Hogan, Republicans thank Dundalk for election victory

(Originally published in the East County Times, Volume 20, No. 7 [Nov. 20, 2014], pages 2 + 9)
- By Emily Blackner -

Governor-elect Larry Hogan drew a crowd so large it spilled out of the doors and parking lots of the Boulevard Diner in Dundalk when he made a stop at the eatery as part of his state-wide victory tour. Hogan's victory was just one part of the Republican wave that swept legislative districts 6 and 7, giving the GOP dominance on the east side of Baltimore County.

"I knew we were gonna win the election on July 4th at the Dundalk parade," Hogan told a supporter at the event. "I knew we were gonna need that kind of enthusiasm, and we got it. I felt the energy."

Well-wishers came from as far away as the eastern shore to shake hands with the governor-elect, get his autograph or snap a photo. Hogan spent the entirety of his hour-long visit last Thursday, Nov. 13, circulating through the rooms, meeting with and thanking voters.

"Governor[-elect] Hogan's visit shortly after his victory shows his commitment to southeastern Baltimore County," stated John Fiastro Jr., outgoing chair of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee. "His goals of lower taxes, lower spending and lower regulation resonates with folks down here. For the first time in eight years, Dundalk and Essex have a partner in the governor's office."

The other Republican victors were also in attendance, notably the three delegates-elect Bob Long, Ric Metzgar and Robin Grammer and state senator-elect John Salling, who formed a ticket with Hogan during the final months of the campaign.

"We won because people believed in us and believed in our word. But having the governor at the top of the ticket helped as well," Salling said. "Mr. Hogan impressed a lot of people at the debates and we worked well with him and his team."

Robin Grammer declared, "Governor-elect Hogan is on the same page as we are in making eastern Baltimore County the economic engine of the state again. I think this district has nothing but opportunity ahead."

But all the candidates stressed that Hogan's name on the ballot was far from the only factor in the sweep.

"This has been building for years. People had just had enough and they wanted change," noted Del. Pat McDonough, who easily won his re-election bid in District 7.

"This election has shown that the voters were dissatisfied with the status quo and that they wanted real action, communication and transparency," declared Todd Crandell, who will become the first Republican to hold the County Council seat in District 7 since the Council was chartered in 1956. "I think we ran a very solid campaign and had the necessary bipartisan support to win the seat."

Hogan himself also emphasized the importance of bipartisan support in his victory.

Delegate-elect Metzgar attributed his success on his third run for the seat to "persistence, perseverance and pushing through" to bring his message across.

The Merritt Boulevard stop was Hogan's only one in eastern Baltimore County to date. He had planned to visit Perry Hall Square Shopping Center earlier that afternoon, but decided to cancel that appearance due to the search for a missing 12-year-old girl (who has since been found safe).

"I think it was appropriate to cancel the Perry Hall event," said Councilman David Marks at the time. "It's not a celebratory time in Perry Hall and we're all focused on finding the missing girl."

After the celebrations are over, each of these leaders will have to turn to the task of governing, which each man seemed ready to tackle.

"I am humbled and honored to serve the constituents and this community," said Metzgar. "I promise we'll hit the ground running; we've been working nonstop since we heard."

Salling said, "I am honored and overwhelmed with joy that I have the opportunity to represent the people. I see it not as a challenge, which of course it is, but as a great opportunity to make a difference.

McDonough was also optimistic about his new colleagues' performance. "I think that the people of Dundalk and Essex are getting energetic representatives who are going to be at almost every event in the community and will tell them the truth," he declared.

"It's still very, very surreal," Robin Grammer admitted. "Nobody expected this [complete sweep]. But we put in effort and it paid off."

A big night for Republicans in Baltimore County, state races

(Originally published in the East County Times, Volume 20 No. 5 [Nov. 6, 2014], front page and page 2.)
- By Devin Crum, Emily Blackner and Patrick Taylor -

Election night 2014 was a huge success for Republicans, who not only took the state house but also claimed victories all over eastern Baltimore County.

The GOP won every delegate and senate seat from Dundalk up through Middle River and parts of Perry Hall and Harford County, with only one delegate and one senate seat remaining in the hands of Democrats.

The Republicans managed to pick up a County Council seat in the Seventh District as well, meaning that Dundalk went from entirely blue to entirely red.

In the race for the Sixth District House of Delegates, Republicans managed to pull off a clean sweep with Bob Long, Ric Metzgar and Robin Grammer easily defeating Nick D'Adamo, Jake Mohorovic and incumbent Mike Weir. Long had the highest precentage of votes with just over 21 percent, while Metzgar amassed more than 19 percent. Grammer sealed the third and final seat with 18.5 percent of the vote.

"We were told by members of the Democratic Central Committee that we would take one seat and we would be limited to that, and instead we've taken the whole damn thing," said Grammer. "The people heard our message and turned out today. It's a little surreal right now."

