Rick Abbruzzese

A third member of the Anne Arundel County Judicial Nominating Commission has announced her plans to resign in protest over the nomination of Thomas V. Miller III and four other candidates for a District Court judgeship. Miller, the son of Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., the president of the Maryland State Senate, was nominated by the 13-member commission last week. There are three open positions on the panel.

In the last six days, three commissioners, including Paula J. Peters, Eileen E. Powers and Marysabel Rodriguez-Nanney, all attorneys, have announced their intentions to resign. Peters, who was the first to announce her decision last Thursday, alleged that she had been lobbied by unnamed political insiders to support Miller's nomination.

"I decided to resign because of blatant political cronyism," Peters told PolitickerMD.com today. "This was something I had never seen in 20 years on the commission."

OMalleyWatch.com, the bane of Government House, turned a year-old this week. On whether it has left the ubiquitous ‘Martin Watcher’ the wiser, 'the more astonished' is probably more appropriate, as the wide number of people interested in his perspective never ceases to amaze him.

Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) has yet to determine when a special general election in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District will be held, according to his communications director, Rick Abbruzzese.

“He still has to make that announcement,” Abbruzzese told PolitickerMD.com, saying the governor would “continue to talk to local jurisdictions” before making a final decision.

Abbruzzese said he did not know when the governor would set a date for the election.

The General Assembly passed emergency legislation last weekend to allow O’Malley plans to bypass a special primary election and hold a special general election.

Under the new law, the governor has the right to decline a special primary, while local and state central committees shall have the power to nominate a candidate if the governor refuses a primary.

House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Lusby) said this afternoon that Gov. Martin O’Malley might be thinking twice about calling a special election in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District because of the possible implications for the Democratic Party’s presidential contest.

“The governor might not be inclined to call for a special election,” O’Donnell told PolitickerMD.com. “He is a Clinton supporter.”

Donna Edwards (D-Fort Washington), who beat Rep. Al Wynn (D-Mitchellville) in this year’s primary and would be the presumptive winner of a special election, is a supporter of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and would cast her superdelegate vote for Obama at the Democratic National Convention in late August. O’Malley, also a superdelegate, has pledged his support for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.).

O’Donnell’s remarks come one day after Wynn announced his intention to resign his seat in June. His term was scheduled to expire January 3. Edwards is expected to easily win November’s general election.

ANNAPOLIS- Sen. James Brochin (D-Towson) often finds himself at odds with the state’s Democratic leadership. From his support for the death penalty, to his opposition to tax increases brought about by the governor’s plan to balance the budget, Brochin is often courted by Republicans, and his willingness to cooperate might be hurting him within his own party.

Brochin told PolitickerMD.com that his views on several key issues make him “more of a Democrat than a Republican,” calling himself a “moderate to conservative” Democrat.

“I’ve always believed in things like choice and stem-cell research,” Brochin said, adding that he was “very anti-war” and “very liberal on the environment.” He also described himself as “pro-union.”

But Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, for whom Brochin once worked as a legislative analyst, actually moved his colleagues’ seat to the back row of the Senate chamber after Brochin sided with Republicans during last fall’s legislative special session in their attempt to filibuster Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to balance the budget, which raised taxes by $1.3 billion.

We noted yesterday that Baltimore County Jim Smith is still raising money even though he is term-limited to leave office in 2010.

Now several sources have confirmed that the Annapolis press corps began receiving press releases from Smith in recent months – starting around the time of the special session and, more importantly, the heightened animosity between Comptroller Peter Franchot and Gov. Martin O’Malley.

ANNAPOLIS- The House Republican Caucus called on Gov. Martin O’Malley to issue new death penalty regulations at an afternoon press conference in Annapolis, today, charging that his refusal to do so was in violation of the state Constitution.

Republican lawmakers reaffirmed their support for the death penalty, and demanded the legislature pass House Bill (HB) 1250, the Administrative Procedure Act-Exemption-Death Penalty Protocols, which would exempt the death penalty regulations for the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).

A smooth-over sit-down with the Washington Blade come backs to haunt the Governor.

A few days ago, Tom LoBianco filed an article on the continuing rivalry between Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Gov. Robert Ehrlich - that is, if you believe that a credible rivalry still exists.