Kumar Barve

State Del. Kumar Barve (D-Gaithersburg), who serves as the House Majority Leader, accepted a plea deal after failing a sobriety test in November 2007. Barves’ punishment landed him a year of unsupervised probation and a $1,000 fine with $800 suspended as it was a first-time offense.

His political opponents have remained widely unresponsive to the issue, despite Barve’s highly powerful position in the general assembly.

“In my opinion, this should not be a matter of politics,” said Del. Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Calvert County), who serves as Minority Leader in the House. “He took responsibility, he did the right thing, case closed.”

Navigating around easy obstacles (and a bit of flexibility with Route 50's speed limit) made it a good week for some, while the failure of the rubber to meet the road caused a couple of flat tires. 

Pull over to Maryland's Winners and Losers for July 18, 2008. CLICK HERE.

Kumar Barve: Campaign PhotoThe Gazette reports that House of Delegates Majority Leader Kumar Barve (D-Gaithersburg) pled guilty in Montgomery County District Court to drunken driving on Thursday.

Barve failed field sobriety tests and was arrested on Nov. 29, 2007 for drunk driving after a Gaithersburg police officer observed his car crossing the center line.

The five-term delegate accepted a plea deal in which he receives a year of unsupervised probation and a $1,000 fine with $800 suspended as it was a first-time offense. The deal would also allow him to expunge the incident from his record if he does not violate his probation.

"I’m here to take full responsibility for my actions," Barve said in court, according to The Gazette. "I have learned from this situation and I will never do this again."

Del. Kumar BarveBarve Announces Support

Majority Leader Kumar Barve became the highest-ranking Democrat in the House of Delegates to make an endorsement for Tuesday’s presidential primary, throwing his support to Sen. Barack Obama this afternoon.

In a statement released by the Obama campaign, Barve said, “Some politicians earn respect through the force of ideas and policies. Others are natural leaders who inspire us to dream big.”

“I believe Senator Obama can do both.”

Del. Jill Carter, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy and Baltimore Councilwoman Sharon Branch Middleton also declared their support today, joining more than 150 elected officials backing the Illinois senator.