Maryland Politics Instead of holiday cheer, these two top Maryland pols exchanged angry letters

Instead of sharing some eggnog or perhaps a round of caroling on the streets of Annapolis, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. are celebrating the season with a highly public exchange of letters that make clear their mutual contempt.

On the surface, the spat between the two Democrats involves portable air-conditioning units for Baltimore County schools. But the deeper clash is about Franchot’s view of his role as an aggressive guardian of the public interest and Miller’s assessment that the comptroller is a headline-hunting opportunist who sticks his beak into local affairs for political gain.

Franchot, who often allies himself with Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, has pushed for months to change rules barring the use of state construction funds for portable units to cool sweltering classrooms in buildings without central air. He wrote to Miller (D-Calvert) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) on Dec. 11 to express his displeasure that the state Senate’s representative on the Interagency Committee on School Construction had moved to delay action so that lawmakers could have more time to consider the issue.

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