Mr. Who Goes to Washington

A Bay Weekly conversation with Congressional contenders Andy Harris and Frank Kratovil

by editor Sandra Olivetti Martin

You may not get to vote in Maryland’s biggest race.

Only a few regular Bay Weekly readers live and vote in that gerrymandered sprawl of 11 counties that connects Smith Island to Baltimore County, encompassing the Eastern Shore, crossing the Susquehanna River, running west of I-95 to touch the Baltimore Beltway, then leaping across the whole metropolis to land with one toe on the Pasadena peninsula, another on the Broadneck peninsula and a third hooked into Severna Park, Severn, Crownsville and Odenton.

Yet it’s a race that affects us all, in Chesapeake Country and throughout Maryland. In it, the successor to a Bay champion will be elected — and a new act of a drama worthy of Shakespeare will begin. We set the stage in this week’s Letter from the Editor. Now, meet the principals and hear what they have to say for themselves:

Andy Harris

51-year-old married father of five, at home in Cockeysville (Baltimore County) • Maryland State Senator for 10 years • Obstetric anesthesiologist; Naval Reserve officer.

Bay Weekly The world banking crisis and stock market decline is fast changing the priorities of governments and their ability to help people. Given this new era of limits, what role should the government play with regard to the environment and Chesapeake Bay?

Andy Harris We certainly can’t lose sight of the vision of restoring the Bay and continuing our efforts. In Congress, I’ll support a multi-state regional approach that has not been used successfully in the past.

Bay Weekly Do you mean beyond the federal, state and District of Columbia regional partnership defined by the Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1983?

Andy Harris In the past, efforts have always been voluntary with federal funding not tied to mandatory pollution standards in the Bay. For example, in 2003 the nutrient reduction standards agreed to, voluntarily, haven’t come to fruition. Now that the federal government is willing to invest in restoring the Bay, we should be certain we convert to standards tied to compliance to get federal funding.

Bay Weekly A conservative like you favoring mandatory compliance with pollution standards? Something doesn’t sound right there.

Andy Harris It’s because what’s different is the bipartisan 2009 bill I’ve agreed to sponsor: If enforcing standards causes reduction in economic benefit to individual property owners or farmers, that economic reduction will be compensated by the federal government.

If we don’t have compensation for economic loss to individuals, it’s not fair.

Bay Weekly Should the Bay expect to receive preferential treatment with regard to funding?

Andy Harris Funding for Bay restoration should continue, but clearly many different areas are important, so while I’d like to see no decrease, it may be difficult to find increasing sources of funds with so many important needs.

Bay Weekly Your district is heavily Republican …

Andy Harris It’s about one-to-one in registration, but it tends to vote Republican.

Bay Weekly And in the three-way Republican primary, you appealed to partisan voters as closest to their ideal.

How are you reshaping your strategy for this partisan election — with Democratic and independent voters — and a president of your party at the nadir of his orbit in public opinion?

Andy Harris I think it’s not necessarily on a partisan but on a common-sense basis right of center, and I think in a right-of-center district, even Democratic and independents tend to believe in lower taxes and more efficient government spending.

My strategy was to win in the primary, and it’s still to win in the general election.

Bay Weekly What impact can John McCain have on your race?

Andy Harris John McCain will do very well in the 1st District given his military background, fiscal conservatism and clear difference with the Democratic ticket on the role of government as a redistributor of wealth. I think the contrast will be very favorable.

I also think that many people in the 1st identify with Sarah Palin as the governor of a rural state.

Bay Weekly Would you have voted for the final House version of the $700 billion stimulus package?

Andy Harris No. I would not have, and on that issue I have never changed my mind.

Bay Weekly Would you support a stimulus package that would spend some of that $700 billion on crumbling infrastructure and putting people to work?

Andy Harris No. That’s an approach that says government is going to be the solution to this economic crisis. I believe we have to encourage businesses to employ Americans to get out of this crisis.

Bay Weekly What’s one way you think we can do that?

Andy Harris We can absolutely temporarily reduce or eliminate capital gains taxes on businesses that need infusions of capital, as well as considering tax reduction closer to what is seen in other countries now attracting business away from America, in part due to their lower taxes.

Bay Weekly The long-awaited study of how to restore oysters to the Chesapeake for ecological and economic benefit leaves the door open to bringing in an alien species. Should we?

Andy Harris If studies show the benefits of success could outweigh the risks, I think we should consider ariakensis to restore the filtering capacity of shellfish in the Bay.

