Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Ronald Silkworth made the right decision Friday in allowing Maryland Democratic attorney general candidate Douglas Gansler to stay on the ballot.
At issue was whether Gansler met Maryland?s constitutional requirement of having practiced law in Maryland for 10 years to be eligible for office. Bowie resident Nikos Stanford Libby, who filed the lawsuit, said Gansler, the Montgomery County state?s attorney, has only practiced law in the state for eight years.
The qualification law is admirable. It?s meant to prevent “carpetbaggers,” meaning those who move in to the state solely to run for office, from winning the position.
But that?s hardly a claim that can be leveled against Gansler.
He?s from Maryland and has been a member of the state?s bar for 17 years. He?s practiced law the entire time, just not all of it in Maryland.
Clarifying the meaning of “practice” is a legitimate question. The state Court of Appeals removed Montgomery County Council member Tom Perez from the race less than three weeks before the Democratic primary for not meeting state qualifications. (Perez ran against Gansler for the Democratic nomination.) An opinion was not issued in that case, but legal experts said the decision likely stemmed from the fact that he had been a member of the Maryland bar for five years.
But the timing of the suit and those involved with it made it seem more like a political maneuver than a legitimate constitutional challenge.
Republican attorney general candidate Scott Rolle trails Gansler by double digits in the polls, and his campaign manager, Jason Shoemaker, represented Libby.
Rolle denies any connection with the suit, but it?s hard to believe him given the circumstances. And it?s hard to take seriously the claim that his honesty and calm temperament make him the “mature” choice for attorney general.
Rolle?s affiliation with Shoemaker at the very least gives the perception that he cares more for winning than for giving the people of Maryland a fair race.
The thoughtful and reasonable way to have questioned Gansler?s qualifications would have been to do so before the primaries so chaos before the general election could be avoided in case he was removed from the ballot. Rolle told The Examiner that how you run a campaign speaks to how you will serve in office. The attorney general will supervise about 400 attorneys.
If Rolle cannot advise one lawyer ? his campaign manager ? on how best to serve his interests and those of the people of Maryland, it does not speak well for how he will run the office.
