GOP's Miller launches second run against Senate pres.

Filing period for 2010 races begin

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Despite being routed in the battle of the surnames in 2006, the GOP's Miller believes he can mount a competitive campaign and force the incumbent to work hard to earn his 10th term in the Senate.

"People need to start equating who they put into office with the outcomes they have to deal with after the fact," Ron Miller said on Monday, shortly after formalizing his paperwork at the state elections board in Annapolis on the first day that candidates could do so.

Mike Miller (D-Calvert, Prince George's), who has served 23 years as Senate president, has not done enough in recent years to close Maryland's long-term fiscal shortfalls, his GOP challenger accused.

"We've seen a pretty precipitous plummeting of our economic status," said Ron Miller. "Rather than someone having the courage to take the bull by the horns and come up with a long-term fiscal plan, we're basically going year-to-year trying to come up with a stopgap fix and hoping that we'll stay out of trouble for another year."

He also criticized the Senate president for shepherding the $1.4 billion package of tax increases through his chamber during the 2007 special legislative session and more recently, advocating a gas tax increase to pay for transportation projects.

His message to voters will stress the need for fiscal reform, government accountability, zero-based budgeting and restricting legislators' ability to raise taxes. He also hopes to convince voters in his belief that the Senate chief has put partisan politics ahead of his district's best interests.

That could be difficult to convey. Mike Miller, who could not be reached for comment, enjoys widespread support across a district that spans southern Prince George's and northern Calvert counties: he tallied 70 percent of the vote in 2006. Ron Miller, 49, contends the wide margin was partially attributable to the anti-Republican sentiment at the time and his late entry into the race after suspending his Congressional campaign against Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md., 5th)

Since then, he's remained engaged in local politics, trying to boost his name recognition in anticipation of a repeat run, which he has openly discussed.

He serves as communications director for the Calvert County Republican Central Committee and regularly submits letters to local newspapers.

But for all his efforts, the challenger acknowledges that dethroning a stalwart politician who projects a gregarious image like Mike Miller won't be easy, even if the national mood is more receptive to Republicans in 2010 than four years ago.

"There's always going to be a strong base of support for him, because of the things he's done and the people he knows," said Ron Miller, who lives in Huntingtown with his wife Annik and three children. He is a homeland security consultant for ManTech International Corporation.

Shortly after his 2006 election victory, Mike Miller told a reporter that the term would be his last. But he quickly backtracked and held a news conference last summer to formally announce he would run again. In the Senate, Miller possesses extraordinary clout — the saying in Annapolis is he can get 24 votes to burn the chamber down — and he has repeatedly used that authority to benefit Calvert County in budget negotiations and legislative discussions.

Local Democrats delighted in his decision to run for re-election, saying Miller's leadership role ensures tiny Calvert County gets a fair shake in Annapolis.

‘‘The day that Mike steps aside ... we would [lose] a lot of power in state government," former Calvert County commissioners' president Hagner R. Mister said at the time.

abrody@somdnews.com