Kittleman

As a prominent Republican in the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates for much of the past decade, Howard County Del. Robert H. Kittleman has toiled with honor if not always with success. But now that the GOP is set to have a greater say in Annapolis matters, Mr. Kittleman should become a key player in Maryland's brave new world of two-party politics -- possibly as House minority leader.Democrats still dominate the General Assembly, though to a considerably lesser degree after the voting of Nov. 8. Whereas roughly one in six legislators elected in 1990 was a Republican, about one in three chosen last month belongs to the GOP. Many of the newer delegates were drilled in how to run a campaign by Bob Kittleman, for which they owe him allegiance.

A 2013 Maryland General Assembly bill bearing the name of a Howard County teenager who killed herself last year is expected to be signed into law, but it stands on shaky constitutional ground, an official of the Maryland ACLU said. The "Misuse of Interactive Computer Service" bill is also known simply as Grace's Law, named for Grace McComas, the 15-year-old Glenelg High School student who committed suicide on Easter Sunday last year after months of being harassed on social media sites.

Y a gotta love politicians accusing other elected officials of being, well, political. Democrats and Republicans agreed 100 percent Thursday morning at the annual Howard County Chamber of Commerce legislative breakfast panel discussion that their fellow elected officials are not going to raise any taxes next fiscal year, though they disagreed on motives. State Sen. Allan H. Kittleman, the senate minority leader, said it's all about next year's elections, and warned the GOP-friendly business group to watch out for "historic" tax increases in 2011.

State Sen. Allan Kittleman is torn. When lobbied by the ACLU and the NAACP to repeal Maryland's death penalty, Kittleman asks how he can ensure the most heinous murderers will never kill again. When approached by fellow senators or state's attorneys who want to keep capital punishment, Kittleman questions whether there can be a foolproof way to ensure the state doesn't kill an innocent person. "My mindset on this has always been divided," said Kittleman, a Howard County Republican who hopes to skip his own committee to listen to another panel's death penalty hearings before the legislation reaches the Senate floor.

On Saturday September 11, 2004 ROBERT H. KITTLEMAN, of West Friendship, MD., beloved husband of Trent M. Kittleman, loving father of Laura Kittleman Yeatts, Cody Kittleman, Allan Kittleman, Samantha Mitchell and Heather Mitchell. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren and his brother Tom Kittleman. Family and friends are invited to call at WITZKE FUNERAL HOMES, INC., 5555 Twin Knolls Rd., Columbia, MD., on Tuesday September 14 from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Memorial services will be held at Glenelg High School, 14025 Burntwoods Rd., Glenelg, MD 21737 On Tuesday September 21, 2004 at 7 P.M. Memorial contributions, may be made to The Bob Kittleman Scholarship Fund, c/o The Columbia Foundation, 10227 Wincopin Circle, Suite G15, Columbia, MD 21044.

Since the late 1980s, Del. Robert Kittleman of Howard County has repeatedly tried to reform the state's embarrassing legislative scholarship program, a political perk that enables senators and delegates to dole out several millions of dollars annually to students in their districts.But just as quickly as Mr. Kittleman proposed his bills, his Annapolis colleagues shot them down. No surprise there, because legislators have long been loath to surrender the program.So Mr. Kittleman shouldn't have been caught off guard by the rude welcome that he and his latest reform measure received last Tuesday in a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee.

Republican state Sen. Robert H. Kittleman, who died of leukemia Saturday at age 78, was remembered by friends and colleagues yesterday as a modest, principled man who quietly helped build his party in Maryland. "He was totally committed to building the Republican Party in the state," said former GOP gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey, who served with Kittleman in the House of Delegates. "I think what drove him was a set of beliefs. Bob was a guy who got into politics because he believed in limited government and less taxes, and he thought Maryland desperately needed two-party government."

Howard County Councilman Christopher J. Merdon, an Ellicott City Republican, announced yesterday that he is a candidate to replace the late state Sen. Robert H. Kittleman. "I've represented much of Senate District 9 for the past six years in my role as a member of the County Council and feel the Senate job would be an excellent fit with my experience," Merdon said. Merdon has served on the council since 1998 and served as an aide to former state Sen. Christopher J. McCabe before that.

Robert Harvey Kittleman, neophyte minority leader of the Maryland House of Delegates, utters an audible sigh as he leaves the weekly meeting of the 41-member Republican caucus. "It's pandemonium," he says. "Really tough. We have to decide which way to go."He's talking about strategies Republicans should take in the 141-seat House, where they're heavily outnumbered. But he also could be talking about surviving as minority leader beyond this legislative session.Survival was never supposed to be an issue.

