Campaign Manager

5/8 TC Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton fires up his presidential campaign in Maryland again tomorrow with three new endorsements and two old-style rallies -- all designed to show he hasn't downgraded Maryland in his national strategy.Democratic Party sources said the Clinton campaign had all but decided to pull its candidate from Maryland several days ago to concentrate on the campaign in Georgia and, perhaps, to avoid another loss to Paul E. Tsongas, the former Massachusetts senator who beat him Tuesday inNew Hampshire.

WASHINGTON -- The campaign manager for Rep. Albert R. Wynn has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging fundraising improprieties by Donna Edwards, Wynn's chief rival in next month's Democratic primary. The Wynn campaign handed reporters a 34-count complaint yesterday alleging illegal collaboration between the Prince George's activist and several of the organizations supporting her in the 4th District contest. In a statement, Edwards dismissed the complaint as "a desperate 11th-hour attempt" by Wynn "to deflect from the fact that groups representing the core of the Democratic party and the issues it stands for ... have decided that they want to fire him and are supporting me."

Ken Mehlman has been an open member of the club for less than a year, but he's already made its "who's who" list. The Baltimore native who served as a campaign manager for President George W. Bush in 2004 and chaired the Republican National Committee from 2005 to 2007 told the world he was gay in an interview with The Atlantic in August. Now he's made New York Observer's list of The New Power Gays : NYC's Top 50. Writes one reader, annoyed that Mehlman remained in the closet as the party he led pursued an anti-gay agenda: "We could have used your help 8 years ago. Thanks anyway.

City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. called yesterday for a one-on-one debate with Mayor Sheila Dixon so that the two mayoral candidates could discuss the issues in greater depth. Mitchell's campaign, which said it has found a TV station that is willing to broadcast the debate, said it was responding to a comment made by Dixon after Monday's televised debate that she did not have enough time to respond to questions because all seven Democratic candidates took part. "We believe that the interim mayor feels as though there was not enough time to fully explain her issues and that a one-on-one debate would provide more time for both candidates to explain the positions," said Mitchell's campaign manager, Jayson Williams.

The state prosecutor's office is investigating overdue campaign finance reports from two Baltimore County councilmen, both of whom say they are working to correct the problem. Councilman Kenneth N. Oliver, a Randallstown Democrat, said his campaign manager recently received a letter from the prosecutor alerting him to a missing campaign finance report and outstanding fines from late 2002 and early last year. Councilman John A. Olszewski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat, said he received a letter from the prosecutor about a missing report and outstanding fine from late 2002.

The state prosecutor's office is investigating overdue campaign finance reports from two Baltimore County councilmen, both of whom say they are working to correct the problem. Councilman Kenneth N. Oliver, a Randallstown Democrat, said his campaign manager recently received a letter from the prosecutor alerting him to a missing campaign finance report and outstanding fines from late 2002 and early last year. Councilman John A. Olszewski Sr., a Dundalk Democrat, said he received a letter from the prosecutor about a missing report and outstanding fine from late 2002.

State Comptroller Peter Franchot has returned $54,000 in contributions he received from a Hollywood film producer who broke Maryland's campaign finance law during the 2006 election, according to the comptroller's campaign manager. Producer James G. Robinson was fined $119,000 in October by the Maryland state prosecutor for giving larger donations than the law allowed to Franchot, Gov. Martin O'Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown. Under Maryland law, an individual or corporation may give no more than $4,000 to a candidate and no more than $10,000 overall during any four-year election cycle.

If the nature of the mismatch in the 6th District congressional race can be captured in a single image, it's a dollar sign.Six-term incumbent Beverly B. Byron has a mountain of money, compared with the molehill collected by Republican challenger Christopher P. Fiotes Jr., according to campaign expenditure reports filed by the candidates last week with the Federal Election Commission in Washington.The required reports cover Aug. 23 to Sept. 30. During that period, Byron gathered $16,783 and doled out $28,632.

Defenders of the state's Dream Act say voter education will be key to their success in November, when Marylanders weigh-in on a new law that lets some illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition. "Our goal will be be education about what the Dream Act really does," said Travis Tazelaar, campaign manager for Educating Maryland Kids, the ballot committee defending the law. He estimated that "millions" would be needed to fund a state-wide campaign. The ballot committee was created in December 2011, and reported $75,000 in donations in April when they last filed financial disclosure forms with the state board of elections.

Terry Weldon Taylor, a former public affairs director of a Baltimore health center and veteran political operative, died Wednesday from complications of a stroke at Northwest Hospital. The Windsor Mills resident was 62. "I got to know him through the late Wendell H. Phillips, who was the pastor of Heritage United Church of Christ and had served in the Maryland House of Delegates. Terry had all of the political spirituality of that congregation," said City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke.