A little itty bitty local news digest piece in the Post hints at a brewing stalemate over the vacant Senate seat in District 14.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said Tuesday that Gov. Larry Hogan should name Del. Craig J. Zucker (D-Montgomery) to fill an empty state Senate seat as soon as possible because “there are 125,000 people that need representation.”
Sen. Karen S. Montgomery (D-Montgomery) resigned from her position last month. Last week, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee nominated Zucker to fill the seat. The committee forwarded the name to Hogan, who has 15 days to act. “We’d like a name sent down as quickly as possible,” Miller said.
Zucker’s vote may be needed for the Senate to override Hogan’s veto of a bill passed last year that would restore voting rights to felons while they are on parole or probation. The House voted to override the bill last week, with Zucker voting in favor.
Zucker was nominated by the MCDCC last Thursday and his name sent to the governor. Six days later, Hogan hasn’t acted on it. He has nine more days to do so.
The current vote on the veto override is scheduled for February 5. However petty it might be, the bet here is that Hogan waits until the last possible day, forcing Miller to postpone the veto override again, and even if it means D14 doesn’t have a senator for the first 23 days of the 90 day session. You stay classy, Larry Hogan.