"I am so excited and so honored to be state delegate and to be the representative for the Sixth District," said Metzgar. "I'm excited to put my vision into action to make this a strong community again. I want to make Essex and Edgemere and Dundalk very proud. They listened to their heart and voted with their heart and saw that we have what it takes to do something good here."

In the race for state senate in the Sixth, John Olszewski, Jr. was surprisingly taken down by Johnny Salling with approximately 1,000 votes separating the two. With John Olszewski, Sr. calling it quits from the County Council and John Olszewski, Jr. losing to Salling, this will be the first time in almost two decades that an Olszewski hasn't held a major local office.

"Tomorrow I get my life back," said Olszewski during his concession speech. "It was a close race and we came up a little short, but I called to congratulate our next Seantor in the area, and I wish him the best. But we have nothing to be embarrassed about."

"'I'm so honored. So many talented people put a whole lot of time into this, and they fought hard," said Salling. "Honestly the right words aren't here right now. But the Sixth District spoke and they spoke loud. They said, 'We want change!' Well, guess what they got?"

But the Republican takeover didn't stop there, as Todd Crandell came away with an easy win over Joe DiCara in the County Council race in the Seventh District. Crandell amassed an impressive 61 percent of the vote, a more-than-impressive tally considering that John Olszewski, Sr. held the County Council seat for the Democrats for 16 years.

DiCara realized he was out of the running early, saying, "There's no way I'm coming back from this, unless there's an absolute miracle. Really, this is a bit puzzling for me, but the votes don't lie. But I'm proud of the campaign we ran and thankful for my son, Tony, who did a great job managing the campaign. But the sun comes up tomorrow, and I'm here talking to you, so things aren't all bad."

There were no surprises in the Seventh legislative district as all four incumbent Republicans also swept the House and Senate seats. J.B. Jennings held onto his Senate seat, taking nearly 75 percent of he vote, and Pat McDonough, Kathy Szeliga and Rick Impallaria all retained their delegate seats, each with approximately a quarter of the vote, while none of their Democratic challengers made it out of single digits for vote percentage.

Where there was somewhat of a surprise was in the Sixth District County Council race, which saw incumbent Democrat Cathy Bevins face off against Republican challenger Jason Samios-Uy. By all accounts, Bevins was expected to handily dispose of her challenger. But the final tally was only 57 percent to 43 in Bevins's favor.

"It's been a very difficult day; it's been one I did not expect. But for the last four years, I've been working really hard for the Sixth District. And tonight it paid off," Bevins expressed. "There was definitely a movement in Baltimore County tonight, but I was successful."

While Bevins will hold onto her post in the council, she was visibly emotional due to the many losses by other Democrats she supported in their various races, particularly Renee Smith in the Eighth District who she said had probably worked harder than anyone on her campaign.

In District 8, incumbents John Cluster (R) and Eric Bromwell (D) will retain their seats, as expected. But even these returns were not without their surprises: newcomer Christian Miele earned the highest vote total of the day, 19,616 to Cluster's 19,379 and Bromwell's 16,817.

"It's surreal," Miele commented. "We've worked so incredibly hard over the last year and it's nice to know that hard work can pay off and that our message is resonating with people."

"Christian worked his butt off," Cluster, who was on a ticket with Miele and County Councilman David Marks, acknowledged as he awaited results with Miele at the Silver Spring Mining Co. restaurant in Perry Hall. "I am not surprised that he ended up beating me."

"I think people have had enough of partisan politics and just want people to do what's best for the community and not for the partisan interests," Miele said. "And we were able to bring people together regardless of political party."

Bromwell, the only Democrat to be elected to the House of Delegates from District 6, 7 or 8, faced a tough re-election bid.

"It's common for District 8 to elect two Republicans and one Democrat," he noted. "Everyone ran a very good, very clean race; we were all very friendly, regardless of party. I think we will all work together well in Annapolis." He blamed his relatively poor showing on the voters' general unhappiness with the government in Annapolis.

Bromwell's ticket-mate Bill Paulshock came in fourth place, just shy of a seat, with 15,397 votes.

"I have to say, I am disappointed in Perry Hall," he admitted. "They lost a good man for this district, and this state, a small businessman which no other candidate is. But I have a good life here, and I live and breathe Perry Hall." He promised to continue his efforts on behalf of the community, especially his work on Angel Park, but he said he will not seek office again.

Trailing Paulshock by only 187 votes was Republican Norma Secoura; Democrat Renee Smith netted 14,240 votes. Smith's affiliation with popular state senator Kathy Klausmeier, who easily won re-election with 61.22 percent of the vote, was not enough to pull her through the general election as in the primaries.

For the incumbents, the election means a return to their job as legislators.

"It makes me proud to represent the Eighth District again," Cluster declared. "I will go down and continue what I've been doing."

Bromwell echoed those sentiments, stating, "Being able to go back to Annapolis is an honor."

For Miele, it marks a new chapter in his life, but one he is excited to experience. "I want to focus more on the ways to bring District 8 together," he said. "I don't have a lot of preconceived notions about what we need. I just want to tell people, thank you for believing in me. I am humbled by their support."