2nd District

Republican Helen Delich Bentley sought to link congressional opponent C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger with Gov. Parris N. Glendening last night during a debate in which the candidates largely agreed on most other matters. Bentley had been promising to take the gloves off in what has been, except for a handful of ads in recent weeks, a markedly polite contest for the 2nd District seat she gave up eight years ago in an unsuccessful bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. In her opening and closing remarks, Bentley sought to link Ruppersberger with Glendening, who polls show is exceptionally unpopular in the district, saying they colluded to draw new legislative maps to favor the departing Democratic Baltimore County executive.

State Sen. Nancy Jacobs said Tuesday she will announce her candidacy for the 2nd Congressional District this week, making her the latest state lawmaker to jump into a House race for the 2012 election. Jacobs, who stepped down as Republican Senate leader in Annapolis this past fall to explore running for higher office, said she decided she could be most effective in Congress. The 2nd District is currently held by Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Democrat and former Baltimore County executive.

In an area that traverses Baltimore from its troubled public housing projects to the mansions of Guilford, the 2nd Councilmanic District has attracted an equally diverse group of candidates for the City Council's Democratic primary.A former politician, a retired jail guard, a public housing tenant with the AIDs virus, an investment executive, an unemployed man and a recent graduate of the Johns Hopkins University have joined the race, along with two incumbents -- Anthony J. Ambridge and Paula Johnson Branch.

Republican Jimmy Mathis has struggled to be heard in the campaign for Maryland's 2nd District congressional seat. He's raised hardly any money. He says the party hierarchy has offered little help other than a handshake. Mathis mocks his troubles in a lighthearted commercial running on a few local cable stations. "I'm Jimmy Mathis, and I approve this message," he says into the camera. A voice-over announcer responds, "Good for you, Jimmy. Now go tell someone who cares." This has been life as a Republican political newcomer in the 2nd District, says Mathis, a 28- year-old video production business owner.

Again and again, Bill Frank and Bob Ehrlich -- two thirtysomething Republicans running for Congress in Maryland's 2nd District -- gave thoughtful answers to questions about gun control, health care, deficit spending, education and other issues.Then there was John Michael Fleig, a twentysomething politician also running for Congress in the 2nd. He's a Republican by registration, a "Political hell-raiser" by self-definition.Throughout Monday night's Republican debate at Vitali's Restaurant in Edgewood, Mr. Fleig was more comedian than candidate.

Community activists Bernard Young and Edward K. Hargadon are the front-runners for the vacant 2nd District City Council seat, City Hall sources said last night.At a City Hall forum last night, the two men and 10 other candidates said why they should be chosen fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Anthony J. Ambridge, now the city's real estate officer.Second District council members Paula Johnson Branch and Robert L. Douglass are expected to announce their choice Oct. 21. If both agree on a candidate, council approval is likely.

With less than a week to go and polls showing a dead heat in the congressional race between Republican Helen Delich Bentley and Democrat C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, outside forces have descended on the 2nd District with rallies, protests and advertisements designed to tip the scales in the race and, possibly, in the House of Representatives. House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri stumped for Ruppersberger last night at the Baltimore International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall, urging union members to turn out to elect the Baltimore County executive and help his party take control of the national agenda.

Gerry L. Brewster loves bad weather.For months every morning at 7, the 35-year-old lawyer and delegate from Towson has been working busy intersections around the far-flung 2nd Congressional District, waving at motorists driving to work. Sometimes, when traffic is stopped, he reaches into cars and shakes hands."What I really like is when it's raining," Mr. Brewster said on a recent morning at Eastern Boulevard and Stemmers Run Road in Essex. "People say, 'You must want this job really bad to be out here at this hour in the rain.

Three more Democrats and one more Republican have entered the race for Congress in Maryland's 2nd District, joining three other candidates seeking to win the seat. Kenneth T. Bosley, 72, a Democrat from Sparks who lost to Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in 1998 and 2000, will seek the office again. A retired Air Force major, he plans to focus his campaign on property rights, ethics for accountants, attorneys and judges, and national security issues. Another frequent candidate, James E. DeLoach Jr., of Chase, has also entered the race.

Barely a year after winning Maryland's 2nd District congressional seat, Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., officially began his re-election campaign yesterday with a blast at the AFL-CIO.Saying that he has the support of individual union members in his district, he prepared to launch a barrage of radio ads today to counter AFL-CIO ads broadcast here last month.According to a spokeswoman in Washington for the labor umbrella group, those ads criticized Mr. Ehrlich's Nov. 20 vote for a Republican-inspired budget bill as "a vote against working families" that would mean sharp cuts in Medicare and college loans, as well as a tax break for the rich.

