I don’t like writing negative things about Republicans.  It grieves me to do so because I truly believe that we have it right (or at least more right) when it comes to government.  It hurts me to say that I have trouble supporting Norm Cochran who is a fellow Republican.  I know that I write this at the risk of upsetting the readers of this blog but I have to say it.  I view Cochran in the same light as Golding.  Golding has destroyed the morale of this agency and he has pushed for Cochran as a replacement.  167-6 proves the morale problem and the disdain the deputies have for Golding.  Voting for Cochran will now be painted as a vote against the deputies themselves.  We can’t ignore that as a party.  If we pretend the morale problem is not there we hurt our Party’s chances at keeping this seat.  Keeping this seat may be beyond our ability now.  When I read about Cochran calling for Fred Visnaw’s resignation I thought that was one of the most foolish political ploys I have ever seen.  Cochran appears willing to carry out Golding’s vendettas. With none of the Republican candidates coming out in strong support of Cochran we may concede this seat.  Those Republican candidates carry the other 75% of the vote that Cochran did not get.

We as Republicans have three options.  One, vote for Cochran.  Two, vote for Bane.  Three, abstain.  I think abstaining is a vote for Bane.  It has been years since I have seen a democrat garner so much support.  The Republican coattails have been long and strong for a decade.  However, too much weight will rip those coattails in pieces.  The deputies clearly think Cochran is dead weight.  The question is, do you?

I must say I am very surprised by the widespread support of Jesse Bane.  I do not want to put too much weight on yard signs and signs on the main roads but Jesse Bane has more than any candidate including Ehrlich.  It is not uncommon to see Bane and Ehrlich signs in the same yard.  In one yard in Joppatowne I saw a Jacobs, Biggs, and a Bane sign.  Jesse Bane has a cross appeal unlike any democrat I have seen in Harford County.  He seems to successfully portray a neutrality that helps Republicans not be ashamed to support him (and publicly).  Jesse has raised more money than any Republican candidate for sheriff (this might not be so if we didn't have 6 candidates). 

Norm Cochran and Jesse Bane appear to be ready to spend each other ragged.  I am aware of several Republican camps that will not support Cochran if he wins.  I am not sure how I feel about that.  Again, it is this portrayed neutrality of Jesse Bane.  My question is, is this neutrality real?  Is Bane a true centrist who happens to be a democrat but could just as easily be a Republican.  The sheriff's office is a funny one anyways.  Who really cares if they are a democrat or a Republican?  If money predicts the winner in the primaries, we will see a Cochran vs. Bane general and by the looks of things, Bane wins.  I know for a fact that Jesse Bane would receive the Union endorsement over Cochran (trooper over deputy is not going to happen).

Another problem I see with all this Bane support is the potential impact on the Ehrlich vs. O'Malley fight.  I am fully anticipating Bane coming out for Ehrlich or just keeping quiet.  However, his supporters are supposed to vote O'Malley and a unified democratic party around Bane might be easily persuaded to vote O'Malley.

It would be extremely ironic if the "Governor Supported" Cochran cost Ehrlich several percentage points in Harford County.  This is of course speculation but something we need to consider.  The fact is Norm Cochran fails to pull the "guaranteed" R vote from his own party.  With Bane's Union endorsement and his cross appeal, he may be unbeatable.

One punch and he’s out? I received a call around 11:00 PM last night. My source told me that Golding was going to bow out of the race. I almost fell out of my chair. I think this may be best for the county especially if he and his command staff have operated illegally. Ed Hopkins probably drove the nail in the coffin when he admitted that they have operated this way for decades. We may be witnessing the last vestiges of the Meadows administration withering away before our very eyes.

With his exiting of the political stage a power vacuum has been created. The question is, will that void be filled by another? The rumors say, yes. Will the party now embrace Dave Tritt as their candidate? Can Tritt or the new candidate beat Bane is another important question? Do we need someone from the outside or another candidate from the inside? The contrast is still present between Bane and Tritt that was present between Golding and Tritt. Bane is a member of the old guard and could be more of the same old, same old. The rumor mills have already started turning. If Golding steps aside and immediately endorses a “replacement” I will be very suspicious.

