Townsend moves on down a different trail

Reflection: The Democratic candidate talks about possible reasons for her defeat, but not about mistakes.

By David Nitkin
Sun Staff

November 8, 2002

After a day of silence that let her victorious opponent launch a transition without distraction, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend dissected her unsuccessful bid for governor
yesterday during a three-mile hike with family members along a paved railroad bed in Annapolis.

Townsend said her campaign met its goals in heavily Democratic Baltimore and Montgomery and Prince George's counties, but that Republicans deserved "kudos" for generating a
historic turnout elsewhere that propelled Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. into office.

The media performed unevenly throughout the race, she said, critically scouring her record while leaving Ehrlich relatively unscathed.

It was she -- not Ehrlich -- who offered Marylanders the best chance to steer the state in a new direction, Townsend said.

But it was difficult to sell that view as a visible face in an administration burdened by a $1.7 billion budget shortfall and other problems, she noted.

"The people of Maryland wanted change," Townsend said. "I am the agent of change, but it was hard to get that message out."

Townsend arrived at the southern tip of the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail accompanied by her husband, David, and daughters Maeve and Kate.

"We decided to take a walk because we wanted to go on with our lives," she said, adding later that the brisk trek through stunning fall foliage was "a metaphor for carrying on."

She gave few details, however, about where she was heading, and whether she would try to resume a career in elected politics truncated by the first GOP gubernatorial win in Maryland
since Spiro T. Agnew in 1966.

"I'm not going to rule it out," she said. "I don't know what's next. I was intending to win this campaign."

Townsend was reluctant to talk about mistakes she might have made, leaving the job to others.

'It was disgusting'

Democratic leaders have been ready to observe that her heavily scripted campaign never effectively courted women, African-Americans and liberal interest groups who had previously
joined to create a streak of Democratic victories.

She refused to respond to a statement by her political mentor, Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who told The Washington Post on election night that hers was "one of the worst-run campaigns
in the country." Privately, her family fumed over the remark.

"It was disgusting. His comments are proof that we need character education in our schools," said Townsend campaign spokesman Peter Hamm, who also worked on Glendening's
re-election bid four years ago.

"There's a graceful thing to do when you are circulating your resume. This is not it."

Glendening tempered his words the next day, saying Townsend's campaign "never really got traction with the core voters. ... There were too many internal organizational issues," a veiled
reference to Townsend's oft-criticized top campaign executive, Alan H. Fleischmann.

'We did our part'

Townsend acknowledged that disunity among Democratic leaders undermined her effort.

Speaking of Rep. Albert Wynn of Prince George's County, an outspoken critic of her selection of a white, former Republican as a running mate, she said: "I'm not sure he's upset" by her
loss.

Asked why Wynn was not a strong supporter, David Townsend replied in his wife's place: "It's because Kathleen is incorruptible."

Wynn was not available for a response yesterday.

"People in Montgomery County and Prince George's County voted for her," said Wynn press secretary Amaya Smith. "I think we did our part."

Media coverage

Townsend said that Ehrlich received different media coverage than she did, but said he shouldn't have been treated as an underdog because he had pulled nearly even in polls by early
summer.

"You guys didn't hold the opponent to the same level of scrutiny you held me to," she told the reporters on the hike. "When you keep attacking, it has consequences."

She noted a succession of stories last summer about a federal probe into funds distributed by the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, which she oversees.

Townsend has dismissed the inquiry as "political garbage" dished out by U.S. Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio, who was recommended for his job by Ehrlich.

"All through August, we were having to defend the grant process," she said, which prevented the campaign from going on the offensive.

Townsend also touched on issues she was hesitant to address on the campaign trail. She had repeatedly rebuffed discussion of the role gender may have played.

But yesterday, she said: "Clearly we heard lots of people say they wouldn't vote for me because I'm a woman."

She also said she was worried that the programs she launched as lieutenant governor, such as the HotSpot community crime-fighting initiative and the Break-the-Cycle program for
addicted parolees and probationers, would be eliminated in a Republican administration.

Time at home

After an endless series of 17-hour campaign days, Townsend said she was anticipating spending more time at home with her family.

The day after the election, she said, she spent hours on routine chores like cleaning her Ruxton kitchen and folding laundry.

"We're excited to have our mom back," said Maeve Townsend, 24, who will soon return to Mozambique, where she is a Peace Corps volunteer. "She's been working a little too hard."

"It was a family project from the beginning," added David Townsend. "There's nothing better than fighting for the right causes."

Townsend predicted the state's future was bright, while lamenting she would not be leading it for the next four years.

"I wanted to bring the state together," she said. "That was my goal."

Sun staff writer Howard Libit contributed to this article.

Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun