Tag Archives: Robin Frazier

purple line

Hogan Approves Purple Line

In a surprise move, Gov. Larry Hogan announced that he is ready to move full-speed ahead on the light-rail Purple Line that will travel from Bethesda to New Carrollton in suburban Washington. The Baltimore Sun reported:

“Working closely with Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn, we have discovered the means to reduce costs substantially,” said Gov. Hogan at an early morning press conference. “If we eliminate frills, I am now confident that it can be built in a cost-effective manner that will bring business to Maryland.”

Hogan explained that a major barrier has always been the price of the light-rail cars, which are expensive and have to be imported from Ostrava in the Czech Republic:

We have cut unnecessary extras. Seats provide no benefit to the taxpayer, so they have been eliminated from the redesigned trains. Indeed, we have now also done away with walls and the ceiling to go with a sleek, modern flatbed design.

Purple Line Project Manager Mike Madden applauded the move:

I appreciate the governor’s support and leadership on the project. Eliminating not just doors but walls will make it easier to board and to exit the train, thus reducing time spent at stations and increasing speed, resulting in an estimated increase in ridership of 31.7%.

When asked for the documentation on the increased ridership, Madden described the information as “proprietary” but also reassured the public on their accuracy: “They were calculated by the same high-quality experts who designed the Silver Spring Transit Center that will open later this year.”

Hogan’s decision to simplify cars was hailed by former Action Committee for Transit President Ben Ross:

This new design is in touch with the simplified lifestyle preferred by Millennials. Let’s face it: seats are emblematic of the bourgeois Lexus lifestyle. I’m glad that Maryland and Montgomery County have said “yes” to our smart growth future by embracing open plan light-rail.

Similarly, Montgomery Council President George Leventhal congratulated Hogan on WAMU for “finally following his lead” and said “The open plan is an excellent forward-thinking idea. I think of it as a moving Capital Crescent Trail. It will be a first-class system.”

Not all of Leventhal’s colleagues were so sanguine. Council Vice Chair Nancy Floreen said to the Washington Post:

Heck, I never thought the Governor would invest so much money in areas that will never vote for him. Now, I’ll have to come up with all the money that Montgomery County promised when I’m Council President next year. I don’t see why I shouldn’t just run for Congress instead.

But Robert Thomson, better known as Dr. Gridlock, reassured the public in an online Post discussion: “I have every confidence that the Purple Line will light a fire under small business in Langley Park just as the DC Streetcar has sparked long quiet H Street.”

Former Carroll County Commissioner Republican Robin Frazier denounced the move. Appearing at a “Help Save Maryland” rally, she said that it would only help “homosexuals and illegal aliens get around so that they can use bathrooms in more places.”

 

 

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Carroll County

Carroll County RCC Follies Continue

The Carroll County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC) is really doing its best to stay in the news.

Whence We Last Left Our Story

The CCRCC originally recommending voter-rejected, far-right Robin Frazier for the Senate vacancy caused by Sen. Joe Getty’s move to the administration. Under heavy pressure from the Hogan administration, who for some reason didn’t want to make every Democratic political operative feel like Christmas came early, the CCRCC acceded to his request to submit three names, including Del. Justin Ready, who Hogan then promptly appointed.

Delegate Vacancy

So now the CCRCC has a delegate vacancy to fill. Apparently, there was much wangling earlier in the week about whether to continue to comply with Hogan’s demand for three names, instead of one:

During a special meeting of the central committee Thursday, [Amy] Gilford introduced a motion to recommend just one name, which was seconded by [Kathy] Fuller. Their argument is the Carroll committee is the only such committee in the state that has complied with the governor’s request for multiple names. Washington, Frederick and Anne Arundel counties have thus far denied the governor’s request, Fuller said.

The motion did not carry, going down in a 5-4 vote.

Karen Leatherwood, a member of the central committee, then introduced a motion to submit three names, which was amended to include the provision that if six of the members selected the same applicant as their first choice, the committee would submit that one name only.

The motion passed by a vote of 5-4.

