Showing posts with label Elections 2010. Show all posts

Thursday, October 14, 2010

November 2, 2010 Maryland General Election Ballot Questions

Maryland State Board of Elections

http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2010/ballot_questions.html#state1

Section 2 of Article 14 of the 1867 Maryland constitution mandated that every 20 years a referendum is required to appear on the ballot for citizens to decide whether or not they wish to rewrite the Maryland constitution.

Find my www.thetentacle.com column on the Maryland constitutional convention question, here: http://tinyurl.com/2c8sbsg http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4005

My Sunday www.explorecarroll.com column will also address the constitutional convention question…

This week in The Tentacle

http://www.thetentacle.com/

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Hold A Constitutional Convention?

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Unbeknownst to most Marylanders, this November 2 you have the chance of a lifetime. No, I’m not just referring to whether you wish to continue the public policies and governance of the Gov. Martin O’Malley or try a different approach with former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.

Around the World from Home

Tom McLaughlin

On my long flight to and from the United States, I usually end up in the galley following the dictates of healthy flying on our long Malaysia Airline journey from our home in Kuching, Malaysian Borneo to Los Angeles, a 26 hour journey from door to door.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Mean Nation?

Roy Meachum

Last week’s column, “Anger Divides These United States,” dealt with the political arena. From my aged perception, a considerable portion of the electorate faces November voting blinded because of unreasoning anger.

Fads and Meeting Challenges

Nick Diaz

The world is changing at the speed of thought, yet the United States consistently ranks at or near the bottom among developed nations in every quantifiable category that measures achievement and preparedness in school-age students.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Voting! Making Up Your Mind

Shawn Burns

There are only 22 days left before the General Election on November 2. Get ready for a deluge of material in your mailbox and on your radios and televisions.

Campaign Diary – On The Trail Surprises

Michael Kurtianyk

Out campaigning to be a county commissioner is hard work. Not everyone will agree with you, but most are pleasant and welcoming. However, I have noticed several things that have struck me as different or unexpected.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Winchester Cathedral Window

Roy Meachum

A stained-glass window, at some expense, stands in the Winchester Cathedral, the church of the British Army Royal Rifles; it comes to mind again because of the latest awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The Law of ‘Intended’ Consequences

Joe Charlebois

On March 9, 2010, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi assured us that we need to pass the healthcare legislation so we can learn what’s in the bill. She was speaking in defense of the soon-to-be-passed healthcare legislation. She could have been giving us a lesson of what the Law of Unintended Consequences actually means.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

It’s Up To YOU…

Joan Marie Aquilino

To slate or not to slate, that is the question – with apologies to William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

An Open Letter to Frederick County Voters

Amanda Haddaway

Before the primary, I urged, begged and pleaded with you to vote in the primary. Most of you didn’t listen and I’m more than a little peeved about your wanton disregard of my request.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Change Needed in County Government

George Wenschhof

For 20 years, residents of Frederick County, Maryland, have been governed by either a "pro-growth" or "anti-growth" Board of County Commissioners.

A Return to a Forgotten Past

Kevin E. Dayhoff

A discussion on civility has been the subject of civilized society since the beginnings of language and the written word.

Things I like about North America

Tom McLaughlin

[Editor’s Note: Suriani, Tom McLaughlin's wife, has completed her first trip to America. They are flying home today. Here is a list of some of her favorite things, most of which are not found in Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia, where she is from, and where she and Tom live.]

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Anger Divides These United States

Roy Meachum

In counterpoint to the Tea Party rally on Washington’s Mall in late August, various organizations, especially the N.A.A.C.P. and labor unions, showed up Saturday.

Considering Your Governor Choice

Farrell Keough

When we were last together, we discussed some musings on the attempts to bring the various candidates under the Republican rubric together in unity. We noted a mechanism which could be used to make a clear statement to those in our party who do not follow a course of decency and integrity – the under-vote. Low and behold, this precise mechanism was used in this last primary.

*****

The Herald-Mail: County voters will face three ballot questions By ANDREW SCHOTZ

County voters will face three ballot questions By ANDREW SCHOTZ

The Herald-Mail http://www.herald-mail.com/

09/26/2010

County voters will face three ballot questions By ANDREW SCHOTZ andrews@herald-mail.com

http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=253638&format=html&autoreload=true

RELATED STORIES in the Hagerstown Herald-Mail:

On the Campaign Trail

Staley to run as write-in candidate for school board

BOE candidate, Chamber of Commerce at odds over forum

O’Malley, Ehrlich hold first 2010 gubernatorial debate

Candidates for Register of Wills tout qualifications for job

County commissioners candidates respond to questions

On the Campaign Trail

Deadline to register for voting is Tuesday

Washington County Commissioners candidates Q&A

Constitution guides Reed’s candidacy

________________

Washington County voters will be asked on Nov. 2 to consider three statewide ballot questions:

• Should Maryland have a convention to change its constitution?

