Campaign Staff

At first glance, the Howard County Circuit Court race looks like a potential blowout: The sitting judges have political muscle, a professional campaign staff and cash. Their challengers are short on all three.But District Judge Lenore R. Gelfman, attorney Jonathan Scott Smith and their revamped campaign of volunteers are counting on something they hope proves more powerful -- old-fashioned retail campaigning.As incumbents Diane O. Leasure and Donna Hill Staton forgo street-level campaigning for fear of violating judicial decorum, Gelfman and Smith have been knocking on doors, waving from street corners and, increasingly, talking tough on crime -- a top issue for suburban voters.

The newest member of Maryland's congressional delegation has hired two Capitol Hill veterans to lead his office while retaining two members of his campaign staff in key positions. Democrat John Delaney, who ousted 10-term Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett in last month's election, announced Wednesday he hired John Monsif as his chief of staff. Monsif previously served in that capacity for New York Rep. Louise Slaughter, the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee. Lisa Bianco, who previously served as Maryland Rep Steny Hoyer's state political director, will now work as Delaney's district director.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend paid her gubernatorial campaign staff almost twice as much in defeat as Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. did in victory, campaign finance records show. Townsend, whose campaign was criticized by her political mentor as one of the worst in the country, paid more than $1.5 million in salaries and other compensation during her losing Democratic effort. Ehrlich's main campaign committee paid its staff a little less than $800,000 to help him capture the State House for the GOP for the first time in 36 years.

After a few shaky weeks, the Romney kibitzers are calling for a big staff shakeup, apparently on the assumption that his footsoldiers have been responsible for the bumps in his campaign trail. Fingered particularly is his longtime Boston aide and spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom. It was he who not unreasonably said the mandate contained in the Obama health care law was a penalty rather than a tax, as the Supreme Court had so recently divined. Apparently, all he was doing was reiterating what Mitt Romney himself as governor had said about his similar plan in Massachusetts - that it was a "penalty.

WASHINGTON -- The newest member of Maryland's congressional delegation has hired two Capitol Hill veterans to run his office while retaining two members of his campaign staff in key positions. Democrat John Delaney, who ousted 10-term Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett in last month's election, announced Wednesday he hired John Monsif as his chief of staff. Monsif previously served in that capacity for New York Rep. Louise Slaughter, the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee.

Lt. Gov. Melvin A. "Mickey" Steinberg put a shot over the bow of the Democratic front-runner for governor yesterday, calling Parris N. Glendening "the $300 million man" because of his promises to spend more for state programs.Mr. Steinberg, who has fallen sharply from first to fourth place among candidates in the Democratic primary, criticized Mr. Glendening, the Prince George's County executive, at a news conference at the Steinberg campaign headquarters in Owings Mills.The lieutenant governor warned of the "devastating" $1 billion deficit the state faces over the next five years, calling it an "impending fiscal nightmare."

The United Way of Central Maryland met its $41 million campaign goal for 1999 yesterday -- minutes before it was scheduled to announce the year's results. Fresh off the phone with owner Peter G. Angelos securing a last-minute, $350,000 pledge from the Baltimore Orioles, campaign chairman J. Scott Wilfong gave the news to a relieved campaign staff that rewarded him with a standing ovation. It was the first time the United Way of Central Maryland -- which covers Baltimore City and Baltimore, Carroll, Anne Arundel, Howard and Harford counties -- passed the $40 million mark, an important psychological goal, said Wilfong, president of the Maryland region of Crestar Bank.

Call it the campaign that isn't.Dennis M. Sweeney organized a staff of volunteers, garnered political contributions, and printed thousands of campaign fliers -- expecting a heated race in his bid for a Howard Circuit Court judgeship.But the incumbent is a shoo-in, barring an unexpected write-in campaign between now and tomorrow's general election.5l Judge Sweeney handily won the Democratic and Republican primaries over two challengers last spring, capturing about 62 percent of the votes and making him unopposed in the general election for a 15-year term on the county bench.

