Three Republicans vying for shot at Franchot

Posted: 5:43 pm Mon, August 30, 2010
By Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS — Three Republicans are vying for a chance to take on Maryland Democratic Comptroller Peter Franchot, including a former Amtrak chief financial officer, a retired Baltimore teacher and an 18-year-old with a five-point plan.

William Campbell, of Columbia, is touting his credentials as a former chief financial officer for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Coast Guard as well as Amtrak over two decades.

Campbell, 63, said he would be a more aggressive auditor of state contracts as one of three members of the Board of Public Works. He also said he would use his position as chair of the state’s Board of Revenue Estimates, which provides revenue targets used as a tool by the governor to create the state budget, to be more conservative in estimating state revenue.

“We have put estimates on revenues that we have slim to no chance to get, and so we have an inflated budget that we can’t pay for,” Campbell, who has never run for elected office, said in an interview.

Armand Girard, a retired Baltimore teacher, said one of his top priorities as comptroller would be to hasten the development of slot machine gambling in Maryland. Girard criticized Franchot for opposing contracts for the state to buy slot machines from his seat on the Board of Public Works. Girard said Maryland’s public schools badly need the revenue slot machines will raise for the state.

“We’re dragging our feet on that,” Girard, 72, said. “I would like to put that on a fast track.”

Girard, a member of the Baltimore City Republican Central Committee, ran for delegate in the heavily Democratic city four years ago. He also made a run for the Baltimore City Council.

Brendan Madigan, an 18-year-old from northern Baltimore County who is active with the tea party, puts transparency in government spending at the top of his five-point plan to use if he is elected. Madigan said he wants to build a user-friendly website to show where tax dollars are going. He also said he would be an advocate for cutting spending and reducing taxes.

“I think my concerns are shared by people all across the political spectrum, because they realize that Annapolis is out of control,” Madigan said.

Franchot is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. Maryland’s primary is Sept. 14.

The comptroller’s main job is to collect taxes. The comptroller also is one of three members of the Board of Public Works, which approves state contracts. The governor and treasurer are the other two members of the board.