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Frank Kratovil

40-year-old married father of four, at home in Stevensville • Second-term Queen Anne’s County states attorney, first elected in 2002 • prosecuting attorney.

Bay Weekly The world banking crisis and stock market decline is fast changing the priorities of governments and their ability to help people. Given this new era of limits, what role should government play with regard to the environment and Chesapeake Bay?

Frank Kratovil It’s all interconnected. The Bay, the environment in general, global warming, foreign policy: All the issues are related through energy and the environment. So the bottom line is not at odds or mutually exclusive. We need to move toward renewable fuels not just because they’re great for the environment and Bay but also for the economy. The timing is right because we can create a whole new sector of jobs at the same time.

Touring in White Marsh with Sen. Barbara Mikulski, we visited a General Motors plant producing hybrids. That’s an example of exactly what I’m talking about, giving incentives and providing some money for plants to retool away from gas and oil to alternative arenas. It’s great for the economy and ultimately protects the environment, so it can be helpful for global warming and the Bay.

Bay Weekly Should the Bay expect to receive preferential treatment with regard to funding?

Frank Kratovil I think we still need to have some specific funding to help the Bay, and I’ll be fighting for recovery or other programs, for example money in the Farm Bill, to help the Bay.

Bay Weekly It is highly unusual for a Republican congressman to endorse a Democrat, as Gilchrest did you. Why do you think he did that?

Frank Kratovil Congressman Gilchrest and I are similar in a number of ways. First, I think Congressman Gilchrest has always been willing to do what he thought right and best even though there may be political ramifications. He has done that because he has a broader outlook on this world. Nor is his whole self-identity based on being a congressman, so he has been willing to take other positions. Wayne has a depth that goes beyond politics, and I like to think I have that as well.

Even when Wayne disagreed, he was a true gentleman, a statesman, and treated people with respect. I’ve always believed that everyone deserves respect, opponent or not, in courtroom or in politics. In politics, I think you can raise the difference between yourself and your opponent without crossing the line. That’s the way he was, and I like to think the way I am.

At a forum in the primary battle, I said for the record that Wayne was a very good Congressman. I think that went a long way in demonstrating to him the kind of person I am.

Bay Weekly What impact can Barack Obama have on your race?

Frank Kratovil I think in my district, John McCain will win pretty handily. But Obama may bring out a lot of young and new voters.

Bay Weekly Does it make a difference that the 1st Congressional district is 84.7 percent white?

Frank Kratovil I don’t think it’s a race issue in my district, more a politically conservative issue. People in the 1st tend to be socially conservative Reagan Democrats, while in suburbs people are not so conservative. In Baltimore city, Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, plenty — a vast majority — of whites will be voting for Obama.

Bay Weekly Given that predilection, what’s your strategy?

Frank Kratovil We hope to get a lot of Republicans crossing party lines to vote for me for several reasons. Geographically, a lot of people on the Shore are concerned about not having representation from the Shore. Another reason is Wayne’s endorsement. Another is my opponent’s demeanor and background: Many would consider him quite extreme, and I think both parties are tired of extremists.

I think my background as prosecutor also helps me cross that barrier. I’m conservative on some issues like illegal immigration, law and order and responsibility issues, and fairly fiscally conservative, but moderate on social issues. I don’t think one party or another has a monopoly on those issues.

Bay Weekly Would you have voted for the final House version of the $700 billion stimulus package?

Frank Kratovil No; The biggest reason is the pork it represented. That’s the exact problem we see in D.C.: Good leadership from both parties coming together to say we needed something — but in the end people selling votes for what they’re going to get in return. Given the amount of money added to that bill, the Blue Dog Democrat in me would have had a difficult time agreeing.

Bay Weekly Would you, then, support a stimulus package that would spend some of that $700 billion on crumbling infrastructure and putting people to work?

Frank Kratovil That’s a good thing I would be more inclined to support. I’m not saying supporting failing institutions wasn’t necessary, and I think leadership in both parties who believed something needed to be done would have prefered to see more going to middle class people struggling to stay in their homes.

Bay Weekly The long-awaited study of how to restore oysters to the Chesapeake for ecological and economic benefit leaves the door open to bringing in an alien species. Should we?

Frank Kratovil I am not an expert, but I’m very leery of that solution. Before I’d give my ultimate opinion, I’d want to study more to see what’s happened elsewhere.