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Lollar's recent visibility might translate to run
Statewide speech tour by GOP group chairman spurs 2010 rumors
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
As former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. declines to reveal whether he will run again in 2010, other potential candidates are being promoted as viable challengers to Gov. Martin O'Malley.
One is Charles County Republican Central Committee Chairman Charles J. Lollar, a behind-the-scenes party loyalist who has seen his star become brighter of late.
In recent months, Lollar has crisscrossed Maryland speaking at GOP rallies and blasting Democratic spending practices in his role as head of the Commission for Citizen Tax Relief, established by the state Republican Party in January.
That has fueled speculation among political observers that Lollar is being groomed for a gubernatorial run. In addition, Lollar's backers have launched a Web site aimed at gathering support for his possible candidacy.
For his part, Lollar, 37, of Newburg, said he hasn't made any decisions about his political future and declined to confirm that he is even considering running for governor.
Although he has won plaudits for unifying a divided GOP in Charles following a disastrous 2006 election in which Republicans lost nearly every race, Lollar lacks the typical political credentials for statewide candidates.
In his only previous bid for elected office, Lollar was defeated in a 2004 GOP primary contest for Gwinnett County, Ga. school board. His name recognition outside Charles County is thought to be low and his ability to raise the large amounts of money necessary to wage a competitive campaign is unknown.
"He would not be a typical candidate. However he's got 18 months to become a typical candidate," said W. Daniel Mayer, a former state delegate and county commissioner who remains active in local GOP circles.
But in his travels across the state, Lollar said he has witnessed a groundswell of anger toward O'Malley and other leading Democrats that will bolster the hopes of any candidate who offers change.
"This country has been through one era of slavery and we don't intend to go into another because this stripping of family funds is nothing more than another type of slavery," he said.
That attitude is not reserved to Republicans, Lollar said, pointing to a number of Democrats who he said attended a rally on Sunday on the steps of the Charles County Courthouse to protest high taxes.
"There is a tremendous groundswell among both Democrats and Republicans looking at a change of how we do business in government," he said.
Still, it's hard to overlook the challenges that a first-time candidate would face running against an incumbent Democrat with an abundant war chest in a heavily blue state.
"Even for Bob Ehrlich, I think it would be a struggle next year," Mayer said.
But the actions taken by the O'Malley administration have riled up grass roots Republicans and offer a glimmer of hope for 2010, said House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell (R-Calvert, St. Mary's).
O'Malley (D) advocated a special legislative session in November 2007 that produced a package of tax increases designed to close a budget gap. But as the national economy has worsened and revenues have slumped, O'Malley has been forced to propose steep cuts to popular programs. Republicans claim he has done little to resolve the long-term imbalance between revenues and expenditures.
"People are upset. This current governor has done nothing except raise our taxes and he's done nothing to rein in the growth in spending," O'Donnell said.
"Certainly with the record this governor has, if you're a conservative to moderate, there's a lot to be put on the plate that would give people a choice," Mayer echoed.
Will that translate to success at the polls? The jury is still out, O'Donnell said.
Lollar, who is general manager for Cintas Corporation, maintains a glass-half-full outlook.
"The legislature is the gift that keeps on giving," he said.
"They find more ways to raise taxes and find ways to take more of our family's funds that we don't have."
The Democratic-led General Assembly actually cut more than $800 million from O'Malley's proposed fiscal 2010 budget and did not raise taxes during this year's legislative session. Still, Republicans said the reductions did not go far enough to protect against a continued decline in projected revenues.
While Lollar is relatively new to the Maryland political scene, Republicans say he boasts impressive oratory skills, a solid business background and a willingness to travel to all corners of the state.
So far, Lollar said he has been to all but three jurisdictions in Maryland and spoken not only to GOP groups, but to NAACP chapters, business organizations and civic associations, such as Rotary and Kiwanis clubs.
"If you want to have somebody up front leading this party, you could not pick a better spokesperson," Mayer said.
