How Does County Executive Samorajczyk Sound?

Anne Arundel County Councilwoman Barbara Samorajczyk planned to meet with at least one political consultant as she nears declaring her candidacy for county executive, Bay Weekly learned.

Samorajczyk, a Democrat, would likely be competing against well-known, 11-year county sheriff George Johnson in her party’s primary. She has estimated her race would cost between $500,000 and $1.2 million.

“I like the policy, not the politics,” the feisty critic of development told Bay Weekly. But she says she’d endure the sweat, slams and door-knocking because “the job is so important that it’s worth it,” said Samorajczyk a lawyer, who lives in Annapolis Roads.

Burlison Challenges Armstrong

Another Anne Arundel County Councilman, Bill Burlison, calls himself the nation’s “best door-to-door campaigner.” Never one to set his sights low, Burlison wants his next race to take him back to the U.S. Congress, where he served for 12 years as a representative from Missouri. But the race to succeed Rep. Ben Cardin in Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District isn’t the only race on the 74-year-old Democrat’s mind.

In October, Burlison will also compete in the Maryland State Senior Olympics, where, he says, he’s “a frequent medalist in cycling events, even capturing the gold in the 20-mile event from time to time.” This week, the senior Olympian wrote seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, inviting the indefatigable Texan to join in the state competition.

“Though you do not qualify by age, as a former member of the [Maryland State Senior Olympics] Commission, I am confident that the Commission would be delighted with your participation,” Burlison wrote.