Neall

On Sunday, as a new county leader gets sworn into office in Anne Arundel, County Executive Robert R. Neall will become Citizen Neall.No doubt he could have won re-election had he chosen to run again this year, but instead the man who cut spending by privatizing government agencies decided to privatize himself.In the four years Mr. Neall served, he gave Anne Arundel a new philosophy of government -- one which his successor, fellow Republican John Gary, and the County Council's new Republican majority promise to continue.

A visit by Mayor William Donald Schaefer to the General Assembly was hard to forget. It was an orchestrated military maneuver — you knew he was coming to your committee because the TV tripods were already set up. His arrival looked a lot like a rugby scrum, an odd combination of cameras, reporters, a brace of staff carrying easels and flip charts, and of course, himself in the middle, snarling at reporters and barking at staff to the astonishment of...

Robert R. Neall's bid to succeed Anne Arundel County Executive O. James Lighthizer has turned decidedly nasty. Mr. Neall, poring through rival Theodore Sophocleus' campaign finance report, says he has unearthed questionable cash contributions including money from six residents of a seniors' apartment complex who claim they never paid for tickets to a fund-raiser. The tip-off: the name of Mr. Neall's maternal uncle was listed as having bought a $25 ticket to a Sophocleus bull roast. The meticulous Mr. Neall says he has discovered a raft of errors ranging from the simple transposition of numerical columns to cash contributions above the $100 legal limit.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a leading force behind the legalization of slot machines in Maryland, intends to pick a longtime slots opponent for a commission that will award lucrative gambling licenses, according to sources familiar with the matter. Miller's likely appointment of Robert R. Neall, a former state legislator and Anne Arundel County executive, surprised even Neall. The choice underscores a desire to staff the commission - which will have the power to create gambling fortunes for successful bidders - with members who are perceived as beyond reproach.

County Executive Robert R. Neall has announced the selection of Sgt.Charles Thomas Selby of Chesapeake Beach as the Anne Arundel County Detention Officer of the Year.Selby was recognized for his successful completion of the Detention Center Weapon's Training Program, promotion to the rank of sergeant in November 1990, and numerous commendations.A plaque and certificate were presented to Selby at a special ceremony. Selby has been employed by the Detention Center for nine years.

County Executive Robert R. Neall is to meet Friday with members of the Millersville Landfill Advisory Committee, who threatened last week to disband because they were frustrated that county officials did not pay enough attention to them.Mr. Neall is to bring two of his aides with him, said Louise Hayman, spokesman for the county executive.In a heated meeting last week, the seven members complained repeatedly they have not been furnished with the information they need to work with the county on bringing the landfill into compliance with state environmental rules and threatened to quit.

The Board of Education has proposed a 1992 budget with $23 million in new spending, less than half the rate of recent growth.But County Executive Robert R. Neall thinks that's $23 million too much."

Anne Arundel County Executive Robert R. Neall is to be applauded for his recent appointment of a public housing tenant as a commissioner on the county's long-troubled housing authority. The appointment not only relieves pressure on the administration, it is linked to other progressive steps.Within weeks of assuming office, Mr. Neall was stung by loud, unanticipated criticism for failing to name minorities to leadership posts in government. That criticism was compounded by the continuing struggles of the housing authority, which has been derided for years by just about everyone for its inept handling of the ever-increasing demand for affordable housing.

County Executive Robert R. Neall announced plans Friday to reconstruct Annapolis' Bestgate Road, expanding it to four lanes and extendingwater service to its residents.The project, whiuch will connect Rowe Boulevard to Route 178, should be complete by late fall 1993. The county will ask contractors to bid on the project beginning Dec. 10.The project, which is designed to ease traffic congestion, enhance safety and improve access to Rowe Boulevard and Route 50, will incorporate ornamental brickwork, plantings and traditional street lamps.

If you are one of the few people who gets caught up in the "inside baseball" of politics, you might be a little concerned about the Neall administration.It has been more than a month since County Executive Robert R. Neall announced that he will leave politics when his term ends next fall, and there's a sense that he and his staff are adjusting somewhat painfully to lame duck status. An air of depression pervades the Arundel Center. Some appointees are openly disappointed that Mr. Neall isn't running for governor.

