Parris Glendening

He's still the talk of Annapolis. Two months into his governorship, Parris Glendening is an enigma to legislators, lobbyists and state employees. They can't figure him out.There's the Good Parris and the Bad Parris. At times, he is a pragmatic ''policy wonk'' intent on fashioning a smaller, more efficient government. At other times, he's an old-fashioned politico scheming to reward friends and line up support for the next election.One thing is certain: Parris Glendening is no William Donald Schaefer.

It is totally ridiculous to compare the recent conviction of Paul Schurick for vote suppression with the aftermath of the 1994 Maryland gubernatorial election. The letter writer claims as fact that Democrats cast votes from dead people, prisoners and out of staters ("Democrats aren't so clean," Dec. 8). The Ellen Sauerbrey campaign had its day in court on the issue of voter fraud and proved none of this. The only thing Ms. Sauerbrey's hired gun experts proved was that an astounding number of people in Baltimore City voted for the Democrat, Parris Glendening.

In his earliest memory, Parris Glendening sits afraid on a stone wall in North Carolina, far from home.The family's truck has crashed during a long-distance move to Florida, their belongings lost. Four-year-old Parris waits outside a clinic, his eye splashed with gasoline.It is a nightmarish snapshot of an early life defined by poverty and touched often by heartache -- a life Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening has diligently left behind.As Jerry Church, his blunt-spoken step-grandfather, put it: "Parris has pulled himself out of a terrible mess."

Come on Dan Rodricks , I'm sure you get a great deal of pleasure out of the opportunity to once again bash the Maryland GOP, but it isn't like the Democrats are squeaky clean politicos ("Drawing the line in cutthroat business of politics," Dec. 7). Let's not forget that Julius Henson is a Democrat. How do we know it wasn't a plot to make the GOP look bad? Did you forget the 1994 election for governor between Ellen Sauerbrey and Parris Glendening? Voter fraud charges lawsuit?

An article in yesterday's Maryland section gave the wrong age for Richard C. Mike Lewin, whom Gov. Parris Glendening has named secretary of business and economic development. Lewin is 56.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 11/25/98

Bill wins votes for Democrats with every day in the Middle East. He should stay.The difference between Ellen Sauerbrey and Ronald Reagan is that she truly believes in Reaganomics.No one as dull as Parris Glendening could be as bad as his enemies say.

Princess Di lives. Just watch those reruns.If everyone who despises the tabloids' voyeurism would refuse to buy any, the paparazzi would be compelled to seek alternative livelihoods.Vote for Parris Glendening! He eats Chesapeake crabs and oysters for the people.Gerry Adams is visiting in this country, which ought to keep him out of trouble, more or less, for a little while.Pub Date: 9/03/97

Ellen Sauerbrey.Bad for the environment.Bad for Maryland.-- Commercial for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Parris N. Glendening.My opponent is an old-style politician who's running away from his own record of raising taxes and uncontrolled spending.-- Commercial for Republican gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey.Negative commercials we'd like to see:Ellen Sauerbrey can run from her environmental record. But she can't hide.Bad enough that she's voted against every bill to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. Now she's even taken to changing the oil in her lawn mower and tossing it down a storm drain.

I am writing in response to your Dec. 1 lead editorial, "Ecker v. Sauerbrey?"The gist of the editorial was a prediction that Maryland's Republicans would choose Charles Ecker over Ellen Sauerbrey. Your prediction is not surprising since you have a long history of underestimating Mrs. Sauerbrey's support.In fact, the editorial would have been downright unremarkable except for the following statement. You declared, "Where a Chuck Ecker or a Bobby Neall differs from an Ellen Sauerbrey is in the realization government isn't an evil that must be chopped down, but a well-intended institution in need of taming not maiming."

WITH THE gubernatorial campaign in full swing and negative commercials filling the airwaves, can these attack ads be far behind?Sauerbrey No. 1Ellen Sauerbrey can run from her environmental record. But she can't hide.She voted against the Clean Air Act, against the ban on phosphates. Now she's outdone herself.Guess where she's building her new summer home on the bay?Right. Smack in the prime nesting area for the great blue heron.And when a local conservation group pointed out a mound of brush containing six of the wading birds' eggs, Ms. Sauerbrey responded: "Tough.

It will be three years before ballots are cast in Maryland's next election for governor, but half a dozen potential candidates for the office are already asking donors for cash. At one of the latest fundraising events, Democratic Howard County Executive Ken Ulman was the main attraction and guests paid up to $1,000 each to attend the party in Columbia last week. The invitation, sent by a supporter, stated that Ulman would need the money for "the upcoming gubernatorial election. " Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, all Democrats, have held events in recent months.

