O'Malley or Duncan? Im leaning Duncan.

[nickshepDEM]

We all know their both running, so who are you guy's and gal's going to back in the primary? Ive been thinking about it alot latley and Im starting to lean towards Duncan. Lets face it, the guy has wayyyyy less bagage than O'Malley and to be honest I dont think O'Malley has done anything to help turn the city around that would merrit him to be Governor. Murders in the city are on a rate to break last years numbers, crime is horrible, millions of dollars missing from an absoultley horrible school system. Plus, Ive been talking to alot of people (democrats mostly) in my area and they have already ruled out voting for O'Malley. Im thinking Duncan would do much better throughout the entire state. Im not saying Ive ruled out voting for or backing O'Malley totally, but as of right now Im hoping Duncan really impresses me. Does anybody know more on Duncan that could really describe him to me? I only know the bare facts about the guy. Anyways, what do you guys think?

[DaveinMD]

1. I used to work for Doug

I think Doug is more moderate that O'Malley. However, Montgomery County still has a negative reputation in the rest of the state that could hurt him.

He's had some issues with some of the local unions, but any mayor or county executive has those issues. But he's definitely more moderate. He originally opposed the living wage before supporting a different version that became law. He's very much pro-roads and development.

He's a very good person and a good Democrat. He bankrolled the coordinated campaign in Montgomery County in the 98 election.

[elshiva]

2. I don't know Doug Duncan very well.

I don't think O'Malley's has helped Baltimore that much. I KNOW that I cannot stand Ehrlich's crap for another 4 years. God help us!

[Zuni]

23. He has a very tough job

But he has definetly stopped the serious rot that took hold under Kurt Schmoke.

O'Malley has reduced violent crime and brought new life into some sections of the city---I go there all the time and have seen major improvements in some areas

But some areas are going to be bad no matter who the mayor is. Poverty and violent predators will destroy parts of the city and there is little O'malley can do.

[shireen]

3. don't know

I live in Balt. county, so I see more of O'Malley than Duncan (who I only know from the snipers murder spree). Personally, I like O'Malley. Otherwise, I don't know enough about either one of them.

I hope their supporters come here and make the case, if they want us to help in their campaigns.

[AuntiBush]

5. Agreed!

I know absolutely nothing about Duncan, nor hear his name - except here, quite frankly. As bad as O'Malley's been for the city he seems to have an appeal in my area of Baltimore County. Has anyone seen this past weekends Sunpaper write-up about the Gov. and his troubles now catching-up with him? There is NO WAY he'll have that position after next year. The question then is, who is Duncan and how does he compare to O'Malley?

[aintitfunny]

4. Well, he was under consideration

on my part until he took that cheap shot at O'Malley for the 9/11 comment regarding the Bush Budget and its impact on the cities. I happen to agree with O'Malley's comment and I am proud of him that he spoke truth to power. I do not like the way Duncan has started out attacking his most likely rival in this instance and others.

So, he has lost my consideration. If O'Malley is up against him in the primary I am going O'Malley. I do not beleive our candidates should be going after each other, they should go after the utltimate target - Erlich. We should not eat our own, it only strengthens the Republicans.

Your comments on O'Malley sound like Republican talking points and your comment about talking to "alot of people in my area", sounds like something from a Fox News Report.

[nickshepDEM]

6. Not Republican talking points.... Its called the truth.

And I have no idea what your are talking about with the "Fox News Report." Im was just pointing out that in my area that tends to be strongly democratic, O'Malley is not very popular.

[aintitfunny]

8. Fox news is famous

for it's vague use of "Some People Say", enabling them to get away with producing propaganda.

I am sorry, but your criticisms do sound like what I have been told by Republicans. And while there may be truth to it it is not the whole truth.

Budget cuts have devastated all cities, and Baltimore is no exception. This has a direct impact on any cities ability to fight crime. In spite of the the increased need for security, budget cuts were made federally impacting police, fire and other public service workers. I no more blame O'Malley for the increase in drug related murders than I blamed Duncan for the Sniper shooting spree a few years ago.

