Rake

County Councilman David A. Rakes, the east Columbia Democrat who angered some party faithful by joining with Republicans to form a controlling majority on the council, made an unannounced appearance last week at a Columbia Democratic Club candidates forum, but he wouldn't say he is a candidate for any elected office. Rakes seemed intent on showing that he is not intimidated by party critics. "He's a fine, fine young man," Rakes said, gesturing at Calvin Ball, a declared candidate for Rakes' seat.

Calvin Ball, a 30-year-old former Howard County firefighter recruit and Oakland Mills revitalization coordinator, is running for the east Columbia seat occupied now by fellow Democrat David A. Rakes. Ball, who is to formally announce his County Council campaign Thursday, ran against Rakes for the same seat in 2002 but lost the Democratic primary with 31 percent of the vote to Rakes' 39 percent - a 350-vote margin. In heavily Democratic District 2, covering east Columbia and Jessup, the Democratic nominee has a 2-1 advantage in party registrations.

Howard County Councilman David A. Rakes said he has turned over campaign bank records that were requested by the office of Maryland State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh. "It was a voluntary request," Rakes said just before Tuesday night's County Council meeting in Ellicott City. He said the request did not explain why the 2004 records were wanted or what Rohrbaugh's office might be seeking, though Rakes, 68, was embroiled in a web of confusion over his campaign finance records and the status of his treasurer this year.

IT HAS been a tough year for Howard County Councilman David A. Rakes -- and a confusing one for his Democratic Party colleagues and constituents. From a mysterious bill last spring to move a planning boundary in another councilman's district, through Rakes' undisclosed links to a liquor license applicant, his firing of several special assistants, and seemingly contradictory votes July 28, Rakes is dismaying a growing number of people. "I have had letters from constituents in his district about his votes," said county Democratic Party Chairwoman Wendy Fiedler, who said she hopes to sit down and talk things over with the 68-year-old councilman.

County Councilman David A. Rakes provided a key vote at a County Council meeting late yesterday that killed a plan to allow more affordable housing in eastern Howard County. Rakes, an east Columbia Democrat, voted with Republicans Charles C. Feaga and Christopher J. Merdon in a 3-2 vote that defeated a Robey administration plan to remove 100 housing allocations from the western county and transfer them to the east to bolster efforts to provide moderate income homes. In voting with the Republicans, Rakes reversed his position in June when he voted to approve the concept of moving the allocations, which regulate how many new homes builders may construct in each of five planning districts covering the entire county.

The Howard County Ethics Commission has found no violations of county ethics laws were committed by County Councilman David A. Rakes for failing to disclose a prior relationship with a man who applied for a liquor license, according to Jeff Starnes, the commission's executive secretary. The man, Haluk "Alec" Kantar, was the east Columbia Democrat's political campaign treasurer in November 2004 when he came before the liquor board, which Rakes heads, seeking a license to operate the former Last Chance Saloon in Oakland Mills Village Center.

The Howard County Ethics Commission has requested more information about the county liquor board chairman's failure to disclose a prior relationship with a man who applied for a liquor license in November. Haluk "Alec" Kantar was campaign treasurer for County Councilman and liquor board Chairman David A. Rakes when Kantar, a local restaurateur, applied for a liquor license. Lynn Benton, chairwoman of the Ethics Commission, said after a closed meeting last night that "the only information we have are press reports.

A Howard County councilman who strongly supported granting a liquor license to a constituent who planned to open a restaurant in Oakland Mills never told his fellow council and liquor board members that the applicant was his political campaign treasurer. Councilman David A. Rakes, an east Columbia Democrat who doubles as liquor board chairman, claims he replaced Haluk "Alec" Kantar as his treasurer before the license case came up in November. But state records listed Kantar as Rakes' campaign treasurer from September 2003 until yesterday, when Salman Hussain officially took over.

NATIONAL Spector on judicial nominees Insisting he has no litmus test, Sen. Arlen Specter, the Republican in line to head the Senate Judiciary Committee, pledged not to stall judicial nominees, even if the prospective judges oppose abortion rights. Specter, who backs abortion rights, set off a furor among conservatives last week when he said anti-abortion judges were unlikely to be confirmed by the new Senate. [Page 3a] Female prison population The government reported that the number of women in state and federal prisons is at an all-time high, with the incarceration rate for females growing at nearly twice that of men. However, men are still far more likely than women to be in jail or prison.

Howard County Councilman David A. Rakes would love to see the Pentecostal Church of God move its regional offices from Simpsonville to the troubled Oakland Mills Village Center, and perhaps begin some community work there. To jump-start that process, Rakes, an east Columbia Democrat, is trying to help the church sell and develop the 28 acres it owns along congested U.S. 29 in River's Edge. But his failure to clearly state his intentions nearly torpedoed the plan. Rakes asked the county Planning Board last week to recommend moving an important boundary line to advance the church plan, but he didn't tell the board members his true purpose - which prompted them to reject the idea.