Anne Arundel County Executive Plans to Challenge Schaefer

By Matthew Mosk and Steve Vogel
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, May 5, 2006

Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens announced yesterday she will become the second candidate to mount a Democratic primary challenge against Comptroller William Donald Schaefer, one of the state's longest-serving and best-known political figures.

Owens is the first woman from either party to seek statewide office in Maryland this year, and her challenge to Schaefer signaled the growing unease with the antics that have brought unwanted attention to the 84-year-old comptroller in recent months.

A February incident at a public meeting, in which Schaefer appeared to ogle the backside of a 24-year-old aide as she left the room and then motion for her to come back and "walk again," may have done the most harm, analysts said. Last month, a poll showed Schaefer, a former Baltimore mayor and two-term governor, only narrowly ahead of a lesser-known challenger, Del. Peter Franchot (D-Montgomery).

Owens said her decision to run had little to do with Schaefer and more to do with what she would bring.

"I will ask people to look at my record," she said.

With four months until the primary, Owens's announcement is the latest in a series of events that is shaping the 2006 political landscape.

This week, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan named Stuart O. Simms as his running mate in the gubernatorial primary against Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and Del. Anthony G. Brown (D-Prince George's). And murmurs about the race for attorney general have also grown louder, as longtime incumbent J. Joseph Curran Jr. signaled he would announce his intentions next week.

If Curran does not seek reelection, two Montgomery politicians, County Council member Tom Perez (D-Silver Spring) and State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler, are expected to launch campaigns.

"I'm fully expecting that Joe is going to retire, and I'm expecting to run," Perez said yesterday. "I would be very surprised if he decided to run again."

Gansler, who has raised more than $1 million in campaign funds, acknowledged that he is making preparations for a possible race but said that he is not yet a candidate. "I'm going to wait and see what Joe Curran is doing," Gansler said. "He's earned the right to make the announcement on his own time."

Another possible candidate, state Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery), said he was uncertain he would enter the race even if Curran bowed out. "If he decided to get out, then I would take a hard look at it," Frosh said. "It's a terrific job, but I already have a terrific job."

Among the qualifications for attorney general enumerated in the Maryland Constitution, a candidate must have practiced law in the state for 10 years. Perez, a former federal prosecutor and lawyer with the U.S. Justice Department, said he became a member of the Maryland bar in 2001 but meets the legal qualifications.

"I've been practicing law in and around Maryland for 20 years," Perez said.

"I welcome the debate about who's qualified and who's not," he added.

In the comptroller's race, Franchot released a statement calling Owens "pro-development, pro-slots and pro-Ehrlich."

"Like Schaefer," Franchot said, "she would be the crucial second vote for Bob Ehrlich on the Board of Public Works."

Asked about Owens's candidacy, Schaefer's spokesman, Mike Golden, said the comptroller "wished her well" but did not intend to change his plan to seek a third term.

Owens is nearing the end of her second term leading Anne Arundel, a fast-growing county that has increasingly become a bedroom community to Baltimore and Washington.

For several months, Owens considered a run for Congress, even buying a house in the 3rd Congressional District. But she said in an interview yesterday that she finally concluded that heading to Washington did not suit her.

"Bottom line, I'm not a legislator," she said. "I don't have that way of thinking."

Thomas F. Schaller, a University of Maryland political science professor, said he believes Owens's entry into the race will "split the anti-Schaefer vote" and "virtually guarantees" that Schaefer will win.

Owens disagreed. "I just think that's not accurate," she said.