Developers pour money into Almond super PAC, Almond ally attacks Brochin on guns

Steve Sibel and Arthur Adler of Caves Valley talk with Vicki Almond at Towson Row groundbreaking

A new super PAC created to support Councilwoman Vicki Almond’s run for Baltimore County Executive took in $30,000 on Thursday — mostly from area developers, a report filed Sunday shows.

More than half the money came from Caves Valley Partners and its affiliates. Caves Valley is the developer that proposed a controversial 24-hour Royal Farms gas station at York Road and Bosley Avenue, and it was the sole developer of the stalled Towson Row until Greenberg Gibbons took over the project.

Super PACs can spend an unlimited amount of money in support of — or opposition to — a candidate, and they can accept unlimited donations.

In addition to the $30,000 from developers, the Almond super PAC, called Baltimore County Votes, also received $12,000 from the Maryland State Education Association’s PAC on Thursday for a total of $42,000 in one day. Almond was endorsed by TABCO (Teachers Association of Baltimore County).

A campaign-finance filing also indicates the super PAC spent $32,000 for a direct-mailing campaign. It is not yet publicly known what those mailers will say.

But another Almond ally recently went on the attack with a gun-related mailer.

Mailer in support of Almond

Mailer in support of Almond

Brochin mailer

Brochin mailer

Many Baltimore County residents received a mailer recently questioning whether Jim Brochin is a “real Democrat” because of his record on gun control — and it claims he got an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association.

“Trust” me, I am FOR gun control and I am a “real” democrat, says the text mocking Brochin, followed by the question, Really???

The mailer was paid for by the Baltimore County Victory Slate, which was created by former County Executive Jim Smith, and encourages voters to support Almond.

Within a day, another mailer was delivered, this one from Brochin’s campaign, touting his record on gun control.

When Jim Brochin voted for gun control, people said it wasn’t politically smart. HE DID IT ANYWAY — BECAUSE IT WAS RIGHT.

So what’s the real story?

Brochin did receive an “A” rating from the NRA in 2010 but then got an “F” in 2014 after he voted in favor of the Maryland Firearm Safety Act of 2013 that banned assault weapons and enacted other reforms. He says his lifetime rating from the NRA is a “D.” (The NRA has removed past scorecards from its website.)

Brochin accepted $2,250 from the NRA between 2006 and 2010, but has taken no money from them since.

His 2013 vote for gun-control was seen as politically risky because Brochin’s district had just been redrawn and was suddenly more conservative.

Yet a leading gun-control advocate from that time is now criticizing Brochin for the votes he took prior to eventually supporting the bill — particularly Brochin’s support of a Republican filibuster against the bill, which nearly caused the legislation’s demise.

“Jim Brochin did what the NRA wanted by voting against cloture,” said Vincent DeMarco, the former president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence. “He’s got to come clean.”

Brochin said he voted in favor of the filibuster because he had concerns about aspects of the legislation, especially a fingerprint requirement and high fees for gun registration, which were eventually lowered.

“I felt like at the end of the day some things were not fair in that legislation,” Brochin said. But he ended up voting for it, he said, because “the most compelling point of the bill was the assault-weapons ban, and that if you were voluntarily or involuntarily committed to a mental institution, your weapons would be taken from you.”

Brochin said he also worked to add language saying guns would be taken not only from people who were a danger to others but also those who were a danger to themselves.

Jen Pauliukonis, the current president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, said that in the most recent General Assembly session Brochin supported the group’s four pieces of legislation. She added that the group is not endorsing any candidate. Attorney General Brian Frosh — who in 2013 was the senator shepherding the gun-control bill through the General Assembly — has endorsed Brochin.

Mandee Heinl, a spokeswoman for Almond, said the mailer was fair.

“He may be trying to run from his record now — who wouldn’t. But these are simply facts,” she said. “He took money from the NRA. He received an A rating from the NRA more than once because he voted with the NRA.”

Almond, who has served nearly eight years on the county council, does not have a record on gun votes.

John Olszewski Jr., a former state delegate who is competing against Almond and Brochin in the Democratic primary for county executive, also came under fire in recent months for his past vote against the 2013 gun-control bill and his 2009 vote in favor of letting domestic abusers keep their guns. (Brochin voted to take guns away from abusers.)

“In light of the things I’ve seen since some of the votes I’ve taken, particularly as it relates to firearms … I can look back and say, ‘I may have gotten that one wrong,’” Olszewski said on WYPR in April when asked about his gun votes.

The huge infusion of money to the Almond super PAC will no doubt add to the charges that Almond is too friendly with developers.

Brochin frequently accuses her of “pay-to-play” politics, and in a recent radio ad from the Brochin campaign, a teacher says: “Vicki Almond sold out our kids and she sold out our schools. Now Vicki’s selling off our open space all so she can get the developers to bankroll her campaign for county executive.”

Almond struck back at the “pay-to-play” charge during a recent debate.

“There is not a pay-to-play system and I do not like that term and it is just not a term that is something that I will put up with anymore,” Almond said. “I have to say that most people on this stage have taken money from developers, from community people, from special-interest groups, but it doesn’t mean you’re giving something back. It just means that they want to see you elected to the office because they know you’re fair, because they know you will work with them, communicate with them. It’s all about those relationships and those partnerships.”

Each of the three Democrats can cite a major victory:

• Brochin was shown to be leading in the polls, according to a recent Baltimore Sun-University of Baltimore survey.
• Olszewski was endorsed by The Baltimore Sun’s editorial board.
• Almond has the most cash on hand, even without the super PAC.

Last week, the candidates reported the following financial information for the period of May 16 to June 10:

Almond took in $83,000*, spent $579,000, and had $242,000 on hand.

Brochin took in $178,000**, spent $202,000, and had $37,000 on hand.

Olszewski took in $38,000, spent $359,000, and had $219,000 on hand.

Republican Pat McDonough took in $12,000, spent $8,000, and had $26,000 on hand.

Republican Al Redmer took in $29,000, spent $96,000, and had $53,000 on hand.

*includes a $20,000 transfer from the Baltimore County Victory Slate

**includes a $95,000 loan from Brochin

Early voting for the primary is going on now through June 21; election day is June 26.

-Kris Henry,
The Towson Flyer