• Should Baltimore City’s orphans’ court judges be required to be lawyers?

• Should jury trials be allowed only in civil cases when the amount in question is more than $15,000, instead of more than $10,000, the current minimum?

Those items will be on general-election ballots along with numerous county, state and federal races.

Even though the orphans’ court question pertains only to Baltimore City, it’s up for statewide vote because it proposes a change to the state constitution, said Jared DeMarinis, the Maryland State Board of Elections’ director of candidacy and campaign finance.

The jury trial question also proposes a constitutional amendment.

The constitutional convention question is one that, according to the state constitution, must be asked of voters every 20 years.

A constitutional convention question failed in 1990.

Neither major political party is taking a position on the statewide ballot questions.

“Personally, I don’t think there’s a need” for a constitutional convention, said Susan Turnbull, the chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party. “We’re working pretty well in the state of Maryland.”

“That’s something for Maryland voters to decide,” Ryan Mahoney, a spokesman for the Maryland Republican Party, said of a constitutional convention.

He added that it’s not a bad idea to ask voters the question every 20 years.

Baltimore City and several counties throughout Maryland also will have local ballot questions for their voters. Washington County will not have local ballot questions.

The three statewide ballot questions are listed below, along with explanations and background from the state:

• Question 1, Constitutional Question — Maryland Constitutional Convention

(Senate Bill 26, Chapter 9 of the 2010 Legislative Session)

Should a constitutional convention be called for the purpose of changing the Maryland Constitution?

Under Article XIV, Section 2 of the Maryland Constitution, the General Assembly is required to ask the voters every 20 years whether a constitutional convention should be called for the purpose of altering the Maryland Constitution.

• Question 2, Constitutional Amendment — Trial by Jury

(Senate Bill 119, Chapter 480 of the 2010 Legislative Session)

Authorizing the enactment of legislation to limit the right to a jury trial in a civil proceeding to those proceedings in which the amount in controversy exceeds $15,000.

(Amending Maryland Declaration of Rights — Articles 5(a) and 23)

Under Articles 5 and 23 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights, a party in a civil proceeding has a right to a jury trial where the amount in controversy exceeds $10,000. In cases where the amount in controversy does not exceed this threshold amount, a judge, rather than a jury, determines the verdict. The constitutional amendment would increase the amount-in-controversy limitation by providing that a party may not demand a jury trial in a civil proceeding unless the amount in controversy exceeds $15,000, excluding attorney’s fees if attorney’s fees are recoverable in the proceeding.

• Question 3, Constitutional Amendment — Qualifications for Baltimore City Orphans’ Court Judges

(House Bill 417, Chapter 481 of the 2010 Legislative Session)

Requires judges of the Orphans’ Court in Baltimore City to be members in good standing of the Maryland Bar who are admitted to practice law in Maryland.

(Amending Article IV, Section 40 of the Maryland Constitution)

Under the Maryland Constitution, the voters of each county and Baltimore City elect three judges to the Orphans’ Court of their respective jurisdictions, with the exception of Montgomery and Harford counties, where circuit court judges sit as the Orphans’ Court. The judges must be citizens of the state and residents, for the preceding 12 months, in the city or county in which they are elected. The constitutional amendment would add an additional eligibility requirement for judges of the Orphans’ Court in Baltimore City, requiring them to be members in good standing of the Maryland Bar who are admitted to practice law in Maryland.

Related: November 2, 2010 Maryland General Election Ballot Questions

Maryland State Board of Elections

http://www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2010/ballot_questions.html#state1

Find my www.thetentacle.com column on the constitutional convention question, here: http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4005

My Sunday www.explorecarroll.com column will also address the constitutional convention question…

20100926 HHM County voters will face 3 ballot questions

20101102 Ballot questions Gubernatorial Election

Monday, October 11, 2010

Jay Ambrose: Dems want to avoid certain words

Ambrose: Dems want to avoid certain words

Saturday, October 9, 2010 By Jay Ambrose

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/article_37bdbdfe-d326-11df-a559-001cc4c002e0.html

The news is bad economically for the country and bad politically for the Democrats, and there may be some words they will want to avoid, such as "food stamps." I would throw in "oil spill" and "light bulbs," though it will take me a few paragraphs to get there.

Meanwhile, here's a new, foreboding record for the

United States

- 41.8 million people receiving the aforementioned food stamps in a human catastrophe brought on by unemployment rising scarily again. With an eye to November's midterm elections, Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has responded by referring to Democrats as "the party of food stamps," as opposed to the Republicans, viewed by him as "the party of paychecks."

It's rhetoric packed with partisan purpose, to be sure, but also some analytical insightfulness. Properly devised safety nets are needed when the free market is not delivering everything it can, but a chief reason it is not performing well right now is a government scaring businesses into investment of the kind where you first find a mattress and then stick your money underneath it.