Anyone following the Troy Davis case to its brutal conclusion in Georgia would have noticed - and wondered about - the absence of the governor in that matter. Why weren't Mr. Davis' supporters appealing to Gov. Nathan Deal for mercy as the convicted killer's appeals ran out and questions lingered about this guilt? The answer: In Georgia, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles has the exclusive authority to grant clemency to death row inmates. By law, the governor can't intervene.

Although Maryland has a national reputation as a leader in smart growth, urban development continues in places where it is not wanted and rarely occurs in places where it is desperately needed, a University of Maryland report reveals. Further, in several smart growth performance measures — multi-family housing construction, per-capita vehicle miles traveled, housing affordability and compact development — Maryland ranks near the middle of the 50 states and has not measurably gained ground over the last decade.

As expected, former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is running to reclaim his old job in Annapolis. This announcement has generated a wave of euphoria among Republicans optimistic about Mr. Ehrlich's chances. I remember the giddiness some Republicans felt about Ellen Sauerbrey's prospects after then-Governor Parris Glendening's approval ratings dipped below 50 percent in October 1998. I also remember how shocked we all were when the networks called the race for Mr. Glendening promptly at 8 p.m. on Election Day. While I believe that Republicans should feel enthusiasm about Mr. Ehrlich's campaign, this euphoria is dangerous.

Albert F. Goetze Jr., a decorated World War II veteran who headed his family's meatpacking business and later became an advocate for the Chesapeake Bay, died of cancer Aug. 25 at his St. Michaels home. He was 84. Born in Baltimore and raised in Mayfield, he was a McDonogh School graduate. He left his studies at Cornell University to enlist in the Army. He was assigned to an infantry unit fighting in Europe during World War II. According to notes Mr. Goetze kept, he fought continuously from November 1944 through February 1945 in Belgium and Germany.

Nine thousand pounds of meat. That, at the most basic level, is what Maryland's black bear season is all about. Unfortunately, it's just one of the numbers in the goulash pot. As the state readies for its first bear hunt in 51 years, opponents are clinging to their numerical favorites like static-charged wool socks on birthday balloons. This much is not up for debate: State wildlife managers want to let hunters kill 30 bruins, or about 9,000 pounds of bear, during one-week hunts in October and December.

It will be three years before ballots are cast in Maryland's next election for governor, but half a dozen potential candidates for the office are already asking donors for cash. At one of the latest fundraising events, Democratic Howard County Executive Ken Ulman was the main attraction and guests paid up to $1,000 each to attend the party in Columbia last week. The invitation, sent by a supporter, stated that Ulman would need the money for "the upcoming gubernatorial election. " Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, all Democrats, have held events in recent months.

William Donald Schaefer's return to public life proves the old maxim: All politics are loco. In recognition that this year's comptroller's campaign defies any attempt at satire, we are resigned to offering the facts, more or less, until Election Day. (Or until we grow bored with it.)To bring you up to speed for the hectic days ahead, a recap:July 2: A local political columnist writes that Comptroller Louis Goldstein will go on forever, like the Rock of Gibraltar.July 3: Goldstein dies.July 5: Schaefer, in mourning, calls Gov. Parris Glendening and asks for his old friend's job. Glendening says no. Michael D. Barnes in, Schaefer out.July 6: Candidate's filing deadline; Barnes in, Schaefer in, with bunch of others who have no chance.

GOV. ROBERT L. Ehrlich Jr.'s latest fund-raising letter to Republican friends and allies contains an important-looking "survey document" that purports to seek respondents' views on a variety of issues. We suspect he knows all the answers. "Notice: Do Not Destroy - Official Survey Document!" screams the first line of the 16-question form, which is clearly the latest marketing tool by Ehrlich fund-raising folks to get their supporters to keep giving. Here are some of the balanced, neutral and objective questions contained in the poll: Governor Ehrlich has vowed to oppose job-killing income tax hikes.

William Donald Schaefer, comptroller of Maryland, former governor and former mayor of Baltimore, has gone on another of his tirades against a citizen who dared to criticize him. The criticism? Ron Collins of Baltimore, after hearing Schaefer say he hates former Gov. Parris Glendening, called the comptroller's office to leave a message for Schaefer that he should retire. That would have been the end of it, but unlike most sensible people, Schaefer spent three days trying to get through to Collins and finally left a message on his voice mail saying, "Hey, Ron, Don Schaefer.