Peter Franchot

Anthony Brown and Nancy Kopp spoiling your clambake fun? But you rock on just the same, Peter.

It's Maryland's Winners and Losers for July 4, 2008. CLICK HERE.

Here comes the Choo-choo!Baltimore had a pretty shoddy week, but at least it looks good. And did you hear about the Anne Arundel County police?

They're all here in Maryland's Winners and Losers for June 27, 2008. CLICK HERE.

J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake: A political traditionThe Daily Record's Andy Rosen has a must read item on Peter Franchot trying to move the Board of Public Work's July meeting to the Eastern Shore in order for him to make the annual J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in Crisfield.

The annual event takes place on the afternoon of July 16, at almost exactly the time the BPW will meet. At ther public session this week, Franchot was unable to convince Gov. Martin O'Malley and state Treasurer Nancy Kopp to agree to move the next meeting to Salisbury in order to be closer to the event.

But, as anyone who knows Franchot will tell you, he didn't stop there. Read Rosen's piece here.

Perhaps this is one of those situations where there is enough blame to go around.

First here is what we know. We know that Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) is being investigated into whether or not she received gifts for approving city incentives that favor developers. In particular is developer Ronald Lipscomb. Lipscomb and Dixon, who were separated from their respective spouses for quite sometime, acknowledged that they had a personal relationship between 2003 and 2004. During the course of the relationship, they had spent a lot of time traveling and a lot of time shopping. Those shopping strips involved dropping a lot of money in a single store. Also a fact is that Dixon did not make full disclosures when she filed her ethics reports. This is where I begin.

Comptroller Peter Franchot was an early and fierce opponent of the fall special-session's tech tax, advocating and then celebrating its repeal.

But now that the Board of Public Works finally got around to cutting spending due to the lost revenue, Franchot's complaining about the hastiness of the process.

ANNAPOLIS – Gov. Martin O’Malley swore in Judge Sally Adkins to the Court of Appeals Wednesday, Maryland’s highest court. Also attending the ceremony were state House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Annapolis), Comptroller Peter Franchot (D-Takoma Park) and state's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville). Kratovil is currently running for congress in MD-1.

Gov. O’Malley praised Adkins. “I know that you will carry the high standards with you that you established at the Court of Special Appeals, and take that to the Court of Appeals,” he said.

Baltimore County Executive Jim SmithAs rumors continue to swirl that Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith will challenge Comptroller Peter Franchot for his seat in the 2010 Democratic primary, a spokesperson for the county executive said Smith's focus was on his present occupation.

"The county executive has long been devoted to not being a lame duck," spokesperson Don Mohler told PolitickerMD.com. "He lets others do the political talking."

Smith, 66, is bound by term limits and can't seek re-election in 2010. A closer examination of his current initiatives may signal an impending campaign battle with Franchot.

The advocacy group Common Cause Maryland is asking members of the General Assembly to refuse contributions from gambling interests through Election Day, when voters will decide if the state should legalize the release of up to 15,000 slot machines at racetracks and other locations throughout Maryland.

In a statement, the group's executive director, Ryan O'Donnell, said Common Cause would make the request because the slots referendum "must be a decision-making process untarnished by political contributions from interested parties."

The organization has not taken a stance for or against slots.