The perceived threats are multiple - what might happen when the Obamacare mayhem fully kicks in, if the dollar keeps collapsing, if debt keeps accumulating, if taxes go up, if no one stops the madness that assumes it's not free exchange that is finally the source of all wealth, but the cleverness of the leftists now in power… http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/article_37bdbdfe-d326-11df-a559-001cc4c002e0.html

20101009 Ambrose Dems want to avoid certain words

*****

Ehrlich greets 150 at fundraising event in Westminster Sunday

“Ehrlich greets 150 at fundraising event in Westminster Sunday” October 10, 2010 photo by George Welty

The event was organized by retiring five-term Maryland Dist. 5 Republican Sen. Larry Haines … “Ehrlich greets 150 at fundraising event in Westminster Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010” “This (Carroll County) is the promised land (for Ehrlich,)” said Haines, who introduced Ehrlich and his family to the crowd. Haines focused on the economy in his opening remarks. Current Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley “can’t fix it. But Bob Ehrlich can,” said Haines, who went on to say that in three weeks, the voters can give Ehrlich that opportunity… October 10, 2010 photo by George Welty

Former House of Delegates member and candidate for Haines’ former Maryland Dist. 5 seat, Joe Getty… “Ehrlich greets 150 at fundraising event in Westminster Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010” Getty then took the podium to introduce the many elected officials and candidates for office in the room, as well as a number of business and civic leaders; who time off from a beautiful fall Maryland Sunday to rub elbows with Ehrlich and his family… October 10, 2010 photo by George Welty

Former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich. October 10, 2010 photo by George Welty

Retiring five-term Maryland Dist. 5 Republican Sen. Larry Haines Photo by George Welty October 10, 2010

Former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich. October 10, 2010 photo by George Welty

(Left to Right) Former House of Delegates member and candidate for Haines’ former Maryland Dist. 5 seat, Joe Getty, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, and retiring five-term Maryland Dist. 5 Republican Sen. Larry Haines Photo by George Welty October 10, 2010

Ehrlich greets 150 at fundraising event in Westminster Sunday

Crowd urged to help him win over 80 percent of the vote in Carroll County in the general election on November 2.

Monday, 10/11/10 “Ehrlich greets 150 at fundraising event in Westminster Sunday” October 10, 2010 - - Updated October 27, 2010 with pictures by George Welty: http://georgewelty.blogspot.com/

For more pictures by George Welty: http://georgewelty.blogspot.com/ from this event, go to: http://georgewelty.blogspot.com/2010/10/bob-ehrlich.html

By Kevin Dayhoff http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/10/ehrlich-greets-150-at-fundraising-event.html

With just three critical weeks left before the general election, Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert L. Ehrlich made yet another in a series of campaign stops in Carroll County early Sunday evening. The event was billed as a “10-10-10 Rally for Bob Ehrlich.”

Ehrlich spoke for about 30 minutes at the fundraising event with 150 enthusiastic supporters at the Best Western Hotel in Westminster, where he urged the crowd to help him win over 80 percent of the vote in Carroll County in the general election on November 2.

The event was organized by retiring five-term Maryland Dist. 5 Republican Sen. Larry Haines, with some help by former House of Delegates member and candidate for Haines’ former seat, Joe Getty.

Getty and former Maryland Governor Ehrlich worked together before when he served as policy director in the Governor’s Office when Ehrlich served as governor from 2003 to 2007.

Ehrlich, accompanied by his family, made their way to Westminster immediately after the Baltimore Ravens 31-17 victory over the Denver Broncos at M&T Bank Stadium earlier in the day.

“This (Carroll County) is the promised land (for Ehrlich,)” said Haines, who introduced Ehrlich and his family to the crowd. Haines focused on the economy in his opening remarks. Current Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley “can’t fix it. But Bob Ehrlich can,” said Haines, who went on to say that in three weeks, the voters can give Ehrlich that opportunity…

Getty then took the podium to introduce the many elected officials and candidates for office in the room, as well as a number of business and civic leaders; who time off from a beautiful fall Maryland Sunday to rub elbows with Ehrlich and his family.

Carroll County commissioner candidates, Dave Roush, Dist. 3, Robin Frazier, Dist. 1, and Hampstead Mayor Haven Shoemaker, Dist. 2, were in attendance. Also attending were outgoing County Commissioner Mike Zimmer and retiring Maryland Dist. 5A Del. Tanya Shewell, along with a candidate for her former seat, Justin Ready; as well as Mount Airy town council members David Blais and Wendy Peters.

Ehrlich introduced his family, thanked Haines and Getty for their prior service and made a special mention of Amanda Boyd Miller, who has served as the chair of Ehrlich Carroll County campaign efforts.

