Gov. Robert Ehrlich is expected to announce his endorsement of a Republican candidate for Baltimore County Council this week, his first local backing that further threatens the largely Democratic Council?s senior-most veteran.
Ehrlich will attend a luncheon Wednesday for candidate Wayne Skinner at Liberatore?s, the same Perry Hall restaurant 16-year veteran Councilman Vince Gardina chose to announce his bid for a fifth term earlier this year. Skinner said he approached Ehrlich about a possible endorsement, but was surprised when he seemed receptive.
“We didn?t expect it,” Skinner said. “There?s so much going on and I?m just a local race. I know he?s got a thousand things requested of him.”
But Gardina said the governor?s endorsement of Skinner, deputy director of the state?s Department of Assessments and Taxation, is not surprising. Gardina, who sued Ehrlich and the state in 2003 for allegedly firing him because he?s a Democrat, declined to comment further.
Skinner earned 4,667 votes in his unopposed primary race earlier this month. Gardina beat challenger Kathy Reiner Martin, securing 8,573 votes to her 3,927.
Skinner is campaigning primarily on a platform against over-development and overcrowded schools, particularly in the Perry Hall area, which could prove a battleground for the fifth district.
Joe Glorioso, a former Gardina campaign manager and a longtime volunteer for the Perry Hall Improvement Association, said he?s switching alliances and supporting Skinner. Several other former association leaders are also endorsing Skinner.
“I know some inside things that I won?t share with anyone,” Glorioso said. “I just think Wayne?s a better man.”
A former county cop who has the support of the county?s police and teacher unions, Gardina recently sponsored tax credits for energy-saving home and business owners, and help draft community plans for Towson, Carney and Parkville neighborhoods.
The state released his personnel file in 2005 after Gardina received a $100,000 settlement in his suit.
Calls to Ehrlich?s campaign were not returned Sunday.
