Legislative District

The 8th Legislative District should produce intriguing senatorial races in both the primary and general elections. Democratic incumbent Thomas L. Bromwell is the front-runner in the contest against challenger and former delegate Donna M. Felling. In 1990, Mr. Bromwell got the scare of his life when he was elected to a third term by an unexpectedly slim margin. He says the experience has made him a more conscientious senator. But we believe Mr. Bromwell has not displayed the brand of leadership that should earn him a fourth go-round in Annapolis.

The Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee is searching for a replacement for Del. Hattie Harrison, who was the longest-serving member of the House of Delegates.  Harrison died of heart disease complications Monday at the Johns Hopkins Hospital . She was 84. Harrison represented the 45th legislative district, which includes much of northeast and east Baltimore. To be eligible for the seat, candidates must be a registered voter and have lived in the district for at least one year.

One of three candidates for a seat on the Anne Arundel County school board has been disqualified by the county's nominating convention committee. Michael Topper, 40, a sheet-metal worker from Severn, wanted to challenge board President Paul G. Rudolph for the seat he has held for five years. "Mr. Topper lives in legislative District 32 and not legislative District 33," said Randy Landis, a member of the nominating convention's steering committee. "Therefore his nomination will not be presented to the convention."

Local political committee interviewing applicants for membership The Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee is seeking to fill an open membership position in the 12th Legislative District. Applicants must be a registered Democrat and reside in the 12th Legislative District. Those applying should provide a cover letter and résumé to the Baltimore County Democratic Central Committee, baltcodems@gmail.com , no later than 5 p.m. Feb. 15. Applicants are invited to make their presentation to the 12th Legislative District Democratic Central Committee: Brian Bailey, Margaret Henn and Paula Wolf.

The Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee is searching for a replacement for Del. Hattie Harrison, who was the longest-serving member of the House of Delegates.  Harrison died of heart disease complications Monday at the Johns Hopkins Hospital . She was 84. Harrison represented the 45th legislative district, which includes much of northeast and east Baltimore. To be eligible for the seat, candidates must be a registered voter and have lived in the district for at least one year.

The Baltimore County House delegation has tentatively approved a legislative redistricting plan that would create a single-member subdistrict along Liberty Road near the Baltimore Beltway and make possible the election in 1994 of the county's first black elected official.The controversial plan, which passed on a 13-8 vote, now goes to the county's state Senate delegation, and then possibly to a conference committee before final approval and submission to the governor's advisory commission in October.

The extra 60,000 Howard County residents counted in last year's census should mean one or maybe two more votes in Annapolis - and maybe even a whole legislative district for county officials to call their own, county leaders said. Legislative redistricting based on the census probably won't be settled until early next year, and Howard's influence is minimal compared with that of the state's largest jurisdictions. For that reason, "the possibilities are there for just about anything to happen," said Howard-Prince George's state Sen. Martin G. Madden, the Republicans' Senate minority leader.

SINCE HIS election in 1981, Republican Sen. F. Vernon Boozer has been a voice of reason, a leader and a conscientious representative of the 9th Legislative District -- a largely rural area of central Baltimore County. Unfortunately, his moderation has made him the target of Republican ideologues who often influence primary elections.They have an aggressive, intelligent candidate in Andrew P. Harris, a Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist running on a hard-right, social issues platform. Dr. Harris charges that the senator is too liberal, but Mr. Boozer has supported many conservative causes, such as stiff penalties for child pornography and registration of convicted child molesters upon release.

The public had its turn last night to come up with a plan for how Baltimore County's congressional and legislative districts should be drawn up for the next 10 years.About 300 people showed up at Loch Raven High School for a hearing scheduled by Gov. William Donald Schaefer's Redistricting Advisory Committee, which must come up with boundaries for legislative and congressional districts statewide based on 1990 Census figures.About 70 people signed up to speak. But the only point of agreement was that county residents want no part of being included in a joint city-county legislative district.

VOTERS IN Legislative District 27B have only one contested primary: Incumbent Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller is being challenged by Juanita Miller. Mr. Miller, a member of the General Assembly since 1971, deserves the Democratic nomination.Primary voters in adjacent District 30 don't have a contested race in the primaries for Senate, but they have plenty of candidates from which to choose for three House of Delegates seats.Democratic voters will select three of six candidates. Among them are incumbents Michael E. Busch and Virginia P. Clagett.

Cover letter and résumé is due Friday, July 27, from applicants who are interested in filling the open position on the Baltimore County 12th Legislative Democratic Central Committee. Email cover letter and résumé to baltcodems@gmail.com . Applicants must be a registered Democrat who resides in the 12th Legislative District. Central Committee members are volunteers who work to ensure the election of Democrats to public office, while encouraging the participation of activists, volunteers and financial contributors.

Compared to the congressional district maps Maryland lawmakers adopted this fall, Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal for new legislative district lines looks downright rational. In most instances, the boundaries bear more than a passing resemblance to recognizable communities - Hagerstown, for example, gets its own delegate, Carroll County has its own senator, and the Lower Shore, Middle Shore and Upper Shore are divided in more or less the way you would expect. And there appears to be no obvious attempt here by Democrats to seek partisan advantage.

Imagine if your legislative representative served only one-half or even one-third of the number of constituents he or she currently represents. Do you think your vote would matter more? Would your representative more accurately represent your community if given fewer constituents? Of course they would; they would be elected by a much smaller voting populace. The likelihood of seeing your elected official campaigning on your street could be twice or three times as likely. This could become a reality in Maryland's House of Delegates.

Ruth M. Kirk, a former state delegate who served West Baltimore for 28 years, has died, city officials said Friday evening. Kirk, 81, who was born in Baltimore, represented the 44th District from 1983 until this past January. Her seven terms ended when she lost to Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. last fall. "She was a tireless advocate for the neighborhoods she served, and dedicated herself to strong and thoughtful constituent service," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a statement.

LEGISLATIVE District 32 in Anne Arundel County is hardly a hotbed of intrigue next month.Republican voters have no contested races in the primary for the state legislature. Sen. Edward Middlebrooks is unopposed. And for three seats in the House of Delegates, incumbents Michael W. Burns and James E. Rzepkowski will represent the GOP with Betty Ann O'Neill, a former staffer on the Congressional Ways and Means Committee.Democrats, too, have no contested Senate race. County Councilman James E. DeGrange Sr. is running alone for the nomination.