Yesterday was Independence Day. And the Maryland State House, in Annapolis, is the place where George Washington resigned his commission.
But not even Washington’s army could dislodge the two veteran presiding officers of the Maryland General Assembly. Senate President Mike Miller (D) is already the longest-serving Senate leader in the state’s history, and House Speaker Mike Busch (D) is close to becoming the state’s longest-serving Speaker.
Neither Mike seems to be in a hurry to go anyplace anytime soon.
Which is perfectly OK on the one hand. Both are powerful, skillful leaders who bring different strengths to the job, and both have earned their places at the highest echelons of state government.
On the other hand, the logjam of ambitious legislators who would like to eventually replace Miller and Busch – or move up the legislative food chain even a little – gets bigger and more desperate with every passing year.
On the surface, the General Assembly looks like a more stable – some would say stale – legislative body than the Politburo in the 1970’s. But look a little closer and there’s a certain – and surprising – level of instability, born of all the restlessness.
In the relatively short term, the apparent desire of Miller and Busch to stay has implications for the legislative redistricting process, which is likely to happen during next year’s Assembly session. Miller will certainly insist on keeping a piece of Prince George’s County in his district, even though he hasn’t lived there in more than a decade. And there is increasing talk that Busch is going to draw a small subdistrict for himself in downtown Annapolis, where the electorate remains fairly liberal even as the rest of Anne Arundel County moves farther to the right.
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