The campaigns for State’s Attorney candidates entered into a new drama this week as the (outgoing) State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey broke his silence and threw his support for candidate Angela Alsobrooks as his successor.
“Angela Alsobrooks is the best-qualified candidate in the race. It is that simple,” Ivey said. “I know what it takes to be an effective state’s attorney, and Angela has those qualities and more. I will vote for Angela and I encourage others to do the same.” said the popular State’s attorney.
“We are one community, with the potential for greatness.” – said Alsobrooks commenting on this important endorsement.
Two other former prosecutors in the race include Joseph Wright and police department inspector general Mark Spencer, who says Ivey’s endorsement of Alsobrooks is underwhelming. “He’s endorsing continued mediocrity in that office by endorsing my opponent,” says Spencer.
Mr Ivey’s endorsement also bears bad news for the other candidate Joseph Wright, who serves as the assistant to Mr. Ivey.
Earlier, the Washington Post and the local Gazette also endorsed Angela Alsobrooks. “Smart, personable, direct and tough-minded, Ms. Alsobrooks would make a strong lobbyist for the state grants and increased county funding the prosecutor’s office badly needs, and an effective advocate for outreach and intervention programs. She has a firm handle on the county’s high rate of recidivism, domestic violence and gang activity, and a no-nonsense strategy to improve the quality and consistency of prosecutions.” – said the Post in its endorsement column.
The Post’s endorsement also had an interesting twist for other candidates who did not get the paper’s blessings. Though candidates Mark Spencer, Joseph Wright and Peggy Magee received mild criticism for not being qualified to rise upto Post’s standards, the fifth candidate Tom Dernoga received a rather harsh one.
“He is simply not qualified to be the state’s attorney. Although he knows the county’s budget and land-use laws well, Mr. Dernoga has never worked as a prosecutor, nor even as a criminal defense lawyer; in fact, he hasn’t practiced law of any sort in almost a decade. Lacking that basic background and familiarity with criminal law, Mr. Dernoga has no business running a prosecutor’s office in one of Maryland’s biggest and most crime-ridden counties” – commented Post criticizing Mr. Dernoga.
If you need a qualified criminal defense attorney, you can check out online sites for a further information.
Despite Post’s harsh disapproval, Mr. Dernoga enjoys strong support in our part of the county, where he has been serving as a term-limited county councilman. A number of Mayor and council members of municipalities in this part of the county have endorsed him. He has also led a poll in the early part of the campaign and has strong funds to go through the rest of the campaign.
The Democratic primary election is scheduled on Sept 14. It’s too early to tell about the outcome of this election.
[Source: Washington Post, Examiner, WAMU]