County Executive

AT THE SECOND Dutch Ruppersberger-Jim Ports debate last week in Baltimore County, an interesting character emerged from the audience: Bill Bralove, 49, part-time appliance salesman, president of a Randallstown community group, Renew, and a provocateur with poster board. Bralove opposes Senate Bill 509, Dutch's ambitious neighborhood renewal law that critics have blasted as a "land grab." County residents get to vote on the issue Nov. 7. Dutch and Ports, another opponent of the law, have been debating it at public forums.

Despite adamant opposition from local homeowners who say that a newly proposed slots parlor at Arundel Mills would attract crime, traffic and some unsavory company, elected county officials say they will work with community members to figure out the best way to pass slots zoning legislation. Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold said that although he is against expanding gambling, Marylanders voted for the referendum last fall, and he will work to draft legislation that accommodates the surrounding communities, should the state approve either or both of the proposed sites.

Some Anne Arundel County officials are calling for police to provide more information on their response to a report last month of possible sexual activity in a car that turned out to be County Executive John R. Leopold's government-issued vehicle. The request came the day after Anne Arundel County Councilman C. Edward Middlebrooks asked that Col. James Teare Sr., the Anne Arundel police chief, speak to the council at its next meeting about how officers are expected to respond to reports of suspicious activity in mall parking lots.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman strongly endorsed completion of a plan for central Columbia's redevelopment in a speech before 400 people at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week. The speech also noted how the slumping national economy is hurting county finances, but Ulman said the plan should be finished, even as General Growth Properties, the town's master developer, experiences severe financial problems. "I am troubled by the false notion that because there are unknowns about the economy and GGP's future, we should put the planning process on hold," he said.

ISSUE: -- County Executive John R. Leopold raised more than $100,000 earlier this month at an exclusive fundraiser attended mainly by developers, each of whom paid the $4,000 state maximum for a campaign contribution. Leopold, who won election in November pledging that he wouldn't be beholden to developers, said he hasn't changed and that his record bears that out. "Whether a donor gives me $4,000, $1,000 or zero dollars, it won't change the direction I will pursue in the county," he said.

Howard County's Ken Ulman is a young man in a hurry. Chatting over sandwiches at Serafino's restaurant last week in Ellicott City, the 32-year-old county executive brims with a plate full of ideas about how to manage one of the state's most dynamic counties. Mr. Ulman practically interviews himself. A simple question about what's happening in Howard triggers a 20-minute disquisition during which Mr. Ulman covers everything from his plans for a "model public health" program to the two hybrid vehicles the county now owns.

As the five-member Howard County Council's only Republican, Greg Fox may have more success influencing legislation than if he had political company. In the council's toughest test so far - County Executive Ken Ulman's first budget - Fox persuaded two Columbia Democrats whose political views are generally in tune with Ulman's to support his proposal on fire taxes instead. Together, the three - Fox, Chairman Calvin Ball, a former firefighter, and Mary Kay Sigaty - cut $1.6 million from a fire contingency fund to keep the fire property tax rate from rising by 2 additional cents on rural properties.

Developers in Anne Arundel County sure must be dimwits. Or maybe they're just chumps. How else to explain that so many of them helped raise $100,000 at a fundraiser for Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold this week? This is, after all, the same guy who during last year's campaign emphasized that he would never be beholden to any special interest. Certainly, there's nothing unusual about developers giving political contributions to county executives. Everyone does it. Executives have a big say in whether projects get the necessary government approvals.

After conducting a nationwide search for a planning director, Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has made acting director Lois Villemaire his choice to oversee the county's fast-paced growth. Villemaire, a 58-year-old Annapolis resident, takes over the department at a time of explosive growth, fueled by the 20,000 jobs expected to arrive at Fort Meade within the next four years. The base expansion is triggering billions of dollars in retail, office and residential construction across Anne Arundel - and putting pressure on the county to upgrade roads and other infrastructure.

A bipartisan coalition on the Anne Arundel County Council is trying to overhaul the county executive's proposal for a storm-water restoration fund by requiring most residents and businesses to share the financial burden. Council Chairman Ronald C. Dillon Jr., a Republican, and Democrats Josh Cohen and Jamie Benoit on Monday night proposed a charge of $25 on homeowners of developed property and $100 on owners of improved commercial and industrial land. County Executive John R. Leopold's SMART fund would levy a fee on most future development.

