7th District

The election for Maryland's 7th Congressional District is a fallacy. After voting in the primaries and reading a few articles, I have come to the following conclusion: There is no congressional race in our district. Sure, I see a handful of signs for Rep. Elijah Cummings and challenger Frank Mirable in our gerrymandered district, but that's a given. Here is what's missing: an election campaign centered on issues and qualifications Cummings refuses to truly debate these issues; his campaign claimed they have other priorities.

The election for Maryland's 7th Congressional District is a fallacy. After voting in the primaries and reading a few articles, I have come to the following conclusion: There is no congressional race in our district. Sure, I see a handful of signs for Rep. Elijah Cummings and challenger Frank Mirable in our gerrymandered district, but that's a given. Here is what's missing: an election campaign centered on issues and qualifications Cummings refuses to truly debate these issues; his campaign claimed they have other priorities.

Antonio P. Salazar, a Republican from Ellicott City and deputy general counsel for Provident Bank, plans to announce tomorrow his candidacy for Maryland's 7th District congressional seat - held by Baltimore Democrat Elijah E. Cummings. Salazar has scheduled announcements in Northwest Baltimore at 10:30 a.m., in Catonsville at the Candle Light Inn restaurant at 1:30 p.m., and in Columbia at the Swansfield Neighborhood Center at 4:30 p.m. The 7th District covers most of West Baltimore, western Baltimore County and Howard County from Ellicott City to Lisbon and the North Laurel area.

Nick Mosby bounded along a row of ninth-grade boys at Baltimore's Civitas School with the energy of a football player about to dart onto the field. Citing his own upbringing by a single mother, he urged the young men to aim higher than the temptations of the city's streets. "If you dream about it, you'll become it," he said. Mosby, a 32-year-old Verizon engineer and community activist, says he had long dreamed of a career in politics before defeating a two-term city councilwoman in September's Democratic primary.

Del. Elijah E. Cummings, a West Baltimore legislator, picked up the first major organizational endorsement in the campaign for the 7th District congressional seat yesterday and locked up part of the important Eastside vote in the process.Mr. Cummings, speaker pro tem of the House of Delegates, won the endorsement of state Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden, who withdrew from the race and pledged the support of his Eastside Democratic Organization (EDO), as reported yesterday in late editions of The Sun.Mr.

Four years ago, Republican John Klocko III nearly pulled off a stunning upset, losing to incumbent Virginia P. Clagett in the general election for South County's 7th District seat by less than 2 percent.This year, Ms. Clagett, who is leaving the County Council because of a term limit law, is running for the House of Delegates.With a wide-open race, Mr. Klocko says he believes he has an excellent opportunity for victory -- not just in the September Republican primary, but in November as well -- and accepts the label of front-runner in the County Council race.

The political arm of the national abortion rights movement yesterday endorsed Del. Kenneth C. Montague Jr., a Democratic legislator from Northeast Baltimore running for the 7th District congressional seat in the March 5 primary.In a rare move in a primary, the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) threw its support behind Mr. Montague, citing his efforts as a "tireless and unyielding pro-choice advocate."Kate Michelman, NARAL's executive director, made the announcement yesterday at a fund-raiser in North Baltimore for Mr. Montague, a member of the group's national board since 1991.

In yesterday's editions, the number of absentee ballots returned to the Baltimore County election board for the 7th Congressional District race was incorrectly reported. The number of ballots returned was about 400.The Sun regrets the error.Baltimore city and county voters in the 7th Congressional District are expected to come out in record numbers today for the special election to pick a successor to former Rep. Kweisi Mfume.Those would be record low numbers, election officials fear."It's going to be a sorry election," said Doris J. Suter, Baltimore County election administrator.

A number of candidate forums for the 7th District congressional race have been scheduled before the March 5 primary election to replace Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who is leaving Congress to head the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.Scheduled meetings are:* Tomorrow, noon to 4 p.m., sponsored by a coalition of community leaders and institutions, including Sojourner-Douglass College and Radio One, in the Dunbar High School Auditorium, 1400 Orleans St. It will be broadcast live on Radio One's WOLB (1010 AM)

In yesterday's editions, the number of absentee ballots returned to the Baltimore County election board for the 7th Congressional District race was incorrectly reported. The number of ballots returned was about 400.The Sun regrets the error.Baltimore city and county voters in the 7th Congressional District are expected to come out in record numbers today for the special election to pick a successor to former Rep. Kweisi Mfume.Those would be record low numbers, election officials fear."It's going to be a sorry election," said Doris J. Suter, Baltimore County election administrator.

