2nd District

One of the ironies of a redistricting plan intended to "empower" minorities and the poor in areas where historically they have been locked out of the political process is that the new map threatens to upset the long-standing equilibrium of Baltimore's central 2nd District, which for two decades has been regarded as a model for successful racial coalition politics.The immediate cause of this potential upset lies in the inability -- some say unwillingness -- of the black and white political clubs that traditionally have dominated 2nd District politics to agree this year on a slate of City Council candidates.

Dundalk Del. Connie C. Galiazzo, 47, a first-term member of the General Assembly, is looking hard at a run for the Democratic nomination for Maryland's 2nd District congressional seat.Her unexpected entry would put a new face on a contest that until now has been a two-way battle between Towson Del. Gerry L. Brewster and former Del. and Harford County Councilwoman Barbara O. Kreamer of Aberdeen."She told me she's 95 percent certain she's in," Mr. Brewster said yesterday in Annapolis. "It's from out of nowhere.

IT COULD BE a long, hot summer in Baltimore's 2nd Councilmanic District.The abrupt resignation of City Councilman Anthony J. Ambridge leaves a hole in the 2nd's three-person delegation that could provide for a good old-fashioned political fight.Comptroller Joan M. Pratt's selection of Ambridge as the city's real estate officer was a smart move politically. Looking ahead to 1999 and a possible mayoral bid, it gives her the chance to broaden her political base -- particularly with white voters -- in north and east Baltimore, and gives her office a credible voice unafraid of criticizing Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's administration.

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.

Eight years after leaving Congress to campaign for governor, Helen Delich Bentley says she is considering running for her former seat in Washington. "We're looking at things," she said yesterday. "We are looking at things, depending on what Mr. Ehrlich does." U.S. Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of Baltimore County has said he might run for governor, which would leave his seat vacant. His final decision, he said, rests on making sure another Republican can replace him in the House of Representatives, where the GOP has a slim majority.

The message that would accompany Ellen R. Sauerbrey's political resurrection is locked in her mind and ready to spring. Voters in suburban Baltimore, Harford and Anne Arundel counties need a climate that allows individuals to succeed, she would tell them. That means smaller government, a strong economy and making sure "people aren't taxed to death." On a bright winter morning seven months before the primary, the only audience for her ideas is a German shepherd, Hans, celebrating his 11th birthday as he lunges around her 19th-century farmhouse in Baldwin.

When Republicans showed the County Council their ideas for redrawingdistrict lines last month, a council Democrat called them "outrageous, clever and ridiculous."Now it's the Republicans' turn."I really did laugh -- it's a bad joke," council member Charles C. Feaga, R-5th, said of a Democratic redistricting plan sent to the council last week. "It is an outrageous map. I can't believe Vernon could go along with it."Feaga referred to Council Chairman C. Vernon Gray, D-3rd. Gray said he had no part in drawing up the Democrats' map, even though he is a member of a group that commissioned it.The Democratic map would put much of the 1st District -- which runs from north Laurel to Elkridge -- into the 2nd District -- which now includes Ellicott City and runs from Bonnie Branch Road to Manor Lane.

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.

In 1990, Douglas B. Riley was one of three Republicans who rode into Towson to make some changes in the Democrat-dominated Baltimore County Council.Four years later, Mr. Riley of Towson may be the only GOP incumbent to keep his seat. The others, Birchie L. Manley in the 1st District and William A. Howard IV in the 6th, are in tough races.And if he's hoping to see other GOP colleagues take their place, Mr. Riley isn't likely to get help from District 2 or District 5. In his District 4 and those, traditional voting patterns are expected to prevail.