Montgomery School Construction Funds Fall Short

By Annapolis Notebook
Friday, January 18, 2008

Montgomery Council officials expressed bewilderment yesterday over an initial allocation of school construction funding included in Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed capital budget for next year: about $20 million.

That was more than any other Maryland jurisdiction received but still a far cry from the $55 million that County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and Montgomery lawmakers are expecting next year in exchange for some delegation members' support of O'Malley's agenda in November's special session.

Leggett was sure enough of the figure that he alluded to it in his State of the County address last month, saying he anticipated Montgomery receiving "as much as $55 million" in school construction money from Annapolis.

The process for divvying up school construction dollars in Maryland is convoluted and far from done. On Wednesday, O'Malley (D) proposed spending $333 million next year, but he spelled out where only $225 million of that should be spent. The remaining $108 million still needs to be allocated -- a fact O'Malley noted in an interview yesterday.

"We're not done," he said after an event in Baltimore County at which he promoted his $333 million proposal. "We're only midway through the process."

Asked about the $55 million figure cited by Montgomery officials, O'Malley said: "That's their goal, and I'm going to do my best to get to it."

Leggett said yesterday that the initial $20 million included in O'Malley's plan "would not be consistent with what we expect."

"I'll have to talk with the governor to find out what that means," Leggett said. "We made a very strong case for that. He understands that."

Leggett spokesman Patrick Lacefield said the county had expected more than $20 million in the first round in order to meet the $55 million mark by the end of the process.

-- John Wagner and Ann E. Marimow

Miller's Coffers Are Flush

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), who announced he would retire when his term ends in 2010 only to later hedge his bets, has reported raising nearly $400,000 in campaign funds during the past year.

That is more than Miller raised in the first year of the past election cycle and more than twice the haul during the past year of his counterpart, House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), who reported raising just over $150,000.

"My political future in undecided," Miller said in an interview yesterday, suggesting he might wait two years to decide whether to run again.

Miller, whose district includes parts of Calvert and Prince George's counties, said he continues to hear from constituents who want him to seek another term. "As long as I'm there, they know nothing bad is going to happen to Prince George's and Calvert," he said.

Whether he runs or not, Miller said much of the money he raises will be used to help fellow Democratic senators, several of whom took very tough votes to raise taxes in November's special session.

"A general doesn't leave the battle without giving his troops the weapons to defend themselves," Miller said. "I'm like the Marine Corps. I don't leave anyone behind."

The two Republican leaders of the General Assembly posted far more modest totals than the legislature's leading Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-Frederick) reported raising $31,370 during the past year. House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell (R-Calvert) reported receiving only three checks totaling $640.

"I've just been focused on other things, and there's plenty of time for that later," O'Donnell said.

-- John Wagner

Arceneaux Joins Slots Fight

Scott Arceneaux, who ran the aborted gubernatorial campaign of former Montgomery County executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), has been enlisted in the fight against bringing slots to Maryland.

StopSlotsMaryland, a grass-roots advocacy group, announced yesterday that Arceneaux would be part of the organization's leadership team as it tries to defeat a November referendum on legalizing slots at five locations in Maryland.

The public vote was a compromise offered by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) during November's special session in a bid to break a five-year impasse over the issue in the General Assembly.

O'Malley was leading in the polls and became the de facto winner of the 2006 Democratic gubernatorial primary after Duncan pulled out of the race, citing clinical depression.

StopSlotsMaryland also announced it is retaining Martin Hamburger, who was a consultant to the campaign of Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and is a partner in a media consulting firm.

Other members of the organization's leadership team include Aaron Meisner, a Baltimore financial adviser who has served as chairman of StopSlots previously; and Minor Carter, an anti-slots lobbyist.

-- John Wagner