Thomas Minkin announced Monday morning that he will resign as chairman of the county Board of Liquor License Commissioners effective at the conclusion of this morning's hearings. Minkin, who is in his third term as chairman and fourth on the board, read a letter into the record sent to him Monday by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz accepting his resignation. Last week, Minkin said he had refused to resign as chairman. Minkin did not say why he had changed his mind. Charles Klein, a certified public accountant and treasurer for Kamenetz's county executive campaign, will succeed Minkin, who is …

A leader has emerged in the discussion to replace Tom Minkin as chairman of the county Board of Liquor License Commissioners. The odds-on favorite appears to be Charles Klein, a certified public accountant and County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's campaign treasurer. Sources say Kamenetz intends to appoint Klein to fill a vacancy on the three-member panel created by the resignation of Bebe Kernan. Kernan was an ever-present volunteer for Kamenetz during the campaign. She leaves the liquor board to join the county as a special assistant to Arnold Jablon. She will make $90,000, said Don Mohler, …

Tom Minkin said he will not step down as chairman of Baltimore County's Board of Liquor License Commissioners despite a request to do so from County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. Minkin, an attorney in Peter Angelos' law firm, said in an interview Thursday with Patch that County Administrative Officer Fred Homan asked him to resign from his $30,000 per year position on Tuesday, "26 hours after (Kamenetz) was sworn in," Minkin said. Minkin said his gut tells him the request is political. "I was a street guy long before I became a suit guy," Minkin said. "Is there some crisis that requires (…

Four-term former County Councilman Sam Moxley left his old office on the second floor of the Old Courthouse but he didn't go very far. Moxley, a Democrat who represented the 1st District including Catonsville and Arbutus, has moved into an office in the the county Office of Law across the hall from his old digs and will be the county's new top lobbyist. He replaces Frank Principe, who left last month for a position with the state Department of Transportation. Moxley said he will work with legislators in Annapolis as well as being the liaison between County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and the …

County Executive Jim Smith used his sizable campaign war chest to help the campaigns of three Democratic County Council candidates. Smith gave $129,000 to Cathy Bevins, Ben Sutley and Tom Quirk in the final weeks of the 2010 campaign, according to a report filed with the Maryland State Board of Elections. Bevins and Quirk won their bids to represent the 6th and 1st Districts, respectively. Sutley lost to Republican Todd Huff in the 3rd District. Contributions made by Jim Smith through the Baltimore County Victory Slate Cathy Bevins Ben Sutley Tom Quirk Contributions $39,000 $70,000 $20,000 …

A number of county employees can expect to be notified in the coming days that their jobs will be affected by County Executive-elect Kevin Kamenetz's plan to consolidate four county agencies and eliminate 143 positions. Don Mohler, a spokesman for Kamenetz, said the county will reach the target number of 143 jobs through a combination of eliminating positions that are currently vacant as well as moving people into new positions with new, combined job responsibilities. "These cuts are spread broadly across county government," Mohler said. "It's a true reduction of position not just something …

How do you spell seniority on the County Council? B-A-T-H-R-O-O-M. There are many perks for the seven member council—a car, a place to park in the garage, a cell phone, staff and a pension. But none are as coveted—and limited—as the private bathrooms in two County Council member offices. The fact is that not all council member's offices are created equally and the two that Democratic Councilmen Vince Gardina and Joseph Bartenfelder called home had their own private bathrooms. The other offices have no such accommodations, requiring those council members and their staff to use a bathroom-…

Tony Campbell, chairman of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee, and members of the group have spent the better part of his first week in office trading barbs in published stories and in e-mails—some sent to the media and some that were never meant to be read by outsiders. Campbell even invited the media to attend a special meeting of the committee Monday night at the Holiday Inn in Timonium to witness the airing of the grievances or what Campbell, an ordained minister, called "a come to Jesus meeting." But when push came to shove, Campbell and the committee voted to go into …

A majority of the five new Baltimore County Council members who will be sworn in next week say they will focus on issues pertaining to planning and revitalization in their districts during their first year in office. Council members-elect Vicki Almond and Tom Quirk, both Democrats, and David Marks, a Republican, said they would focus on issues such as smart growth, revitalization of the downtown areas of Pikesville and Towson and seeing that community plans in their districts are adopted into law. The three new council members and Republican Councilman-elect Todd Huff spoke with me about the …

The 2010 Baltimore County Executive's race is likely to measure up as one of the most expensive in county history, and its winner, Kevin Kamenetz, arguably raised and spent more on his victory than other previous contenders. Kamenetz, his Democratic challenger Joseph Bartenfelder and Republican Ken Holt combined to raise nearly $3.37 million dollars. Together they spent more than $3.32 million. The figures do not include the more than $300,000 spent on behalf of Kamenetz through the Better Baltimore County campaign slate account. 2010 County Executive Campaign Contributions and Expenditures: …

County Executive-elect Kevin Kamenetz raised and spent more than his Republican opponent by a 5-to-1 ratio in the 2010 election, according to the most recent figures released by the Maryland State Board of Elections.Kamenetz raised more than $1.95 million and spent nearly all of it—about $1.93 million—for his successful county executive bid. The figures include every dollar raised and spent during both the primary and general election contests.The bulk of Kamenetz's expenditures—about $1.2 million—came during his primary bid against fellow four-term Democratic Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder. …

Baltimore County Republican Central Committee Chairman Tony Campbell is challenging political opponents inside his own party to impeach him. Campbell was sworn in last week. Since then, he has been the target of criticism for floating an idea that newly elected Republican councilmen support Democratic  Councilman Ken Oliver and the new chairman of the council and for asking candidates for a commission to set up fundraising events for them. In an e-mail sent to central committee members just before 2:30 p.m. Monday, Campbell wrote that because he is elected by the voters of Baltimore County …

Battleground Baltimore County? Just because Republican former Gov. Robert Ehrlich lost doesn't mean that all that talk about Baltimore County being the battleground county was a lot of hooey. So says Don Norris, professor and chairman of the Department of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley won a plurality of votes in last week's election but did not cross the 50 percent mark in Baltimore County. So far, he's bested Ehrlich in his home county by nearly 1,300 votes according to the latest vote totals available Friday morning…

Moving the pieces: While there's been nothing official from County Executive-elect Kevin Kamenetz, it's never too early to speculate on who's in and who's out in the next administration.If Kamenetz follows through with statements made at forums in Middle River and Catonsville prior to the election it would appear that the Office of Sustainability will likely be booted off the mezzanine in the Old Courthouse.Kamenetz said prior to the election that he would eliminate the cabinet level office created by County Executive Jim Smith in 2007.  David Carroll becomes the first and only head of the …

Retaking the mantle of innovation: County Executive-elect Kevin Kamenetz said during a Thursday news conference regarding the transition to his administration that he hoped to be more like the county's neighbor to the west. "When I was young, I remember very clearly that Baltimore County, at least in my opinion, was the ideas county—seen as a real innovator across the state. It was certainly home to that sense of innovation and creativity," Kamenetz said. "And I had a sense that over the years, with all compliments to our friends to the west in Howard County, that they've kind of assumed that…

In case you hadn't noticed, I left the Towson Times to join Patch. It's a different and innovative platform, but as the Baltimore County government and politics editor I promise to deliver the same steady scoops you've come to expect. I hope my loyal audience stays with me. So, let's get started.  Reading the tea leaves: Republican County Executive candidate Ken Holt sees the increased turnout during the most recent early voting period as a reason to be optimistic. "As I look at the numbers in the early voting, I see an increase in the Democratic turnout," Holt said on the Halloween night …