City Election

Ho hum is the only thing I came up with when I received my elections reminder card last weekend about yesterday's elections. I have never seen such a pitiful list of "contenders" for major political offices. I am normally "charged up" with at least one candidate on the list when I review the ballot box choices, but not this year. I know it has been challenging journey for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to fill the shoes of Sheila Dixon - to have to continue someone's else's legacy, and create a "brand" of one's own simultaneously.

A little more than three weeks remain until the May 7 city election in Havre de Grace and though the campaign has been relatively quiet to date, things can be expected to heat up as Election Day draws near. This year's election features a race for mayor and for three city council seats. Mayor Wayne Dougherty is seeking a fourth term and is challenged by former city councilman Jim Miller. In the council races, incumbents John Correri and Randy Craig are seeking re-election. Challengers include former councilman Fred Cullum and two first-time candidates, Thomas Barnes and Robert Greene.

If city election officials cannot get their act together in November's general election, heads should roll. After the election board's disgraceful performance in the Sept. 13 primary, there had better be plenty of changes -- fast.What happened on the night of Sept 13, and the following two days, cannot be tolerated. It was a case of horrendous planning, inadequate training and poor execution. There was no valid excuse for shutting down vote-counting operations at 2 a.m., with a number of races hanging in the balance.

Some Baltimore activists are fighting against a charter amendment that, if approved by voters in November, would align Baltimore's elections with the presidential election cycle - and in the process give the mayor and most of the city's other elected officials an extra year in office. The advocates are absolutely right that the proposal is not the ideal solution to the city's problems of unnecessary election expenses and low turnout. But given a recent state law change that controls the timing of Baltimore's primary election, voters should approve the charter amendment.

Keenly contested elections for high offices stir strong emotions. In fact, it often suits the strategy of rival candidates to portray their campaigns as life-and-death cliffhangers so that partisans can be mobilized, money raised and voters turned out.As Baltimore's major daily newspaper, The Sun becomes the object of much guessing and second- guessing by the politically active at election times. News stories are subjected to endless dissecting for hidden biases; editorials are scrutinized for hints as to whom the paper might endorse in the election.

Social activist and mayoral candidate A. Robert Kaufman said yesterday that he would push for restructuring the city election system, including requiring voter identification, eliminating primaries and allowing the City Council to elect its president.The founder of the City Wide Coalition, best known for his call for the city to begin an auto insurance program, also would like the city to hire a city manager and for council members to be elected at large."I would be real happy to be the city's last mayor," Kaufman said at a news conference.

The Annapolis City Election Office is seeking judges for this year's municipal elections. About 150 people are needed. Eight judges will serve in each of the 16 precincts - two chief judges, two book judges, two machine judges and two voter-identification judges. People to serve as at-large and replacement judges are also needed. Residents who are registered voters are eligible. Party affiliation is critical to some positions, although those registered as Independent may serve. Pay for the 16-hour shifts ranges from $160 to $208 for each election date.

A broad-based coalition of unions and community organizations formally began yesterday the process of trying to change the City Charter to trim the City Council by four members and create 14 single-member districts. The coalition, Communities and Labor United for Baltimore, filed a proposed petition with the city election board. The language of the petition, which requires 10,000 signatures to be placed on a ballot, must be reviewed and approved by election officials. Norma Washington, chairwoman of Maryland's Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)

The Baltimore election board will begin opening more than 3,500 absentee ballots tomorrow at 10 a.m.More than 4,200 ballots were issued for the election. As of late yesterday, 3,564 had been returned to the election office. Of those, roughly 3,100 were cast by Democrats, according to city election officials.In addition, any ballot that arrives in today's mail and that was postmarked by Monday will be accepted.City election administrator Barbara E. Jackson said the counting of the absentee ballots should take less than a day.Baltimore election officials predicted that the absentee-ballot counting process should go much more quickly than it did in last year's disputed gubernatorial election.

