By Annapolis Notebook
Sunday, September 9, 2007;
C04
A curious thing happened this year at the Maryland Republican Party booth at the State Fair: A GOP presidential straw poll was won by Ron Paul, the idiosyncratic congressman from Texas who is a fierce critic of the Iraq war.
Perhaps just as curious was the Maryland GOP's decision to trumpet the results in a news release last week with the headline: "Maryland GOP Presidential Straw Poll Is a Big Success; Grassroots Candidate Wins Surprise Upset."
According to the release, Paul received 263 votes, and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (for whom Republican former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is toiling) was second with 220 votes. (Ehrlich received three write-in votes.) Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson-- who had yet to declare his candidacy -- finished third with 188 votes. No other candidate cracked 100 votes.
All told, nearly 1,000 people cast ballots in the Maryland GOP's first-ever presidential straw poll at the fair. The party said the straw poll was open to everyone of voting age, regardless of party affiliation, who stopped by the GOP booth.
The campaigns of nine GOP presidential candidates were invited to have representatives at the booth. It turns out only Paul had someone there all 11 days, the party said.
"The final vote showing Ron Paul won is a lesson for all campaigns of how grass-roots politics can make all the difference," said Chris Cavey, first vice chairman of the Maryland Republican Party and co-chairman of the party's State Fair Planning Committee.
"The Paul campaign repeatedly e-mailed their base of support to turn out at the State Fair to cast a vote for Dr. Paul, and in doing so, demonstrated that a small, organized operation can beat the odds."
-- John Wagner
Senate Panel Approves Bill on Deceptive Campaign Tactics
A bill that would make misleading campaign tactics a federal crime cleared a hurdle in the U.S. Senate last week, cheering Maryland Democrats incensed over last year's GOP-distributed fliers suggesting that prominent state Democrats were supporting then-Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele (R) for Senate.
The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday by a voice vote.
The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), makes it a federal crime to distribute campaign literature that makes false claims about endorsements. Prison sentences for those convicted of intimidating voters at the polls also would stiffen.
At a hearing on the bill in June, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), who beat Steele in November, denounced the misleading fliers, which were distributed heavily in Prince George's County. Maryland Republicans defended the episode at the time as an accepted part of Election Day politics.
-- Lisa Rein
After Complaints, Verizon Hands Over Data on Telephone Repairs
Verizon officials delivered a trove of data to the Public Service Commission late Friday that could help explain why increasing numbers of customers are waiting for what critics say are excessive periods of time for telephone repairs.
Maryland's dominant telephone provider has been in the hot seat with state regulators all summer. The commission has received hundreds of complaints this year from customers who waited days and even weeks for routine repairs. After a tension-filled hearing last month, Verizon provided its own road map for improving service, mostly by beefing up its crew of technicians.
But the plan has not satisfied the commission, which pressed for more data than it was getting on the extent of the delays and missed appointments and whether the company's installation of high-tech fiber-optic wire is diverting resources at the expense of traditional phone service.
Commission spokeswoman LaWanda Edwards said Friday that Verizon could still face civil penalties if regulators find the company in violation of state regulations governing service reliability.
"We don't want to tell a company how to run a business," Edwards said. "But if we find they're absolutely unwilling to change their practices to help consumers, that's a real issue."
She said the commission also could decide to make public some data on service problems that Verizon maintains is proprietary.
"We certainly recognize the need and are taking steps to communicate better with our customers whose voice service is affected," Verizon spokeswoman Sandy Arnette said in a statement.
-- Lisa Rein
In Change of Stance, O'Malley Pushes Higher Cigarette Tax
As a candidate for governor, then-Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) opposed a plan to raise Maryland's tobacco tax by $1 a pack to help fund an array of health-care programs.
But with the state facing a looming $1.5 billion shortfall, that tax is on the table as a deficit-closing measure. A $1 increase, which would double the tax on a pack of cigarettes purchased in Maryland, is among the options that O'Malley aides have circulated on spreadsheets in recent weeks to leading lawmakers and staff.
On Friday, O'Malley gave the tax a more public plug during an appearance on "The Politics Program" on WTOP radio.
"I do think there is the will to raise the tobacco tax," O'Malley said when asked about the possibility by host Mark Plotkin.
O'Malley appeared on the radio show Friday morning along with D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).
-- John Wagner
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