WASHINGTON -- When "Mr. Gilchrest goes to Washington" -- as an Eastern Shore newspaper headline declared last week -- the new Republican on the block won't be traveling alone, living on a shoestring or suffering from a lack of advice.The new congressman from the 1st District, who had four paid staff members on his campaign, now will have about $440,000 to hire up to 22 employees for his Washington and district offices.And none of them will be former staff members for Roy P. Dyson, the five-term Democrat who lost the seat last week.

After a few shaky weeks, the Romney kibitzers are calling for a big staff shakeup, apparently on the assumption that his footsoldiers have been responsible for the bumps in his campaign trail. Fingered particularly is his longtime Boston aide and spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom. It was he who not unreasonably said the mandate contained in the Obama health care law was a penalty rather than a tax, as the Supreme Court had so recently divined. Apparently, all he was doing was reiterating what Mitt Romney himself as governor had said about his similar plan in Massachusetts - that it was a "penalty.

The presidential primaries will be upon us soon, so director, co-writer and star George Clooney scores points for having "The Ides of March" in theaters now. Although this political drama is frustratingly superficial where debate-worthy issues are concerned, it's really good at capturing the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that goes on as rival candidates go through a grueling presidential primary. For all of the debate-related scenes involving the governor of Pennsylvania, Mike Morris (Clooney)

Back when John R. Leopold was running for a seat in the House of Delegates, his no-frills campaign style — holding a "Leopold & You" sign on the side of the highway — was appealing and effective. It captured the nature of his appeal as a no-nonsense, independent-minded politician. Since then he has climbed the political ladder to become executive of Anne Arundel County, yet his style of running a campaign has remained small-time, and it is no longer serving him or the voters well.

Kevin Kamenetz's county executive campaign has spent about $81,000 on salaries and other compensation dating to 2009, although campaign filings don't make clear who was paid and how much, as state law requires. Kamenetz's last three campaign finance reports, filed with the State Board of Elections, show the payments, but lists them all as lump-sum payments to a payroll company in White Marsh, rather than to individuals. The campaign released the names of paid staffers on Friday in response to media inquiries.

U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin's campaign has fired a staff member who maintained a blog with racially tinged postings that included her view that the "racism card hovers constantly" over the veteran congressman's run for Senate. In another posting, the blogger - who wrote under the name Persuasionatrix - said a Cardin campaign staff member has kept his job only because he is black and "plays the racism card, the magic passport to a different chain of command." Cardin, who is white, received the Democratic nomination for Senate last week, defeating former Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who is black.

OCEAN CITY - Mayor Martin O'Malley threw a cocktail party, and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. hosted a dessert reception. But Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan was out to convince the crowd at the annual Maryland Municipal League convention here that he's the main course. The gathering, which wraps up today, was one of the first chances for the state's mayors, public works directors and other local government officials to see the three likely major contenders in the 2006 governor's race together.

The campaign to re-elect Mayor Martin O'Malley spent slightly more than it raised over the past eight months, doling out money for standard election-year expenses and steering cash to other candidates and causes, according to the mayor's most recent campaign finance report. The mayor's campaign committee, Friends of Martin O'Malley, reported Friday a cash balance of $753,248, which is nearly $34,000 less than the cash he had on hand in February. The campaign raised $307,437 during the eight-month reporting period and spent $341,254.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Mort Engelberg has to be a little crazy. How else to explain why the well-paid producer of such movies as "The Big Easy" would volunteer to produce Bill Clinton's heartland bus tour?It's a logistical nightmare: coordinating the movement of a 275-person bus caravan as it rolls, campaign stop by campaign stop, from New York to St. Louis, where the trip ends today.But Mr. Engelberg, a veteran of several presidential campaigns, says he finds it "therapeutic" to get away from movies every few years.

MANCHESTER, N.H. - By that Sunday in November, when he huddled with advisers in his Boston townhouse, John Kerry's high-flying candidacy had plunged to earth. Money was drying up, and Howard Dean was relentlessly grinding Kerry into the rocky soil of next-door New Hampshire. With his presidential dream looking nightmarish, the Massachusetts senator shook up his staff, retooled his message, dug deeply into his personal wealth and launched a last-ditch try to turn his campaign around. That effort to "change the dynamics" of his candidacy, as Kerry put it then, has radically altered the shape of the 2004 presidential race.