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October 13, 2008

Political operative smackdown '08

Just as the slots referendum is shaping up as a bit of a proxy war between Martin O'Malley and Peter Franchot, so, too, is it a rematch between two of the state's top political hired guns, Steve Kearney and Scott Arceneaux, who are doing behind-the-scenes work for the pro and anti sides respectively.

Round 1 went to Steve when Scott's candidate in the 2006 Democratic primary, Doug Duncan, dropped out, clearing the way for O'Malley's eventual victory in the governor's race.

And Round 2? So far, by one measure at least, it's going Scott's way. According to campaign finance reports provided by the ballot committees on both sides of the issue, Arceneaux is pulling down $10,000 a month to lead the crusade against slots. And Kearney's getting...nothing? Yep, O'Malley's former communciations director is doing this one pro bono. Guess the boys over at KO Public Affairs must be doing OK in their new venture.

(Of course, when it comes to money, Arceneaux has been beating the pants off Kearney for a while. Scott pulled down $269,316.94 in his 14 months with the Duncan campaign. According to the state campaign finance database, Steve got 500 bucks from the O'Malley campaign once, back in September of '99.)

Andrew A. Green 

 

Posted by Andy Green at 12:51 PM | | Comments (0)
        

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About the bloggers
Laura Smitherman has been ensconced in the State House basement, writing about the governor, General Assembly and vagaries of Maryland politics for several years. An erstwhile business reporter, her interest in politics dates to her days in Washington when she covered Congress and national campaigns for another media outlet. She now follows a range of policy debates from slot-machine gambling to universal health care and energy regulation, while keeping an eye on the next election.

Paul West covers Washington for The Baltimore Sun, continuing a tradition that began the month the paper was born, in 1837. He hasn't been in the DC bureau that long--only since Ronald Reagan was president. He's covered Congress, the White House and presidential campaigns as the paper's national political correspondent and Washington bureau chief. He's on the lookout for news of significance to Sun readers at the other end of the B/W Parkway. That includes the activities of the state's congressional delegation and anything else that might shed some light on the inner workings of the nation's capital.

Julie Bykowicz's first days as a political reporter, in January 2009, coincided with Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's indictment and the start of the Maryland General Assembly's 426th legislative session. She focuses on coverage of state agencies, such as social services, juvenile justice and prisons. During the session, she wrote about the death penalty, slots parlors and speed cameras, among other hot topics. Julie began political reporting after more than seven years on The Baltimore Sun's crime desk. She lives in Baltimore and works primarily in Annapolis.

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