Lots of news about next year’s elections. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown will formally announce his running mate pick for his gubernatorial bid (that pick is almost certainly Howard County Executive Ken Ulman). Attorney General Doug Gansler isn’t saying whether or not he’ll run for governor next year, but says he will not seek a third term as AG. Republican Harford County Executive David Craig will formally enter the governor’s race today; he will not face former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino in the primary, as Bongino says he’ll run for the 6th District Congressional Seat. Also: two petition drives fail to bring in enough signatures, meaning that Maryland’s death penalty repeal and its new gun law will not go before voters. We look at Baltimore’s “local hiring mandate” – likely to be approved by the City Council today. Plus: water quality in Baltimore’s harbor, BARCS temporarily stops taking in stray dogs, a look at why the region’s hospitals want proton beam therapy, and more.
2014 Elections - Brown/Ulman: Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, who announced his bid for the Democratic nomination last month, will formally announce his choice for running mate this morning in Howard County; Brown’s pick is all but certain to be Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, who until recently had been running for governor himself. The Brown/Ulman ticket hasn’t technically been finalized yet, but it’s already been endorsed by 7th District Congressman Elijah Cummings;the Baltimore Sun reports that Cummings will be at today’s announcement, and has released a statement saying the two will form a “competent and caring leadership team.”
2014 Elections – Gansler: it’s possible that the Brown/Ulman ticket will face a challenge in next year’s gubernatorial primary from Attorney General Doug Gansler, whose campaign warchest contains more than $5-million, and who has long been expected to mount a bid for the state’s top job. Over the weekend, Gansler announced that he will not seek a third term as Attorney General, further stoking the rumor mill. But Gansler’s aides tell the Baltimore Sun that that the AG doesn’t plan to announce his political intentions until this fall.
2014 Elections – Craig: Republicans will get another candidate for Governor today: Harford County Executive David Craig. He’s set to declare his candidacy at his home this morning, and then make campaign appearances in Dundalk and Hagerstown. The Baltimore Sun reports that Craig will spend the next couple days touring other parts of the state, showing up in Annapolis and the DC Suburbs on Tuesday, and on the Eastern Shore on Wednesday.
2014 Elections – Bongino: Former Secret Service agent Daniel Bongino, who won his party’s US Senate nomination last year and was reportedly considering a gubernatorial bid says he will run for Congress next year;the Washington Post says that Bongino plans to enter the Republican primary for the 6th District congressional seat, which is currently held by Democrat John Delaney. A formal announcement is planned for later this month.
Local Hiring Mandate: Today the Baltimore City Council is expected to approve a bill that would create what’s been called a local hiring mandate. It would require companies that win major city contracts to make the majority of their new hires from within the city. The bill had unanimous support in the Council in a preliminary vote last month… and that’s despite an opinion from the city’s law office saying that the measure would be seen as unconstitutional if challenged in court. WYPR’s Kenneth Burns has more.
Petition Drives Fail: Separate efforts to put on the 2014 ballot a repeal of Maryland’s death penalty and an expansion of the state’s gun laws have failed. The petition drive to put the death penalty repeal before voters fell a couple thousand signatures short, clearing the way for the repeal to take effect in October. No signatures were submitted by a group looking to put the state’s new gun law on the ballot; that group’s organizer says its drive fell about a thousand signatures short. The gun law is also set to take effect at the beginning of October, but it could still be put on hold; the NRA says it plans to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law.
Water Quality In Baltimore’s Harbor: The quality of water in Baltimore’s harbor has earned a “C-“ grade, in the new “Healthy Harbor Report Card for 2012,” issued by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. And the “C-” grade may be a bit misleading; it’s calculated on a curve so that it can more easily show changes in water quality… and the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper tells the Baltimore Sun that if the grade was calculated the way school grades are, it would be an “F.”
BARCS Stops Accepting Dogs: The Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter has stopped taking in stray dogs because of an outbreak of a contagious canine respiratory infection. Starting today, and continuing for the next 21 days, BARCS will not take in new dogs; WJZ reports that so far about 35 of the 100 dogs at the shelter have contracted the infection, which requires expensive antibiotics to treat. BARCS is asking you wait the 21 days if you have a dog you need to turn in… and shelter officials say they can help you find something temporary.
Proton Beam Therapy: WYPR's Fraser Smith and Jenny Gold of Kaiser Health News talk about the new proton beam therapy center being built near the University of Maryland Health Center in downtown Baltimore--how it benefits UM, but might raise health care costs for consumers.It’s today’s edition of Inside Maryland Politics.
Baltimore Baseball: The Orioles won last night’s game against the Detroit Tigers; the score was 4 to 2. The O’s take today off; then head to Texas for tomorrow’s game against the Houston Astros.