The School crisis was a budget shortfall not "millions of dollars" missing. Additionally the state has not provided the city with the funding needed to run the schools. For example:

"For more than a year, the "math literacy workers" who run the program have been trying to spread awareness of a state judge's ruling in the Bradford v. Maryland school funding case in 2000. It said Baltimore schools were being shortchanged by about $200 million a year in state funds." See this story for more information.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/nationworld/bal-md.rally03feb03,0,6866526.story

Balance is needed. In all likelihood either Duncan or O'Malley would make great Maryland govenors, I am leaning O'Malley in the primary, but I will not trash Duncan should I lend my support to O'Malley. I will happily and wholeheartedly support the democrat who becomes the nominee.

[Zuni]

24. O'malley has less and less resources to deal with the problems

Budget cuts from bush and Ehrlich are tying his hands behind his back.
O'Malley had cut violent crime around 30% from the mid-90s highs

[Mutley]

7. i like o'malley

and i will vote for him as governor if i still live in md at the time.

[ptompkins]

9. Not sure O'Malley is the man..

I'm not sure how you can say that. I feel that Baltimore city is a disaster. If you live in the city I'm sure you see it every day. 5 out of 7 days a year in Baltimore City someone gets killed. He can't control the crime, the place looks like a dump.

He has done some good in the Canton area, but is one area worth him moving into the big house? I'm not convinced.. yet..

[yellowcanine]

10. I was with O'Malley until he sounded off on slots -

Now I'm not sure where he stands and i am not sure he knows either. Duncan has the most consistent record on slots (against) and that is the good government position, imo. This is truly a moral values issue and so far Duncan has demonstrated that his moral values are closer to mine than O'Malley's or Ehrlich's, for that matter.

[mdguss]

11. Duncan's way, way, way better:

O'Malley and slots=bad news. Mike Busch did a really, really smart thing: he put slots in Frederick and Allegheny Counties (two of Ehrlich's best). The people out there absolutely hate the idea of slots coming to their neighborhood, with the traffic and all that bad stuff that comes with it. The Maryland Senate should pass the House's bill; put the slots out west. If the party nominates a slots opponent, and counties that haven't gone Democratic in 16 years just might next year.

Put slots in PG, Baltimore City, etc, and see the bill get torpedoed. Nominate a slots supporter, and you'll get Ehrlich going around, "I'm not the problem, the Democrats are," and you'll get an Ehrlich re-election, probably expanded Republican minorities in the House and Senate (maybe even a majority in the Senate), and four years of really bad news.

O'Malley thinks that the Ehrlich leak is gold. He's wrong: as long as there are investigations, there are investigations of, "An Ehrlich aide who leaked information about an alleged affair Mayor O'Malley had." It's a time honored Republican tactic.

O'Malley's campaign has been very unimpressive to date. Beating Ehrlich will not be easy, and doing things like supporting slots makes it even harder to beat him. Duncan has a better chance of beating Ehrlich, so I will support Duncan.

[OnBackground]

13. Do you care?

Marc Fisher's column in today's Post is one of the many pieces dissecting the recent passage in the House of Delegates of slots. Some suggest that this is a victory for Busch, who may have limited gambling or given the Governor and the President of the Senate an unpalatable bill they won't go along with.

While Fisher's take that this is a victory for Ehrlich is interesting, a particular note, well into the column, is worth seeing. He mentions that (according to Del. Peter Franchot), Montgomery County legislators who voted for slots, Jean Cryor, Sheila Hixson, and Henry Heller, might be forced to retire. See which way your delegates voted.

Would this impact how you vote in a general election or primary?

[DaveinMD]

14. Hixson, Heller and Cryor do not have to retire

Cryor could be in danger just because she's a Republican in Montgomery County. Hixson is in no danger at all and Heller is likely to run for the State Senate if Sen. Teitelbaum retires.