Sen. Robert H. Kittleman proposed yesterday a change to the Senate rules that would require lawmakers to vote on every bill introduced in the legislature. The rule change, which would affect only the Senate, aims to end a practice by committee chairmen to block passage of a bill by never bringing it to a vote. Kittleman, a Republican who represents Howard and Carroll counties, said the rule change, which would require a committee vote on each piece of proposed legislation, would help keep the process open.

UPDATE: A decision on this rule has been postponed until next week. The Senate Rules Committee is expected to vote Wednesday on a proposal that would shed some light on one of the darker corners of Annapolis: the committee voting session. Sen. Allan Kittleman, a Howard County Republican, made a pitch to the panel Tuesday for a proposal to record audio of the session where standing Senate committees vote on whether to kill legislation or send it to the floor. The panel gave Kittleman's proposal a respectful hearing but deferred a decision for a day. Senate floor sessions and committee hearings are already recorded and available online, but voting sessions are not. Though the voting sessions are open to the public, often they take place with nobody present except members and staff.

The race to become Howard County's next executive is shaping up, with potential candidates stashing money in the bank for the chance to replace term-limited Ken Ulman, who is considering a run for higher office. Campaign finance reports, released this week, show potential contenders gearing up ahead of the 2014 election, including Del. Guy Guzzone and Howard County Councilwoman Courtney Watson, who are Democrats, and Republican Sen. Allan Kittleman. Guzzone said he banked roughly $92,000 in 2011 and has a balance of about $192,000.

Both Democrats and Republicans in Howard County believe they have a chance to win a new seat in the House of Delegates proposed for the area around Ellicott City. The added seat comes as part of a state legislative redistricting map put forth this month by a panel appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley, and would mirror Howard's most competitive County Council district — won in a tight race last year by Democrat Courtney Watson. "I think the map gives us some excellent opportunities," said Howard's Democratic Central Committee Chair, Michael C.A. McPherson.

The big white campaign banner's words at Ken Ulman's political fundraiser Tuesday night at Turf Valley merely identified him as Howard County executive, but the deep blue outline of Maryland with a big white star in the center gave some in the crowd of about 400 a different idea. "I think he's running for governor. I don't think he's running for president yet," said builder Harry "Chip" Lundy, a Republican, at the early $1,000-a-ticket gathering before the main event. "This is the one guy who's established a pretty broad appeal," said Ted Mariani, another Republican at the $100-a-ticket larger gathering.

The idea of a single-payer health care system was lost in the debate over the much-amended national health care reform passed by Congress last year, but three Howard County delegates are co-sponsors of legislation in this year's General Assembly that seeks to bring the idea to fruition in the Free State. The concept involves having everyone in the state get health care through one insurance pool to which everyone pays premiums. It eliminates the variety of insurance companies that now offer coverage only to those insured through an employer or who can pay. The Senate version (SB 388)

A majority of Maryland Senate Republicans — but not all — oppose legislation to recognize gay marriage, caucus leaders said Tuesday. The group voted behind closed doors to take a formal position against a bill that would allow same-sex couples to apply for and receive marriage licenses. Official caucus positions must reflect the views of at least eight members. "We met that threshold," Senate Minority Leader Nancy Jacobs said in a statement. "The caucus expects extensive debate on this bill and we look forward to discussions of why so many Marylanders are passionate about this issue.

Republican delegates, giddy with the excitement of electoral victory, picked Robert H. Kittleman of Howard County as their new leader yesterday, a move they hope will keep pressure on the General Assembly's ruling Democrats.Mr. Kittleman won a closer than expected 21-20 victory over Delegate George C. Edwards of Garrett County in the race for House minority leader. Mr. Kittleman had vowed to continue the more confrontational style of outgoing Minority Leader Ellen R. Sauerbrey, while Mr. Edwards was considered more likely to try to forge alliances with conservative Democrats.

Maryland Senate Republicans chose Sen. Nancy Jacobs as minority leader on Friday — just weeks after voting her out of the minority whip position. The GOP caucus elected Sen. E.J. Pipkin as the new minority whip. The leadership elections followed the resignation of Minority Leader Allan H. Kittleman over his plans to introduce legislation to legalize same-sex civil unions in Maryland. Jacobs, who represents Harford and Cecil counties, said the Senate Republicans' main goal this year will be to "protect constituents who are hurting financially in these tough economic times.

Sen. Allan Kittleman insists that he was not forced out of his job as Senate minority leader because of his proposal to create civil unions for gay and straight people alike. No vote was taken in the Republican caucus, and no one asked him to leave. But those mitigating details don't paper over the fact that the other members of the caucus were not comfortable with having a leader who was an outspoken advocate for ensuring equal rights for all. A week after the GOP caucus in the Senate shrank from 14 to 12, and at a time when increasing numbers of Marylanders support ending the state's decades-old ban on gay marriage, holding on to prejudice as a litmus test seems like a poor avenue to return to relevance.