Curt Anderson

Comptroller Peter FranchotAmong the many issues that divide Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith (D), the debate over whether the state should permit slot machine gambling is certainly on that list.

Smith, who may challenge Franchot in the 2010 Democratic primary, is a proponent of the referendum, while the comptroller is a fierce opponent.

Voters will decide in November if the state should legalize the release of up to 15,000 slots machines at racetracks and other locations across Maryland.

ANNAPOLIS -- State Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) highlighted a series of guests who appeared at a rally this afternoon to speak out against the slots referendum, which will appear on the ballot in November.

Franchot appeared alongside members of the organization Marylanders United to Stop Slots.

Franchot explained his role with the group during an interview with PolitickerMD.com.

"Whatever they want me to do - I'm happy to consider," Franchot said.

Del. Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore) will lead a group of 40 Maryland volunteers on a bus trip to Youngstown, Ohio this weekend to campaign on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).

“We are going to try and sway people to vote for Barack Obama,” Anderson said today when contacted by PolitickerMD.com.

The volunteers will be participating in traditional grassroots efforts, such as door-to-door canvassing.

The bus will depart at 4:30 p.m. from the campus of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Western High School, located at 1400 W. Cold Spring Lane in Baltimore City.