Kasemeyer

Democratic state Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer, who was defeated by Republican Christopher J. McCabe in the November election in District 14, soon will become a lobbyist for the Montgomery County government.Kasemeyer was hired Monday by Montgomery County Executive Neal Potter as director of state affairs -- an appointed position that pays between $55,000 and $85,000 a year.In his new post, Kasemeyer will help Potter and the Montgomery County Council work with the county's Annapolis delegation to develop a state government agenda that would benefit the county.

On April 17, State Senators Joe Getty, R-Baltimore and Carroll counties, and Ed Kasemeyer, D-Baltimore and Howard counties, shared anecdotes and answered questions from about 50 McDaniel College students who had gathered in a lecture room at Hill Hall for the occasion. The senators had visited the campus for a presentation, ““So What Just Happened: A Report from Annapolis,” as a courtesy to long standing McDaniel political science professor, Dr. Herb Smith - who is frequently sought-out by statewide and national media outlets for his insights into Maryland politics.

Former state Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer got out of one political race yesterday and into another.Soured in his gubernatorial bid, but still sweet on public service, Mr. Kasemeyer said he hopes to return to the state Senate, this time from District 12.He was elected to the Senate from District 14 in 1986 after serving a term as a General Assembly delegate from the "B" portion of that district."

State Sen. Edward Kasemeyer, who represents District 12 which includes Catonsville and Arbutus as well as portions of Howard County, is one of three state legislators honored for their efforts in support of people with developmental disabilities. Kasemeyer received a Champion for Real Lives Award from the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Coalition at the 2013 annual Developmental Disabilities Day in Annapolis last month. "Throughout his tenure in the Maryland General Assembly, Sen. Kasemeyer has been a tireless advocate for the issues most important to Marylanders with developmental disabilities," said Ken Capone, public policy coordinator for People on the Go, in a release.

State Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer, whose 12th District includes Catonsville and parts of Howard County, said yesterday that he would not run for Howard County executive, something he had considered for many months.Instead, said Kasemeyer, a Democrat who lives in west Columbia, he plans to run for re-election to the Senate."I just enjoy what I'm doing in this stage of my life and want to keep doing it," said Kasemeyer, 51.In announcing his decision, Kasemeyer noted his position on the Senate's influential Budget and Taxation Committee and his role as deputy majority leader.

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.

The Maryland Republican Party has asked the state prosecutor's office to investigate whether Edward J. Kasemeyer, the Democratic candidate for state Senate in District 12, established residency in his district in time to run for office."

The state prosecutor's office has determined that Democratic state Senate candidate Edward J. Kasemeyer has been a resident of District 12 long enough to legally run for the office.Responding to a complaint filed Oct. 20 by the Maryland Republican Party, a state prosecutor's investigation last week concluded that Mr. Kasemeyer had moved to a Columbia condominium he owns in early March, about eight months before the Nov. 8 general election and in time to meet the six-month requirement for residency under state election law.David P. Maier, Mr. Kasemeyer's Republican opponent, asked the state Republican Party to look into whether Mr. Kasemeyer met residency requirements for the district, which includes west Columbia, southern Ellicott City, Elkridge and southwestern Baltimore County.

The 12th state Senate District straddles two worlds.To the west is meticulously planned, predominantly liberal Columbia, with its cul-de-sacs, swimming pools and community centers. But the eastern part of the district includes such older, more conservative working-class communities as Lansdowne and Arbutus -- the core of incumbent Sen. Nancy L. Murphy's support.Now, Edward J. Kasemeyer, a Columbia Democrat and former Howard County state senator, is trying to unseat Ms. Murphy, 64, a Catonsville Realtor and 12-year Democratic lawmaker, by rallying the diverse new district around one issue: gun control.

Republican state Senate candidate David P. Maier charged at a candidates forum last night that his Democratic opponent is a "professional politician" who doesn't have the same commitment District 12 residents that he does."

Local governments may escape having to pay a share of burgeoning teacher pension costs next fiscal year, but not for long, according to all but one member of a panel of state legislators who spoke to the Howard County League of Women Voters. If true, that shift in costs could eventually mean higher property taxes for county homeowners, since local governments are just as short of cash as the state is. Some, like Del. Guy Guzzone, are still hoping the economy, and thus revenues, will improve enough in the next few years to prevent the cost shift.

