from the
Baltimore Sun Centrist Democrats in the House of Delegates have decided to form a group to promote their point of view within the party and weigh in on key issues, a leading member of the group said Thursday.
Del. Mary Dulany-James, a Harford County Democrat, said the groups would probably be called the Blue Dog delegation or caucus -- named after a similarly oriented group of moderate Democrats in Congress.
James said the group could have a potential membership of about 20 members of the Democratic caucus, which has tended to be dominated by more liberal members from Baltimore city and Prince George's and Montgomery counties. Among the members she would identify as likely members are Dels. John Bohannon and John Wood of St. Mary's County; Galen Claggett of Frederick County and David Rudolph of Cecil County. All are from swing districts that could swing Republican in a bad year for Democrats.
The Blue Dog group, she said, would be made up of the type of members who tend to be swing votes on crucial issues. She said she hopes the group can be helpful to Speaker Michael E. Busch, whom she believes is sympathetic to their positions on many issues.
"We tend to be the kind of people who can broker a deal and can negotiate where everyone trusts us," she said. Among the issues the group may take a position on, she said, are proposed increases in the gas tax and transportation priorities.
Dulany-James, a four-term lawmaker and daughter of former Senate President William James, has been a survivor in increasingly Republican Harford. She also represents a section of Cecil County.
From the Harford County Dagger and office of Del. Glen Glass: Thank you for giving me the honor and priviledge of being your State Delegate.
It is my duty to fight for you and I will continue to do so. As a new Delegate, I have made many difficult decisions thus far and this next one was not easy for me. I believe that the Harford County Delegation Leader should have most of their District in that County which allows them to be in touch with those citizens. For that reason, I have decided to challenge Del. Rick Impallaria for Chairman of the Harford County Delegation.
I respect Rick for his hard work in Annapolis and for his fight for second amendment freedom and for lower taxes. But as you know, he mostly represents Baltimore County and could best serve the majority of his constituents by running for Baltimore County Delegation Leader.
Maryland is a great state and Harford County is a beautiful place to live with hard-working, responsible and very involved citizens. I would be proud to represent you as the Harford County Delegation Leader.
Happy New Year and best wishes to you all. I’m looking forward to this upcoming General Assembly and welcome you to come and visit me anytime in Annapolis, my door is always open!
Your Delegate and servant,
Glen Glass
from the Harford County
Dagger From the office of Del. Pat McDonough:
Delegate Pat McDonough has officially formed a campaign committee that will lead the effort to defeat Senate Bill 167, known as the “Dream Act.” The referendum issue was placed on the ballot based on a successful petition drive that collected more than 130,000 signatures in a few months.
Although the petition is currently being challenged in the courts, Delegate McDonough maintains that the litigation is frivolous and will be defeated.
The campaign will be a non-partisan state-wide effort. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents will be asked to participate. A fund-raising program is already under way.
Supporters of the “Dream Act,” such as Casa de Maryland, the SEIU union, and other advocates for illegal aliens have already begun organizing and raising funds. Delegate McDonough stated, “The citizens of Maryland, in a bi-partisan fashion, have already indicated their strong opposition to the idea that taxpayers should provide benefits to fund college tuition discounts for illegal aliens. The historic success of the petition drive demonstrated the passion and outrage by the citizens of Maryland regarding their hard-earned money being used to underwrite breaking the law. They also are angry about the unfairness of their young people losing access to a college education by being displaced by illegal aliens. There will be large amounts of money poured into Maryland from out-of-state sources attempting to mislead the people and promote the ‘Dream Act.’ The people’s petition defeated the politicians in Annapolis and now the people must rise again and defeat the lies,” concluded Delegate McDonough.
from the Baltimore Sun 
