Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The three-term Democratic senator believes the death penalty should be placed on the 2014 ballot but finding voters to sign the petition might be a challenge.
Getting the signatures required to place the death penalty on the 2014 ballot is going to take a lot of work, according to Baltimore County State Sen. Jim Brochin. "I give it a 50-50 chance," Brochin said during an interview with Jimmy Mathis on WBAL Radio. The trouble, Brochin said, is finding a constituency to support the petition effort to re-instate capital punishment in Maryland. "If you wanted to get same-sex marriage on the ballot, you went to the Catholic Church. If you want to get the gun issue on the ballot you can go get signatures in North County," Brochin said. "If you're gathering signatures for he death penalty, where do you go?" Brochin, the three-term Democratic Senator from Towson, is part of an effort to reinstate the …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The results of the Quinnipiac University poll come as proponents of reinstating the death penalty in Maryland say the law is needed because of incidents such as the Boston Marathon bombing.
Americans support the death penalty for terrorists, according to a national poll released by Quinnipiac University. The national survey found that 63 percent favored the death penalty for someone convicted of murder involving an act of terrorism compared to 32 percent who said they opposed capital punishment. The results of the poll come as political leaders including Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, a Democrat, and Washington County Republican Del. Neil Parrott announced a plan to collect more than 55,000 signatures in order to reinstate the death penalty in Maryland. "One only has to look back to Oklahoma City, Aurora, CO, Newtown, CT, and the recent massacre in Boston to recognize that if these crimes were …
Friday, April 12, 2013
Sen. Jim Brochin says trend of school shootings is driven by people who want to "kill as many as we can."
Recent mass shootings around the country are being driven by people intent on killing as many as possible in order to set a record, according to state Sen. Jim Brochin. "There's a new game in town and it's: 'Let's go to a school and kill as many people as we can and beat the record,'" Brochin said, speaking of high capacity ammunition magazines and the mindset of shooters in incidents such as shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. There was also a shooting at Perry Hall High School on the first day of school. The senator made the comments on the C4 Show on WBAL 1090 AM during a discussion of gun control legislation recently passed by the Maryland General Assembly. Brochin, who represents the 42nd District, voted in favor …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A bill to repeal capital punishment is expected to pass out of a Senate committee with the vote of the Baltimore County Democrat.
The effort to repeal the death penalty in Maryland was stalled by the vote of one Baltimore County Democratic senator but it may pass this year because of another. Sen. Bobby Zirkin said he will vote in favor of a bill that repeals capital punishment in the state. "I'm forever torn on this issue, have been and probably always will be," Zirkin said in an interview Thursday. "I'm extremely jealous of people who fall comfortably on one side of the debate or the other." In the end, Zirkin said he made the decision to vote for repealing capital punishment based on testimony of some victims who said the death penalty provided little closure because of lengthy appeals and that the state hasn't executed anyone in nearly a decade. Zirkin said the …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
State Sen. Allan Kittleman wants voting sessions recorded, a Prince George's County senator suffers a basketball injury and two Baltimore County legislators team up to shorten the wait to get a divorce.
A proposal by Baltimore City to secure hundreds of millions in state money for school construction is missing a key ingredient, according to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. "The state needs to have a role in school construction," Miller said. Baltimore City wants the state to guarantee as much as $30 million a year for 20 years in the form of block grants for school construction and renovations. The city will then use that promise to leverage borrowing $1 billion for its plan. Miller rejects the plan saying it's a lot of money and that the state is needed to provide a check and balance to potential malfeasance and corruption. "I'm a historian, I study all history, OK," Miller said. "Whenever you have a one-sided government you …
Friday, November 9, 2012
Baltimore County State Sens. Jim Brochin and Delores Kelley and two other lawsuits challenged that the maps were not legally drawn.
The state's highest court has upheld state legislative redistricting maps drawn earlier this year. The one-page ruling does state that the court "determined that the Governor’s plan is consistent with the requirements of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Maryland." Details behind the courts decision will be provided at a later date, according to the court ruling. Sens. Jim Brochin and Delores Kelley were involved in one of three suits against the redistricting plan on which the court heard arguments on Wednesday. The Democrats claim the new districts violate the Maryland Constitution and a 2002 Court of Appeals ruling that governs redistricting. The suit alleges that Gov. Martin O'Malley and the General Assembly…
Friday, October 19, 2012
A letter to the editor from Senator James Brochin of the 42nd legislative district.
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Friday, October 19, 2012
There’s a famous scene in Robert Penn Warren’s political novel, "All the Kings Men," where Willie Stark delivers a fiery speech telling the people that they have been lied to, and that the political establishment was counting on them being a bunch of uninformed hicks. In my mind, Question 7, the gambling initiative on the November ballot, is a clear attempt by the political establishment to pull a fast one on the citizens of Maryland. Let’s look at the facts: In May, despite my and many of my colleagues' best efforts, the Democratic leadership decided that those with an annual income of $100,000 were now considered "wealthy" in Maryland. The legislature decided that these new "wealthy people" who make $100,000 or more would now see an …
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The event is scheduled to take place on Oct. 1.
An area legislator is planning to host a town hall meeting for residents of Loch Raven Monday night. Sen. Jim Brochin, whose 42 district includes most of the Loch Raven area, will host the meeting at Pleasant Plains Elementary School, 8300 Pleasant Plains Road, at 7 p.m. Oct. 1. Brochin will be joined by representatives from the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County Code Enforcement for a discussion of neighborhood issues. Residents are encouraged to bring their concerns, and anyone with questions about the meeting should call (410) 823-7087 or email mlazerow@senate.state.md.us.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
A suit filed by Democratic Senators Delores Kelley and Jim Brochin says the plan violates the Maryland Constitution and protects the political voice of Baltimore City at the expense of Baltimore County.
UPDATED (1:13 p.m.)—Two Baltimore County state senators have filed suit in the state Court of Appeals seeking to overturn Maryland's recently enacted legislative redistricting plan. Democratic Senators Jim Brochin and Delores Kelley, in a suit filed Tuesday, claim the new districts violate the Maryland Constitution and a 2002 Court of Appeals ruling that governs redistricting. A copy of the lawsuit is attached to this story. The suit is one of four seeking to overturn Gov. Martin O'Malley's redistricting plan. At the heart of the 17-page complaint are allegations that the commission that redrew the state's 47 legislative districts unfairly protected the city's political power in Annapolis, while diluting the county's representation. "For …
amark
12:17 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
I have already signed the petition. If it makes it to a vote, I believe the people would say yes to reinstating capital punishment. I never had confidence that the ones last year would not be wins for owe'malley. more ›