Miller Might Not Be The Retiring Type
Fundraiser Hints at Md. Reelection Bid

By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 8, 2008

A year and a half after Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. announced that this term would be his last, the heavy betting among his colleagues is that the Annapolis titan will seek reelection in 2010.

A major fundraiser planned for next month is the latest sign that Miller (D-Calvert), Maryland's longest-serving Senate president, is interested in staying.

An invitation being sent in coming days does not explicitly say he is running for a 10th Senate term. But it speaks of Miller's desire to work with the governor and senators "both now and in the future" and says, "I have not forgotten that there is an election" in 2010.

"This is the most hopeful sign I've seen," said Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles), chairman of the Finance Committee. Middleton is considered one of several potential successors to Miller, but he has urged him to continue serving. "It's like 180 degrees from the announcement that he was retiring," Middleton said.

Miller, a gregarious lawyer who has presided over the Senate for more than two decades, declined to be interviewed, saying through an aide only that the fundraising letter "speaks for itself."

The fact that he is holding a fundraiser does not guarantee that Miller, 65, will seek reelection. Traditionally, he has spent far more of his campaign funds on fellow Democrats' races than on his own, and Miller has said he plans to support his colleagues in 2010 whether he is on the ballot or not.

Still, the nature of the fundraiser Miller is planning and other factors have led colleagues and associates to conclude that Miller might use the June 4 event to announce plans to seek reelection and continuing serving as Senate president. The invitation says that Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and other Senate leaders will attend the $1,000-per-person event in Baltimore.

"I think he is planning on staying," said Sen. James E. DeGrange Sr. (D-Anne Arundel), who is close to Miller. "That's my gut."

Shortly after his 2006 reelection, Miller told reporters that he intended to retire after his next term ended. "At that point, I can step down and turn the gavel over to the next generation," Miller said. "I intend to work with them, serve out the four-year term and step aside."

His announcement prompted prolonged jockeying among several would-be successors, including Middleton and two other committee chairmen, Ulysses Currie (D-Prince George's) and Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery). None has said publicly that he would challenge Miller for the presidency if he returns.

Currie, chairman of the Budget and Taxation Committee, said yesterday that he now assumes Miller will seek reelection to his seat and the Senate presidency, which is determined by a vote of the chamber's 47 members.

Frosh, chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, declined to speculate.

"I don't know what's in his head or in his heart," Frosh said. "I know he's raising money for Democrats, and that's a good thing."

Miller has been hedging for more than a year on whether to stick to his retirement plan. During a lunch with Washington Post staff members last May, he said that many of his constituents had been urging him to reconsider his decision.

"My concern is my district," said Miller, who represents part of Prince George's and Calvert counties. "They may say, 'He's a jerk, but he's our jerk.' "

Currie said Miller has continued to express concerns about future representation of his district, should he decide to retire.

Currie said he and other senators have also come to better appreciate the value of Miller's fundraising abilities heading toward what could be a tough election for some Democrats in 2010. O'Malley's job-approval rating has sagged in the wake of a special session in the fall in which taxes were raised, and several senators are expecting to be hammered on that issue.

"There is no one else who can raise that kind of money," Currie said of Miller, whose fundraising prowess could be undercut if it becomes clear he is not returning.

A report filed on Miller's fundraising last year has helped fuel the speculation about his future.

In January, he reported raising nearly $400,000 during the previous year. That was more than Miller raised during the first year of his previous term and more than twice the haul of his counterpart, House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), who reported raising just over $150,000 in the period.

Miller said at the time that the money would be used to help his colleagues, whether he decides to run or not.

"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."