Glendening

Years ago, I remember thinking that former Gov. Parris Glendenning was wrong to cut taxes because the surplus wasn't really there to sustain our state into the future. Pay now or pay later, but it always costs more to play catch-up by paying later. It turns we should not have cut taxes after all. In the best-case scenario it only costs more money, while in the worst case bridges collapse, cars are damaged on poorly maintained roads and health care, education and environmental protection are all underfunded.

Del. Ron George, a Republican who operates a jewelry store almost under the shadow of the State House, will go for the political gold as he makes a run for governor in 2014. George, who represents Anne Arundel County, confirmed Tuesday that he has made up his mind to enter the Republican primary race. The two-term lawmaker, who is 59, becomes the second member of the House to signal an intention to run for goveror next year, when Gov. Martin O'Malley cannot run because of term limits.

Two former Maryland governors joined Gov. Martin O'Malley Monday morning at a news conference marking the formal inauguration of Plan Maryland. Harry R. Hughes and Parris N. Glenedening, both Democrats, praised the plan as a continuation of their work while in office to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Back at the State House where he served from 1979 through 1987, Hughes, 85, joked that "at my age it's great to be anywhere. " The former governor appeared to be in excellent health and good spirits, pausing for a long conversation with Glenedening, who served from 1995 to 2003.

State Sen. Jim Rosapepe should be applauded for his statement on transportation funding ("Put transportation in voters' hands," April 11). Identifying funding streams for transportation investments is a national political debate. Many understand the extraordinary need to invest in rebuilding our transportation infrastructure, but no one has taken the initiative to Senator Rosapepe's level. It will take a great amount of political courage to achieve his vision. Three thoughts came to mind in response to his column.

Democrat Parris N. Glendening needed all his resiliency and superb organizational skills to move ahead by a razor-thin margin in the race for governor against Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey. Absentee ballots could still be a factor.Thus, Mr. Glendening is poised to become the first Washington-area governor in 127 years. He did so with a three-pronged strategy that united liberals and minority voters in Baltimore City, Prince George's County and Montgomery County in massive numbers that barely overcame Mrs. Sauerbrey's winning vote totals elsewhere.

To the book of absurd statements from government, including the Reagan-era pronouncements that "trees kill" and ketchup is a vegetable, add this one from Parris Glendening: "You are causing a traffic obstacle driving 55 [mph]."Come again? Is this the governor-elect speaking, or Bubba Glendening? All those motorists driving 55 are just impeding the progress of their neighbors trying to get by at 75? What's next? Arresting folks caught in drug war shootouts for getting in the way of the bullets?

Rarely have Maryland voters had a more fascinating choice for governor than in this year's contest between Democrat Parris N. Glendening and Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey. They provide a contrast in ideology, personality and their very concept of this state's most important elective office. Each candidate has made it clear that, regardless of the outcome, Maryland is due for a change of course from the eight-year administration of Gov. William Donald Schaefer. The question is how radical an alteration do the voters want.

It happens to many a rookie. Promoted to the big leagues, unfamiliar with the players, called upon to assume responsibilities that dwarf prior assignments, the rookie stumbles and performs below expectations. Gov. Parris N. Glendening is in just such a slump.He's been in office 60 days. Yet he has won few friends in the legislature, lost some major battles, expended huge amounts of personal capital to win approval of minor cabinet appointments and made some bad patronage picks.Except for business development issues, things are not going Mr. Glendening's way. His staff lacks political savvy in dealing with the 188 senators and delegates.

He called it his "trilogy of speeches" and over the past 12 days, Parris N. Glendening used these occasions -- his inaugural address, budget message and State of the State address -- to set a tone and a clear mandate for his new administration in Annapolis that is both firm and specific. It is a consciously middle-of-the-road message that advocates fiscal caution and a targeted agenda of immediate actions aimed at boosting Maryland's still fragile economic recovery.Governor Glendening -- little-known in much of the state, even after his election -- succeeded in giving Marylanders a more defined look at the kind of administration they can expect over the next four years.

IT HAS BEEN A tough year and a half for Parris Glendening. He got off on the wrong foot as governor and every time it looks like he's headed in a more positive direction -- bam! -- something crops up that shatters months of good work.This summer started quietly enough. Mr. Glendening got good marks for stressing growth control as a focus of state concern. Then all hell broke loose.Business leaders started complaining about the governor's relentless push for campaign funds. One donor from 1994 got caught making illegal contributions to the governor.

Years ago, I remember thinking that former Gov. Parris Glendenning was wrong to cut taxes because the surplus wasn't really there to sustain our state into the future. Pay now or pay later, but it always costs more to play catch-up by paying later. It turns we should not have cut taxes after all. In the best-case scenario it only costs more money, while in the worst case bridges collapse, cars are damaged on poorly maintained roads and health care, education and environmental protection are all underfunded.

Your front-page analysis of the recent federal court decision striking down Maryland's "right to carry" handgun law conveys the misimpression that the law is ill-conceived and too "restrictive" ("Gun ruling likely to be upheld, say legal experts," March 7). Nothing could be further from the truth. The handgun permit law has served Marylanders well for 40 years, and has survived a number of earlier challenges in the Maryland courts. Even your article concedes that only 5 percent of last year's applicants were denied for lacking a "good and substantial reason" for wanting a permit.

Two former governors joined Gov. Martin O'Malley Monday morning at a State House news conference marking the formal adoption of Plan Maryland, a growth management framework that has aroused opposition in parts of rural Maryland. Harry R. Hughes and Parris N. Glendening praised the plan as a continuation of their efforts while in office to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Hughes, 85, joked that "at my age, it's good to be anywhere. " The former governor, who served from 1979 to 1987, appeared to be in excellent health and spirits and had a long conversation with Glendening, who served from 1995 to 2003.

Two former Maryland governors joined Gov. Martin O'Malley Monday morning at a news conference marking the formal inauguration of Plan Maryland. Harry R. Hughes and Parris N. Glenedening, both Democrats, praised the plan as a continuation of their work while in office to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Back at the State House where he served from 1979 through 1987, Hughes, 85, joked that "at my age it's great to be anywhere. " The former governor appeared to be in excellent health and good spirits, pausing for a long conversation with Glenedening, who served from 1995 to 2003.

Parris Glendening, who as governor of Maryland in the 1990s and early 2000s effectively stopped all parole possibilities for criminals serving life sentences — including hundreds who had been eligible for it after decades in prison — acknowledges that his action was driven more by politics than by hard evidence that it would make the public safer. In an e-mail to me and in a subsequent interview, Mr. Glendening said he made his famous "Life means life" speech in front of the old House of Correction in Jessup for two reasons — to convince Marylanders that killers and rapists would remain behind bars and to present life-without-parole as an alternative to the death penalty.

According to The Washington Post, Gov. Martin O'Malley is about to issue his first pardons since taking office in January 2007, and there are no convicted killers on the short list of those who will catch a break from the Democratic governor. In fact, Mr. O'Malley's mercy extends only to seven people, and they were convicted years ago of petty theft and disorderly conduct. "I suppose my orientation from being a big-city mayor and having seen the violence on our streets is more of a tough-on-crime orientation," the governor and former mayor of Baltimore told the Post.

Former Maryland first lady Frances Hughes Glendening is the head of Jobs for America's Graduates-District of Columbia Inc., a private, not-for-profit organization. She is president of the board of directors for the Maryland Women's Heritage Center and an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Glendening lives in University Park. 1 4 more hours, daily: "I'd really like six, but I won't be greedy. I'd take four more hours to spend with friends, family, hobbies and to devote to my lifelong passions, including women's rights and the arts, among others."