In the news article about Golding’s press release there was not one mention of sorrow for his actions. I’m sorry but I am having trouble understanding why someone with over $60,000 is dropping out of a race because of two articles in The Examiner and one anonymous letter sent to the Board of Elections. There had to be something else going on that will eventually come to the light. From my vantage point, the campaign was not getting “nasty” and I fail to see the “underhanded tactics.” I think the “underhanded tactics” were exposed by The Examiner and the “underhanded tactics” were not his opponent’s, they were his very own. Where do we go from here? I guess we wait for Golding’s hand picked replacement.

Harford sheriff not expected to run in fall election race
Harford Co. sheriff ends campaign to keep job

]]> http://harfordrepublican.com/recent-harford-news-guthrie-vs-jacobs-bane-in-the-race/feed/ 11 http://harfordrepublican.com/breaking-news-sort-of-jesse-bane-d-enters-sheriffs-race/ http://harfordrepublican.com/breaking-news-sort-of-jesse-bane-d-enters-sheriffs-race/#comments Tue, 02 May 2006 00:22:40 +0000 GOPerative http://harfordrepublican.com/?p=44

This is no big surprise if you have been paying attention. It has not been in the news yet but I am sure it will be soon. Jesse Bane, a democrat from Fallston, has entered the sheriff’s race. I know many people who are concerned about this because he is well liked by many people on both sides of the aisle. He is a long time veteran of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and was very involved in previous democratic administrations. He is also very involved in the Fallston community and will be difficult to beat. Let’s say Golding wins the primary and goes up against Bane. Is Golding going to still play the experience card? He can’t. Bane has been an officer longer than Golding. What then is Golding going to use? This could get ugly. We have two policemen who have seen it all from the creation of the union to the Meadows scandal. They both probably have a lot of dirt on each other as well. Bane will be able to successfully link Golding to Meadows and can also say that the Republicans have been screwing around (literally) for too long. We need to prepare ourselves for this seat going democrat. I for one am not excited about Golding and have trouble seeing people rallying behind him. He does have one advantage, the R next to his name. Ehrlich and Steele will be on the ballots which will hopefully bring a higher than average number of R’s to the polls. Ehrlich got 63,553 votes in Harford County last election. KKT only received 21,246. Democrats have a huge uphill battle when it comes to elections in HC. However, if Bane can successfully peel off enough Republicans on the fence about the recent problems in the Sheriff’s office, he just may pull it off.

When you sit back and think about it you have to ask, how different will a democratic sheriff really be. A democrat will still submit a budget, catch criminals, and keep up the courts and the jail. I think this race will become more and more about issues and who can run the most effective campaign. Bane has probably sat back and watched the same things that I have seen and been commenting on and has decided that enough is enough. If Bane were a Republican he would be the next sheriff. Overcoming those Ehrlich numbers may be too much for any democrat running for a county-wide seat. I am assuming that money will not be an issue for Bane. I will be watching this race very closely. We now have potentially 3 Republicans and 2 democrats in the race. Anyone else want to run?

Candidate #1: State Senator Bob Hooper District 35 (Bel Air, North Fallston, Jarrettsville, Forest Hill, Street, Whiteford, and more)

Senator Hooper has been a man dedicated to the people for as long as I can remember. I am proud of Senator Hooper and his strong convictions. He abstained from voting for the slots bill which was good enough for me. I know people who live in the Park Heights area and they do not want another addiction coming into their community. I personally wanted slots until I met with community leaders in Pimlico and Park Heights. They do not want it in their backyard. Just like most of us do not want a homeless shelter or a half-way house in our neighborhood. We all know that slots can be addictive and the city does not need another thing to be addicted to. I view Senator Hooper as one of the bright lights in Maryland politics, a real straight shooter. I hope he remains well and is able to continue to serve us. It would be a great loss to our county to lose someone like Bob Hooper.

