Andrew Pruski will run for County Council

It's official: Gambrills resident Andrew Pruski will seek election to the County Council for District 4.

District 4 runs from Maryland City through Odenton and Gambrills to Crownsville in the east.

Pruski's not exactly a nobody either, and his first campaign fundraiser on September 4 at Perry's apparently drew a substantial crowd of supporters, including state Senators Jim Rosapepe and Ed DeGrange, as well as U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.

He has an impressive record in community service as president of the Four Seasons Community Association. He ran for county council in 2006 but lost to Jamie Benoit. In 2010, he ran for school board and won, also serving as its president.

His campaign website is at AndrewPruski.com.

2014 County Exec: Conti is in, Benoit and Cohen are out, and other Early Movers

The first Democrat has entered the County Executive race: 2010 nominee Joanna Conti.

Conti is a businesswoman and nonprofit activist who has lived in the county for more than eight years. She was the Democratic nominee against John Leopold in the Republican shellacking year of 2010. Her campaign went under the radar of most county residents, and Leopold was able to win, albeit with a surprisingly small margin. With better organization, a clear platform, and the fact that the county has been trending blue, Conti stands a real chance. Her biggest downfall is that while she has worked in several different industries, she has yet to hold an elected office. That being said, the district she lives in is a pretty deep shade of red, and County Exec might be the smallest-scale office she could get. Check out her website at: http://www.joannaconti.com/


There was some talk of Annapolis mayor Josh Cohen seeking the Democratic nomination, but it appears he's seeking re-election instead. County Councilman Jamie Benoit has also ruled out a run, saying he never wanted to make politics his profession. Admirable.

The only other names that spring to mind are Delegate Pam Beidle and Councilman Chris Trumbauer. As far as I know, Beidle has zero intention of moving from the state to the county level of government, and Trumbauer hasn't given any indication he'll run for anything other than re-election to his current seat in 2014.

 Councilman Chris Trumbauer (D-Annapolis)

Some other local Dems have stepped up to the plate to run for office in 2014. Maria Triandos, a leader in the Annapolis Greek community, is running for House of Delegates in District 30A. Anthony "Scott" Harman is running for State Senate is District 31. And he hasn't officially announced anything, but the 2010 nominee for that position, Ned Carey, is rumored to be the favorite to run in the newly-constructed District 31A in the House.

The early-movers aren't all Democrats. Odenton's own Jesse Mayer is running as a Republican for Delegate in District 32. Three Republicans have filed to run in District 33, although none of them are the person I expected (James King).
  1. Jeff Gauges of Severna Park is a partner at an Annapolis law firm. If elected, all three delegates from District 33 will be from Severna Park.
  2. Sid Saab of Crownsville is a small business owner and perennial candidate. Voters may remember (or not) his campaign for County Council against Jamie Benoit in 2006 where he lost by a wide margin. In 2010 he ran for Delegate but fell just a few hundred votes short of making it out of the primary.
  3. Nora Keenan of Annapolis has also filed, according to the Board of Elections. However, she doesn't seem to have a campaign website nor is there any press related to her campaign.

Storm in Odenton

:)

Anne Arundel GOP Drama: Del. Ron George (30) to run for Governor, Del. Steve Schuh (31) to run for Exec, and the Restaurateurs who run the show

First, Delegate Ron George of District 30 is apparently running for Governor.

From the Capital Gazette:

"George said he'll kick off his campaign officially in June with the announcement in Annapolis. But fundraising has already started, he said, and he feels well-organized and capabe of being competitive when it comes to dollars and cents by the end of the year."

I have to wonder what prompted this pretty random announcement. Does Del. George have a lack of faith in the other potential Repulican candidates (Blaine Young, Dan Bongino) or is it due to redistricting? George's residence in Arnold is now located in the new 33rd District. This is especially interesting because if he had chosen to run for re-election, he almost certainly would have won because the 33rd is still solidly Republican, and it has a vacancy because Del. Bob Costa was redistricted into 30B.

The current 33A is represented by Dels. Cathy Vitale (R-Severna Park) and Tony McConkey (R-Severna Park)

The new District 33 (effective 2014):

While I don't think George's campaign will "shake up" the election, as the Democratic primary is where the real competition will be, I do think it's interesting to wonder why he would make this move.

Second, and this isn't really breaking news at this point, Delegate Steve Schuh from the 31st is officially running for County Executive.

From Anne Arundel Patch:

Schuh is expected to make the announcement during a May 2 event with Rep. Andy Harris at the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company in Severna Park.

I can't help but smirk at the fact that he's invited Rep. Andy Harris along. Who cares that he doesn't represent anything near you? When your state party only has one person in Congress, you apparently invite them to everything.