In his remarks, Ehrlich took the opportunity to talk about why he entered the gubernatorial contest, noting that only seven Republican governors have served in the Maryland Statehouse. “I’m the only living Republican governor” who has served…, said Ehrlich.

Ehrlich noted that many folks have asked him “What got me into this… What changed your mind,” to run again for office after his defeat to O’Malley in the 2006 gubernatorial contest.

From 2005 to 2008 the electorate said, it wanted more taxes, more government spending, more bureaucracy, and more government regulation, said Ehrlich. That was what the message was… That’s what elected officials thought was (the message) the American public was sending, said Ehrlich.

Then around 2009, Ehrlich noted that he was attending meetings in places like Montgomery County, “expecting maybe 60” people; only there would hundreds of people there. “Small business people; people who had never been in politics before…”

However, “Something sent them over… something on the federal or state level…” And they were saying “enough.” Then came the governor’s race in Virginia, which was won by a Republican… And then New Jersey, a traditional Democrat stronghold, chose a Republican governor, “And I began to really take notice,” of a change in the mood of the voters, said Ehrlich.

“Then (former U.S. Senator) Ted Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts went to a Republican” and that coupled with the New Jersey governor’s race results; and “we started to think this was news-worthy.”

Ehrlich mentioned his opponent very little during his remarks, except to note that in the “bluest state in the country,” his opponent started in March with a campaign, not on his record for the previous four years, but began by running on “Bob Ehrlich is a bad guy… I was to blame for the Louisiana (Gulf of Mexico) oil spill. It has gotten goofier ever since,” laughed Ehrlich.

“O’Malley is not running on his record. He has no record to run on except raising taxes,” quipped Ehrlich. “We want our lives back. We are not anti-government. The Marine Corps is the government. Maryland State Police is government. We’re for appropriate government.

“Our secret plan for the next 23 days (until the general election) is to really work hard… Then on November 3^rd, (the day after the election) is my time and I’ll get back to work,” said Ehrlich.

After his remarks, Ehrlich spent over 30 minutes mingling with those who attended the event; having his picture taken and going over campaign talking points.

After the event, Getty noted that the fundraiser was scheduled to help Ehrlich fund the last three weeks of running television ads in the Baltimore – Washington market, “one of the most expensive in the country,” noted Getty.

Over the last week, Ehrlich’s opponent has continued to wage an all-out media blitz campaign…, said Getty.

It is important that we help raise funds to respond to these attacks. “It’ll cost $1 million a week from now until the election,” said Getty who acknowledged a large campaign-funding disadvantage to O’Malley, which “allowed him (the current governor) to go on TV early.

“Governor O’Malley has a 3 to 1 advantage,” said Getty as he asked rhetorically about media reports that O’Malley still has $9 million left to spend in his war chest on additional television ads.

Meanwhile, later today, O’Malley and Ehrlich are scheduled to participate in their first gubernatorial debate of the election contest. “I’m looking forward to it,” said Ehrlich as he gathered his family for the trip home.

####

Ehrlich Events in Carroll County

By Getty for Senate on Saturday, October 9, 2010

http://www.facebook.com/notes/getty-for-senate/ehrlich-events-in-carroll-county/156168757751275

The next few days offer great local opportunities to be engaged in the Bob Ehrlich for Governor campaign.

On Sunday (the day before the first Gubernatorial debate), Senator Larry Haines is hosting a major fundraiser and Rally for Bob Ehrlich at the Best Western Westminster. We will hear from Governor Ehrlich about his views on the status of the campaign as he prepares for Monday's debate. Call me if you need information about this event (Joe Getty mobile phone 443 744 9338).

On Monday, volunteers and friends of the Getty for Senate campaign are gathering for a Debate Watch Party to watch the televised debate together at Greenmount Station Restaurant (1631 North Main Street, Hampstead). Come at 6 pm if you want to join us for dinner (dutch treat - separate checks). At 7 pm, we will watch the WJZ-TV debate on the Greenmount Station widescreen television and I will offer commentary from my perspective of having attended the 2002 debates.

On Tuesday morning, you can hear post-debate analysis directly from Governor Ehrlich at the Senator David Brinkley Breakfast Fundraiser (October 12 - 7:30 a.m.; Dutch's Daughter, 581 Himes Avenue, Frederick; $125 per person; Contact: David Brinkley 301-698-9206).

Kevin Dayhoff Photo by George Welty October 10, 2010

Don't miss out in participating in one of these great opportunities.

------

Also: Early voting for the November 2, 2010 Maryland General Election begins Friday October 22, 2010 through Thursday, October 28, 2010, except for Sunday, October 24th when early voting centers are closed.

Labels: Dayhoff photos, Dayhoff writing essays, Dayhoff writing essays politics, Elections 2010, Elections 2010 Maryland, Elections 2010 MD Governor, Gov Ehrlich-Robert

*****