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October 6, 2009

Clinton provides political heft for O'Malley fundraiser; Bill Clinton, that is

Former President Bill Clinton plans to appear at a fundraising reception this week for Gov. Martin O’Malley, providing significant star power to a race that hasn’t even geared up yet. Maryland’s incumbent governor hasn't yet drawn any high-profile opponents in the 2010 election — but he appears to be pulling out all the stops in amassing a campaign war chest.

Donors are invited to join Clinton and O’Malley at the home of investment banker James Passin and his wife, Sydney, in New York City on Wednesday. In an online RSVP form, contributors can indicate they plan to give $4,000, the maximum an individual can donate to a single campaign under law, or enter another amount.

O’Malley has long fostered ties with the Clintons. Most recently, he backed Hillary Clinton in her failed presidential bid last year even when many fellow Democrats hopped on the Obama bandwagon. But the relationship extends back more than a decade. O’Malley accompanied Bill Clinton to Ireland for peace talks in the late 1990s, and Bill Clinton appeared in an O'Malley campaign commercial and visited Prince George’s County on his behalf before the 2006 gubernatorial election.

Thomas Russell, O'Malley's campaign manager, said Clinton and O’Malley talk periodically and the former president offered to “pull something together in New York.” Russell added: “We were happy to take him up on it.”

Public campaign finance reports aren’t due until January, and Russell isn’t revealing how much the governor has raised so far. But the governor has been fairly active on the fundraising circuit, considering his biggest nemesis, former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, hasn’t decided whether he would seek a re-match. O’Malley had another fundraiser at a private home in Potomac less than two weeks ago.

Posted by Laura Smitherman at 4:44 PM | | Comments (1)
        

Comments

With any luck, King O'Malley will be voted out...however, with the idiots that reside in this state, that will never happen! O'Malley is the most arrogant pathetic crybaby that has ever held the office.

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About the bloggers
Annie Linskey covers the statehouse for The Baltimore Sun. Previously, as a City Hall reporter, she covered the corruption trial of Mayor Sheila Dixon and kept a close eye on city spending. Her reporting on the city’s economic development arm led to the termination of multiple improperly bid seven-figure public works contracts and her coverage of the death of a fire department cadet resulted in overhaul of that agency’s top brass. Before that, as a crime reporter, she interviewed Bloods gang members and the police detectives who pursue them.
Originally from Connecticut, Annie has lived and reported on war crimes tribunals and landmines from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She lives in Baltimore.

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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