Political Notes: County First Lady’s cameos pique political curiosity

So is it all prelude to a bid for office, or is she just keeping occupied?

‘‘I don’t know,” said county exec spokeswoman Christy Lipscomb, who’s been handling the First Lady’s public appearance promotion. ‘‘I know she’s just trying to be the best person she could be, but I don’t know any political aspirations she might have.”

Lipscomb said the Oct. 27 conference, which will focus on mentoring young women, was not a new idea. It was part of an initiative she announced this past March at a women’s history month luncheon in Greenbelt.

The rumor that the first lady will try to get next in line in a Johnson dynasty has been around for awhile, but its credibility is frequently questioned.

The usual suspects for county exec in 2010 are former candidate and delegate Rushern Baker, county State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey and Sheriff Michael Jackson, even though they haven’t confirmed they’re running. But six term-limited county council members will also be leaving office in 2010, meaning the pool could get a lot deeper over the next three years.

Mitchell picks upfundraising pace

Dark horse candidate George Mitchell has apparently spent the last three months making bank in his run for Congress in District 4.

Mitchell, a real estate agent and businessman from Upper Marlboro, told The Gazette he has raised more than $70,000 in the last quarter, which ended Sept. 30.

‘‘We were pleasantly surprised,” he said, adding that he hopes to raise at least $100,000 more before the end of the year.

District 4 spans Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Dist. 4) is running for his ninth term in the Feb. 12 primary and is also facing off against Fort Washington attorney Donna Edwards, who lost to Wynn by just three points last year.

Mitchell’s $70,000 may pale in comparison to his opponents’ war chests, but it’s much more than the $325 he reported having raised in his June 30 campaign finance report. Mitchell is a first-time candidate with Baltimore ties, but relatively unknown in Prince George’s political circles.

Meanwhile, Wynn campaign manager Lori Sherwood said Wynn raised about $160,000 in the last quarter, and has $400,000 still on hand.

She said the campaign plans to bank over $1 million, and that a fundraiser scheduled next month in Montgomery County with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should help them rake in the dough. Sherwood said the details of that event are still being worked out.

Edwards has also said she wants to raise over $1 million, but her campaign declined to release finance estimates ahead of time. The FEC reporting deadline is next week.

Edwards said in a statement that the campaign attracted 500 new donors in the last quarter, and that with voters’ support, ‘‘we will meet our fundraising goals to make this a successful and winning campaign.”

Stage set for Obama

Local Dems were aflutter this week in preparation for presidential candidate Barack Obama’s appearance at Prince George’s Community College.

Obama was set to host a rally and fundraiser on campus, hosted by his statewide campaign co-chairmen, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Dist. 7) of Baltimore and Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler.

Cheverly Councilman Micah Watson, who helps head a local Obama support team, said he’s hoping to pick up loads of volunteers from the rally to help with the campaign. He and other officials spent the last week handing out fliers for the event at county Metro stations and gathering e-mail addresses from residents so they could send out invites.

Prince George’s Democratic Central Committee Chairman Terry Speigner said he’s still trying to lure other presidential candidates to the county. It wouldn’t be their first visit. Both Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) stopped by Prince George’s last year to help campaign for the state’s top-of-the-ticket Democratic candidates in the General Election.

Debate postponed,thanks to Obama

When a presidential candidate comes to town, some schedules end up getting bumped.

And because Sen. Barack Obama’s planned visit to Prince George’s Community College yesterday was poised to eat into the crowd count at a congressional candidates’ debate, the debate ended up getting pushed off.

The Greater Marlboro Democratic Club was set to host the forum for candidates in congressional District 4, which spans Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Club president Mel Franklin said U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Dist. 4) of Mitchellville, Fort Washington attorney Donna Edwards and Upper Marlboro businessman George Mitchell were all set to attend.

‘‘It was gonna be a direct conflict [with Obama’s rally]. Our numbers were gonna be quite diminished,” Franklin said, laughing.

Alas, now he must reconfirm the attendees. The new debate date is at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 28 at the Largo-Kettering Library.

All set for GorgeousPrince George’s Day

More than 160 community groups are set to join in this Saturday for the fifth annual Gorgeous Prince George’s Day.

The volunteers will plant trees and flowers throughout the county, starting at 8 a.m., and are expected to converge at Bladensburg Waterfront Park at noon for a celebration.

The beautification event comes after the county just kicked off a new anti-litter campaign. Through the campaign, the county ran anti-litter announcements in schools and plans to sponsor similar radio ads as well as hire more employees in its trash pickup team.

Residents can call 301-772-4880 to register for the event.

Ivey to tour churchesfor domestic violence awareness

For the fifth year in a row, county State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey plans to tour Prince George’s churches to talk about Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The program this Sunday, called Project Safe Sunday, is expected to feature guest speakers Yvette Cade, the county resident who was set on fire by her ex-husband in late 2005, and Debra Williams, the sister of county resident Ernestine Bunn Dyson, who was killed by her husband in 2003.

Ivey plans to start out at Kettering Baptist Church at 7 a.m., then move to First Baptist Church of Highland Park at 7:30 a.m., and finally visit Believers Worship Center in Forestville for the 11 a.m. service.

Officials blast CHIP veto

Maryland Democrats were quick to condemn President Bush’s veto last week of a measure expanding the state Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides health insurance to children whose parents cannot afford private coverage.

‘‘The President just doesn’t get it,” U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Dist. 4) of Mitchellville said in a statement. He called the move ‘‘unbelievable” – even though Bush had already vowed to veto.

U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Dist. 5) of Mechanicsville in a release underscored Bush’s political isolation on the issue, citing the program’s support among most governors and representatives in Congress.

Hoyer and Gov. Martin O’Malley also took shots at U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Dist. 6) of Frederick, the only member of the Maryland delegation to vote against the measure, and urged Congress to corral enough votes to override.

Bartlett said in a statement that he supported the program, but that Democrats were only expanding it to force government health coverage on the middle and upper class.