Robert L. Flanagan, former Howard state delegate and Maryland transportation secretary, says this point in the four-year political cycle is usually an anxious time for people in elected office. "This is the time of year when incumbents get very, very nervous," he said, as rumors begin to fly about who might try to unseat them in next year's election. With his intense blue eyes, sharp wit and lengthy experience, Flanagan could be an attractive candidate, and he acknowledges that people have approached him about running, perhaps for the District 1 County Council seat occupied by Democrat Courtney Watson.

Howard County Council Chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty and her husband have the same short conversation at the start of each week, she recently told a citizens' commission trying to decide what part-time council members and the county executive elected next year should be paid. "My husband asks me every Sunday night: 'Will I be having dinner with you this week?' " Her recent interview provides an unusual insight into the life of an elected official. Sigaty, a former teacher, stay-at-home mom and artist with no other paying job, said she works 60 hours to 70 hours a week at council duties during busy times, such as during the spring budget review.

Dozens of Baltimore County parents rallied Tuesday in Towson, continuing to push for air conditioning in a Lutherville middle school where they say a renovation project has made the classrooms intolerable on warm days. Ridgely Middle School parents have been seeking a solution for about two years, ever since the school was renovated with design features - tighter windows, lowered ceilings and an insulated roof - to maximize air-conditioning efficiency. But the cooling units were never installed because the project budget did not include money for the equipment, school officials have said.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman is requesting an audit of the independent Soil Conservation District in what appears to be an escalation of a months-long dispute with the tiny, normally low-profile agency, which threatened last week to shut down processing all development plans in the county. Ulman pointed to last week's claims from soil district officials: first, that they were out of money to pay two workers who review development plans for erosion and sediment controls and that all work would stop, followed the next day by word that money had been found.

An apologetic Jon S. Cardin insisted on Thursday that his political career would not be hampered by the uproar over his engagement stunt, but political observers said the state lawmaker's nascent bid for the more prominent position of Baltimore County executive has likely been derailed. Veteran watchers of county affairs said it is unrealistic for Cardin to pursue the executive's office because the Aug. 7 proposal, involving on-duty Baltimore police marine and helicopter units, casts doubt on his judgment.

OCEAN CITY - -Gov. Martin O'Malley warned Saturday of reductions in state funding for police, health departments and community colleges as he spoke to local government officials who are expected to absorb $250 million in cuts. The Democratic governor, delivering his annual address at the summer conference of the Maryland Association of Counties, tried to cast allegiance with localities in what he characterized as a joint effort to confront recession-wrought deficits. But he provided few details on how the cuts would be allocated by county and program.

The largest group of Howard County landowners in years sought to preserve their farmland forever in the Agricultural Preservation application period that just ended, according to Joy Levy, program administrator. "We are pretty thrilled" at the big response, Levy said. Thirteen landowners are seeking to sell to the county development rights on 1,427 acres, which is probably more than the county can afford right now, Levy said. That compares with three farmers who preserved 247 acres in 2007, the last time the county took applications - just after the maximum price per acre doubled to $40,000.

Before 2006, there was a logjam of ambitious Democrats at the top of the Maryland political hierarchy. That year, some of the pressure was released thanks to four developments. First, the retirement of the state's longest-serving U.S. senator, Paul Sarbanes, allowed Rep. Ben Cardin to bid for and win the seat held by Mr. Sarbanes, whose son John took Mr. Cardin's seat. Then-Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's victory over incumbent Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., offered a second release valve.

Western Howard County residents who have battled for nearly two years to block a proposed used-car dealership in rural Daisy, dominated County Executive Ken Ulman's third annual town hall meeting Wednesday night in Ellicott City. Nine of the 16 speakers at the 73-minute forum at Mount Hebron High School talked about the car lot and business zoning in rural areas, and most urged Ulman to back the quick establishment of a citizens task force to study the issue before the county undertakes a once-a-decade general plan review.

Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. has been raising money for months for an all-but-declared campaign for state comptroller. But this week he announced he's not going to run. That surely must be an annoyance for the donors who pushed his account to well upward of $1 million, but it has the potential to do much more damage to the integrity (using the word loosely) of Maryland's campaign finance system. Mr. Smith is the charter member of the Baltimore County Victory Slate, an entity under Maryland campaign finance law designed to allow like-minded candidates to pool their resources.