Oz Bengur, an investment banker who waged a spirited but unsuccessful campaign against Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger three years ago, said yesterday that he is running for Congress again. Five other Democrats have declared for the seat being vacated by Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, and more may be on the way, but Bengur said his business experience and outsider's perspective will give him an edge. He said he raised $100,000 in the past month and spent much of that time knocking on voters' doors.

Gun database needs a chance to prove its value The Maryland State Police recently issued a report calling for the repeal of Maryland's law that requires the state police to maintain a database with "ballistic fingerprints" for all new handguns sold in the state ("State police call for scrapping ballistic-identification program," Jan. 19). Although a report last year from the same agency highlighted the potential utility of the system for solving gun crimes, the state police now deem it a failure because it hasn't led to any convictions.

When East Baltimore voters go to the polls Nov. 2, the first general election since the reshaping of City Council districts that created 14 single-representative districts, they'll likely notice some familiar names on the ballot - but perhaps vying to represent different neighborhoods. Territory that largely belonged to the former 1st and 2nd districts, each represented by three council members, has been split into three new districts - the 2nd, 12th and 13th. These new districts will each elect one council representative.

Stuck at a long red light on his way to a Christmas party eight years ago, City Councilman Nicholas C. D'Adamo Jr. started stewing over a political problem and solved it before he stepped on the gas. A dozen people were vying to fill a vacant seat in D'Adamo's council district, none appealing to him. But he had to back someone for the post. As his car idled at Hamilton Avenue and Harford Road, D'Adamo suddenly thought of a community activist he knew he would see at the party: Lois A. Garey.

WASHINGTON - C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger was sworn in as the new congressman from Maryland's 2nd District yesterday, and though he spent the last 17 years in local government, his new colleagues say this little fish is swimming just fine in the big pond. Case in point: Shortly after the November election, Ruppersberger was in a meeting of the freshman Democratic caucus when a disagreement broke out over who should be elected the class president, Denise Majette of Georgia or Frank Ballance of North Carolina.

For the first time, Democrat C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger has opened a significant lead against Republican Helen Delich Bentley in their race for Maryland's 2nd Congressional District, according to a new poll. The Maryland Poll - conducted for The Sun and The Gazette newspapers - found that Ruppersberger, the Baltimore County executive, leads the former congresswoman 46 percent to 38 percent, with 15 percent undecided with less than a week before Election Day. When undecided voters leaning one way or the other are taken into account, Ruppersberger's lead increases to 49-40.

TWO YEARS AGO, this newspaper optimistically endorsed Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. for Maryland's 2nd District in Congress. As a state delegate, he had a record of avoiding partisanship. He used his intellect to help resolve major problems.He is still seen as a capable politician, a rising star in a Maryland GOP that needs new talent. But his freshman term on Capitol Hill proved disappointing. Succumbing to talk of a "Republican Revolution" that accompanied the GOP takeover of Congress, he was too obedient a disciple of Speaker Newt Gingrich, with whom he voted 90 percent of the time.

Former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Holt, a Pasadena resident, embraced state Del. Robert Ehrlich last week in his bid for the 2nd District congressional seat.Mr. Ehrlich, a Baltimore County Republican, appeared with Mrs. Holt at Cookies Kitchen on Mountain Road Thursday morning to announce that the former congresswoman will coordinate his campaign in Anne Arundel."The bottom line to Marjorie Holt is she is a class act," said Mr. Ehrlich. "That is the reason everyone beats on her door and wants her endorsement."

With less than a week to go and polls showing a dead heat in the congressional race between Republican Helen Delich Bentley and Democrat C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, outside forces have descended on the 2nd District with rallies, protests and advertisements designed to tip the scales in the race and, possibly, in the House of Representatives. House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri stumped for Ruppersberger last night at the Baltimore International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall, urging union members to turn out to elect the Baltimore County executive and help his party take control of the national agenda.

Republican Helen Delich Bentley sought to link congressional opponent C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger with Gov. Parris N. Glendening last night during a debate in which the candidates largely agreed on most other matters. Bentley had been promising to take the gloves off in what has been, except for a handful of ads in recent weeks, a markedly polite contest for the 2nd District seat she gave up eight years ago in an unsuccessful bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. In her opening and closing remarks, Bentley sought to link Ruppersberger with Glendening, who polls show is exceptionally unpopular in the district, saying they colluded to draw new legislative maps to favor the departing Democratic Baltimore County executive.