Glendening

IN THE afterglow of the 90-day General Assembly session, do not be fooled by accounts of unrivaled gubernatorial triumphs. Yes, Gov. Parris N. Glendening won some key victories, but many of his bills were watered down or severely weakened. When lawmakers gave Mr. Glendening what he wanted, they often did so grudgingly.Will they be as willing to accommodate the governor next year? Many legislators are in a "get even" mood after what happened to them this session.Mr. Glendening's repeated threat to veto legislators' bills if he wasn't given his way will be remembered.

State political leaders urged Gov. Parris N. Glendening yesterday to reveal the names of those who have contributed thousands of dollars to his legal defense fund.Although the governor is not required by law to disclose the size or sources of the contributions, fellow politicians said he would do better to reveal them anyway, given public concern about the influence of private money on government."I think he should rethink his position," said Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., a Prince George's Democrat and sometime rival of the governor.

TO MANY Marylanders, this state's governor is an invisible man, rarely seen and seldom heard. Parris N. Glendening's drab personality and demeanor blend in with the woodwork. He's not a backslapper. He lacks charisma, so he's not on TV news often, either. And he's spent so much time running around the country promoting his Smart Growth land-use programs that Maryland seems to have become an afterthought. That changes this week. Indeed, it happens this time every year: The General Assembly is in session, but the governor always gets top billing.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening should not have been eligible for early pension benefits from Prince George's County, Maryland's attorney general said yesterday.County legal advisers determined last year that Mr. Glendening and two former county council members qualified for tens of thousands of dollars in early payments under a pension program because they were "involuntarily separated" from their jobs by virtue of term limits.But Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. disagreed with that opinion yesterday, saying the program was intended to protect employees who might be laid off for economic reasons -- not elected officials prohibited from seeking another term.

These days, all the gubernatorial candidates seem to be after Parris N. Glendening, proof positive that they perceive the Prince George's County executive as the front-runner in the race for governor.They've banged him hard for all the promises he has made -- promises they say were intended only to win endorsements and that the state cannot afford to keep.They've hit him on schools, saying that for a candidate who calls education his top priority, his county's schools are in pretty poor shape.

The feud between Prince George's County Executive Parris N. Glendening and the county council over freezing worker's wages transcends salaries. It's about how to run government in tough times. The council, realistically viewing Prince George's deteriorating fiscal picture, recently overrode the executive's veto of a measure freezing all government employee pay through October.Mr. Glendening said the measure wasn't needed in the wake of agreements he made with unions to stretch out wage increases.

When Gov. Parris Glendening signs a new speed limit law into effect as expected later this month, it will culminate a fast-track route that the 65 mph bill has enjoyed since candidate Glendening took to the campaign trail.In contrast to his predecessor, William Donald Schaefer, who resolutely blocked a move to 65 mph on so-called rural highways, Mr. Glendening made it a high-profile item of his agenda. He even mentioned it first in his State of the State address last January.The governor contends his motivation is to make Maryland highways safer.

Gov. Parris N. Glendening, in announcing his "record-breaking support" of public education, enthusiastically asserted that funding has increased by more than $1 billion during his administration, or 63 percent. But he told only half the story. During this same period, state funding for special education services to children in Maryland's public schools did not increase at all. Funding remains stalled at $81.3 million, the same level it was in 1990. At the same time, the number of children with disabilities, who require the smallest classes and the most resources-intense instruction, has increased at a staggering rate.

William Donald Schaefer is neutral no more.Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey has pushed Maryland's governor into the camp of Democrat Parris N. Glendening, whether Mr. Glendening wants him there or not."Glendening has never asked me to support him. I understand that. I do understand that," Mr. Schaefer said yesterday in an interview with The Sun."I just want to back the candidate that, to me, is realistic, that can do what he says without destroying" the state's biggest agencies, Mr. Schaefer said.

Unless Republican loser Ellen Sauerbrey somehow manages to find a friendly judge willing to issue an unprecedented injunction, Parris N. Glendening will become Maryland's 59th governor on Wednesday. It will mark the beginning of an enormous transition.Much has been made of the fact that Mr. Glendening will be the first governor in 126 years from the Washington suburbs. That bit of trivia may shrink to irrelevance, though, as Mr. Glendening does what nearly all governors do after assuming office: Think of problems in broad, statewide terms instead of narrow, regional perspectives.