[Debliberal]

48. yep

[MissWaverly]

12. I go with O'Malley

I have lived here in Baltimore City since 1989, and I now live near the old Memorial Stadium area, O'Malley helped to revamp that area with Stadium Place, along with our City council rep, Mary Pat Clarke, who I think is the greatest, and our neighborhood activists, things are improving here for the first time in a long while. Stadium Place is nice, and the sidewalks were actually replaced on my street last fall, they need to repair the road but that's another story, also we now have police in our district that come to our neighborhood association and talk to us about what they are doing, I don't know if anyone remembers Police Commissioner Frazier and his basic police yourselves and get back to us policy.

[ptompkins]

15. Baltimore City Crime/Drugs and Duncuns traffic problems

MissWaverly,
You are absolutely correct about the roads. They are a disaster. I can come pick you up on my motorcycle when the weather is nice and we can take a ride around the city. For us motorcyclists the only thing the Baltimore City roads do for us is kill our backs!!!

As for the Police Commissioner, he reports to the Mayor. I view that as a mistake by the Mayor to let it go on as long as possible. When a Police Commissioner does good that is a direct reflection on the Mayor, when they do bad that is also a direct reflection on the Mayor. That goes for any city in any state. 270+ homicides for the last two years is not acceptable. That number should have been cut 1/2 between 2003 and 2004 but it wasn't. If the police can't do it then I almost want to say give everyone a gun and let darwin take over, but we all know that is NOT an option.

On Wednesday nights I drive from Essex to Catonsville.. usually a little after midnight. Sometimes I decide to bypass the toll to save a little money and take 40 through the city. I see no less than 5 people selling drugs at that time of night, what are the police doing? Is the mayor going to step up and fight drugs and crime? I really do hope so!!!! but it does not appear to be happening..

Everyone else,
I'm still not sure I'm for Duncun. I live in Baltimore County and I see Duncun as one of those rich yuppies in MoCo. I'm scared about what Duncun is going to do with the roads around here. 270 is a mess and it goes right through his district. It is insane to drive on 270 during rush hour. Is he going to support the flow of traffic or cut spending to MD DOT? Is 95 and the north side of 495 ever going to start moving? How do people make money sitting in traffic?

Honestly, that is my only problem with Duncun and since I do a lot of driving in PG, MoCo, BalCo, HowCo, and DC... Me being able to get to my work site in a timely manner means a lot.

I would like to see someone other than O'Malley or Duncun.. but I'm not sure who... Someone that takes the time to stop crime and get people moving on the roads. Expansion of public transportation and money for our libraries...

sorry for ranting :( :(

[MissWaverly]

16. don't mind the rant as looong as you care!

I think the main problem is that we have been drained by Homeland insecurity, the drive to spend the money to bunkerize Baltimore, I feel that is why things are so bad, hopefully, calmer heads will prevail, I do not think that Baltimore will be invaded by terrorists, there may be another strike but I don't think it will be here, that's why we need to think locally i.e. drugs, crime and less globally.

[ptompkins]

17. on the same page :)

Yes, drugs and crime... we are most definantly on the same page!!!

[Zuni]

25. But vaccines, first responders, proper training etc. etc

O'Malley has had to divert resources from already cut budgets to prepare for anything that could happen in Baltimore.

Baltimore is a major port of entry, and as such it is vulnerable.

[Frances]

18. I am for O'Malley, not Duncan

However, I think you are attacking Duncan unfairly when it comes to roads. Duncan is Montgomery county executive; he has no control over 270 whatsoever. Duncan is all for building as many roads as he has control over.

What kind of job do you have that you drive in so many areas? It sounds to me that you are part of the problem as far as congested roads go.

[mdguss]

19. Duncan supports the ICC:

At least in theory, that would cut down on traffic. But then again, O'Malley supports the ICC too.

Steny Hoyer would be the best choice, but he probably won't run.