The question was of the "Who's buried in Grant's tomb?" variety -- "Who signs where it says 'voter's signature?' "Unfortunately, the question phoned into city election administrator Barbara E. Jackson came from an election judge, who presumably would know better."

One of the main reasons Baltimore MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakeprovided for her effort to move the city's primary elections from their current off-year schedule to the presidential election cycle was the idea that it would help boost turnout. The idea, which has been floating around Baltimore and the General Assembly for years, gained significant traction this year in the wake of record-low turnout in the 2011 mayoral primary. Only about 22 percent of eligible voters cast ballots then.

Election officials predict a record low turnout for the Maryland presidential primary election ("Key races, little interest in primary," April 2). Meanwhile, the state legislature just passed a law that would move the election of Baltimore's mayor to coincide with presidential elections on the theory that the turnout would improve. What's wrong with this picture, and why do all other jurisdictions hold their leadership elections to coincide with election of the governor, not president?

A measure to move Baltimore's election to the presidential cycle was among scores of bills that cleared the House of Delegates during a rare Saturday session, setting the stage for MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakeand the current city council to be in office for an additional year. Other legislation receiving House approval included a lower charge for those caught with small amounts of marijuana and a bill that would require helmets for motor scooter drivers. Delegates also had a testy debate on a provision that would allow expedited court procedures for some developers.

A bill to move Baltimore City's election to the presidential cycle cleared the House of Delegates Saturday, setting the stage for MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakeand the current city council to be in office for an additional year. The legislation would move the next city primary to 2016. The city will have to approve another measure to move the general to that year. Without the changes, the next city election would be in 2015. There is wide agreement that the city should move its election an issue that gained fresh urgency after record low turnout during the city elections last fall.

I believe our elected officials have possibly misunderstood the essential purpose of moving the Baltimore City mayoral primary and general election. The purpose is to increase voter turnout. Elected officials "having their cake and eating it too" by giving state officials a free shot at state office and vice versa discourages voter turnout. Initially, proponents of moving Baltimore elections onto the presidential cycle justified their position by claiming turnout in presidential primaries in the city far exceeded turnout in gubernatorial primaries.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake could be in office for five years, under a new election plan being debated in the Maryland Senate. After the 2016 elections, the mayor and other city elected officials would serve four year terms. Rawlings-Blake sought the change this year, and the Senate gave it an initial nod Wednesday morning. A final vote on the measure is expected later this week. The House of Delegates would have to pass the measure too. Putting Baltimore on the federal election cycle is intended to boost turnout, which was at a near record low in last November's election.

Baltimore election judges will get a boost in pay for the general election this year, a move backers say they hope will cut down on the widespread tardiness and absenteeism that added chaos to this month's primary. A bill increasing city election judge pay by $25 a day and $50 for chief judges - passed long before the primary problems - goes into effect tomorrow, along with dozens of other measures, including stiffer penalties for teenage drunken drivers. City election officials say recruiting enough qualified election judges in the city - especially enough Republicans - is a chronic problem exacerbated by the long hours workers must put in at the polls and the low pay. Now, city election judges will make $150 and chief election judges $200 for a workday that can stretch beyond 14 hours.

A BILL THAT would have changed the year of Baltimore's mayoral primary election has died an unceremonious death in the General Assembly, passing away quietly in a Senate committee. Without it, Baltimore is left with a 14-month gap between the next mayoral primary and general elections -- for now, at least, scheduled for 2003 and 2004, respectively. The little-noticed derailment apparently occurred at the behest of Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a Prince George's Democrat. "Some time, some day soon, the Baltimore City Council will come to understand they're part of the state of Maryland," Miller said yesterday by way of explanation.

The record-setting low turnout at the Baltimore primary election last year coupled with the city's need for money prompted the League of Women Voters to dust off its old files on this long-standing issue of determining the best time for Baltimore's municipal elections. Legislative history and the interaction between state and city governments on this issue led the League several years ago to support moving to the gubernatorial cycle.