Campaign Manager

I am a registered Republican. I forget why. I think it's a vestigial toe left over from the era when Republicans were the way I liked them: Evil, but sane. In the days before they would, no lie, openly urge businesses not to hire new workers under the theory that American prosperity will be counterproductive to their political goals. So I have been paying little attention to this (still more than a year away) election that's shaping up to be a production of President Obama and the Seven Dwarfs.

CHARLES TOWN - Political consultant James Carville will be the guest speaker Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Jefferson County Democratic Association Dinner. Carville, 52, is best known for managing President Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. He now serves as a senior political advisor to the president. In 1993 Carville was named Campaign Manager of the Year by the American Association of Political Consultants. The Louisiana native co-founded the political consulting firm of Carville & Begala in 1989.

laurae@herald-mail.com Infighting among Washington County Republicans has attracted the attention of the Republican Party statewide. It has party officials calling for unity and Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s campaign concerned that any division could hurt his chances of being elected governor this fall. "There has never been a time when Republican Party unity has been more important than it is right now in this race for governor," said Paul Schurick, Ehrlich's campaign manager.

laurae@herald-mail.com Someone broke into Del. Sue Hecht's state Senate campaign headquarters overnight Wednesday and stole a laptop computer containing privileged information about her supporters. Even before Hecht's campaign issued a press release about the break-in, her opponent called on anyone with knowledge about the crime to immediately turn it over to police. "Anyone who broke into Sue Hecht's headquarters not only committed a crime, but they also committed an assault on democracy.

andrews@herald-mail.com An unusual series of disturbances surrounding a local state senate campaign continued Saturday, when both candidates appeared at Frederick's In The Street Celebration. When Del. Sue Hecht - who is trying to unseat state Sen. Alex X. Mooney - returned to her car at the end of the day, the stem of her tire had been pulled out and the tire was flat, Hecht campaign manager Sue Tuckwell said. Hecht, a Democrat, filed a report with Frederick Police, who dusted for fingerprints.

Sen. Alex X. Mooney's challenger in the Nov. 5 election says his campaign is spreading misleading information about her through phone calls disguised as a survey. But Mooney's campaign says the phone calls to 300 random voters were part of a legitimate research survey. Del. Sue Hecht, D-Frederick/Washington, condemned what she characterized as a "push poll," allegedly done in late August. Phone call recipients told Hecht they were asked questions that distorted Hecht's attendance record as well as her positions on gay rights and medical use of marijuana.

gregs@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - A Hagerstown resident who began the paperwork process to become a candidate but missed a crucial deadline for the upcoming City of Hagerstown elections has filed a request to be on the ballot, local election officials said. City Board of Election Supervisors Chairwoman Eve McGrory said Wednesday that a hearing is scheduled at the county's elections office for Monday to decide whether Merrill "E.J. " Fuller Jr.'s name should be placed on the ballot.

The two candidates in a local state Senate primary disagree on whether they should face off in a debate. Del. Christopher B. Shank said he wants to debate state Sen. Donald F. Munson. "I'm willing and ready to go, any time and place," Shank said. Munson isn't interested. He countered: "Shank has nothing to debate. In the last four years, he's had the worst record in the General Assembly. " Munson is running for a sixth term in the Senate. Shank, a three-term delegate, is challenging him in the Sept.

What little hope Del. Christopher B. Shank and Del. Robert A. McKee held that they wouldn't have to run against each other in the Sept. 10 primary quickly faded last week with a court adviser's recommendation. Retired Court of Appeals Judge Robert L. Karwacki recommended only small changes to the once-a-decade redistricting plan that put the two Washington County Republican incumbents in the same district. Those changes could change the election district boundaries on the Eastern Shore, but won't affect Washington County, local political observers said.

A man who failed to meet a deadline to get his name on the ballot for the upcoming city elections filed Thursday as a write-in candidate. Merrill E. "E.J. " Fuller Jr. has filed as a Republican. Fuller partially met his obligations as a candidate by filing his intent to run with the City of Hagerstown, but he missed a Jan. 21 deadline to file his statement of organization with the Washington County Board of Elections. Fuller and his campaign manager, the Rev. LeRoy J. Guillory, argued in a Jan. 31 hearing before the Hagers- town Board of Election Supervisors to have his name placed on the ballot, but the board ruled against him. Attempts to reach Fuller Thursday evening at his campaign headquarters and his home were unsuccessful.