[Frances]

20. I think it's better for Hoyer to stay in the House

The governor is important, but we need every seat we can get in the House

[Zuni]

26. Baltimore did have a reduction of violent crime

As the rest of the country experiences its first violent crime increase since 1991, Baltimore achieved a three-year reduction in violent crime - -29%. In 2002 alone, violent crime dropped by 9%, shootings by 26%, rape by 34%, robberies by 28%.

Increased warrant service by 26%, including 23% more murder warrants and 22% more shooting warrants. Increased firearms recoveries/seizures by 27%. Increased murder clearances by 2% and shooting clearances by 10%.

Conducted 100 targeted and random integrity tests to deter and detect police misconduct and decreased citywide complaints of discourtesy and excessive force by 28% as compared to 2001.

Implemented a Professional Performance Enhancement Program to identify officers who garner citizen complaints and provide them with effective, ethical policing techniques

Exposed the nationwide backlog of unexamined DNA evidence collected at homicide and rape scenes, reaching exposure on 20/20 and Oprah leading to three grants in the amount of $3,276,000 for the police department's DNA project.
Obtained $1M for the State's Attorney to enhance handgun prosecutions on the city's most violent offenders.
Emergency Preparedness
Established an executive level terrorism and public health preparedness committee that meets regularly to increase communication and cooperation among city agencies.

This year alone, the Criminal Intelligence Section of the Baltimore Police Department established an international intelligence network, monitored terrorism extremist movements, created a false documents team to investigate immigrants' status in the United States, and developed translation capabilities in 11 foreign languages.

Created an Office of Homeland Security in the Fire Department and an Office of Terrorism Preparedness Response in the Health Department. In addition, the Bureau of Water and Wastewater has enhanced security at all major water and sewage facilities and initiated chorine conservation at all major facilities

Passed an unprecedented Hazmat ordinance, setting standards for the city and the chemical industry to ensure that all premises where hazardous materials are stored, dispensed, used or handled are safeguarded with protective measures.

Drug Treatment
Since 1999, five new substance abuse treatment facilities have opened in Baltimore City - Second Genesis, Turning Point, Druid Heights, Metropolitan Transition Center and Gaudenzia, which is the largest single-site drug treatment center in Maryland. Prior to this, no new facilities had opened in 30 years.

Recorded the largest 2-year drop (18% decrease) in drug-related hospital emergency department (ED) visits in the nation, the largest 2-year drop (36% decrease) in heroin-related ED visits in the nation and the second largest 2-year drop (28.8% decrease) in cocaine-related ED visits in the nation.

Expanded the availability and funding of drug treatment dramatically, with funding more than doubling from $29.4 million in FY00 to $59.7 million in FY03 and the number of slots increasing by 36%.

Instituted Treatment Options Through Education (TOTE) and Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) - two new programs to combat the increase in the morbidity and mortality of HIV/AIDS in substance abusers.

[yellowcanine]

21. If slots passes, opponents need to get it on the 06 ballot. The people

against slots feel much more strongly about it and will be motivated to kill slots AND vote against Ehrlich, the biggest slots proponent in Maryland.

I believe the way a referendum overturning legislation works in Maryland is that it has to be on the first congressional election ballot after the appropriate petition signatures are certified - and that will be 06. Perfect timing.

[Zuni]

22. I'm for O'Malley

[Debliberal]

50. He should win

[freestyle]

27. Duncan Duncan Duncan

I live in Baltimore, and relish the idea of being rid of O'Malley, but not by inflicting his grandstanding incompetence on the rest of the state. Also, O'Malley's performance as mayor leaves him with lots of baggage that would make it difficult to beat Ehrlich.

I'm sure someone will say that O'Malley was left a mess by Schmoke and is doing a better job than he did. That is true, but not saying much. I am a native Baltimorean and in my 33 years, the city has been governed against the citizens' interests the whole time. Yes, that includes Schaefer too.