The idea that a huge partisan divide separates Democrats from Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly seemed absurd at the Howard County Chamber of Commerce's annual legislative wrap-up discussion last week. The Senate's majority and minority leaders - Republican Allan H. Kittleman and Democrat Edward J. Kasemeyer - blew rhetorical kisses at each other, and Del. James E. Malone Jr., a Democrat, spoke of his close relations with at least one conservative county Republican. "Warren Miller is one of my best friends in Annapolis," Malone said at the breakfast event at the Sheraton Hotel in Columbia, noting that conservative and moderate Democrats often work together with the vastly outnumbered Republicans.

Many Howard County members of the General Assembly are using their summers for professional travel, going as near as Washington and as far as Kazakhstan. While Del. Guy Guzzone attended a weeklong seminar in Washington last month, state Sen. Allan H. Kittleman is preparing to go halfway around the world for a cultural exchange trip to the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan with Maryland schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick and others. This large, former portion of the old Soviet Union, skewered a few years ago in the comedy film Borat, will host the Marylanders from Friday to Aug. 16. Kittleman, a Republican, said he is looking forward to it. "I've been very involved with literacy in Maryland," he said.

Stung by public backlash, a growing number of lawmakers are considering the repeal of a new law requiring that all Maryland homeowners apply for a tax credit they previously had received automatically. A bill heard yesterday by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee would restore the automatic protection homeowners have had from being taxed for the full value of their homes when property assessments rise rapidly. Last year, the General Assembly unanimously approved the new law, which requires that all homeowners apply for the Homestead Tax Credit.

Rarely does a week go by without a headline demonstrating the ethical quandaries posed by political fundraising. Most recently, Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold drew attention for receiving more than $100,000 at a fundraiser hosted by Sallie Mae Executive Chairman Albert L. Lord, who, four days later, won a key approval from the County Council for an 18-hole golf course he's building. "No quid pro quo," insists Mr. Leopold, and indeed, the proposal had no apparent opposition on the council to overcome - but the timing stank.

Two of Howard County's three state senators sit on the Budget and Tax Committee and participated in key votes for the first set of changes that are reshaping Gov. Martin O'Malley's tax plan. Democratic Sens. Edward J. Kasemeyer and James N. Robey supported the committee majority in lowering O'Malley's suggested top income tax rate for Maryland's highest-income residents, while rejecting his idea for relief for people earning less than $15,000.

State Senate candidate Edward J. Kasemeyer, joined by the parents of a college student who was shot to death at a Severna Park doughnut shop last August, said yesterday that society is "indirectly encouraging violence by the lack of control and regulation of handguns."Mr. Kasemeyer sought to distinguish himself from other candidates in newly redrawn District 12 -- which stretches from largely liberal Columbia to more conservative, southwestern Baltimore County -- by announcing his support for pTC comprehensive gun-control legislation at a news conference at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center in Columbia.

WITH SEN. Paula C. Hollinger facing no opposition in the 11th Legislative District of northwest Baltimore County, the contest is in the delegates' race. The question is: Can Republicans break the Democratic lock on power in the district, which includes such county population centers as Reisterstown and Owings Mills?The GOP candidates with the best chance to win are Christian Cavey, 43, an insurance executive, and Virginia G. Schuster, 70, a real estate agent. If we had to choose between the two, our favorite would be the spunky Mrs. Schuster, whose motto is "been there, done it."

The vote won't come until after tomorrow's 7 p.m. swearing-in at Centennial High School, but chances are that Calvin Ball, an east Columbia Democrat, will be the new chairman of the Howard County Council. Ball, 30, is pooh-poohing predictions. The new council members discussed leadership at a two-day retreat last week at Belmont Conference Center in Elkridge, but they would not give specifics. "There was a lot of conversation and team building and getting to know each other," Ball said.

Three Baltimore-area lawmakers will take on new leadership positions when the General Assembly convenes in January, assuring the region a voice in setting the legislature's agenda. Sen. Nathaniel J. McFadden of Baltimore will become Senate president pro tempore, the second in command in that chamber. Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer, who represents Baltimore and Howard counties, will take McFadden's place as Senate majority leader. And Del. Talmadge Branch of Baltimore will become House majority whip.