Governor S Race

The Preakness Stakes has a 135-year tradition of producing not just a winning horse but a winning politician — Maryland's governor, who gets a brief moment in the national spotlight awarding the second jewel of racing's Triple Crown. Saturday was no exception, and Gov. Martin O'Malley, who has been an attending dignitary for more than a decade, first as Baltimore mayor, said he felt an even deeper sense of pride this year. "It's the first time I can remember coming here without the cloud hanging over my head about whether Preakness will be here next year," he said.

Penn Station's man/woman sculpture needed to finally shift weight as his/her legs were killing him/her. The cap on the gulf oil well left the rest of the country feeling bloated. The obesity epidemic really is getting out of hand. U.S. Department of Treasury IOU landslide. Senate passage of Wall Street reforms resulted in a sudden drop in CEO bonuses. Either Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. or Martin O'Malley said something nice about his opponent in the governor's race.

Well once again it is time for the citizens of Maryland to elect a governor. I wonder who the choices are. I remember in last election there were other parties that ran for this position. The Green Party and Ed Boyd, the Populist Party and Christopher A. Driscoll. However I do not remember hearing a lot about them or seeing much media coverage on them or on their platforms. I do kind of remember there was some debate sponsored by the media. However only certain candidates were invited to attend.

I have never voted anything but Democratic but now I will only vote for a candidate that is against illegal immigration.This governor's race I will vote for former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Governor Martin O'Malley has declared Maryland a "sanctuary" state. He supports items such as in state tuition for illegals at the same time state workers are being furloughed and fired.State funds(and local) are going to subcontractors who use immigrants when our own people are desperate and losing their homes.

Well-heeled dark horse Stewart Bainum Jr. officially joins the race for governor of Maryland tomorrow, trumpeting his belated entrance into the crowded field of Democratic hopefuls with a monthlong fanfare of television commercials to propel him from the starting gate.Besides showcasing Mr. Bainum, the ads highlight a new dynamic in the campaign -- personal wealth and the willingness to use it. The multimillionaire Montgomery County businessman hopes they will be the great equalizer, making up for his relative political obscurity and entry a scant four months before the Sept.

Maryland voters were offered a clear choice in their next governor, and the decision is not coming quickly. Unlike some other states where a conservative groundswell handed major offices to Republicans, the governor's race here is too close to call before absentee ballots are counted on Thursday. In a race that contrasted a Democrat offering experience with a Republican promising a tax cut, voters are leaning toward experience. Prince George's County Executive Parris Glendening holds a slim 6,000-vote lead over Del. Ellen Sauerbrey in the closest governor's race in 75 years.

Here's a hot political scoop, straight from Anne Arundel County Executive Bobby Neall:He says he might run for governor.He also says he might run for comptroller.Or a second term as county executive.Or, he says, he might not run for anything and go for the big bucks in the private sector instead.There you have it.Forget the rumors. Forget the politicians who claim to be in the know and the political pundits who get their information from them.As of April 25, 1993, Bobby Neall says he's not in the governor's race or anything else, and he's not out. All possibilities are open.

Rep. Helen Delich Bentley is weighing a host of personal and political factors as she edges closer to a decision on her 1994 election plans, but fellow Republicans say that one question overshadows all the others: Can she win a race for governor in a state traditionally dominated by Democrats?"

Washington. -- Had David Dinkins won in New York, the message would have been that President Clinton's visit (along with Hillary Rodham Clinton's and Tipper Gore's visits) demonstrated the growing political power of this administration.Had Jim Florio won in New Jersey, it would have meant that higher taxes don't bother voters. And had Mary Sue Terry become the first woman governor of Virginia, pundits would have said the year of the liberal woman had been extended.Instead, the clear message of Tuesday's ''off-year'' elections was that Mr. Clinton is the one having the off year.

