2014 District 8 House and Senate

Senate

Kathy Klausmeier (D)
Official website
Personal website
Wikipedia
Facebook
Vote Smart Record


Voted against SB281
Submitted amendment for SB281 that was rejected

Endorsed by NRA


House

2 incumbents, 1 open seat

Incumbents:

Eric Bromwell (D)
Official Website
Personal Website
Wikipedia
Facebook- Personal
Facebook - Delegate Bromwell
Vote Smart Record

Voted against SB281
Submitted amendment that was rejected

Quotes from Eric's FB re: 2A:

• "This disaster of a legislative session ends today...residents of Maryland rejoice!"
• "I have been relatively quiet on the gun control legislation currently before the Maryland General Assembly. But as I hear testimony both for and against this legislation, I am convinced that these bills will not improve the safety of my constituents. Criminals will continue to obtain illegal firearms, just as they continue to obtain illegal drugs. It will be those law-abiding citizens who are limited under these bills. I will be voting no."
• "Last panel of the morning...evening...morning. I'm proud of my colleagues for hanging in, but moreso of those who waited 17 hours to testify. The Maryland State Police made this all happen today. A special thanks to Sgt. Larry Barnes...the man with the plan!"
• "Those testifying in favor of the gun control legislation- 32. Those in opposition- 1307."
• "I'd like to thank the makers of Swedish Fish for releasing their line of jelly beans, just in time for these bill hearings. They are certainly playing a very improtant roll. 1:10am and still going..."

"I may not be a GOP Delegate, but I'm a proud Neanderthal!" - After Sen Miller called GOP delegates Neanderthals for opposing the gas tax




John W. E. Cluster (R)
Official Website
Personal Website
Wikipedia Page
Facebook
Vote Smart Record

Retired Baltimore County LEO
His son, Joe, was just named Executive Director of Maryland GOP
Voted against SB281
Submitted an amendment to SB281 that was rejected

(more coming soon)

district 8 demographics

senate:
2012 district population over 18 years old - 98055
2014 district registered voters - 77365
2014 district D voters - 43222
2014 district R voters - 22323
2014 district I voters - 11820
Senator (D) Klausmeier voted against SB-281 and voted against in committee

house (elects 3):
2012 district population over 18 years old - 98055
2014 district registered voters - 77365
2014 district D voters - 43222
2014 district R voters - 22323
2014 district I voters - 11820
all three delegates voted against SB-281, Bromwell (D) & Cluster (R) voted against in committee

From Delegate Boteler:


Dear Friend,

In a couple of days the 434th session of the Maryland General Assembly will convene. Wednesday, January 8th will mark the beginning of the last session before the June 24th primary elections, and I wanted to begin by saying what an honor it has been serving all the constituents of District 8th for the past years. Even though this will be my last year serving the 8th District due to redistricting, I wanted to reignite the importance of hearing from my constituents. Your concerns, questions, and criticisms are as important as ever as we enter what might be a unique session. I use the word “unique” in reference to the fact that this is an election year and with that comes the tradition of less fractious issues being raised before the people re-exercise their constitutional right to vote. However, some problems demand attention, and I wanted to take the time to brief my constituents on some of the hot button matters that may arise:

The State Budget: After seven years of the Governor’s dozen of increases in taxes and fees the continual budget deficit seems to ring clear that the proposed solutions are not working. And while the Governor’s current excuse may be the recent U.S. government shutdown, the true problem lies with the mass exodus of taxpayers to the tune of $8 billion of net taxable revenue that have exited the state. A vast majority of those that have left Maryland have moved to Pennsylvania, Virginia and Delaware to escape the insurmountable tax burdens that have been passed down due to unnecessary spending and irresponsible debt limit increases. It’s time that we embrace the private industry and support our local businesses. It’s time we admit that tax increases are destroying our once prosperous state, and the irresponsible spending of our state government needs to be stopped.

Rain Tax: The “Rain Tax” is a prime example of the Governor’s fondness of hasty over-taxation of Marylander’s. Homeowners, business, non-profits and religious organizations in the nine largest counties and Baltimore City are now required to pay a stormwater fee that would allegedly begin a watershed protection and restoration project. While the end goal is painted as a way to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay, the legislation was drafted so hastily that the money from the tax will most likely end up being spent negligently and abused in a similar fashion to the Transportation Fund. Since each jurisdiction establishes its own fees and programs, with little guidance from the state, the interpretations of the new law have been broad and inconsistent. I did not support the “Rain Tax” when it passed, and I pledge to work strenuously against its repeal in the upcoming session.

