Forget the Shape Of the State: Whose Suit Is Sharpest?

By Annapolis Notebook
Sunday, February 3, 2008

You know the legislative session is off to a slow start when arguably the most spirited floor debate to date has centered on which member of the House of Delegates is the best-dressed.

House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve (D-Montgomery) unwittingly sparked the back-and-forth Wednesday when he rose to ask his colleagues to join him in wishing a happy birthday to Majority Whip Talmadge Branch (D-Baltimore), whom Barve dubbed "the best-dressed man in the House."

It did not take long before Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. (D-Baltimore County) rose, seeking recognition. ''Mr. Speaker, I am the best-dressed man in the House," he playfully protested.

''Will the best-dressed man in the House stand?" House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) chimed in, prompting more than a dozen delegates to pop up -- including several apparently deluded about the quality of their wardrobes.

-- John Wagner

The Acme of Political Amity

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) cozied up to the top Republican in the House of Delegates last week at a dinner meeting of the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland.

O'Malley described his amicable relationship with House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell (R-Calvert), saying that the door to the governor's office is always open to O'Donnell and that he returns all of O'Donnell's phone calls.

"We're like the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. We're very cordial with each other," O'Malley said.

To which O'Donnell responded, "Great cartoon, governor!"

-- Philip Rucker

O'Malley Features in GOP Fight

Gov. Martin O'Malley has been drawn into the no-holds-barred Republican primary in the 1st Congressional District, where Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest faces a ferocious challenge from state Sens. E.J. Pipkin (Queen Anne's) and Andrew P. Harris (Baltimore County), among others.

Pipkin recently sent out a campaign flier that led with this loaded phrase: "Say NO to the Three Amigos," a reference to his claim to be tougher on illegal immigration than his opponents or the governor. Photos of O'Malley, Gilchrest and Harris are featured with sombreros.

It says O'Malley supports "Driver's Licenses for Illegals."

The flier was sent a day before O'Malley's announcement that he no longer embraced Maryland's long-standing policy offering driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants.

The governor did an about-face on the issue after his top transportation advisers said that to comply with new security rules, they were pursuing a two-tiered driver's license system, one for illegal immigrants and another for legal ones.

"It's inaccurate and unfortunate," O'Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said of the flier. "A new low, even for that race."

Pipkin said the mailing was meant as a lighthearted reference to the movie "The Three Amigos."

"There's nothing fair about this race," he said with a laugh.

-- Lisa Rein