Janet Greenip

State Sen. Janet GreenipGRASONVILLE -- Question 2, the ballot referendum which would allow slot machines along Maryland's I-95 corridor, took center stage at the Queen Anne's County NAACP forum on Saturday.

State Sen. Janet Greenip (R-Crofton) argued against slot machines, saying they will cause addiction and won't generate nearly as much money as people expect. Carroll Hyson took the opposite position, saying the referendum will generate roughly $660 million in new education funding each year and that addiction won't be an issue.

Jim Pelura, the chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, said Justin Ready, the chief of staff to state Sen. Janet Greeinp (R-Crofton), was the "right fit" to become the new executive director of the state party. This morning, Pelura announced that Ready had been selected to replace John Flynn.

"I rely on my first impression," Pelura said of his decision. "All the candidates were well qualified, but Justin is the right one."

"I'm very happy to be asked to serve," Ready told PolitickerMD.com. "I'm excited to continue the process of working with the chairman to make Maryland a two-party state again."

Justin Ready with then presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in Baltimore last SeptemberJustin Ready, Chief of Staff to state Sen. Janet Greenip, was hired as the new Executive Director of the Maryland Republican Party, Chairman Jim Pelura announced this morning in a statement.

He will take begin his new position on May 1, 2008.

Check back with PolitickerMD.com for more on this story later today.

Justin Ready, the chief of staff to state Sen. Janet Greenip (R-Crofton), told PolitickerMD.com that he is one of 14 candidates seeking to become the next executive director of the Maryland Republican Party.

Ready, 26, said that he’s “had a lot of experience in the last five years,” and said he did not think his youth would hurt his chances at securing the position.

Ready has been with Greenip for the past 18 months. Before that, he was the statewide field director on state Sen. E.J. Pipkin’s (R-Stevensville) 2004 U.S. Senate campaign. He also worked for Del. J.B. Jennings (R-District 7) and was a volunteer on Bob Ehrlich’s 2002 gubernatorial campaign.

Recently, Ready served as the “state grassroots leader” on Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign.

Chris Meekins, the campaign manager for state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) in his bid to become the next representative from Maryland’s 1st Congressional District, is among a list of 14 candidates vying to replace John Flynn as executive director of the Maryland Republican Party, sources tell PolitickerMD.com.

Meekins would not comment on the matter when contacted by PolitickerMD.com, saying, “My focus right now is getting Andy Harris elected to Congress.”

“If other challenges present themselves—we may look at it,” Meekins said.

Sen. Janet GreenipIn another pre-session fundraiser, Anne Arundel Republican state Sen. Janet Greenip is holding a breakfast at the Annapolis Double Tree Hotel this morning.

The invitation did not list any special guests and Greenip did not return comment on how much the event expected to garner.

Greenip, a two-term member of the Senate Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee, easily won re-election against Scott Hymes in 2006. She currently serves as a vice chair member of Mitt Romney for President's Maryland steering committee.