Candidate #2: State Senator Nancy Jacobs District 34A (Joppa, Edgewood, Aberdeen, Havre de Grace, Northern Cecil County, and more)

Senator Jacobs is a staunch conservative. She is someone that you either like or you don’t. She is avidly pro-life, pro-gun, pro-death penalty, and pro-family. She may go uncontested in the upcoming election which could be very dangerous for Mr. Guthrie and Mrs. James. If a heavy hitter like Nancy is able to throw her weight around District 34A, some Dem’s heads may roll. Nancy has been invincible since her thumping of Art Helton. She has a lot of money in the bank and I honestly cannot think of any reason for someone to challenge her. A pro-choice, anti-death penalty, anti-gun candidate would get absolutely wiped because of the Cecil County vote. Nancy is sitting pretty and that is good news for the good guys.

Candidate #3: Donna Stifler: House of Delegates District 35A (North Fallston, Jarrettsville, Street, Forest Hill, and more)

I personally feel that there is a need for change in Harford County’s representation in the House of Delegates. I would prefer that Barry Glassman (who will probably be the top vote getter again) and Donna Stifler be the two representatives for the northern part of the county. I don’t care for Joanne Parrott. I have never seen her around when a camera was not present. I know she has her “old dog” supporters. You know what they say about old dogs. You can’t teach them new tricks. The old faithful will continue to vote for Parrott and Glassman. I just hope there is enough support for Stifler to knock off Parrott. I know for sure that I will be working hard behind the scenes for her. Here is one example of why I do not care for Joanne. A friend of mine asked what she thought about abortion. Now that is a question that is going to gain or lose you a vote, so just answer it. Instead she pulls a politician’s classic and says, “How do you feel about it?” Just stand up for what you believe in unless you don’t know what you believe in. That is why I support Donna Stifler. It is clear that she has convictions and strong morals. So when people ask me who I support for House of Delegates in 35A I am going to say, “Who do you support in 35A?” Just kidding. I am going to say, “I support Donna Stifler.”

Candidate #4: Dave Tritt, Sheriff

Dave Tritt is a father of eight children and is stepping into the political arena for the first time. The Aegis recently called the sheriff’s race the most important election this fall. I almost agree with them (for the first time ever). Honestly, I did not know who our sheriff was until about a year ago when Derald Guess was murdered. I was not impressed with Golding back then when he attempted to play down the tragedy by saying that gang activity was in its infancy. Come on man. A family man was just shot in the head in a gang initiation. That is not infancy. Edgewood has been a mess for a long time and I just recently found out that they do not have a juvenile holding cell. When a juvenile is picked up an officer has to wait with them until they are picked up. The southern precinct is completely inadequate for the needs of that area. I blame Golding for this. The man has been completely silent for the past three years. I really think it might be time for a change. The Harford County Deputy Sheriff’s Union recently elected Fred Visnaw as their new president. It will be very interesting to see if he is a “yes man” for the administration. I have a gut feeling that he will not be. This might be a good thing for Dave. I spoke with Dave at a County Council meeting and he was very impressive. The question that remains is whether a man from the outside can gain enough support to carry the day. I feel it is time to bring in someone from the outside to breath some new life into the office.

Candidate #5: Chris Pate: House of Delegates District 34A

Chris Pate seems to be a very nice guy. He is one of those people who reek of intelligence. The few times I have met him, I have certainly been his intellectual inferior. He is a lawyer at some big law firm downtown. He was previously a member of the Harford County Republican Central Committee but for some reason bowed out of politics for a time. If I remember correctly he was a favorite of Nancy Jacobs and David Craig to fill the vacancy left by Boutin. Apparently some other politics got in the way at the Central Committee preventing Pate from being appointed. With the support of Jacobs behind him, he is certainly a formidable foe for James. I look forward to seeing the two Havre de Grace natives duke it out this summer. As I mentioned above, if Nancy goes unopposed, watch out sister (Sister James that is).

Candidate #6: Anyone but Wagner, County Council President
COMING SOON!!

Candidate #7: Paula Mullis or Chris Biggs (Anyone but Guthrie), County Council District A
COMING SOON!!