Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith is a logical choice for Governor O’Malley and Senate President Mike Miller to launch a challenge against hated Comptroller Peter Franchot. But what if Smith decides not to run? Is District 15 Delegate Brian Feldman the answer? We asked our spies and, as usual, they did not disappoint.
Brian Feldman is a two-term Delegate from Potomac. When he first ran for the House in 2002, three of the four members of the district delegation (Senator Jean Roesser and Delegates Jean Cryor and Richard LaVay) were Republicans. Democratic Delegate Mark Shriver had just lost a Congressional primary to then-District 18 Senator Chris Van Hollen. In the general election, Feldman finished just 683 votes behind Cryor, then a two-term veteran and the sole surviving Republican. In his second term, Feldman earned an Economic Matters subcommittee chairmanship and became Montgomery County’s House Delegation Chair in 2007. In our MPW poll, Feldman was voted the 15th-most influential elected official in Montgomery County.
Feldman is an unusual figure in this county because he has admirers across our political spectrum. Moderates and liberals alike praise his intelligence, patience and hard work. In fact, despite my best efforts, I have not located anyone who despises him. (Trust me – that is rare for a politician.) As a CPA and a tax lawyer, he is extremely well qualified to be Comptroller. His reputation as a consensus builder would make him an attractive alternative to the Governor and Big Daddy, who above all do not want more Franchot-esque eruptions.
So does Brian Feldman have what it takes to defeat Peter Franchot? Here is what four of my best-connected informants have to say:
Spy #1:
Basically, Brian has to tap into the vast hatred that Peter has in the Democratic Party right now. Also, Jim Smith has to NOT run. So, yes, Brian could win. If Jim Smith did not run, O’Malley would gladly put Brian (or any reasonable person) on his ticket. Being from Montgomery County, Brian would be best. Brian would not need to raise as much money as Peter, he would just need to be on Martin’s Team.
One other thing, Brian could develop a really good argument — governmental efficiency. He could expand the portfolio of the Comptroller to include internal management audit control, sort of an “Inspector General” type function. He could make a lot of hay by training his sights on specific examples of governmental waste starting with the Comptroller’s Office. This could be embarrassing for Peter. He could also go after auditing abuse – always a perennial favorite.
Of course, Peter is still the favorite to win because the voters like him. But the election is still a long ways off.
Spy #2:
I can’t believe it really. It certainly is true that Brian has a good background for it, given his time in the legislature and the fact that he’s a lawyer and a CPA. For a legislator he’s a better than average fundraiser, but would have to step it up big time for a statewide run.
No doubt Peter has angered many in the Democratic establishment, but how many of those people will really pony up with time and money to help Feldman?
Peter did a lot to grease the skids a few years prior to his run by rallying up the progressives. Brian would need to make tons of friends and can’t just be the anti-Peter.
Now I tend to be a skeptic, but I’m guessing it’s just a crazy rumor, and if I were Brian, I wouldn’t confirm or deny it. I would just smile and be glad that people were talking about me in a good light. The more you get talked about in political circles about “big” things, the slightly more likely that good things happen.
Spy #3:
Personally, while I think Feldman would be the best fit for Comptroller based on his background, experience, smarts and temperament, I’d like to see him as Speaker, Majority Leader, or Economic Matters Chairman — and I don’t think any of these are out of the question. He presents a strong viable alternative to some others seen as being in the running for those spots — and his leadership talents are very, very strong. I don’t think that it hurts Feldman to be mentioned in the article. In fact, I think it helps brand him as a viable statewide leader overall, and gets people thinking about him for a near to mid term leadership spot.
Spy #4:
O’Malley should be careful about encouraging challengers to Franchot for Comptroller, since it could just persuade Franchot to run against O’Malley.
Feldman is one of several bright, smart, handsome young men from Montgomery County who don’t want to wait forever to move up the ladder but may have to wait for a long time, since Chris Van Hollen has to wait to run for Senator Mikulski’s seat and Rob Garagiola has to wait to run for Chris Van Hollen’s seat.
Basically I think it would be a mistake for Brian to give up his House seat for a long-shot statewide race right now, unless he’s really prepared to end his political career at this relatively early stage.
Brian Feldman has many supporters in the county who believe he could move up in Annapolis. They would hate to see him leave politics prematurely. But if he actually became Comptroller, he would excel in the job. Would the voters understand that? Not if Peter Franchot has his way. And the incumbent Comptroller is not done yet – not by a long shot. We conclude in Part Four.