Council Race

The fate of potential surplus land at Spring Grove State Hospital campus in Catonsville seems to be having a powerful impact on the County Council race in the 1st District of Baltimore County. The issue has given two inexperienced candidates (Rebecca Dongarra and Greg Morgan) some momentum in the contest even though they face two other better-connected and more experienced Democrats. Tom Quirk is the party "heir apparent" and chamber of commerce crony, while Brian Bailey is the ambitious and young chairman of the Democratic Central Committee in Baltimore County.

A Republican candidate for Howard County council has announced he is withdrawing from the race, but missed the Friday withdrawal deadline, frustrating GOP plans to name a replacement. Democrat Calvin Ball is the incumbent in District 2, which covers East Columbia, Jessup, and parts of Elkridge. Anthony Jordan, a 29-year-old first-time candidate who was the first to file for council this year, announced Friday on his campaign website that the demands of his job had become so great that he has little time for campaigning and had decided to drop out. The problem is he missed Friday's deadline for withdrawing, which means the Republican central committee may not replace him on the ballot until after ther September 14 primary election.

I would have figured Patrick Turner had done his last favor for a Baltimore politician. But the developer, who landed most uncomfortably on the witness stand after buying $1,000 in gift cards at Sheila Dixon's request, seems to be doing someone else's bidding. I have it on good authority that Turner approached at least one member of the City Council and urged him to support Councilman Bill Cole for council president. Next thing, we'll hear Ron Lipscomb is out twisting arms.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the report by Bryan P. Sears of the Towson Times that two development attorneys - including County Executive James T. Smith Jr.'s son - are making a major fundraising push to back favored Baltimore County Council candidates in potentially open races is that they're limiting their ambition to three districts. After all, the 2nd District seat might be open, too. Why not try to buy a clear majority? The effort by Michael Paul Smith and David Gildea to raise money for candidates in the 1st, 5th and 6th councilmanic districts might be unusual in its scope and in the dollar amounts they're bringing in. But in terms of development interests seeking influence over Baltimore County government, somebody else thought of that back around the dawn of time.

Seven candidates are vying for three seats on the Havre de Grace City Council in Tuesday's local election. A mix of newcomers and political veterans are seeking a seat on the six-member council. Councilman James P. Miller is the only incumbent running for re-election after two others, Garrett Lyttle and Stephen Gamatoria, decided not to run again. Registered voters can cast their ballots for the council members from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the social hall of St. Patrick's Church, 615 Congress Ave. Council members will serve a two-year term.

Warren Branch, a city public works inspector, beat incumbent Vernon E. Crider in the District 13 City Council Democratic primary election by 51 votes, the city elections director said yesterday. Provisional and absentee ballots were tallied yesterday and sent to the State Board of Elections, said Armstead B.C. Jones, the elections director. The council race had been the only local contest in the Sept. 11 Democratic primary that was too close to call, though Branch led by a slim margin after the voting.

One week before Baltimore's Democratic primary, the race for City Council president remains extremely tight, with Michael Sarbanes, a longtime activist, and incumbent Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake attracting nearly equal support, according to a new poll conducted for The Sun. With a sizable number of undecided voters -- 28 percent -- the candidates are battling for every vote in the final stretch of the campaign in what will likely be the closest election...

The Baltimore school board has named a former state delegate who was running for a seat on the City Council as its new school police chief. Marshall "Toby" Goodwin, 50, has withdrawn from the 7th District council race and is urging voters to support the incumbent, Councilwoman Belinda K. Conaway. Conaway also works for the city school system, as a teacher and counselor, though she is currently on leave. Goodwin was appointed to the House of Delegates in December 2003 to replace the late Howard P. Rawlings, beating out Rawlings' son, Wendell, for the position.

Incumbent Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake and Michael Sarbanes, a longtime civic activist, are in a dead heat in this year's Democratic primary campaign for City Council president, with the bulk of voters undecided, according to the results of a poll conducted for The Sun. Twenty-seven percent of the likely Baltimore Democratic primary voters polled said they would vote for Sarbanes versus 26 percent for Rawlings-Blake. The poll has a margin of error of no more than 4 percentage points. But 37 percent of the electorate said they have not decided on a candidate to support, meaning the race is far from settled.