Run For Governor

A political cartoon is circulating in Towson with three people in a race, sneakers afoot, heading toward the governor's mansion in Annapolis. Two have made the dash before -- Democratic Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey, his 1994 opponent and potential 1998 foe.The third politician in the picture: C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Baltimore County executive.The sketch is meant as lighthearted fare, appearing on an invitation to a County Council fund-raiser.But it illustrates a question about Ruppersberger's political future, one likely to make the rounds this evening at his fund-raiser at Martin's West, an event expected to draw more than 1,000 supporters paying $100 to $500 each.

Among the likely Democratic candidates for Maryland governor in 2014 - Howard County executive Ken Ulman, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Attorney General Doug Gansler - Ulman comes closest to being the "Baltimore-area candidate. " But a genuine Baltimore-area candidate - someone who could pull votes from Baltimore County and the city, and enough in other key sectors of the state - would be a serious contender for the big-daddy chair in Annapolis. And who might that be? Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, the six-term congressman and former Baltimore County executive, "is considering it," says his spokeswoman, Jaime Lennon.

Unable to find Maryland Democrats who would publicly support an effort to unseat Gov. Parris N. Glendening, Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin said yesterday he has decided not to run for governor in 1998.Cardin said he would instead seek a seventh term as Maryland's 3rd District congressman, saying he was newly enthusiastic about his role as a national policy maker on health care and taxes."I have an incredible opportunity in Congress," the Baltimore Democrat said in an interview."I think I can serve the people of Maryland best there."

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, considered one of the leading prospective Democratic candidates for governor in 2014, said Tuesday that he will instead seek a third term in his current post. In an interview, Franchot, 65, said he made his decision after considering internal polls that showed him a much stronger candidate for re-election than for governor. He said he's happy with what he's doing now — running Maryland's tax system and serving as the state's fiscal watchdog.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Miami real estate developer Jeb Bush hTC says he plans to run for governor in 1994 and has already organized a campaign team.The son of former President Bush, a likely favorite early in the race among Florida Republicans, said he plans a formal announcement closer to the primaries. "I have every intention to run, but I want to do it at my own pace," Mr. Bush said.Mr. Bush, 39, isn't alone in his designs on the Republican nomination. State Secretary of State Jim Smith says he will run, state Senate President Ander Crenshaw is considering, and Treasurer Tom Gallagher is seen as a possible contender.

Paul Levin sometimes worried about his friend Martin O'Malley. They formed the Irish rock band O'Malley's March 14 years ago; then Levin watched as the lawyer and barroom singer went on to become mayor of Baltimore. In private, Levin compared O'Malley to the mythical King Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold. Midas got what he wanted, but then his luck turned to a curse because he had wanted too much. And so, in the final days of his life, Levin gave his singer some advice. As Levin lay dying of a brain tumor in his parents' home in Pikesville, he implored his friend to stick to his job as mayor.

On the one hand, he's got a glistening green guitar, late nights with screaming fans and -- ah, yes -- those muscle shirts. On the other, there's a city to run, countless obligations and -- ah, yes -- a possible run for governor. And the winner? Politics. Mayor Martin O'Malley is pulling the plug on O'Malley's March, the Irish rock band he's led since 1988. In a letter to fans on the band's Web site this week, O'Malley said he has only so much time, and his day job gets dibs on it from now on. "At this point in my life, every ounce of my aging creative energies are going to have to be focused on continuing our City's remarkable progress and being laser focused on getting our State moving in the right direction again," he wrote.

The rush of recent good news about Baltimore - its ranking as a top international travel destination, an uptick in how Wall Street views the city's fiscal future - seemed too good to last. And sure enough, what many consider to be the reality of Maryland's largest city hit home this month. Violent crime rose last year for the first time in five years, according to the latest FBI statistics. Those are the kind of numbers that haunt big-city mayors as they attempt to advance in politics.

The Duncans of Rockville were a "nice Irish-Catholic family" with 13 kids, one of whom grew up to be mayor, Montgomery County executive and a candidate for Maryland governor. They're also a family so stricken by mental illness that the National Institutes of Health used them, in the 1960s, in a case study of depression. Doug Duncan's paternal grandfather was hospitalized for manic depression in the 1930s, and he remained hospitalized until his death 20 years later. Duncan's father suffered from the same illness and was forced to take a medical retirement from his job at the National Security Agency.