Mooney war chest $100,000 for W.Va. congressional campaign Alex Mooney, a former chairman of the Maryland Republican Party who is now running for Congress in West Virginia's Second Congressional District, has about $100,000 “cash in hand” for his campaign, according to his office. “He stated his second quarter campaign filing will show over $100,000 cash on hand,” according to an email from his office. “With one liberal Democrat candidate, Nick Casey, already reporting over $400,000 cash on hand, I am the only Republican candidate raising the money to hold this seat for the Republican Party and our conservative beliefs,” Mooney said, according to the news release.

The House of Representatives moves fast, said Lisa Wright, U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett's press secretary for about 18 of his 20 years in Congress. Members who lost in Tuesday's election - Bartlett was one - will have two weeks to pack up their Capitol Hill offices. Complicating the departure will be a “lame-duck” session of Congress that starts Tuesday, Nov. 13. When Bartlett, a Republican, leaves office in a few months, Democrat John Delaney, who was elected on Tuesday, will step in. Delaney will be in the freshman class of representatives sworn in when the 113th Congress convenes in early January.

The storm that blasted the East Coast this week has slightly altered the election process in Maryland. Two of Maryland's six days of early voting were canceled because of the bad weather. An extra day will be added on Friday, giving the public five days to vote early before the Nov. 6 general election. Also, early-voting centers will stay open three extra hours each day. In West Virginia, early voting was suspended, only for Tuesday, in six counties - including Jefferson and Morgan - because of the storm.

A recent Republican campaign piece in a congressional race focuses on a connection between Democrat John Delaney and a formerly illegal landfill. National Waste Services operated the Battle Creek Landfill in Page County, Va., until 2004, when the landfill was shut down after taking in more trash than the state allowed. Republicans are linking Delaney - who is challenging Republican incumbent Roscoe G. Bartlett in the 6th District - and National Waste Services. The front of a Maryland Republican Party mailing says: “John Delaney financed a landfill that regulators shut down for damaging the environment.

Franklin County Democrats to host annual summer picnic SCOTLAND, Pa. - Area Democrats are invited to the annual Franklin County Democratic Picnic on Saturday, June 23, from 3 to 8 p.m. at Scotland Community Park, 3735 Scotland Road. Two bands, Grand Point Station and Stack O' Blues, will perform and there will be barbecue and other food available, along with beverages from Chambersburg's Roy Pitz Brewery and soda. The Franklin County Democratic Women will offer homemade desserts.

The three state legislators who lost in Tuesday's 6th Congressional District primaries were back at work in Annapolis on Wednesday, as their parties tried to coalesce and focus on winning the Nov. 6 general election. State Sen.Robert J. Garagiola, an early Democratic favorite, lost to John Delaney, 54 percent to 29 percent. State Sen.David R. Brinkleyhad 20 percent in the Republican primary, losing to 10-term incumbent Roscoe G. Bartlett, who had 43 percent. Del. Kathryn L. Afzali, with 10 percent, was third in the GOP race.

Ethics complaint targets Garagiola A Potomac, Md., lawyer has filed an ethics complaint against state Sen. Robert J. Garagiola for failing to list past earnings on a state financial disclosure form. Randa Fahmy Hudome said she heard a radio ad on the topic about a week ago. She filed a complaint with the Maryland General Assembly's Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics on Monday and emailed copies to reporters. John Delaney, one of Garagiola's Democratic opponents in the 6th District Congressional race, attacked Garagiola about a month ago for not reporting more than $200,000 in earnings as a lobbyist with Greenberg Traurig from 2001 to 2003.

Endorsements are hot commodities in the very competitive 6th Congressional District, but none is bigger than the one just snagged by Democrat John Delaney: former President Bill Clinton. In a statement released Monday, the former president called Delaney “a lifelong Democrat who has real life job creation experience .... His commitment to equality, economic growth and fairness will make him an effective advocate for the middle class, a strong advocate for job creation, and a trusted ally for reform.” The “lifelong Democrat” backing from Clinton might help deflect criticism of Delaney's contributions to Republican Rep. Andy Harris, who knocked off Democratic incumbent Rep. Frank Kratovil in the last election.