Published: April 15, 2008 11:58 am      

Dems tout achievements; delegate notes area's struggle

ROCKY GAP - Frederick County Delegates Galen Clagett and Sue Hecht espoused the Democratic party's accomplishments in the last six months, particularly on issues relating to the state budget, during the fourth annual Western Maryland Democratic Summit.

Gov. Martin O'Malley led the Saturday rally in highlighting the effort that his administration, with his fellow Democrats' help, "restored fiscal accountability," eliminating the controversial computer services tax and freezing college tuition.

Fellow Democrat Kevin Kelly, however, wasn't ready to pat anyone on the back. He chastised state lawmakers, including himself, for passing a $31.5 billion operating budget - nearly four times the amount the state worked with when Kelly first entered office 20 years ago. He voted against tax increases on tobacco and the sales tax.

Kelly pointed out that whether he agrees with the rest of his party on certain issues does not matter. It's more important how the residents of his district feel.

"My people are screaming, 'no new taxes, we can't afford anymore,'" Kelly said.

Most budgets of families in his district, Kelly said, haven't gone up nearly that much in the same period of time. While Kelly tried to extend an olive branch - he opined that the Appropriations Committee, of which Clagett is a member, worked "feverishly" to cut spending - he said the party has "lots of needs," one of which is simply to restrain itself.

He said state Democrats, who control both the House of Delegates and the Senate, need to realize a cut in the rate of increase is not a cut in spending.

"My people are crushed up here," Kelly said. "They have the very least (amount of money for) discretionary spending."

Kelly pointed to an issue that's as relevant today as it was five years ago. Then, he said, the state should have legalized slots.

"That's what people wanted," Kelly said. "It's imperative we support slots."

The issue will be decided by voters in November's general election. State lawmakers passed the issue on to referendum for a constitutional amendment in last fall's special legislative session.

Clagett allowed that different parts of the state have different needs. He said that lawmakers had only so much control - that nearly 58 percent of the state's budget was, by law, mandatory spending.

Clagett appeared to agree with Kelly that slots are necessary. And he argued against critics who say Maryland doesn't need gaming, largely because "this state is loaded with gambling" right now.

"Don't let anybody kid you," Clagett said of the state's tip jars, bingo and other organized gaming, both regulated and nonregulated. "Opponents say slots are the 'crack cocaine' of the gambling world. It may be more intense. We should try to control it and make the best of it."

Hecht offered up possible arguments against slots but didn't take a position on the issue. She doesn't consider it likely that voters will approve slots.

"I'm not pushing to support either side of the fence," Hecht said. "I don't think people will vote for slots. I think we have other things that can make that revenue."

Rocky Gap State Park is slated to get up to 1,500 machines to be operated within a proposed $75 million facility. Allegany County is set to receive 5.5 percent of the proceeds of gaming at the facility.

O'Malley's Western Maryland visit began in Garrett County, where he announced that his administration would prohibit the building of wind turbines on public land managed by the Department of Natural Resources. But at Rocky Gap, O'Malley applauded his party's efforts to improve the environment, including Senate Bill 309, which would have required a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 and a 90 percent reduction by 2050.

But Kelly said if the bill had become law, it would have put businesses like NewPage, in Luke, on notice that they weren't welcome in Maryland.

"We have to be 'green,'" Kelly said. "But we don't have to be nutso green. NewPage (executives) sent me a letter saying that bill would have been disastrous. 'You'll break our backs.' We have to be reasonable about this."

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.