Former state senator and county executive Robert R. Neall will lead a panel that will offer recommendations on a sweeping set of impact-fee increases proposed by County Executive John R. Leopold. The Anne Arundel County Council has also named the eight other members of the advisory committee, which represents business, environmental and community interests, and has been asked to produce a preliminary report for the March 17 council meeting and submit a final document by April 21. The council voted last month to put a hold on the impact-fee bill until April 21 to review a report by county consultant James C. Nicholas, whose findings served as the basis for the proposed increases in the fee. The bill expires at the end of April.

Maryland's General Assembly convenes this week, hoping it won't have to disturb - or even acknowledge - the fiscal elephant in the room. Governor-elect Martin O'Malley and his team have no illusions about escaping difficult political decisions, some hard choices, but they are no doubt grateful that Democratic leaders in the Assembly want to give him a moment to catch his breath. Opponents are saying the new governor just can't wait to raise taxes. Others, with the fiscal health of the state in mind, are saying that something must be done to raise more revenue - the sooner, the better.

ISSUE: In an unprecedented show of support in local politics, all five of Anne Arundel's former county executives stood together last week to endorse the Democratic candidate for chief executive. The five -- including three Republicans -- praised George F. Johnson IV's integrity and managerial skills as three-term county sheriff. Joseph W. Alton Jr., Robert A. Pascal, O. James Lighthizer, Robert R. Neall and John G. Gary held the reins of county government from 1965 to 1998. Alton, Pascal and Gary are Republicans.

1986: TIGHT RACE One of the closest congressional elections in recent state history took place in Anne Arundel County 19 years ago this week. And the votes took two weeks to count to make sure the result was right. Running for Maryland's 4th District seat was Tom McMillen, a Crofton Democrat and former Rhodes scholar and Washington Bullets player. His Republican opponent was Robert R. "Bobby" Neall, a popular member of the state's House of Delegates and lifelong resident of Anne Arundel County.

Former state Sen. Robert R. Neall created a big stir with a recent letter to the governor. It predicted disaster for the city's plan to bail out Baltimore schools. But here's the real shocker: the 2 1/2 -page letter was handwritten. People who didn't like what Neall had to say were quick to note that the letter was longhand, as if that discredited the message. Asked about the letter, the first words out of Mayor Martin O'Malley's mouth were that this kind of correspondence "used to be typewritten."

ROBERT R. NEALL is a kinetic, number-smart, easily exasperated man who theatrically stormed out of his post as financial adviser to the Baltimore school system. As much as his recent letter to the governor and General Assembly leaders warning about the likely failure of the city's effort to keep the school system afloat may seem a tad mean-spirited - he has a good point to make. It's this: Just because Mayor Martin O'Malley has snatched the problem back from the state, nobody in Annapolis should imagine that the state is off the hook.

Anne Arundel County Executive Robert R. Neall's biggest accomplishment during the first half of his four-year term has been keeping the county in solid financial shape during a national economic crisis.Unfortunately, that is the height of his ambition.Mr. Neall was elected as a money manager. He has lived up to that reputation. He has absorbed $65 million in state cuts without noticeably affecting public services or increasing the tax rate, and with no layoffs. He has squirreled away a $10 million rainy day fund and downsized government through a voluntary retirement program.

As officials at City Hall detailed their plan to save Baltimore's financially strapped schools yesterday, the system's former financial adviser, Robert R. Neall, was predicting in Annapolis that the deal is doomed to fail and the state will eventually have to provide aid. In a handwritten letter delivered this week to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch, Neall - who resigned last month...

AFTER COVERING the General Assembly for nearly 30 years, I know where all the loose marble floor tiles are in the State House. I have spent, altogether, several weeks of my life on the stairs leading from press row on the ground floor to the House of Delegates chamber. One legislative moment among many in that august chamber stands out, a moment when 70 of the 141 lawmakers acted responsibly, 70 blinked under the pressure and one didn't vote at all. The House was about to reintroduce fiscal sanity in the area of teacher and state employee pensions.