Baltimore City Councilwoman Belinda Conaway, who is running a write-in campaign to keep her seat in the Nov. 8 election, accused the city elections board Tuesday of committing "major fraud" by mailing out incorrect absentee ballots to 7th District voters. Conaway said she has confirmed that at least seven voters in her district received 6th District absentee ballots in the mail, and worries that the problem could be more widespread. Conaway said she sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., asking him to intervene in the administration of the election.

Rebecca L. Nelson will be able to use the Weir family name again on the Nov. 2 general election ballot for the 7th District state Senate seat. After Nelson defeated James G. Stavropoulos Jr. in the September primary election, he questioned the legitimacy of the name she had used on the ballot, "Rebecca Weir Nelson. " Nelson is a cousin of Democratic Del. Michael H. Weir Jr. Stavropoulos accused her of using that name to hide criminal incidents that occurred after her failed 2006 run for the House of Delegates.

The Associated Press has called several primary races in Maryland, declaring that Gov. Martin O'Malley and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski have topped the little-known Democrats challenging them. Former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has won his primary against investor and businessman Brian Murphy, according to the AP, with early results showing Ehrlich ahead by a 4-to-1 margin. The following incumbent Democratic members of congress have also been declared winners: C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (2nd district)

The question that consumed Maryland's Republican state senators during the last four years was whether they should seek to confront the Democratic governor and majority in the legislature at every opportunity or whether they should look for ways they could work with the other party without compromising their beliefs. Two devotees of the confrontational school — Sens. Andy Harris and Janet Greenip — have either left or are leaving the legislature, and voters in their districts have the opportunity to replace them with candidates who are solidly conservative but dedicated to building the kinds of relationships that will help them get more done for their constituents.

Two well-known Republicans are locked in a tight race for a shot at the open state Senate seat in the conservative-leaning 7th District. Both have State House experience and close ties to former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., though Ehrlich is favoring one over the over. Del J.B Jennings got the nod from Ehrlich over former delegate and state Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Redmer Jr., as the two face off for a chance to succeed state Sen. Andrew P. Harris, who is running for Congress.

Even in this real estate market, a for-sale sign can create a buzz. A "STUNNING/ELEGANT" 6BR, 31/2 BA house for sale in Reisterstown has people talking. It's not the "updated" kitchen that's generating interest. Nor the "lush landscaping." It's the political intrigue. Jim Smith, the term-limited Baltimore County exec, is selling the house and moving to an apartment in Andy Harris' state Senate district, where he'll mull a run for that seat. Smith and his wife, whose four children are grown, put their house up for sale two weeks ago. "My wife and I are planning to downsize," Smith said.

Del. Elijah E. Cummings, a West Baltimore legislator who is among the front-runners for Rep. Kweisi Mfume's 7th District congressional seat, picked up two more key endorsements yesterday, with a little more than two weeks to go until the March 5 primary election.The Baltimore Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella organization representing 17 labor unions, threw its support behind Mr. Cummings, the Maryland House speaker pro-tem.Maryland Senate Majority Leader Clarence W. Blount, a West Baltimore Democrat who is dean of the city's legislative delegation, also formally endorsed Mr. Cummings yesterday, pledging the support of his political organization, the Five in Five Democratic Club.

Democratic candidates for the 7th District congressional seat expressed similar concerns about health care at a forum last night, pledging to fight any cuts in Medicare and Social Security and expressing skepticism about shifting federal programs to the states.The forum on health care issues at Liberty Medical Center in Northwest Baltimore attracted 13 of the 27 Democrats running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Kweisi Mfume. Republican candidates were told they will have a similar forum this month.

Neither rain nor low voter turn out kept nearly all of the incumbent Democrats from racking up commanding leads as votes were tallied last night in the primary election for Baltimore City Council seats. With nearly all precincts reporting the following incumbents appeared to have retained their seats, according to the unofficial vote count: James Kraft in the 1st District, Nicholas C. D'Adamo Jr. in the 2nd District, Robert W. Curran in the 3rd District, Belinda K. Conaway in the 7th District, Helen L. Holton in the 8th District, Agnes Welch in the 9th District, Edward L. Reisinger in the 10th District, Bernard C. "Jack" Young in the 12th District and Mary Pat Clarke in the 14th District.

In the City Council districts that flank Baltimore's western border, a diverse collection of neighborhoods encompassing Ashburton and Edmondson Village, Uplands and historic Dickeyville, all three incumbents are seeking another term. 8th District In the 8th District, Councilwoman Helen L. Holton is battling three opponents in the Democratic primary, trying to represent the westernmost communities along Edmondson and Frederick avenues. Holton, who is a recruitment and marketing manager as well as an investment adviser, said she spent a lot of her past term getting to know the territory that made up her turf - much of which was new to her after council districts were redrawn in 2004.