[Frances]

28. Well, I lived in Montgomery County for almost 30 years

(and I was an adult when I moved there). Personally, I think O'Malley has done a better job with what he had to work with in Baltimore than Duncan has done in Montgomery.

[DaveinMD]

29. I think

they've both done very good jobs in their jurisdictions.

[Frances]

30. My main criticism of Duncan

is that he helped engineer the defeat of one of the most honest, thoughtful county council memebers Montgomery County has had: Blair Ewing.

Duncan raised a lot of money from developers in order to defeat Blair.

[DaveinMD]

31. Blair

will likely be running for House of Delegates this year.

Doug and Blair were from different factions of the growth issue. Blair toyed with running against Doug, so Doug took him out. We need a balanced approach in the County. That's what makes Ike Leggett such a strong County Executive candidate.

[Frances]

32. Well, I am all for Ike Leggett

I hope he becomes County Executive. The county needs someone with his personality and integrity.

What are Blair's chances to win a seat in the House of Delegates?

And what will Doug do if he is defeated? Is it possible we would have an O'Malley/Duncan or a Duncan/O'Malley ticket?

While I like O'Malley a lot what are his chances against Ehrlich?

How much are the Ehrlich scandals sinking in to the voters?

[DaveinMD]

33. My thoughts on your questions

I hope he becomes County Executive. The county needs someone with his personality and integrity.

What are Blair's chances to win a seat in the House of Delegates?

It should be an open seat as Franchot is running for Comptroller. So he should have as good a shot as anyone running.

And what will Doug do if he is defeated? Is it possible we would have an O'Malley/Duncan or a Duncan/O'Malley ticket?

In Maryland, the tickets are set before the primary. So there won't be any unity ticket.

While I like O'Malley a lot what are his chances against Ehrlich?

I think his chances are very good. In fact, even before the scandal, O'Malley was tied or leading.

How much are the Ehrlich scandals sinking in to the voters?

I hope so. Its getting more attention all the time.

[Frances]

34. Thanks for your thoughts

I volunteered for KKT in the last election. I thought she got off to a good start with her birthday parties, but the rest of the campaign wasn't so good. Some observations:

When I was in Baltimore, I watched the news on a Sinclair station. The "news" was that KKT's support came from outside Maryland while Ehrlich's support was all from inside Maryland. (No mention of the free use of Fox helicopters.)

It also seemed to me that there was an unspoken anti-immigrant feeling in that campaign. When I walked with KKT at the county fair, there were more dark faces from India and Africa in the group walking with her than white faces. Most of the people who were attending the fair were white. They did not make eye contact with me. A few just said that they were Republican. A couple of people were pleased to meet Robert Kennedy's daughter, but not nearly as many as I expected.

When I answered the phone at her headquarters in Rockville, an older white Catholic woman was very upset about KKT's position on abortion. I wonder what percentage of the Catholic vote KKT got.

When I passed out lit at Giant in Wheaton, a young white male was passing out lit for Ehrlich. He was an in-your-face type guy. When I heard KKT speak at the Jewish Community Center in Rockville, there was a whole table of in-your-face type white guys. I would guess that they were from a Baltimore suburb (not down-Montgomery county)and that they traveled with Ehrlich. I also saw young white guys on the side of the road waving Ehrlich signs. In other words, I think a lot young white guys must have voted for Ehrlich.

I think that Ehrlich's appeal for white males was that he was seen as one of them--a regular guy who had made good. (Of course, I thought Ehrlich was a phony.)

Back to the debate at the community center. The moderator admonished KKT after the debate because he thought she wasn't "nice" enough. He compared KKT very unfavorably to Connie Morella who debated Chris Van Hollen just before KKT debated Ehrlich. (Fortunately, Connie was defeated in the election.)

That brings me to my final point: I think 2002 was a bad year for a woman and a Democrat because of 9/11 and the sniper shootings. KKT was seen as strident when she tried to be tough, and as weak when she didn't. Ehrlich was seen as a nice guy, but tough.

