Politics

The election for Anne Arundel County executive is one of the most competitive and consequential in the state this fall, and the stakes were reflected in the urgency and ferocity of some attacks the candidates hurled at each other during a debate Tuesday evening. County Executive Steuart Pittman (D) and his Republican challenger, County Councilmember Jessica Haire, circled each other like heavyweight pugilists at the start of their 90-minute encounter at the Maryland Hall for Creative Arts in Annapolis. Both had rehearsed zingers and substantive attacks in easy supply, to the delight of hundreds of people in attendance. But as the night wore on, the two candidates often — and sometimes to their own surprise — found themselves in agreement, and the crowd lost some of its energy and enthusiasm.

It’s that feeling of déjà vu all over again, as Democrat Calvin Ball and Republican Allan Kittleman battle it out for the top job in Howard County, just as they did four years ago. The only difference — Ball is fighting to keep his seat as county executive, which he took away from Kittleman in 2018, while Kittleman is hoping to regain his seat in the Nov. 8 general election. “Public service is very important to me,” Kittleman said. “I’m running because I think people in Howard County deserve better.” Kittleman, 64, a Republican who served as county executive from 2014 to 2018, said his commitment to public service was shaped at an early age by his father, the late Sen. Robert Kittleman, who was a member of the Maryland General Assembly from 2002 to 2004. He died Sept. 11, 2004.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox posted on Facebook about a significant occasion on Monday, but it wasn’t the one political observers might have anticipated hearing about. “Happy birthday to the love of my life Valerie Cox,” he wrote. “Lookin’ so fine.” There was a picture of the smiling couple, but no photos or mention of another big event also occurring the same day: Cox’s fundraising visit to Florida hosted by former President Donald Trump at his opulent Mar-a-Lago residence. For $1,776 attendees could attend a private cocktail reception. For $25,000, they could stand alongside Cox and the former president for a photo. It’s not clear how much of that money Cox gets; the Maryland limit for a campaign contribution to a candidate is $6,000. New campaign finance reports are due Oct. 28.

Leaders of Montgomery County’s teachers union said they planned to file an unfair labor practice charge against the county’s public school system Tuesday in an ongoing disagreement over ground rules that have stalled contract negotiations. The dispute has blocked discussions over an upcoming three-year contract that would start in July 2023 and help determine teacher salaries and benefits. The Montgomery County Education Association — which represents more than 14,000 teachers — and Montgomery County Public Schools clashed this month over how many of those contract talks should be open. The union wanted all the negotiations to be open for all of its members; the school system has offered five virtual open sessions and two virtual town halls. Negotiations were scheduled to start Tuesday at the latest.

With three weeks left until the Nov. 8 general election, the two candidates for Anne Arundel County executive, incumbent Democrat Steuart Pittman and Republican County Council member Jessica Haire, will discuss their strategies for managing the county’s biggest issues at a debate at Maryland Hall Tuesday. The Capital and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce will co-host the event scheduled to run from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

In the week since all five members of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Planning Board abruptly resigned, the county council is working to “move forward,” according to council president Gabe Albornoz. Albornoz told reporters at his weekly briefing that “dozens” of applicants are interested in filling the vacancies on the board, whose duties include voting on planning and zoning decisions that can shape Maryland’s largest county.

One of the most competitive state legislative races of the 2022 election cycle has taken an unexpected and nasty turn. Del. Sid Saab (R-Anne Arundel), locked in a tight open seat Senate race in District 33 with attorney Dawn Gile (D), filed a defamation and false light suit against Gile and her campaign committee on Thursday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. In the five-page suit, Saab maintains that some of the literature that Gile’s campaign sent recently to voters’ homes contains false information about Saab and his businesses, including the suggestion that he is under federal indictment.

U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), who has put more than $12.5 million into his reelection campaign, apparently did not feel the need to restock his campaign treasury over the past three months. According to newly-released campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission over the weekend, Trone raised $244,046 between July 1 and Sept. 30 for his competitive rematch with state Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington). But that money came from donors; Trone, the wealthy owner of a national chain of liquor stores, did not put any of his own money into the campaign during this three-month period.