Editor’s Note: The views expressed in MoCo Politics are the writer’s and do not reflect those of Bethesda Beat staff.
A great campaign is sometimes like a great boxing match: Both sides throw punches and the last one standing wins. But in the MoCo executive race, one side is throwing all the punches and the other has been stuck in the corner.
Just look at the recent press. On Sept. 5, I wrote a column predicting that Marc Elrich’s campaign or his supporters would file a complaint with the State Board of Elections about Floreen’s corporate contributions. The column was prompted in part by discussions among Elrich’s supporters about just this issue on social media. From that point forward, Floreen’s operation should have planned a response and a counter attack. The inevitable complaint came 13 days later, prompting coverage from Bethesda Magazine, The Washington Post and WAMU. Instantly, Floreen’s campaign was on the defensive, following weeks of coverage noting her financial support from developers. Elrich pounced in WAMU’s article:
Elrich says the power wielded by special interests in the county executive race is “outrageous.”
“You know where all the money’s coming from in [Floreen’s] campaign,” Elrich says. “It’s not coming from average citizens of Montgomery County.”
Of course Elrich was going to capitalize on this. Why on Earth wouldn’t he? It plays to one of his trademark issues: corporate money in politics. Judging by the above, one would think that the only folks in the county supporting Floreen are a handful of wealthy developers. If that was true, she would never have out-polled Elrich in Brookeville, Burtonsville, Clarksburg, Damascus, Darnestown, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Laytonsville, Montgomery Village, Sandy Spring and Wheaton in the 2014 Democratic County Council At-Large primary and continually improved her electoral performance over time. But in politics, perception is reality, and right now Elrich has Floreen pinned on the ropes. He and his supporters have given voters plenty of reasons to oppose Floreen. She has given voters no reasons to oppose Elrich.
Like any long-time politician who has taken a big pile of checks, Floreen has vulnerabilities that can be exploited during a campaign. But so does Elrich. Among them are:
- Prior to enrolling in public financing, Elrich accepted $94,870 from PACs and political clubs between 2006 and 2014. That’s more than the $61,600 that Floreen took from such entities. (Disclosure: I worked for the Carpenters Union a decade ago when it gave money to both of them.)
- The creation of a much-criticized super PAC supporting Floreen followed the establishment of a Progressive Maryland super PAC supporting Elrich months before. Some of the pro-Elrich super PAC’s financing came from a California billionaire, although her contribution was designated for a race in Baltimore.
- The Laborers Union gave $35,000 to the pro-Elrich super PAC, which ran negative TV ads against David Blair, one of Elrich’s Democratic opponents in the primary. It so happens that Elrich is a lead sponsor of a bill now making its way through the County Council that is sought by the Laborers. It was introduced a month after the Laborers endorsed Elrich for executive. The bill would allow the county to require trash and recycling contractors to sign peace agreements with the union and reward the contractors with automatic contract increases for doing so. The Leggett administration opposes the bill in its current form in part because of the automatic contract increases, which are not currently part of any county vendor contracts. Whether or not the bill has merit, it would be a grenade in the hands of a skilled political operative.
- Finally, while Elrich has said for many years that he refuses all contributions from developers and their attorneys, the Post caught Elrich taking money from a lawyer who represents developers back in 2014. Elrich did not deny it. Yet he still says he never takes their money.
If Elrich can raise the issue of money in politics, so can Floreen. All of the above is fair game for going on the offensive. Any professionally run campaign in Floreen’s position would do exactly that. But if instead she stays stuck in the corner, we have four words for her.
Let’s say them all together, folks: County Executive Marc Elrich.
Editor’s note: This column was updated to clarify that a donation from a California billionaire to a pro-Elrich super PAC was designated for a race in Baltimore.
Adam Pagnucco is a writer, researcher and consultant who is a former chief of staff at the County Council. He has worked in the labor movement and has had clients in labor, business and politics.
