Candidacy

WASHINGTON -- Michael S. Bloomberg already has his name plastered on the walls of the Johns Hopkins University, on the highly successful financial-information company that earned him billions and on the mayor's office in New York City. Now, it seems increasingly clear, he wouldn't mind putting it on the Oval Office at the White House, too. The Republican mayor took a significant step yesterday toward a potential independent candidacy for president by announcing that he was quitting his party and becoming an independent.

Vinton, Iowa -- Mike Huckabee, who plays bass guitar in a rock band called Capitol Offense, jokes that he wants to become president so he'll finally get to perform at the White House. I the next breath, turning serious, he says he is running to repay a debt he owes to a country that has given him so much. Launching into the story of growing up in a working-class family, he tells an audience of 100 rural Iowans that his humble upbringing gave him a steady moral compass. "The prophet Isaiah said it this way: `Look to the quarry from which you were dug,'" said Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, who likes to talk in parables and sprinkle references to God, the Bible and prayer into campaign speeches.

As a top contender for the mayor's job backed away from the race yesterday, Baltimore's public unions were poised to back the candidacy of City Council President Lawrence A. Bell III, bolstering his bid for the city's top post.City Comptroller Joan M. Pratt, who flirted with a run for mayor during the past two months but never officially declared, said yesterday she will seek re-election as comptroller this year. Pratt said she wants to finish work she began in her first term."I think with a second term as comptroller, it will prepare me to lead the city as mayor," Pratt said.

WASHINGTON -- Apparently Hillary Clinton's campaign-mode posture toward being first lady -- been there, done that -- is now being adopted by Al Gore regarding the vice presidency. Just Mrs. Clinton is popping in and out of her role as first lady, the vice president is being quoted these days as saying that "running for president of this country is far more important than being the best vice president I can possibly be."This observation comes in the context of Mr. Gore's determination, as all vice presidents running for the Oval Office in the shadow of their presidents seek, to be "his own man."

LET ME acknowledge my bias up front: I subscribe to the old-fashioned notion that party activists and voters -- not the mass media -- should be the main players in nominating political candidates.As for Hillary Rodham Clinton, her New York Senate candidacy -- launched by political reporters left dangerously idle by the closing of Monica-gate -- rocketed through the studios of "Crossfire" and "Nightline" to the covers of Newsweek and Time. A real grass-roots mobilization of the media elite.

If shaking hands with potential voters translates into votes, Republican Robin Ficker is a shoo-in to win election to the U.S. Senate next year.In officially announcing his candidacy yesterday for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, Ficker noted that he has shaken hands with more than 560,000 people during 2 1/2 years of campaigning around the state.Ficker, a former state delegate from western Montgomery County, has become a common sight at countless events around Maryland, ranging from Orioles games and street festivals to Monday's Bob Dylan concert in Baltimore.

Waving "Draft Mfume" signs and chanting "We want Mfume," a crowd of about 250 gathered yesterday at Mondawmin Mall in the first public rally in support of a mayoral candidacy by NAACP President Kweisi Mfume.Some wondered whether Mfume would be there, but he did not make an appearance -- and organizers said they had not expected him to attend.Many at the rally, including several city and state lawmakers, had given their support to the Draft Mfume 2000 Committee. They were among the more than 200 people whose names were listed as supporters in newspaper advertisements over the past week.

MAQUOKETA, Iowa -- With his long-shot presidential candidacy suddenly on a roll, Bill Bradley is "having the time of my life."He's drawing friendly audiences on the campaign trail, flexing early fund-raising muscle and establishing himself as a serious contender for the Democratic nomination. "It helps that people think this is now a shot," he says in an interview.The former senator may be enjoying more prosperity than he can stand. His newfound prominence may be hurting as much as it's helping, by raising expectations that he could have trouble meeting, and sending an urgent wake-up call to front-running Al Gore.

Despite a possible candidacy by his prominent cousin, Baltimore City Council President Lawrence A. Bell III is piecing together a political machine as he prepares to declare he will run for mayor.Bell, considered one of the favorites in this year's mayoral race, has lined up several members of his campaign team, even though a cloud appears over the campaign while the city awaits a decision about the possible candidacy of NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, whom state leaders in the General Assembly are pushing to run."