Former Democratic state Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer of Ellicott City yesterday confirmed that he may enter the governor's race."Some people in Howard and the surrounding counties have told me they are not content with the announced candidates and have asked me to look at that race," Mr. Kasemeyer said.He said he will make a decision in early March.Friends acknowledge that Mr. Kasemeyer would be a long shot, but do not dismiss his chances. The larger the field, the greater his chance of winning, the theory goes.

Three months after announcing his candidacy for governor, former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. made it official Friday when he and newly chosen running mate Mary Kane filed paperwork with the Maryland State Board of Elections. "I feel really great about it," Ehrlich said afterward. He and Kane spent the morning as guests on Washington-area television and radio news programs. They have 10 parade appearances scheduled during the Fourth of July weekend, Ehrlich said.

Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. declined Friday to enter the race for state Senate, but with more than a million dollars in campaign funds at his disposal, he's expected to play a significant role in the 2010 elections for local and state offices, including governor. Smith, a Democrat who was believed to be planning a run for the General Assembly — going as far as putting his longtime family home on the market last fall and moving to an apartment in the 7th District — ruled out a run for the seat held by Republican state Sen. Andrew P. Harris.

The Preakness Stakes has a 135-year tradition of producing not just a winning horse but a winning politician — Maryland's governor, who gets a brief moment in the national spotlight awarding the second jewel of racing's Triple Crown. Saturday was no exception, and Gov. Martin O'Malley, who has been an attending dignitary for more than a decade, first as Baltimore mayor, said he felt an even deeper sense of pride this year. "It's the first time I can remember coming here without the cloud hanging over my head about whether Preakness will be here next year," he said.

When former (and, he hopes, future) Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. gave one of his semi-annual guest lectures to Towson University Professor Richard Vatz's political rhetoric class on Thursday, he skipped the campaigning and instead served up lessons for the students on how to cut through political spin. It is advice voters would be well advised to take and apply to the candidates in this election — him included. •Themes. Campaign themes, Mr. Ehrlich said, are shorthand ways for people to identify with candidates without getting bogged down in the specifics.

Well once again it is time for the citizens of Maryland to elect a governor. I wonder who the choices are. I remember in last election there were other parties that ran for this position. The Green Party and Ed Boyd, the Populist Party and Christopher A. Driscoll. However I do not remember hearing a lot about them or seeing much media coverage on them or on their platforms. I do kind of remember there was some debate sponsored by the media. However only certain candidates were invited to attend.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. told listeners of his WBAL radio talk show Saturday that he will stay behind the microphone until July, when he officially files his candidacy with the state elections board. "BAL has asked, and we've agreed that I stay on this show ... until [I] become an official candidate," Ehrlich told listeners at the start of the two-hour "Bob and Kendel Ehrlich Show." "And that's when under the law, I guess, you become a formal candidate.

GOV. WILLIAM Donald Schaefer wasn't the only voter left waiting for his polling place to open on Tuesday. Across Baltimore City many polling places opened late because the one Democratic election judge and one Republican election judge as required by law weren't on hand, said Barbara E. Jackson, the Baltimore elections board administrator.For some unexplained reason on Tuesday, a large number of election judges -- at least 100 -- failed to show up at their assigned polls.The board of elections had 45 stand-by election judges on hand, Ms. Jackson said, and all were dispatched in cabs to polling places that called for help.

I can't help it. No matter how much I try to get excited over the governor's race, it ain't working. Nothing. Nada. Zip.Of course, this is what happens when the candidate of your choice loses in the primary. You get stuck with someone else's leftovers. And in this race it's come down to a choice between a couple of cliches, Mrs. Voodoo Economics versus Mr. TaxFanatic.Maybe it's just that after all these years of Gov. William Donald Schaefer, I've grown accustomed to a little heartburn in the morning when I read the paper.

Speaking Tuesday morning to the Pikesville Chamber of Commerce, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. outlined policies -- many of them involving taxes -- that he said have made the state's business climate inhospitable to employers. " Maryland is a great state, but it sure makes it difficult to make a buck," he said. The state's only Republican governor in the past four decades said small business owners should make an effort to unseat legislators who have voted for such policies, but he dodged questions about his own potential candidacy.