The League of Conservation Voters, a major environmental political action committee, endorsed Del. Peter Franchot on Wednesday in the Democratic race for comptroller, citing William Donald Schaefer?s alliance with Republican Gov.
Robert Ehrlich in votes against the environment.
Schaefer and Ehrlich “have consistently shown their opposition to Program Open Space,” league Executive Director Cindy Schwartz said. She said Schaefer sided with Ehrlich in using $400 million in open space funds to balance the budget, rather than purchase land for preservation.
During the announcement at a county park near Annapolis, Franchot was even more vehement in attacking Schaefer and his other opponent, Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens. “If it were up to my opponents, this park would be sold off to developers,” the Montgomery County delegate said.
He characterized both Schaefer and Owens as Ehrlich supporters, and said Owens has sided with developers in overbuilding parts of the county. He called on them to support the constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall that will prohibit the Board of Public Works, on which the comptroller serves with the governor, from selling open space land without the approval of the legislature.
One plan early in the Ehrlich administration would have transferred parkland to a developer, but it was never formally proposed to the board.
Owens campaign manager Bob DiPietro said, “Janet has bought and put in conservation 12,000 acres” in both parkland and agricultural preservation, “more land in open space and conservation than the total for all the prior executives
combined.”
