Mechanicsville

Former Gov. Parris Glendening would hold a special election to fill Maryland’s 4th Congressional District seat if he were in office today, he told PolitickerMD.com.

“It’s not an easy yes or no question,” Glendening, who served as governor from 1995-2003, said. “I don’t envy Governor (Martin) O’Malley on this.”

Despite the fact that a special election could cost the state “several million dollars,” Glendening said, “I wouldn’t want to see the district without representation.”

O’Malley has yet to say if he will hold a special primary and general election to fill the remaining seven months of Rep. Al Wynn’s (D-Mitchellville) term when he resigns in June.

It is expected that Donna Edwards (D-Fort Washington), who defeated Wynn in the Feb. 12 Democratic primary, would win a special election.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville) issued a statement today on the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. He used the occasion to express his gratitude to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and to hammer the Bush administration over their Iraq policies.

“As the war in Iraq enters its sixth year on Wednesday, two things are abundantly clear,” Hoyer said. “First, our brave men and women in uniform have done everything that our nation has asked of them, and they have performed their mission with courage, skill and honor.”

“Nearly 4,000 American soldiers have given the ultimate measure of sacrifice in this war, and 30,000 have been injured,” he continued. “This day and every day, we honor the memory of those who have been lost, and pray for the recovery of those who have been injured, as well as the safe return home of our troops who are still deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.”