ways and Means Chairwoman Sheila E. Hixson (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring ran close behind.

Montgomery Democrats also nominated 31-year-old software engineer Saqib Ali over incumbent Del. Joan F. Stern (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village. He will be heavily favored, along with Dels. Charles E. Barkley (D-Dist. 39) of Germantown and Nancy J. King (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village, to win the general election.

Prince George’s County

The flood of candidates competing for three open delegate seats in Prince George’s County ended up knocking off several incumbents in Tuesday’s primary, setting the stage for huge turnover next year.

The highest-profile race saw former Romanian ambassador James C. Rosapepe rout Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr. (D-Dist. 21) of Laurel in one of this season’s most vicious primary campaigns. Rosapepe accused Giannetti of siding too often with Republicans and not representing his constituents’ viewpoints.

‘‘I think people wanted a senator who was in touch with their values and their interests,” said Rosapepe. ‘‘I’m a Democrat who is ready to work as closely with Martin O’Malley as [Giannetti] was with Bob Ehrlich.”

After a bitterly contested race, Giannetti condemned Rosapepe for distributing attack advertisements throughout the summer and running a negative campaign.

In the race to replace Green (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie, Prince George’s County Councilman Douglas J.J. Peters edged Mitchellville lawyer and minister Bobby Henry by less than 500 votes.

Seven new Democratic delegates were nominated in total. Voters had to replace Menes (D-Dist. 21) of College Park, Brown (D-Dist. 25) of Mitchellville and Del. Obie Patterson (D-Dist. 26) of Fort Washington, who lost his state Senate bid to former delegate C. Anthony Muse in the race to succeed Sen. Gloria G. Lawlah (D-Dist. 26) of Hillcrest Heights.

Voters also booted out of office Dels. Brian R. Moe (D-Dist. 21) of Laurel, Mary A. Conroy (D-Dist. 23A) of Bowie, Darryl A. Kelley (D-Dist. 26) of Fort Washington and Rosetta C. Parker (D-Dist. 47) of Hyattsville.

In District 21, Del. Barbara Frush will be joined on the ballot by College Park Councilwoman Joseline Pena-Melnyk and Ben Barnes, a former aide to Senate President Miller. Labor union lobbyist Gerron Levi ousted Conroy, Kelley finished fifth in his 10-person primary and Jolene Ivey, wife of Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D) won a majority of votes in District 47 to knock out Parker.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch said that several of the Democratic incumbents who lost on Tuesday were caught up in divisive primaries — particularly Moe and Kelley. Busch said Moe’s loss was the most shocking result of Tuesday’s primaries in the House.

‘‘Anytime you have a contentious race at the top of the ticket it will have some fallout on races down the ballot,” said Busch (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis. ‘‘There is some symmetry in the results.”

After the results came in, Moe was also surprised.

‘‘I’m pretty shocked myself,” he said. ‘‘I’m strong in the district and my numbers looked good.”

Also, county employee Aisha Braveboy will replace Brown on the District 25 ballot.

Baltimore and elsewhere

Del. Catherine E. Pugh coasted past Del. Salima Siler Marriott in a six-person contest to succeed retiring Sen. Ralph M. Hughes (D-Dist. 40) of Baltimore. Hughes had endorsed Pugh, a former city councilwoman, over Marriott, who was backed by O’Malley. Their colleague, Del. Marshall T. Goodwin (D-Dist. 40) of Baltimore, finished fifth among nine contenders, meaning the delegation will have a much different look.

Leading that race, which has no Republicans, are political newcomers Frank M. Conaway Jr. and Barbara Robinson.

Del. Jeffrey A. Paige (D-Dist. 44) of Baltimore lost his seat to former City Councilman Melvin L. Stukes and the retirement of Del. Clarence Davis (D-Dist. 45) of Baltimore opened the door for Cheryl D. Glenn, a former lobbyist, to fill his spot.

Former delegate appointee Dana Stein was selected to replace Del. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Dist. 11) of Owings Mills, who won that district’s state senate primary.

Dilip Paliath, an attorney in the state crime control and prevention office, took the place on the ballot of Del. John G. Trueschler (R-Dist. 42) of Lutherville, who did not seek reelection.

In Anne Arundel County, there will be at least three new representatives as Dels. John R. Leopold (R-Dist. 31) of Pasadena and David G. Boschert (R-Dist. 33A) of Crownsville gave up their House seats to run for county executive, while Del. Herbert H. McMillan (R-Dist. 30) of Annapolis is challenging longtime Sen. John C. Astle. Leopold won the GOP nomination and will face Anne Arundel County Sheriff George Johnson in the general election.

In Howard County, Del. Neil F. Quinter (D-Dist. 13) of Columbia lost to Howard County Councilman Guy Guzzone, who ran on a ticket with the district’s other two delegates, Shane E. Pendergrass (D-Dist. 13) of Columbia and Frank S. Turner (D-Dist. 13) of Columbia.

So, how to explain all the changes?

‘‘Much has been said that because of the open seats [in statewide office] that there was a generational shift in Maryland and that indeed ... has born out down to the state legislative level,” said Herb Smith, a political scientist at McDaniel College.

What’s to come

More changes could occur after the general election. At least one-half dozen incumbent senators face tough challenges. The state Republican Party has made no secret of its desire to unseat Sens. Katherine A. Klausmeier (D-Dist. 8) of Baltimore, Roy P. Dyson (D-Dist. 29) of Great Mills, Astle (D-Dist. 30) of Annapolis and James Brochin (D-Dist. 42) of Towson. Democrats’ best hopes to gain a seat could be in Howard County, where Executive James N. Robey will test Sen. Sandra B. Schrader (R-Dist. 13) of Columbia. Another race to watch could be in northern Baltimore County where former Maryland State Teachers’ Association President Patricia A. Foerster is seeking to depose Senate Minority Whip Andrew P. Harris (R-Dist. 7) of Cockeysville.

‘‘We’re just trying to hold on to what we have, while at the same time trying to make government work,” said Miller. ‘‘It’s the governor’s cronies who said ‘They’re going to take this many seats, they’re going to do this, they’re going to do that,’ but it’s not going to happen on my watch.”

Staff writers Thomas Dennison, Judson Berger, Warren Parish and Dennis Carter contributed to this report.