A nasty battle erupted this week among Harford County lawmakers, resulting in a coup ousting the delegation chairwoman and vice-chairman, and the installation of a new leader -- Republican J.B. Jennings -- whose district includes more Baltimore County voters than Harford.

At the center of the flap is Del. Richard K. Impallaria, a rough-edged and sometimes emotional lawmaker who got into a shouting match with a colleague, Del. Donna Stifler. Both are Republicans.

Impallaria and Stifler argued last week over payment for snacks at delegation events. Impallaria hurled invectives at Stifler, a former Christian school teacher, who told The Aegis newspaper that "I have never been spoken to like that in my life."

Impallaria has a history of outbursts, some of which have prompted police investigations. When he was running for office for the first time in 2002, some Republicans urged him to drop out of the race when his police record came to light.

As the Baltimore Sun reported at the time: "Impallaria's record shows nine cases involving 27 charges, most of which were not prosecuted for unrecorded reasons or dismissed, according to Maryland District Court documents. The charges include bribing a public employee and four counts of assault with intent to murder stemming from allegations that he tried to run down four people, including his mother and brother, with a car after an argument at his home in Joppatowne in Harford County in 1982."

In 2004, police investigated an incident in a House of Delegates building during which Impallaria and Del. Pat McDonough, staunch opponents of illegal immigration, got into a shoving match with immigration activists.