Fuller and Gilford said they will continue to participate in the process but are doing so “under duress.” Jim Reter, member of the central committee, said the second motion constitutes an illegal process.

My guess is that the CCRCC members who really want to see Robin Frazier in the legislature don’t have six votes, which should make Gov. Larry Hogan sleep a whole lot easier. Catering to the Republican Tea Party activists who support Frazier is a sure and steady path to making his term both unsuccessful and his last.

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Carroll County, Larry Hogan

Ready in for Senate, Frazier to House?

Towards the end of last month, the Carroll County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC) acceded to Gov. Larry Hogan’s request to nominate three people for the District 5 Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Joe Getty’s move to the administration:

The Carroll County Republican Central Committee recommended former County Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier, Del. Justin Ready, R-District 5, and David Wallace for the now-vacant Senate seat in District 5.

Wallace was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House against Chris Van Hollen and has run for other public offices in the past.

So other than Del. Justin Ready, recently easily reelected by the voters, the CCRCC confirmed its penchant for selecting political losers, hardly a necessity in a county filled with Republicans who have actually won office. Once again, the process was completely secret, likely to protect the innocent from having to watch how the CCRCC makes decisions.

To no one’s surprise, Hogan appointed his preferred choice: Justin Ready. He has now been appointed and sworn into the Senate, much to the relief of all concerned. Many were adamantly opposed to the CCRCC’s original sole nomination of loopy Robin Frazier, who lost reelection to her county commission seat in the primary and the general–so don’t blame Carroll voters.

But is Robin Frazier Still in the Mix for Delegate?

Justin Ready’s move to the Senate now leaves open his House seat. And by now you can probably guess what benighted group of Addams Family values Republicans gets to nominate his replacement: the CCRCC.

Rumors are circulating around State Circle that Gov. Larry Hogan agreed to appoint Robin Frazier to the House of Delegates in exchange for getting his choice of Ready for the Senate. If so, this is a true Faustian bargain, as Frazier will be the gift that keeps on giving to Democrats every time she opens her mouth. And she has no love lost for the Hogan administration after they torpedoed her Senate appointment, so her crazy fire would go off in all directions. I look forward to the  founding of her YouTube channel.

Moreover, such an appointment would show incredible weakness on the part of Hogan. Less than a month after his inauguration, the Republican who carried his party to victory in deep blue Maryland would show he can’t even get his own party, let along the Democratic General Assembly, to go along with him.

Hogan has aspirations to build the Maryland GOP. If Robin Frazier is the answer, what was the question? Let’s hope that the rumor mill is, once again, wrong.

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Carroll County

Johnny Tremain is Calling. Will You Answer?

The Baltimore Sun reports that a majority of the Carroll County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC) has now grudgingly agreed to appoint additional names beyond the ever controversial Robin Frazier’s for the vacancy created by Sen. Joe Getty’s planned move to the Hogan administration once Getty resigns from the Senate.

This is becoming epic as Frazier’s most ardent Facebook supporter is calling for all “Sons and Daughters of Liberty” (politically correct even!) to flight against “the tyrant in Annapolis.”

Otto

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Carroll County

Getty Staying Put? Robin Frazier Not Going to Annapolis

To the grave disappointment of Maryland bloggers but the relief of more sensible folk, it looks like wingnut Republican Robin Frazier will not be taking up a Senate seat any time soon. The Carroll County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC) bowed to Gov. Hogan’s will to nominate additional candidates when taking up the appointment of a vacant delegate seat in Carroll but declined to revisit the nomination of Robin Frazier:

Members of the Carroll County Republican Central Committee voted 5-4 Thursday to submit three names for their second open state legislative seat at the request of officials from Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration. They did not, however, reconsider former County Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier’s nomination for Sen. Joe Getty’s seat.
So, despite accommodating the governor on the delegate nomination, there is a standoff in Carroll County between Governor Hogan and the incumbent Sen. Joe Getty on one side and the CCRCC on the other. That being the case, Sen. Joe Getty looks to stay in the Senate for the time being:
The governor’s office said this afternoon that Getty had decided to stay in the Senate for a while longer to finish some initiatives.

Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings of Baltimore County said he still expects Getty to join the administration but knows he still has some local bills pending that he’s very interested in.

Yes, um, very interested.

Meanwhile, the bulk of the Republican activists who showed up at the meeting along with several members of the CCRCC are mad at the governor either for how the process was handled or the attempt to shove Robin Frazier aside, as George Otto and JoAnn Nichols, two Frazier supporters explained:
otto
Wow. Just two days into his administration, Larry Hogan has already been declared a tyrant. And people are seeing Democratic plots in the heart of the new Republican administration.
This is a textbook case of how to lose friends and influence over people. Carroll County Republicans have managed to keep their senator out of the heart of a new Republican administration in order to push for the nomination of walking embarrassment Robin Frazier to replace him while undoubtedly teeing off the new governor who they overwhelmingly supported and created a public spectacle.
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Carroll County, Republicans

Facebook for Frazier

Well, the honeymoon for Gov. Larry Hogan–with Republicans, not Democrats–was short. Republican activists are already accusing Gov. Hogan of usurpation of the Maryland Constitution on Facebook:

frazier1.5

Otto attacks the Left too:

frazier1.7

Uh oh, he’s on to us. Opposition to Frazier is all a part of the global plot to get the Carroll County Republican Central Committee to choose a socialist to fill Getty’s seat.

frazier1.8

How Kotmair explains Frazier’s spanking in the Republican primary in her bid for renomination to her seat on the commission is unclear. More left-wing fraud? Or is it pinko infiltration?

Finally, we also have good old-fashioned passive aggressive:

Frazier2

Good news, JoAnn. It’s definitely you.

 

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Carroll County

Joe Getty Hasn’t Resigned

Sen. Joe Getty (R-Carroll) is slated to take up a new position in the Hogan administration. However, a quick call to the Senate President’s office revealed that while Sen. Chris Shank (R-Washington), another Hogan appointee, stepped down with Hogan’s inauguration, Getty has not.

Getty’s continuance in office is likely not because he is especially slow off the dime or wants to hold on to his senate seat as long as possible but because of the kerfuffle surrounding the Carroll County Republican Central Committee’s (CCRC) strange decision to nominate walking political disaster Robin Frazier to the vacancy.

Democrats salivate at the thought of a Frazier appointment. She is guaranteed to generate endless bad press for the GOP. Needless to say, Hogan is less than thrilled. As Len Lazarick reported, he has demanded that the CCRC send up three names to him (read: someone other than Robin Frazier) in what I imagine is the desire to avoid tying his party or sharing the media cycle with this millstone. However, the CCRC website continues to announce Robin Frazier’s nomination.

Can Hogan get the CCRC to change its mind? That hasn’t occurred so far and neither has Getty’s resignation.

However, Facebook reports that the CCRC is going to meet tonight. Should be quite a show.

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Carroll County, senate

Robin Frazier Meet Bus

Robin Frazier, the singing, defeated, blogger bait county commissioner who is also the Carroll County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC) choice for Carroll’s vacant senate seat, is already getting thrown under the bus in the first bipartisan act of the incoming Hogan administration.

Len Lazerick at Maryland Reporter has the story (quotes below are from him). Key updates:

1. Governor-Elect Larry Hogan is already looking for ways not to have to appoint Robin Frazier to Carroll’s vacant Senate seat:

“We think there could be more transparency,” Hogan told reporters Tuesday. “We’d like to encourage them to make the process more transparent.”

“Our hands are not tied” by the central committee actions so far, Hogan said. “They’re supposed to send three names.”

While the three names claim seems to be a work of fiction, it speaks volumes to Hogan’s sensible desire to find another candidate without having to say it aloud.

2. Senate President Mike Miller doesn’t want her. He has also given the CCRCC an out by pointing out that the vacancy does not exist yet, as no one has resigned their seat. Sounds like an even better excuse for a mulligan.

3. Outgoing Sen. Joe Getty has been tasked to solve the problem:

Two of those sources also indicated that Hogan has told Getty to “fix” the problem prior to his appointment.

