"There's probably the appearance we should be concerned about," said Glendening, adding that because sponsors' names are prominently disclosed at the events, their role is not hidden.
He called such festivities a "fairly important part of the process" of mobilizing party activists. "The question is, how do you [pay for] it otherwise?"
Asked about the value of such parties, Franchot said: "It's important to unify and excite people." At the conventions, "it's work hard, play hard."
FOR THE RECORD - An article in the Aug. 28 editions of The Baltimore Sun misidentified the source of funding for a Democratic convention party in Denver co-hosted by Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler. The financing came from John Delaney, chief executive officer of CapitalSource, and not from the company itself. THE BALTIMORE SUN REGRETS THE ERROR
"We wanted to have a little added attraction," said Franchot, referring to why he invited Pierce. The comptroller's party was paid for by the Communications Workers of America, District 2; the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades -- District Council 54, among others.
Pierce said he agreed to join Franchot because he considers Maryland a second home after years of filming there. He said that he is in the process of helping revitalize a neighborhood in his native New Orleans and that Franchot was "exposing me" on how to accomplish such goals.
Among the sponsors of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's breakfast yesterday were PMS Parking and Paniaguas Enterprises.
