Maryland lawmaker caught in the act -- updated
Citizen journalist Frank Winstead, a resident of Ward 3 in the District of Columbia, was none too pleased at the Honda Element with Maryland House of Delegates plates parked illegally in his neighborhood on Saturday.
He snapped some photographs, and posted them on the Web site nowpublic.com. The plate bears the notation "46A," and Winstead notes that the three lawmakers who represent District 46 are Pete Hammen, Carolyn Krysiak and Brian McHale -- all Baltimore Democrats.
I profess a little confusion at how plate numbers work. It's possible that plate 46A is not from District 46 at all. (There are three delegates in each of 47 Senate districts -- it's possible, if memory serves, that plates 1 through 3 go to Senate district 1. Under that configuration, the plate belongs to a delegate in District 15. But I may be way off.)
In any event, here's a photo that Winstead snapped. Please let us know if you recognize the car (or the driver, partially visibile in one of Winstead's shots). And please let me know how the plate numbers run. I have a feeling we'll get to the bottom of this before too long.
Vehicle with House of Delegates plates illegally parked on Saturday
UPDATE: I spoke with Del. Craig Rice, who represents District 15 in Montgomery County, who confirmed that he was sitting in the car while picking up his wife. He said he called ahead to tell her he was arriving, and said he never shut the vehicle off. Rice acknowledges that he stopped the vehicle in a "no standing" area, but said he was there for perhaps a total of two minutes. He says he certainly would have moved along if a police or parking enforcement officer -- or Winstead himself -- had asked him to move.
Comments
David, your assessment is correct. Senate plate numbers correspond to the actual district number.
House plates are by district and then numerical, although it starts at #2 (because Plate #1 is the Speaker).
So, very likely, plate #46 belongs to a Delegate from District 15.
Also, the designation "A" after the number refers to a secondary plate, so very likely this can be the plate of a Delegate's spouse's car, not the Delegate themselves.
Posted by: md observer | March 9, 2009 12:56 PM
David, you're a journalist with a great rolodex. You're the kinda guy who can get his calls returned (unlike so-called "citizen journalists" out there). Why wouldn't you call and find out how license plate numbering works? Or, better yet, whose plate it is? If "md observer" has access to the information, it can't be too hard for a journalist to get ahold of it...
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Dear anonymous:
Your message prompted me to close the loop on this blog posting. I reached out to Del. Craig Rice, who confirmed that he is the driver of the car, used by his wife. He was picking her up at the time. I consider myself chastened, and will try to refrain from throwing questions up on the blog without doing a bit of reporting first.
-- David
Posted by: anonymous critic | March 9, 2009 7:20 PM
Question, do the Senators pay for their own auto registrations on these cars?
Or do you and I?
Posted by: AnotherWatcher | March 9, 2009 7:24 PM
I don't see how these plates serve any purpose but to invite preferential treatment from law enforcement officers or others.
But then, they're useful for one other thing: if I should drive by a legislator I'll know to give him or her an appropriate gesture.
Posted by: Brandon | March 9, 2009 11:18 PM
So, to sum up: Delegates are free to break the law until notified that's what they are doing. And then its at their discretion as to decide what to do?
Posted by: jjjackson | March 9, 2009 11:28 PM
I would like to know the answer to AnotherWatcher's question also...
Posted by: Packing Up For Delaware | March 9, 2009 11:43 PM
Maryland Delegates have to be "asked" not to break the law when in DC?
Posted by: Frank Winstead | March 10, 2009 1:51 AM
The last time I pointed out a parking violation (parked at a fire hydrant) to a Maryland driver in DC, she came at me with a jagged-edge hubcap:
http://my.nowpublic.com/world/dc-parking-transgressor-weaponizes-hubcap
Posted by: Frank Winstead | March 10, 2009 1:57 AM
Much ado about nothing!!
Posted by: Ted Levin | March 10, 2009 5:18 AM
Frank:
I phrased my comment that way about Rice saying he certainly would have moved if "asked" mainly to connote that he did not seem to me to be a jerk about it. He did not cop an attitude, or insist he had a right to park there. He acknowledged that you caught him; he said he was there only briefly; and recognizes that technically it was a violation. His comment to me was along the lines of -- If an officer came up, he or she most likely would have tapped on the window and told the delegate to move, rather than write a ticket.
Posted by: David Nitkin | March 10, 2009 12:32 PM
The House of Delegates and Senate of Maryland tags are an unusual case. The HOD/SOM tags are free, and it is up to each legislator to decide whether or not to use them. Even if they use them, Delegates and Senators they still must possess and pay for the regular tags for each vehicle. There are few other cases, if any, where an individual is allowed to have two sets of tags for one vehicle.
Posted by: Stanton Park | March 11, 2009 9:19 AM