There are no smart bombs. Never were.The best place for a new parking facility is the southwest corner of Lexington and Holliday streets. All the city needs to do is condemn what's there now.Don't knock Lawrence Bell. His candidacy is the best hope Carl Stokes has of becoming mayor.Starr wants to be the last of his kind. Good idea.Pub Date: 4/16/99

ST. PAUL, Minn. - "Mac is back" chanted John McCain's supporters when the Republican candidate staged his seemingly impossible comeback in this year's primaries. Last night, the old Johnny Mac was back on display, claiming his party's nomination in a setting meant to evoke his anything-goes town hall events. Standing on a narrow stage amid a sea of supporters, he reprised trademark lines and themes from his stump speech and, in a way that convention planners did not always intend, recreated the spirit and excitement of his campaign rallies.

WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton's name will be placed into nomination at the Democratic National Convention later this month, ending months of speculation about how her candidacy -- and supporters - would be represented there. "I am convinced that honoring Sen. Clinton's historic campaign in this way will help us celebrate this defining moment in our history and bring the party together in a strong, united fashion," Barack Obama said in a statement issued jointly by their two press offices.

The Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. may have been Sen. Barack Obama's pastor for 20 years, but this week he was more intent on promoting his angry vision of race relations than supporting the candidacy of a man with a good chance of becoming the first African-American president. The senator's outraged retort to the minister's incendiary remarks at the National Press Club said what had to be said: They "contradict everything that I am about." We believe the candidate when he says with some emotion that his goal is to bring Americans together, not divide them, as Pastor Wright's rhetoric would.

Robert Banks came clean the other day about who put him up to running for Congress. He did it at a news conference teased this way: "Banks To Reveal Source of Congressional Candidacy." "I will admit that there is some truth to the idea to run for Congress did not originate solely with me, and that there was in fact some outside influence," Banks said in the release. So, did he confirm the claims of Republican rival Andy Harris - that Rep. Wayne Gilchrest & Co. got Banks in the race to split the anti-incumbent vote?

Vinton, Iowa -- Mike Huckabee, who plays bass guitar in a rock band called Capitol Offense, jokes that he wants to become president so he'll finally get to perform at the White House. I the next breath, turning serious, he says he is running to repay a debt he owes to a country that has given him so much. Launching into the story of growing up in a working-class family, he tells an audience of 100 rural Iowans that his humble upbringing gave him a steady moral compass. "The prophet Isaiah said it this way: `Look to the quarry from which you were dug,'" said Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, who likes to talk in parables and sprinkle references to God, the Bible and prayer into campaign speeches.

WASHINGTON -- Michael S. Bloomberg already has his name plastered on the walls of the Johns Hopkins University, on the highly successful financial-information company that earned him billions and on the mayor's office in New York City. Now, it seems increasingly clear, he wouldn't mind putting it on the Oval Office at the White House, too. The Republican mayor took a significant step yesterday toward a potential independent candidacy for president by announcing that he was quitting his party and becoming an independent.

Longtime community activist Michael Sarbanes officially declared his candidacy for City Council president yesterday, injecting new competition and his well-known family name into the race. Surrounded by neighborhood activists and members of his family in front of his Irvington house, Sarbanes said running for the office is an extension of his 15 years of community service, which include working as an attorney with the Community Law Center and as director of the Citizens Planning and Housing Association.

Flanked by local Latino leaders and a large contingent of politicians from his home state, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson formally entered the 2008 presidential campaign yesterday, saying that his thick resume offered him an ability unmatched by others in the race to tackle the country's problems at home and abroad. The Democratic candidate, who has been running for months and has already aired campaign ads, made his announcement in downtown Los Angeles' Millennium Biltmore Hotel. The official entry of Richardson expands what is becoming the most diverse field of mainstream presidential candidates in U.S. history.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- With the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at his back, Sen. John McCain, the former naval aviator and Vietnam prisoner of war, officially declared his candidacy for president yesterday, kicking off a key stretch in which he will be under pressure to revitalize a campaign that has gone far worse than many expected for a man once seen as the dominant Republican in the race. McCain offered sharp criticism of the Bush administration for its handling of the war in Iraq and promised that he has the experience to solve big problems and keep the nation safe.

Calling for "leadership that's not soft," City Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr. officially announced his candidacy for City Council president yesterday, becoming the second candidate to enter the race. Harris, 43, has developed a reputation in recent months for questioning Martin O'Malley's mayoral administration, especially for its police policies. Harris represents the 4th District in North Baltimore. "When we say that we are serious about Baltimore, we mean that we are serious about giving government and its communities the resources and support they need to break the cycle of violence that is destroying our families and our neighborhoods," Harris said during his announcement at the Belvedere Square shopping center.