Taylor loses delegate seat in recount battle

GOP underdog Myers wins race by 76 votes out of 11,238 cast; Busch in line for House speaker

By Greg Garland and Jeff Barker
Sun Staff

November 27, 2002

House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr.'s 28-year tenure in Maryland politics officially came to an end yesterday as a vote recount upheld his narrow loss to a Republican challenger.

Taylor issued a statement congratulating LeRoy E. Myers Jr. on his victory in a district that covers parts of Allegany and Washington counties in Western Maryland.

"I am looking forward to private life, but I fully expect and hope to continue in some form of public service," Taylor said.

Myers netted five more votes as a result of the recount, winning by 76 votes of 11,238 cast, according to local elections officials.

Myers, a Washington County building contractor and self-described political "nobody," shocked many political observers with his upset win over the well-entrenched Taylor.

Myers said yesterday that he looks forward to taking a seat in the General Assembly in January.

"We're going to have a really great Thanksgiving," he said in an interview from Washington County, where he had volunteers monitoring the recount.

Del. Michael E. Busch, an Anne Arundel County Democrat who is in line to succeed Taylor as speaker, said the Allegany County legislator left behind a legacy of important
achievements in health care, tourism, economic development and other areas.

"It was the courage he showed in looking to benefit all of Maryland, to the detriment of conservative values of his own district, that put him in [political] jeopardy," Busch said.

Taylor had come under fire in his district for supporting trigger locks on guns and the legalization of slot machines.

"I will certainly miss his friendship," said Republican Del. Alfred W. Redmer Jr., the House minority leader.

But Redmer said he believes all elected officials -- especially Democrats in conservative districts -- should learn a lesson from Taylor's loss.

"I think the citizens of Western Maryland sent a clear message, and that message is the same throughout the state and that is they want somebody to represent the people that elected
them," Redmer said.

"And if there was a single thing that led to Cas Taylor's defeat, it was the fact too often he was in a position of supporting things that came from the Glendening administration. And it
turns out there were some things in there that the folks back home didn't like."

Now that the speaker has conceded, Myers, who had never run for elective office, said he can catch up to the other delegate-elects in preparing for next year's legislative session. He said
he was several weeks behind in receiving materials on orientation and lodging.

"The state party said they wouldn't send it because I wasn't official," Myers said.

Myers said that he hopes to use his business background to bring new jobs into his district.

Taylor's re-election chances had been hurt by a court-drawn redistricting map that pushed his district to the east, adding new voters in heavily Republican Washington County.

Taylor is a resident of Allegany County, where he won 61 percent of the vote.

He was the state's longest-serving speaker, holding the post since 1994.

He worked to bring diverse factions together on such issues as prescription drug benefits and extending medical insurance for the poor.

"In health care, he made Maryland one of the most progressive states in the country," Busch said.

Taylor also championed economic development projects designed to attract tourists -- and jobs -- to Western Maryland.

Sun staff writer Tim Craig contributed to this article.

Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun