Election Board Member Resigns

Md. Democrat Broke With Party

Gene Raynor said the board has failed to hold accountable Administrator Linda H. Lamone. (Bill O'Leary -- The Washington Post)

A maverick Democrat on the Maryland election board who participated last fall in a failed bid to oust the state elections administrator abruptly resigned from the panel yesterday, avoiding what promised to be a rocky confirmation hearing in the state Senate.

Gene Raynor, appointed last summer to the State Board of Elections by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), said in an interview that he was frustrated by the board's inability to hold Administrator Linda H. Lamone accountable for management shortcomings.

"Her refusal to cooperate with the board was insurmountable," Raynor said of Lamone, a Democrat who was appointed by Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) in 1997 and has maintained the support of legislative leaders.

Ehrlich named Raynor to the board while the General Assembly was not in session, and he has been allowed to serve pending the legislature's return to Annapolis.

Sen. Philip C. Jimeno, chairman of the Executive Nominations Committee, said he was heartened by Raynor's decision to resign before the Senate held a confirmation hearing.

"Obviously, this was not somebody that was agreeable to the Democratic Party," Jimeno (D-Anne Arundel) said. "It would have been a very difficult confirmation battle for him."

Raynor, a former state elections administrator, said his resignation was not prompted by concerns about his confirmation hearing. He said he is not sure how his nomination would have fared in the Senate.

"I have no idea, really," Raynor said. "I had some good conversations with some senators, who told me to hang in there."

After Raynor's appointment, Democrats accused the board of trying to oust Lamone so that Republicans could gain a tighter grip on the state's election machinery.

The elections administrator has far-reaching authority over local election boards and can play a pivotal role in resolving contested elections, such as Maryland's 1994 gubernatorial race, which was decided by fewer than 6,000 votes.

The appointment of Raynor, a Democrat who supported Ehrlich's election in 2002, was seen as instrumental to the GOP effort because four votes are required to remove an elections administrator. By law, the five-member board consists of three members of the governor's party and two from the opposing party.

In September, Raynor joined the three GOP members in initiating proceedings to fire Lamone, but the move was blocked by a judge who ruled that her removal so close to the Nov. 2 election could pose a "serious and substantial disruption."

Later, Lamone and the board reached an agreement that allowed her to remain in her job but held her to new performance standards.

In November, Ehrlich filled another Democratic opening on the elections board with Frank D. Boston Jr., a former member of the House of Delegates. That appointment also raised questions among Democrats because of Boston's history of bitter primary contests against incumbent senators.

Jimeno said Democrats in the Senate are reserving judgment about Boston's nomination, which is up for consideration during the legislative session that began Wednesday.

"We want somebody who's going to represent the Democratic Party," Jimeno said. "We don't want somebody who's a Democrat in name only. The integrity of the democratic process is at stake here."

Raynor said he has been frustrated in his efforts to review Lamone's performance. He cited several examples, including Lamone's refusal to let him examine her expense reports or talk to staff members.

In an interview, Lamone said that she had turned expense reports over to the board's chairman and that employees are free to talk to board members.

"I don't know what he's talking about," she said of Raynor. She added: "I wish him the best of luck in whatever he does."