Getty said given his role in the Hogan transition, “my position is whatever the governor’s position would be” and he would not comment further.

Interesting response by Getty.

Sen. Getty and Del. Justin Ready, who lost the CCRCC vote to Frazier by 5-4, do not get along. For Getty, a Frazier appointment has two virtues. It would keep out Ready and fill the seat with a very weak incumbent. If Getty should leave the Hogan administration, he would be well positioned to seek his old seat again in 2018. So I wonder if Getty is now having to work to undo something he supported–or at least did not discourage.

4. Republican Del. Krebs has publicly condemned the process:

Four-term Carroll County Republican Del. Susan Krebs, the top vote-getter in the general election for three-member District 5, said, “I did not apply for the vacancy because I knew it was going to be a sham. I want people to know that I did not apply.”
“This central committee did not support Hogan,” Krebs noted.
Yikes. And to think these people are supposed to be playing for the same team.
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Carroll County, Republicans, senate

UPDATE: Carroll County GOP Frazier Follies

Over at Free State Notes, Walter Olson has a valuable update on the Carroll County Republican Central Committee’s (CCRCC) appointment of whackadoodle Robin Frazier to fill the vacancy caused by Sen. Joe Getty’s acceptance of a position in the Hogan administration:

(1) Although I wrote that “nobody puts crazy in the corner,” I had not realized that Frazier had ran a write-in campaign for County Commissioner against her own party’s nominee after losing the primary that garnered a whopping 9% of the vote. Makes her a doubly news of the weird choice by CCRCC.

(2) One of the people who voted on the vacancy was an employee of outgoing Commissioner Frazier.

(3) 2000 people have already signed an online petition against the appointment–more than voted for Frazier in the Republican primary–and they have gained support from one member of the Carroll County Commission.

(4) Michael Stewart over at Red Maryland has inveighed against both the secret process (the vote and who was considered were secret) and the decision to appoint this person twice rejected by the voters at the polls. Republicans are livid over this travesty.

(5) Frederick County Councilmember Kirby Delauter must be eternally grateful that Robin Frazier has distracted attention from his own stupidity and public humiliation.

Gov. Martin O’Malley found a way out of having the follow through with a disastrous appointment by the Prince George’s County Democratic Central Committee. Let’s hope that Gov. Elect Larry Hogan can do the same.

Question: Will this help inspire bipartisan support for reform of the appointment process?

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Carroll County, senate

Bizarro World of Carroll County GOP Politics

Former Carroll County Commissioner Robin Frazier made herself blogger bait when she decided to sing part of the 2014 State of the County address. Unfortunately, her oeuvre has been taken down from YouTube and now, I fear, lost to posterity.

Frazier made the big time news when she violated a court order (follow link for video) regarding prayer at Commission meetings:

Carroll County Commissioner Robin Frazier opened a meeting of the Commission with a prayer invoking Jesus Christ despite a federal court order. She views the order as a wrongly issued violation of her First Amendment rights.

Frazier is “willing to go to jail” and said that America will soon be “all the way to Communism if we don’t start standing up and saying no.” She lumped the anti-prayer ruling with plots to take away guns, palm scan her children, and take away property rights through Plan Maryland.

As I mentioned at the time, her raving looney views (rather than her commitment to religion) and odd behavior placed her in electoral danger even in a Republican primary. Indeed, this former member of the Ehrlich administration lost the primary to Stephen Wantz by 56% to 38%–a sound thrashing for the incumbent.

But nobody puts crazy in the corner.

Highly regarded Sen. Joe Getty is giving up his Senate seat to work in the Hogan administration. According to Maryland’s process for filling General Assembly vacancies, the Carroll County Republican Central Committee chooses his replacement. And they’ve selected Frazier over Del. Justin Ready.

Please tell me that only Carroll Republican Central Committee members think that an incumbent losing renomination after acting like a guest star on Law & Order or the latest Nancy Grace vehicle is grounds for promotion to a Maryland Senate seat. You can’t blame Carroll’s Republican voters–they tried and now they will be “represented” by Frazier in the General Assembly for the next four years.

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