Oh yes, the Post gave very positive coverage to Ehrlich and so-so to negative coverage of Kathleen.

Your thoughts?

[DaveinMD]

35. I believe

that Kathleen lost the race with her pick for Lt. Governor. She did things backwards. She ran to the center at the beginning and the left at the end. Her pick really pissed off the African American community. You had highly qualified African Americans who could have been chosen. Or at the least, politicians who were Democrats longer than a few months. The result was that the minority community sat on their hands for a long time. She never recovered, but towards the end she was running to the left to appeal for black votes that she needed. Meanwhile, Ehrlich was running towards the center. Kathleen didn't get the vote out of PG that she needed to win.

She ran a horrible campaign in every way. Alan Fleischman, while a nice guy, had never run a campaign before. He was not up to the task and the Republicans ran circles around him. They controlled the debate in this election. She lost in a year that Dems picked up 2 congressional seats in the state.

[Frances]

36. I did hear a lot of complaints about the pick for Lt. Governor

A lot of people thought she should have picked Legget. I think KKT thought that a highly regarded military man would bring in votes from the middle, but that didn't happen.

Bill and Hillary Clinton spoiled a lot of my Dem friends in terms of how articulate they were at rallies. KKT was a big let down in comparison to them. I kept reminding my friends that Erhlich would put Repub policies and ethics in place. Turns out I was right.

Do you think Ehrlich might run for Senator instead of governor?

[DaveinMD]

37. no

Ehrlich will run for Governor and then try to run for President if he wins.

Kathleen Kennedy was not a very bright person and it showed in the way they ran the campaign. O'Malley or Duncan should have challenged her in the primary.

[Frances]

38. With hindsight I think it would have been just as well for it

to have been a 3 way race between KKT,O'Malley, and Duncan.

I think the guys bowed out because the primary was so close to the general election & the powers that be thought a bloody primary would hurt our chances for the big prize.

I thought so too at the time.

You mentioned that we picked up 2 Congressional seats in 2002. I was very happy that Chris won, but I think someone told me that even with all of the hard work by so many volunteers, he would not have won if the District had not been redrawn. Do you know if that is true?

[DaveinMD]

39. I don't know if that's true

its possible, I'd have to crunch the numbers. It surely would have been closer.

We also picked up the Baltimore County district with Dutch Ruppersberger. Kathleen didn't do well in that district.

[Frances]

40. I am very pleased that Ruppersberger won

I don't really know the politics of that region.

I did notice that in Montgomery Country the farther out you go, the more Republicans you see.

I much preferred passing out flyers down county because I got more positive comments. I got a number of anti-abortion comments in Gaithersburg.

[DaveinMD]

41. upper Montgomery

has become more Democratic in recent years. The new people who've moved in are more Democratic and many of the conservatives have moved out to Frederick. This is born out by the fact that the county has gone from about 56 percent Democratic performace to 66. There is also only one Republican from the County in the state legislature and she's very moderate.

[Frances]

42. On that note of good news

I'll stop asking you questions.

I really appreciate all of the information you shared.

[DaveinMD]

43. not a problem

glad to help.

[Debliberal]

49. Your the best

[formernaderite]

54. While I was never hot for Kathleen....

saying: "Kathleen Kennedy was not a very bright person and it showed in the way they ran the campaign." is a bit unfair. I never found her to be stupid. She may not have been a great campaigner, and I don't think she's a natural politician....but stupid? Nope..sorry.

[LiberalEsto]

56. I despise Leggett

I will never forgive him for the time he voted - about 13 years ago - on the county alcohol control board to let a really problematic beer & wine store keep its alcohol license despite repeated sales to minors.

My neighbors and I petitioned to have the place shut down because of the under-age violations and because the store constantly attracted all kinds of creeps who start drinking at 10 a.m. and continued all day and night. Their chosen drinking spot was right behind our house. They smashed bottles, cursed, fought, and made it impossible for us to use our back yard, even after we put up a 6-foot fence. The area was covered in broken glass and empty cans, and they peed on the fence.

