Maryland Daily Record Maryland's trusted source for business and legal news
Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has officially named Del. Jolene Ivey, D-Prince George’s, as his running mate in his bid for governor.
Ivey, 52, is a two-term member of the House and chairs the Prince George’s County delegation. She sponsored a constitutional amendment, approved by voters last year, requiring politicians found guilty of certain crimes to be removed from office at conviction rather than sentencing.
A graduate of High Point High School in Beltsville, where the announcement was made Monday, Ivey is also the wife of former Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey.
Some political observers thought Gansler, a Montgomery County resident, would pick a running mate from the Baltimore area in order to “balance” the ticket between two voter-rich jurisdictions, as many previous gubernatorial candidates have done.
Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, a Prince George’s County resident and one of Gansler’s rival in the primary election, selected Howard County Executive Ken Ulman as his running mate earlier this year.
Del. Heather L. Mizeur, D-Montgomery, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, has not yet announced a running mate.
Gansler’s announcement came a day after The Washington Post reported the attorney general “regularly ordered state troopers assigned to drive him to turn on the lights and sirens on the way to routine appointments, directing them to speed, run red lights and bypass traffic jams by using the shoulder.”
The Democrats seem to be determined to hand the give Governor’s office over to the Republicans but as usual the Republicans are just as determined to give voters a reason to vote for a Democrat.
Picking an unknown member of the house of delegates adds nothing to Gansler’s ticket in the way that Ulman shores up a very weak Anthony Brown (who is providing all the hall marks of a replay of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: a Lt Governor with zero experience in doing anything whether that’s filling pot holes or running a business). Former HoCo Executive Ulman should regret not sticking to his plan to run for governor. Like him or not, at least he had experience running something: Gansler and Brown cannot say the same.
Right now democratic voters have a choice between two attorneys with no real world experience (with the faint hope of a third candidate with no experience as well!).
On the other hand the Republicans are doing their typical Hari Kari by having somewhat experienced people stake out ludicrous tea party positions that just won’t fly in Maryland.
This should prove be an underwhelming gubernatorial race.
One would think that if anyone hoped to run for governor as an unaffiliated independent, this would be a good time to give it a go.
WOULD LIKE TO WORK ON MR GANSLER TEAM TO TO GET ELECTED