Minimum Wage: There have been several attempts to increase the minimum wage in Maryland over the last couple of years, but with no results. However, this session could prove to be the year, with Prince George’s county signing into law an increase that brings the minimum wage to $11.50 in 2017, and nearly identical legislation being signed in Montgomery County. This means that there will likely be pressure for an increase statewide so that no jurisdiction in Maryland has a competitive disadvantage.

Common Core: According to the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA), 86% of teachers asked in a recent survey believed there are significant challenges remaining to understanding and implementing Common Core. Common Core seems to represent a massive amateurish experiment that is doing more harm than good for our students here in Maryland. With standards still being developed and passed onto schools at the last minute, it seems comical that we are asking our teachers to teach as they learn themselves. It also seems careless to assume that all children across the nation can adapt to one curriculum, and to stunt a teacher’s ability to innovate to meet the needs of their students.

These are just a few of the major issues I believe will be addressed during session, but as always, I am ready to address as many issues as my constituents voiced to be faced. As I have done in the past, I will be sending out a weekly newsletter focusing on an important topic currently facing the legislators. I encourage your feedback on all issues, and also hope that you will bring up any matters of your own that need addressing.

Best Wishes,
Delegate Joseph C. Boteler III
Delegate to the 8th District of Maryland

Can I post to freestatedinos.com?

District 8 is good to go. I've met Kathy and the Delegates on multiple occasions, they are firmly on the Pro-2A side. John was one of the strongest committee members during the hearings last year. He's the one that interrogated Chief Johnson and bashed every one of his talking points.

http://www.quintonreport.com/2014/02/11/liberal-democrat-files-for-delegate-in-district-8/

Meet Hir Bhandari (a.k.a. Harry Bhandari, a.k.a. H.B. Bhandari, a.k.a. H.B. Bhandari Prabhat), new candidate for the House of Delegates in the Democratic Primary in Legislative District 8. No other Democrats have filed to run as of yet.
Bhandari was appointed to Baltimore County’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee by County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins in 2013. His term expires at the end of 2015. Bhandari lives in the Overlea area and apparently has lived there since 2009 when he purchased the house he lives in.
According to one Facebook profile, Bhandari currently serves as Secretary of the Minority Caucus for the Young Democrats of America. That profile also indicates he works as a faculty member in the English Department at Baltimore City Community College and as tenured English faculty at the Knowledge and Success Academy (KASA) in Baltimore. According to his other Facebook profile, he is faculty at the Baltimore City Community College. Both profiles indicate he attended Johns Hopkins University. He apparently hasn’t updated his about information since he doesn’t appear in the faculty phone directory of BCCC or on the staff list of KASA. Bhandari has a blog here.
Things have changed since I previously wrote about District 8. On the Democratic side, incumbent Delegate Eric Bromwell has said he plans to run again. Former delegate and county councilman Joe Bartenfelder is apparently running for the State Senate in District 37 on the Eastern Shore. Other probable candidates for delegate include Bill Paulshock and Debbie Schillinger. This would set up a four candidate primary. Rob Santoni previously flirted with running but apparently is no longer interested.
As a relative newcomer to the district, and his national office with the Young Democrats (plus his Facebook profile picture being a picture of him with Nancy Pelosi), I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Bhandari is too liberal for most District 8 Democrats, let alone the independents. Especially when you consider the Democrats typically elected in the district have been more moderate, including Bromwell (who doesn’t toe the party line on many tax issues.)
Three Republicans have already filed for the seat including Delegate John Cluster, Christian Miele, and Norma Secoura.
Right now, I would predict a general election slate for the Democrats that includes Bromwell, Schillinger, and Paulshock going on the assumption they all run.

Click to expand...

I'll update the OP with this guy when I get back to a computer.

I'm running against Klausmeier (assuming she wins her primary)

Hello everyone-

I'm Erik Lofstad and I'm running for this office as the Republican candidate. When investigating Klausmeier's voting record I was actually pleasantly surprised with her 2a record compared to most politicians in this state. She is well liked and well known and I know I have my work cut out for me.

I wanted to introduce myself and let you know you'll have a stronger 2a choice on the ballot in November that won't simply be a no vote but be a strong voice defending your right to bear arms.

My website isn't up yet but my facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/Lofstad2014

NRA-PVF ratings are out - http://www.nrapvf.org/grades-endorsements/2014/maryland.aspx

Senate:
*Katherine Klausmeier (D)
Grade: A+

House:
*Eric Bromwell (D)
Grade: A

Debbie Schillinger (D)
Grade: F

Renee Smith (D)
Grade: A-