Just before the case came up before the county alcohol control board, the store owner started leafleting the area claiming that we wanted to shut the place down because we were racists. I was livid at this grossly unfounded lie, and brought thank you letters from Rev. Jesse Jackson (for working on his presidential campaign in the 1980s) to the hearing. I said I didn't care what color the drinkers were, just that they had no business making our neighborhood unlivable.

Whether because he believed the racism accusation or not, Leggett cast the deciding vote to let the slimeball heep his license. We ended up having to sell our house and move, just so I could let my children play in a yard without hearing cursing and fighting and smelling urine.

As far as I'm concerned, Leggett will never get an iota of support or a penny from me.

[LiberalEsto]

55. Duncan also tried to oust Phil Andrews in 2003

for daring to oppose the ICC. That really pissed me off.

Andrews is my council rep. and I support him on this and other issues. Ramming the ICC down our throats is not going to solve any of the county's serious traffic issues. It will just create more traffic as well as environmental problems.

I also oppose the massive high-rise urban development Duncan wants to build around the Shady Grove Metro Station. The roads in our area are already badly congested, and despite the recent opening of a big new parking deck, it's still extemely hard to find parking at this station. Derwood/Shady Grove simply cannot accommodate thousands of new residents and their vehicles.

To reduce traffic, we need to extend the Metro Red Line beyond Shady Grove to Clarksburg, and the other end of the Red Line to Olney. We also need the proposed Purple Line to connect the outlying Metro stations.

Duncan isn't all bad, but I feel he listens too much to developers.

[kwassa]

57. I agree and disagree

I am in favor of the Metro extensions that you talk about. I am also in favor of the ICC, I am in favor of expanding many transportation alternatives. I think the ICC has the popular support in this county.

The traffic will not be reduced on Shady Grove by NOT building new roads. That will achieve nothing.

I live in Montgomery Village and drive to the Shady Grove Metro every day, by the way.

[formernaderite]

53. I agree with you...

I never thought I'd be more than luke warm regarding Duncan, but I totally support him, if it means getting rid of O'Malley. Duncan will also readily appeal to moderates across the state...and this time we want Ehrlich out.
O'malley can be a really spiteful person and his political ambitions bother me. I'd like to see him clean up Baltimore before he uses it as his ticket to fame. I've done alot of construction work in Baltimore...and have heard alot of people(blue collar democrats) complain about his fiefdom. It always seems to be personal with him. I hate cronyism, and have read enough about the Ehrlich version than to dream about the democratic version. Duncan seems to be a stand up guy.

[AuntiBush]

44. I'm Certain Sarbanes Supports O'Malley

Call his office and ask... he walked along side O'Malley in the last parade we had... might have been during this past holidays.

As far as Duncan. I asked around. He's very conservative and Montgomery County is "very" red... very!

[Frances]

45. What do you mean by saying that Montgomery County is

very red?

Montgomery County has a 66% Democratic performance!

[Zuni]

47. Montgomery County is among the most liberal areas in the US

Montgomery County is among the most solidly Dem areas outside of a major city in the US.

[Pool Hall Ace]

46. Hello, don't mean to barge in . . . I'm new to DU

I lived in Maryland for 42 years and miss it terribly!

A few years ago, I was talking to a co-worker who was very politically involved, and she said that she doubted Doug Duncan could ever win a statewide election because he is pro-life.

Do you know if this is even true? I didn't see anything regarding the choice position on his website, and Google didn't turn up anything either.

[Debliberal]

51. Should be a close race

[DaveinMD]

52. Duncan

has never gone on the record as far as being pro-life. There have been rumors because he's Catholic. However, this week he came out strongly in favor of funding stem cell research by the state government. I'm sure both he and O'Malley will run as pro-choice candidates.