RUBY T. HOOPER, 83 Had run for governor Ruby T. Hooper, who in 1984 became the first woman from a major political party to run for governor of North Carolina, died Friday in Tryon, N.C. She lost her first bid for governor to Jim Martin in the 1984 Republican primary. Mr. Martin would go on to win the general election, and Ms. Hooper served in his administration as deputy secretary of the Department of Human Resources. She ran again for the GOP nomination in 1991, losing to Lt. Gov. James C. Gardner.

Blaine Young, the Republican president of the Frederick County Board of Commissioners, has taken a step toward a possible run for governor in 2014 by launching a fund-raising committee. Young, 40, was elected in 2010 as part of a conservative Republican sweep of the five board seats in the Western Maryland county. He had been appointed to the board earlier that year. The former Democrat, who switched parties in 2002, said he has registered a committee, Blaine Young for Maryland, with the state elections board.

Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. launched his campaign to reclaim the job of Maryland governor Wednesday, promising to balance the state budget without "gimmicks" and roll back a sales-tax increase enacted soon after he left office. Speaking to hundreds of enthusiastic supporters not far from the Arbutus rowhouse where he was raised, Ehrlich, a Republican, portrayed his single term that ended in 2007 as an era of economic growth and fiscal restraint that was undercut by Martin O'Malley, the Democrat who defeated him. "They spent beyond our means, and we spend within our budget," Ehrlich said.

George W. Owings III, a former state delegate and Calvert County Democrat, appears to be little more than a week away from announcing his run for governor. He said Monday that he'll "make it official" at a morning news conference Jan. 6 on the courthouse steps in Prince Frederick. The former majority whip, who served as secretary of veterans affairs under Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., has been a sharp critic of Gov. Martin O'Malley's fiscal policies. He disagreed with O'Malley's decision to raise the sales tax during a 2007 special session and took issue with the governor's personal lobbying to repeal the death penalty this year.

In April, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s message to fellow Republicans in Howard County, delivered by his wife, Kendel, was a plea for guidance and support as he pondered another run for the Maryland state house. "This is all about you," Kendel Ehrlich told a packed Lincoln Day party dinner six months ago. "You need to tell Bob Ehrlich what you want him to do." Now those Republicans in this key political barometer county are cajoling, chanting, almost demanding that Ehrlich run for governor again against Democrat Martin O'Malley, but he is still not willing to commit, or even set a deadline.

At least somebody's not waiting around for Bob Ehrlich. Michael Pappas, a relatively unknown lawyer from Towson whose sole elective experience so far is a stint on the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee, is doing what none of the luminaries of the state GOP seem willing to: announcing his intention to challenge Gov. Martin O'Malley. Mr. Pappas acknowledges that he doesn't have the name recognition or the fundraising ability that Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. built up during his terms in Congress and his four years as governor.

The Duncans of Rockville were a "nice Irish-Catholic family" with 13 kids, one of whom grew up to be mayor, Montgomery County executive and a candidate for Maryland governor. They're also a family so stricken by mental illness that the National Institutes of Health used them, in the 1960s, in a case study of depression. Doug Duncan's paternal grandfather was hospitalized for manic depression in the 1930s, and he remained hospitalized until his death 20 years later. Duncan's father suffered from the same illness and was forced to take a medical retirement from his job at the National Security Agency.

Jim Brady does not know whether to run for governor, for mayor or for cover.The Supreme Court unanimously told Starr to wait in the queue like everyone else, and may be indicted.LTCOne hundred twenty scientists caught a neutrino, a mile down a zinc mine 30 miles north of Takayama, Japan, and found it overweight. Explain that.You ought to get to vote for the next Spice Girl.Pub Date: 6/08/98

It'll be the first Super Bowl with two underdogs. In theory, neither can win. At last, a first lady-elect who not only reads but actually likes books. Do we really need an attorney general who proposes rewriting the Constitution and champions a symbol for the violent dismemberment of the United States? Hizzoner is so popular he could run for governor! Unless he is averse to being run over.