For all those anticipating Kevin Kamenetz’s announcement that he’s running for governor of Maryland, you’re late. He did it already. His op-ed piece in Sunday’s Sun declared, for all to see, that he’s not just Baltimore County’s chief executive, he’s a man who can see beyond county lines.
With the giant Amazon corporation scanning the country for a second headquarters campus and the Baltimore area reportedly one of the areas under serious consideration, Kamenetz urged CEO Jeff Bezos to settle on Port Covington.
Port Covington happens to be located in the city of Baltimore.
“That might seem an unusual statement from the Baltimore County executive,” wrote Kamenetz, who was scheduled to officially launch his gubernatorial campaign on Sept. 18. “But a project of this scope requires a broader vision, one that recognizes that a strong and vibrant Baltimore City is good for Baltimore County, the region and the state.”
So there you are. In a stroke, Kamenetz declares himself to be magnanimous, far-sighted, diplomatic and a man who cares about matters beyond his own immediate provinces.
As a politician who’s been thinking about running for governor for at least the last couple of years, it’s a good message to send out. And as a man whose roots – and political identity – are sunk deeply into this area, it sends a message to whatever local base he hopes to call his own — that the city and Baltimore County are connected at their core.
“When you look at the way people actually live and work,” Kamenetz wrote, “we are one interconnected Central Maryland region anchored by Baltimore City. … With one regional voice, we have the best chance to bring Amazon and tens of thousands of jobs to Maryland” – 50,000 jobs, Kamenetz says.
Even if Baltimore doesn’t get the nod from Amazon, Kamenetz’s plea is a pretty smart gesture. It reminds voters he’s one of us.
His likely opponents in a Democratic gubernatorial primary don’t have his ties to the Baltimore area. And if he survives the primary, he’d face Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican whose base is the D.C. suburbs.
The primary will be held June 26 and the general election is on Nov. 6.
If Hogan has a political weakness (besides his party ties to the current man in the White House), it’s his perceived emotional coolness toward the Baltimore area.
In his Sunday sermon, Kamenetz, 59, was implicitly reminding voters that he’s a guy who could sit in the governor’s office and see clear across county lines, all the way to Baltimore, and understand conditions here the way no other candidate could.
And if that’s not an announcement that he’s running, then what is?
A former Baltimore Sun columnist and WJZ-TV commentator, Michael Olesker is the author of six books, most recently “Front Stoops in the Fifties: Baltimore Legends Come of Age” (Johns Hopkins University Press).
As Baltimoreans head to the polls this month to start selecting the city’s next mayor, Michael Olesker remembers when he first started covering these campaigns and when William Donald Schaefer was preparing to make municipal history.
With the occasion of his birthday and an assist from his old pal Robert Miler, Michael Olesker offers a listing of how to know when you're ... old.
Michael Olesker wonders why Americans must rely solely on journalistic accounts for information about former President Trump's hush money trial.
While the Yankees celebrate the career of their longtime radio play-by-play announcer John Sterling, Michael Olesker recalls the retiring sportscaster's early years in Baltimore.