| Partisan rancor absent at Howard Co. legislative event |
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| Saturday, 03 May 2008 | |
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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bal-ho.politics03may03,0,5849152.story
Partisan rancor absent at Howard Co. legislative eventLarry Carson, The Baltimore Sun
The idea that a huge partisan divide separates Democrats from Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly seemed absurd at the Howard County Chamber of Commerce's annual legislative wrap-up discussion last week. The Senate's majority and minority leaders - Republican Allan H. Kittleman and Democrat Edward J. Kasemeyer - blew rhetorical kisses at each other, and Del. James E. Malone Jr., a Democrat, spoke of his close relations with at least one conservative county Republican. "Warren Miller is one of my best friends in Annapolis," Malone said at the breakfast event at the Sheraton Hotel in Columbia, noting that conservative and moderate Democrats often work together with the vastly outnumbered Republicans. Del. Gail H. Bates, the county's other Republican delegate, also attended. Maybe that's just what Republicans have in mind, especially with an election year coming up and former GOP governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. considering a comeback against Democratic incumbent Martin O'Malley. Kittleman said he has no problem with Kasemeyer or his budget committee - just with O'Malley. "The governor did not lead," he said. He agreed with Kasemeyer and others at the event that next January, Maryland's budget woes will likely be worse, and may be magnified once federal stimulus money begins to disappear. The tone of discourse at the event may have been affected by attendance. Unlike last year, when virtually the entire 11-member county delegation showed up, only the three Republican legislators and two of eight Democrats attended. Missing were the most liberal Democrats, including all four members from District 13, and Del. Elizabeth Bobo, who was out of town. Del. Frank S. Turner is still recuperating from surgery, but neither House delegation chair Del. Guy Guzzone nor Sen. James N. Robey, who leads the county's three senators, was there. Dels. Shane Pendergrass and Steven J. DeBoy Sr. also missed the breakfast. Republican Greg Fox was the only one of five County Council members there, and although he has been a critic of county executive Ken Ulman's health access plan for the uninsured, he was asked to explain the program to the roughly 70 business leaders who attended. He wasn't flattering. That wasn't how the legislators approached things, though. No partisan barbs passed their lips. "I want to say how much I enjoy working with Senator Kasemeyer. We work closely together," minority leader Kittleman said about the majority leader. Bates agreed with Kasemeyer that federal stimulus aid may be problematic in the long run because of all the strings attached. Using the stimulus funds was hard to resist, they said, but might encourage hiring that the state can't support when the federal money goes away. "We have not got a handle on spending," Bates said. Malone noted that although the parties sometimes disagree on spending, he and Miller often agreed on transportation bills he worked on - for example, to make it illegal to text-message while driving. Bates spoke up for the concept of budgeting led by a "strong" governor, explaining that it became state law a century ago as a reform to control spending initiated by the General Assembly. Kittleman did bemoan the dearth of Republicans. With only 14 GOP senators, "we can't even sustain a filibuster. It's a very frustrating thing," he said. But Kasemeyer noted that despite a seemingly wider partisan divide between the two major parties, there is lots of cooperation. The legislature killed a bill that would have allowed members to add money to the governor's budget, which amazed him. "There are very few pure party call issues," he said, noting that the state budget passed 15-0 in his Senate Budget and Tax Committee, and with just a few dissenting votes on the Senate floor. But the small GOP representation might be a clue to the friendly words at the breakfast too, Kasemeyer said. If Republicans want to have any influence, their leaders must work with the Democrats where they can, he said. Guzzone, asked later about the friendly political atmosphere at the breakfast, said he missed the event because he was on a pre-scheduled Chesapeake Bay fishing trip with fellow legislators. But he suggested the cooperative tone may indeed be a deliberate outreach to conservative and moderate Democrats. "Obviously it's a very coordinated strategy," he said, noting that Republicans on his House Appropriations Committee lavishly praised the chairman, Democratic Del. Norman H. Conway, on his handling of the budget. Still, he said, he prefers working together with the minority party rather than fighting with them.
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