Del. J.B. Jennings, a Republican representing the Eastern Baltimore and Western Harford County District 7, announced recently his intentions to run for state senate.
Jennings said this week he has been “very fortunate in my achievements in the House of Delegates for the past seven years and I wish to continue that success in the State Senate.”
“Filling Senator Andy Harris’ shoes is no easy task and the next Senator will have to provide sound leadership, reliability, and exhibit the same conservatism that defines our future Congressman,” he added.
Here is a press release from his office:
An Evening with Delegate J.B. Jennings
Despite being held during the M.A.Co. Conference in Ocean City, Maryland, it was an unforgettable evening shared by all at the Maryland Polo Club located in Monkton, Maryland on August 14, 2009.
Delegate J.B. Jennings of the Seventh (7th) Legislative District, hosted his Eighth (8th) Annual “Polo Match” Fundraiser. People who attended the event were treated to an old fashion barbeque dinner followed by a live polo match.
Delegate Jennings described the event as “a success on multiple levels.” He further stated that, “the evening allowed folks from the seventh district and I to come together, face-to-face, to discuss state and local issues concerning them and at the same time enjoy a summer evening of food and fun.”
The most memorable moment occurred when Delegate Jennings announced his candidacy for State Senate for the 7th Legislative District. During his announcement, he said, “I have been very fortunate in my achievements in the House of Delegates for the past seven years and I wish to continue that success in the State Senate.”
He further stated, “filling Senator Andy Harris’ shoes is no easy task and the next Senator will have to provide sound leadership, reliability, and exhibit the same conservatism that defines our future Congressman. I believe that I can fulfill these tasks, and perhaps not measure up to Andy, but to be the closest possible—preserving the conservative legacy, maintaining the seat, and building our party.”
Delegate Jennings wishes to thank everyone who attended the event and all those who made contributions. A special recognition to those who assisted Delegate Jennings in the preparation of the fundraiser, their dedication, care, and time allowed for this year’s event to be one of the most successful and memorable.
I think the Dist. 7 senate seat will end up going to a Democrat. Just a hunch, but I think the anit-incumbent sentiment out there will not bode well for Jennings. Jennings is a great guy, but running for 1 of 3 seats would be much easier than going for 1. Dist. 7 will also have at least 1 Dem. delegate after 2010.
First a dem has to run for a HOD seat. No one stepping up yet. I will say that some of the current delegates will be unemployed!
Yeah, Del. Jennings came in 3rd last time..I dont see him making it out of the primary and the seat utimately may go to dem councilman Vince Gardinia who will be well funded from Miller and Balto Co dems.
I wouldn’t underestimate JB. Clearly, his challenge will be winning the primary. District 7 is a Republican District (thanks largely to the Harford Co. portions of the district). Ever since redistricting in 2002, the GOP has never lost a state senate or delegate race in District 7 — that’s 8 for 8 (four seats/2 cycles). I don’t see that changing in 2010, which looks to be a good year for the GOP.
The candidates that are stepping up in the Seventh are very strong on the Republican side. Jennings might not have much of a primary fight, Redmer is running for Congress although he doesn’t know it yet. McDonough might not be able to let JB have that seat uncontested, though. Here is what the 7th delegation will look like when it heads to Annapolis in 2010.
Senator JB Jennings
Delegate Pat McDonough
Delegate Steve Kline
Delegate Kathy Szeliga
McDonoough may lose his seat!
The election season has not even heated up yet. I doubt that any of your predictions will turn out to be accurate. I am hearing that influential business leaders, community activists and Governor Ehrlich are working together to recruit top-tier candidates for the House seats. They are trying to unseat McDonough and Impallaria. These candidates will be much stronger than Kline and Szeliga.
While it is true that JB is the choice of this coalition of leaders, JB cannot beat McDonough and may not even beat Impallaria. If Pat does not run for Governor (haha), he will run for Senate and easily defeat JB (which would not be good, IMHO).
Wow. Jennifer, you are drinking the Bob Ehrlich Kool-Aid. Are you familiar with Ehrlich’s record of endorsed-candidates? Let’s just say, it makes the Orioles record look VERY good. Bob Ehrlich clearly doesn’t have the panache (internal to the Party, or external) to just annoint the next set of Delegates from the 7th. You’ll remember…or maybe you won’t…that Ehrlich tried to get Rick Impallaria off the ticket in 2002. Not only did Impallaria tell Ehrlich where to go, but he then proceded to get elected and subsequently reelected, outlasting Ehrlich himself.
And keep in mind that the House of Delegates is an entry-level position in terms of state politics. I don’t know what you define as ‘quality candidates,’ but Kline and Szeliga seem (I admittedly don’t know either of them personally) seem to be very well qualified for this level of seat.
I know that there is widespread dissatisfaction among local leaders (non-political) about the quality of the elected representatives that Harford County has sent to the State House. Most of these leaders are businessmen that are fed up with the lack of results obtained for Harford County by our supposed representatives. Unfortunately, the Harford County delegation is a laughing stock in Annapolis. The primary causes for this “distinction” are the actions of Pat McDonough and Rick Impallaria.
While you are correct that Bob Ehrlich’s endorsements have fallen on deaf ears in Harford County many times over the last 6+ years, this time there are local leaders that are pushing for a change. These leaders know that in order for Harford County to obtain its rightful share of state funded projects (which of course are funded by our taxes), we must have experienced leaders representing us in Annapolis that have the respect of members of both parties. Right now, we have in the 7th District:
Senator Harris – a bomb-throwing conservative that has spent the last 3 years running for Congress. While I agree with him on most issues, the fact remains that he has not fought for Harford County, but rather for his own personal issues and for an upgraded political office.
Delegate Jennings – a nice enough guy who has tried to put out the fires caused by the other members of his district. However, he has not really stood out as an effective legislator during his 7 years in Annapolis.
Delegate McDonough – a guy who is a passionate believer that anyone with a Hispanic name is an illegal immigrant. He has certainly stood out as a legislator for his convictions, but has not been able to build coalitions and help Harford County. He is more interested in making headlines than passing laws.
Delegate Impallaria – a guy who does everything that Pat McDonough does, but without the political astuteness that Pat displays. He has been known to dress up in his best greasy shirt and ripped jeans to meet with constituents. It would be very interesting to see him try to be a legislator without Pat’s help.
Other than JB, the other members of the 7th District “team” are not respected by the current leadership in Annapolis. While I disagree with just about everything that Michael Busch and Mike Miller stand for, I would expect that my representatives could at least work with those (and other) leaders to improve the return to Harford County of state resources.
Change is coming to the 7th District…
Don’t disagree with you at all. I think Kline/Szeliga and other potential candidates may be the change the 7th needs.
I certainly wouldn’t write them off because they don’t have Ehrlich’s backing (at this point, which as you say, is still very early). And I think it is foolhardy to think that there is a junto of business leaders actually working as a single entity looking to recruit people. I’d be willing to bet these are simply moderately well-connected Republican insiders, who think they have some clout at the voting booth. They are the same people who thought they could get Andy Harris elected to Congress, so he could throw his bombs at other Democrats. We see how that worked.