Peter Franchot for Governor? Maybe

You know, if we absolutely had to have a Democrat as our next governor, it would be very easy to find someone more likeable than Martin O'Malley.  At this point it seems that the obvious contenders for the next gubernatorial election in Maryland will include Ken Ulman, the Howard County Executive, Tony Brown, the current Lieutenant Governor, the current State's Attorney Doug Gansler, and current State Comptroller Peter Franchot. 

Ken Ulman is a young aggressive higher-office seeking graduate of Centennial High School.  I've heard from people who knew him in high school and they said he was annoying as crap.  He reminded them of a salesman.  You bring him a problem, he'll tell you he can solve that before he even has any idea of how to solve it.  And his solutions are often questionable.  For example, he thinks that he can prevent deaths on the railroads in Howard County by building more fences around them.  Good thing the youth won't think to cut the fence or climb over it.

Tony Brown is a yes-man for Martin O'Malley.  O'Malley could say that dog poop is the official food of Maryland and Tony would roll up his sleeves and try to convince Marylanders that this is the greatest decision ever and we should all agree.

Doug Gansler has no clue about basic economics and finance and hates the Constitution.  I think of the potential contenders, Gansler has the least chance of being elected governor.

Peter Franchot, on the other hand, despite being a Democrat, seems to have his act together.  He disagrees with Governor O'Malley when O'Malley tries to sell crap to Marylanders.  Franchot and O'Malley are always bumping heads and I L-O-V-E it!  Franchot has kept the books in good order for the state.  And recently, Franchot reported a tax surplus for the state and told O'Malley and the other elected state officials that this was not to be viewed as a windfall for the state.  I disagree with his statement that the money should be applied to the state's rainy day fund, because that's always subject to careless raiding.  Instead, I think the money should be returned to the tax-payers of Maryland.  Not sure if that's legally allowed in this state, but it's definitely the right thing to do.

So while I'd rather see some balance in the politics in Maryland, meaning some more independents and Republicans, I think Franchot balances out the Democratic party a bit as a moderate, versus the left-wing extremist limousine liberal contingent that seems to dominate the State House and the General Assembly these days.  Therefore, if we have to have a Democrat win the next election, I would not be terrified of the results with Peter Franchot.