Friends back Janet Owens for governor

Success seen where Townsend failed; 'Charisma and intelligence'; County executive's record as a manager promoted

By Lynn Anderson
Sun Staff

November 28, 2002

As Democrats recover from a disastrous fall election, supporters of Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens are talking up the idea that she can succeed where Kathleen
Kennedy Townsend failed - and become the state's first female governor.

Support for an Owens candidacy in 2006 is mostly coming from a small but energetic group of political advisers in Anne Arundel County.

And she would surely face an uphill battle against better-known possible Democratic contenders such as Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley and Montgomery County Executive Douglas
M. Duncan.

When told that Owens supporters were promoting her as governor, state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who has a strained relationship with Owens, laughed and declined to
comment.

But there are those who say the idea isn't far-fetched.

Anne Arundel ranked fourth among Maryland counties in the number of votes cast in this year's election.

And while Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. won conservative Anne Arundel by a 2-to-1 margin, Owens, a Democrat, won with 52 percent of the vote.

"Janet Owens has [a] tremendous opportunity," said Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who considers the county executive a friend. "Her future is unlimited."

Those who are promoting an Owens bid say that her geographic base between Baltimore and Washington, her record as a manager, and her appeal as a moderate who embraces
environmental goals and economic development make her an attractive statewide candidate.

"We certainly have talked about a run for governor," said William F. Chaney, a lifelong Owens friend who, as her campaign treasurer, helped her raise more than $630,000 for her
re-election bid.

"She stands out more than some others," Chaney added. "She has charisma and intelligence."

Owens - who cannot seek a third term as county executive because of term limits - will be sworn into office Sunday. She declined numerous requests from The Sun for an interview.

Owens, 58, has surprised party leaders before.

Four years ago, she became the first woman and second Democrat to be elected county executive when she unseated Republican John G. Gary.

This month, she beat out former Del. Phillip D. Bissett by 6,000 votes and outpaced Townsend by nearly five times that number.

"I think that whatever Janet does she will do an excellent job," said C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, the Baltimore county executive who just won election to Congress in the 2nd District. He
has served with Owens on several regional boards.

"She has the ability to get good people to work for her and she is very smart," Ruppersberger said.

Owens has shrewdly managed potentially career-souring incidents - including simmering outrage over her support of redevelopment projects at the Parole Plaza and former David Taylor
Research Center - with a public relations campaign that has focused on her efforts to rebuild aging schools and preserve more than 5,000 acres of open space.

When critics charged that Owens' husband and campaign manager, Baltimore attorney David M. Sheehan, negotiated labor contracts and lobbied elected officials on behalf of his
spouse, Owens called the allegations sexist.

The Anne Arundel executive has also built an impressive cabinet.

Recently, she tapped Glendening's former chief of staff, Alvin C. Collins, to be her human services officer. Her legislative liaison, Kevin O'Keeffe, worked for former Baltimore Mayor Kurt
L. Schmoke.

Her special projects coordinator, Jerome W. Klasmeier, was deputy secretary of the state Department of General Services.

And her land use officer, Robert L. Walker, was secretary of agriculture under Gov. William Donald Schaefer.

"Anyone who underestimates Ms. Owens is making a terrible mistake," said Ehrlich spokesman Paul E. Schurick, who lives in Crownsville in Anne Arundel.

"She does her job well and she is disciplined and she has a good staff. Those are all qualities of a winning candidate," Shurick said.

Republican leaders say they have heard that Owens, a former Anne Arundel Orphans' Court judge and director of the county department of aging, may be a candidate in 2006.

But most say that Duncan and O'Malley are more likely to duke it out in the primary. Both men considered a run for governor, then endorsed Townsend.

Owens never endorsed Townsend, despite persistent prodding by Duncan and other elected officials.

"I doubt she would be the Democratic nominee," said Louis M. Pope, chairman of the state GOP, adding that Duncan and O'Malley are better able to build large campaign treasuries.

Duncan gave $500,000 of his campaign money to help other candidates in the 2002 election and O'Malley raised $1 million in a single night.

Duncan and O'Malley also have an early lead in name recognition, and recent governors have come from the more populous Baltimore and Washington regions.

"Owens is ... under the radar," said John Kane, chairman-elect of the state GOP.

But Owens' supporters such as former Annapolis Alderman Carl O. Snowden, an Owens aide, say she should not be quickly dismissed.

Owens has improved the county's bond rating despite a voter-approved tax cap and increased salaries for teachers and police.

She has made inroads in African-American business and political circles in Baltimore, he said.

"Today the front-runner is Duncan or O'Malley, but in four years, who knows?" Snowden said. "Janet Owens has surprised us before."

Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun