Former Baltimore City State?s Attorney Stuart Simms will announce Thursday at the downtown courthouse that he will definitely run for attorney general, according to supporters he has contacted.
Simms was responding to a groundswell of support from Democratic senators and other elected officials who urged him to pursue the race he had considered last fall, months before 20-year Attorney General Joseph Curran decided to retire.
“I think he?s got the best credentials of any of the candidates running,” said state Sen. Lisa Gladden, a public defender in Baltimore. “He?s going to be fabulous.”
Until last Thursday, Simms was running for lieutenant governor as the running mate of Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan, who quit the campaign to be treated for depression.
“I?m delighted,” said state Sen. Delores Kelley of Baltimore County, who had been urging Simms to run, promising he would get much support in her heavily-Democratic district.
Simms also is picking up support outside the Baltimore region from Prince George?s County, where he will also announce his candidacy, and from southern Maryland.
Sen. Thomas Mac Middleton of Charles County described him as a “good attorney. He works hard. He?s mild-mannered and he exudes confidence.”
Plus it is important for the Democratic Party “that we have people of color” running statewide, he said. Middleton is white.
“He?s really tried and tested, with executive branch experience,” Kelley said. “He knows how to get a budget passed.”
Simms was appointed by Gov. Parris Glendening as secretary of juvenile services and then public safety.
Montgomery County State?s Attorney Doug Gansler and Montgomery County Council member Tom Perez are also in the race, and have been running since last year.
“They?re very fine gentleman,” Middleton said. “They have a strike against them ?that they?re from Montgomery County,” which is “perceived as the hotbed of the liberal party.”
“I have nothing against Gansler and Perez,” Gladden said, who both have extensive legal experience. But Simms is “the most qualified,” in both the executive and judicial branches. “When a good candidate comes to the table you?re going to see a groundswell of support.”
The Simms candidacy is “so appealing to everyone as a consequence” of Doug Duncan?s withdrawal, which was “so unexpected and surprising,” said Del. Peter Franchot, who?s running for comptroller. “It?s a sudden event that jars people.”
