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Montgomery Democrats to nominate replacement for former state senator Montgomery Democrats nominate Del. Zucker to fill empty Senate seat
(about 4 hours later)
The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee will nominate a replacement Thursday night for former state senator Karen S. Montgomery (D), an appointment that is generating some controversy and could play a pivotal role in an upcoming veto-override effort. The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee on Thursday overwhelmingly nominated establishment favorite Del. Craig J. Zucker to fill a vacant seat in the state Senate, despite complaints from some Democrats in the county that the process should have been more open.
Montgomery, 80, who served 13 years in the General Assembly, resigned Jan. 1. She was one of 29 senators who last year voted in favor of a bill that would give voting rights to felons who are on parole or probation. The bill was vetoed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who said he did not believe felons should be able to vote until they had completed all parts of their sentence. “I don’t think elected officials should have the ability to name their own replacement,” said Wilbur Malloy, a precinct captain in Senate District 14, referring to heavy support that Zucker received from party leaders including former senator Karen S. Montgomery, who resigned earlier this month.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said this week that an attempt to override the veto in the Senate “could hinge” on whomever fills Montgomery’s seat. The House voted to override on Wednesday, and the Senate is expected to vote on Feb. 5, which is the deadline for Hogan to act on whomever is nominated Thursday night. The Senate needs 29 votes to override a veto. “If you’re elected by Montgomery County residents, then your replacement should be elected by Montgomery County residents,” Malloy said.
[House overrides three Hogan vetoes] [Legislature overturns five of Hogan’s vetoes]
Montgomery, who Sen. Joan Carter Conway (D-Baltimore) called “the conscience of the Senate on social issues,” told her colleagues during a farewell speech this week that she hoped to be replaced by Del. Craig J. Zucker (D-Montgomery), a member of the House Appropriations Committee who serves as chairman of the Health and Human Resources Subcommittee. If Zucker (D-Montgomery) is appointed to the seat by Gov. Larry Hogan (R), he will immediate play what could be a critical role in a significant vote: whether to override Hogan’s veto of a 2015 bill that would allow felons to vote while they are still on parole or probation.
Zucker has also received support from Miller, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and a host of other elected officials. Hogan has until Feb. 5 to act on the nomination; the Senate has scheduled its override vote for that day.
But at least one other Democrat in the county — Herman Taylor, a former delegate — has expressed interest in the Senate seat, and the head of the county NAACP says she is “uncomfortable with long-term negotiations” that led to a “pre-arranged slate.” Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) has said that the chamber may need Montgomery’s successor in place in order to muster the 29 votes necessary to pass the override. The House of Delegates voted to override the veto on Wednesday, with Zucker voting in favor.
Zucker, a member of the House Appropriations Committee who serves as chairman of the Health and Human Resources Subcommittee, vowed that in the Senate he would be a champion of women’s reproductive rights, new immigrants and improving low-income neighborhoods in Maryland.
He also promised the committee and about 30 other people gathered inside a meeting room in Kensington that he would be a reliable vote for overriding Hogan’s vetoes.
“We all stood with each other yesterday when we overrode the governor’s veto and allowed people access to vote,” he said. “If you send me to the Senate, I might have a chance to . . . do the same thing on the other side.”
In addition to being endorsed by Montgomery, Zucker also received support from Miller, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and a host of other elected officials.
[With no wi-fi, this coffee house is the soul of Silver Spring]
But at least one other Democrat in the county — Herman Taylor, a former state delegate — also expressed interest in the Senate seat, and the head of the county NAACP said last month that she was “uncomfortable with long-term negotiations” that led to a “pre-arranged slate.”
“Any opening should be posted, and candidates should be required to make their case to the community and the committee,” county NAACP President Linda Plummer said in a Dec. 8 letter to the county Democratic committee.“Any opening should be posted, and candidates should be required to make their case to the community and the committee,” county NAACP President Linda Plummer said in a Dec. 8 letter to the county Democratic committee.
Taylor, who served as a delegate from Montgomery County from 2003 to 2011, said he will formally seek the Senate appointment at the meeting Thursday night, but he thinks the selection of Zucker is a “done deal.” Taylor, who served as a delegate from Montgomery County from 2003 to 2011, did his best to win over committee members Thursday night by recalling his experience as a former House member and, now, the managing director of a nonprofit economic council for minority-owned businesses.
Taylor said he is disappointed in the way the process has been handled. When some committee members asked both candidates for their opinion about the process, Taylor said he was disappointed in the way it was handled.
“I don’t believe anyone should be handed a seat,” Taylor said. “There should be democracy on all levels. . . . I would have appreciated that before any decisions were made that there was a debate about policy.” “There’s not a lot of people that stepped forward to apply.” Taylor said. “I decided to step forward because I wanted to give this body that is trying to do its work another option.”
Zucker, who was nominated by a vote of 22-to-2, defended the support he received, saying he lobbied other Democrats heavily to rally to his cause. “I work hard for my constituents,” he said. “And, when I saw this opportunity, I worked hard to get it.”