Martin O'Malley

Govs. in town, but not at Obama rally

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:31:20 -0400

Who didn't play hooky to see Barack Obama?

As noted previously, three governors in town for a training session at the Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership showed up at an Obama event Monday: Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana, Gov. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and former Gov. Roy Romer of Colorado.

Though they were on the guest list, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley did not show.

They had a good reason, of course. The Hunt Institute had scheduled discussions on education all day Monday in Chapel Hill, and seeing Obama meant making a 40-minute drive to Raleigh and missing a healthy chunk of the three-day session.

But it's worth noting who else didn't make the drive: Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe , Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Guam Gov. Felix Perez Camacho.

Camacho and Pawlenty have a good excuse: They're Republicans.

For their part, Sebelius, Napolitano and Kaine may not have wanted to fuel further speculation that they'll be picked as Obama's vice president (though that didn't stop Schweitzer from glad-handing.) And Doyle and Sebelius have already done their duties here.

Update: Sebelius and Napolitano were at an Obama fundraiser in Chapel Hill.

Not in the crowd at Obama event

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:45:10 -0400

A few notable politicians were not in the audience today.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, who endorsed Barack Obama, was the most notable absence at an event at the N.C. State Fairgrounds, especially since her former Democratic opponent Richard Moore was on hand.

U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan and lieutenant governor candidate Walter Dalton were also not in the audience. Neither has endorsed Obama.

A few out-of-state politicians expected to attend were no-shows.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley were supposed to be at the event, according to an advance e-mail from Obama staffer Jen Psaki.

The governors are in town to attend a Hunt Institute training session in Chapel Hill. Three of their colleagues from the session that Psaki said would be at the event were there, however.

Former Gov. Jim Hunt was also not in attendance, though he has been at Obama events in the past.

A legal zoo

bkrueger — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 10:59:29 -0400

Womble Carlyle, North Carolina's largest law firm, is known for having several prominent Democrats in its firm — most notably former Gov. Jim Hunt and Burley Mitchell, former chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

That apparently is not the case in Maryland.

The Maryland Democratic Party issued a news release with the following headline: “Ehrlich's Womble Carlyle: Law Firm or GOP Political Action Committee,” reports Rob Christensen.

The Maryland Democratic Party is alleging that former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich — a Republican who created a Maryland office for Womble Carlyle earlier this year — and the firm’s Maryland-based staff is behind “a totally anonymous and controversial smear website.”

Erlich, who lost to Democrat Martin O’Malley in November, told the Baltimore Examiner that he and his staff did not know who was behind the website, but “we certainly applaud their efforts.”