Unnlike the race for Governor, the AA County Exec race in 2014 could be very interesting indeed. Anne Arundel, long considered a "red" county, is now undeniably "purple." Democratic successes here in 2006 and 2008 can no longer be considered "flukes:" Obama trailed McCain by 1.8% in 08 but only trailed Romney by 0.1% in 2012. On top of that, GOP County Exec John Leopold managed a very underwhelming 50.4% of the vote in the Republican landslide year of 2010, and that was before the scandal that eventually forced his resignation three years later.

Steve Schuh, however, is very very rich, and may be willing to throw his money around more than Leopold, who famously ran barebones campaigns. Schuh seems to be some sort of investor, having a stake in three Greene Turtle franchises in AACo and one in Virginia. He manages to be able to live on Gibson Island, which, in case you aren't familiar with the area, is gate off and only accessible by special invitation. Prince Andrew also apparently has a property on the island. In short, Schuh is not exactly the average Joe Arundel.

Gibson Island: So exclusive, you can't even do a Street View

However, remember what I said about the money. In a toss-up election, it might just come down to money. Schuh apparently already has over $500,000 in his campaign account, and can probably raise a lot more through his business connections and the Republican network in Severna Park.

We know Schuh really wants the County Exec job; he tried to get the Council to appoint him to the position when Leopold was forced to resign after being found guilty of two counts of misconduct. Casual political observers and insiders alike were stunnded by the Council's choice of outsider Laura Neuman instead. Neuman won the job when the oft-wayward Republican from south county, Jerry Walker, joined the Council's three Democrats (Benoit, Smith, and Trumbauer) in supporting her over Schuh and Bob Ehrlich's wife, who were widely considered the frontrunners.

Incumbent Exec Laura Neuman (R)

But Democrats won't be the only hurle to Schuh landing his dream job in 2014. There is still no word on whether Neuman, also a Republican, will stand for election. If they both decide to run, the GOP primary could be very interesting indeed. But, Schuh doesn't seem too worried:

Schuh said Neuman's decision to run next year won't affect his own personal decision and said Anne Arundel County voters "give more credit to elected incumbents than they do appointed incumbents."

(Anne Arundel Patch)

Speaking as one of those Anne Arundel County voters, I give more credit to people who demonstrate they will act in the county's best interests, than people who thuink they can buy elections despite never actually having represented the county in their career (Schuh is a state delegate).

Schuh has, at least, served the county with food, via the three Greene Turtle franchises that he and his three business partners invested in.

So just out of curiosity, who are those business partners? Probably some guys we’ve never heard of…what are they odds they’d also be local politicians?

This is the list of directors from the SEC filing of GT Pasadena, LLC (This may be a stretch, but I suspect GT = Greene Turtle). As it turns out, three out of four of these gentlemen are politicians.

Derek Fink was just elected in 2010 to the County Council for the Pasadena district. Isn’t that neat: Pasadena is represented in the County Council by Fink, and in the Maryland General Assembly by Schuh. Fink was actually excluded from the vote to appoint a new county executive because his business relationship with Schuh was found to constitute an ethics violation.

James King is a former District 33 delegate, serving until 2010, when he tried and failed to unseat the “lone wolf” state Senator Ed Reilley. Many have speculated that King would attempt some sort of comeback in 2014. Coincidentally, the 33^rd district is now a 3-member district, which means a vacancy has conveniently opened up. Also coincidentally, James King was one of five members of the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Committee (GRAC) which played a major role in drawing the new map.

L to R: Schuh, Fink, King

 
I wonder how much influence these guys have? One is a state Delegate, trying to be County Executive. Another is sitting on the County Council, and another is drawing the district lines and possibly trying to return to the General Assembly. Did Ron George, upon seeing he was now in District 33, make a decision to run for higher office because the vacancy was slated for King? Is there a modern-day Republican political machine in Pasadena and Severna Park that is trying to build the GOP bench in Maryland? It’s all very interesting … and also mainly speculation. But it’s probably what I would do if I lived in a Republican stronghold in a Democratic state.

Only time will tell how this plays out!

I thought this was fitting, as it's Earth Day. I need to remember to hug a tree or something later...

More Arundel students having a positive impact on the world

These Arundel students have raised the money to open a community center in Kenya, complete with books and computers.

One of the ways they raised money was by having a freaking Quidditch tournament at Arundel High.

What have YOU done with your life since leaving Arundel?

Link on CapitalGazette.com

Old Firehouse hits the market again

I was sad when I heard that someone had bought the old Odenton Firehouse on Odenton Road, only because I wanted to buy it for myself. I don't have the money, but that's beside the point. I basically just wanted to answer the question, "So where do you live?" with the word: "FIREHOUSE."

However, the deal with the buyer apparently fell through, so the Firehouse and the adjacent historical property that used to be Pumphrey's Store are back on the market!