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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 NEWS THE BALTIMORE SUN 3 Del. Barbara Robinson picked to replace Pugh Caucus, has served in the House of Delegates since 2007. Her name will be forwarded to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who is obligated to appoint someone nominated by the committee. dorsed Pugh.

Pugh's spokesman said the mayor neither publicly nor privately endorsed a candidate. Pugh has two close allies on the committee. Clark is a personal friend and co-owns a clothing boutique with the new mayor. Another committee member, Gary Brown, is a longtime Pugh aide. Immediately after she won the Democratic primary for mayor in April, Pugh said the seven-member panel had "begun counting their votes" for potential replacements.

Another central committee member, Marshall Bell, worked as a legislative analyst for the Baltimore City Council. Del. Antonio Hayes also applied for Pugh's Senate seat District resident Deborah Brooks also applied to fill Pugh's seat. lbroadwaterbaltsun.com ecoxbaltsun.com twitter.comlukebroadwater twitter.comErinatTheSun al, people who serve on such committees often have relationships with elected officials. Welch, who lost the April Democratic primary for his council seal, told the packed room that he wished more people could vote for Pugh's replacement.

"I wish everyone in this room could vote in this election," he said. Chuck Conner, executive director of the Maryland Democratic Party, said nothing in the party's bylaws calls for committee members to recuse themselves, and he would not expect them to. Central committees are often filled with aspiring party hopefuls, who at some point might be candidates for a vacancy in elected office or within the broader party structure. "Oftentimes, they might be voting for themselves for something," he said. In addition to Welch, former Baltimore City Councilman Nick J.

Mosby applied to fill Pugh's seat. Mosby dropped out of the Democratic primary for mayor and en Democratic committee recommends her for Senate By Luke Broadwater and Erin Cox The Baltimore Sun Del. Barbara Robinson took a step Wednesday toward filling the state Senate seat vacated by new Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh. The Democratic central committee for the district voted, 5-2, to recommend Robinson over former City Councilman William "Pete" Welch.

Robinson said she felt "fantastic" after the vote. She was a Pugh ally in the General Assembly, but said her record in office won her the committee's recommendation. "I'm just anxious to carry on some of the things Senator Pugh put in place," Robinson said. "She and I worked so well together." Robinson, deputy majority whip and former chair of the Legislative Black Robinson If Hogan appoints Robinson to the Senate, that would create an open delegate seat in the district. The same committee would nominate a person to fill that seat.

The General Assembly will convene Jan. 11 for its annual 90-day session in Annapolis. Welch received two votes from his mother and daughter. Neither was required to recuse themselves, said Betty Clark, 40th District chair of the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee. While having such close relationships with central committee members is unusu DAN RODRICKS' PODCAST State board delays vote on Balto.

Co. equestrian center ROUGHLY SPEAKING Sponsored By Featured on the podcast: Saluting a movie about World War IPs aftermath at home Get all previous episodes of Roughly Speaking by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud or listen at baltimoresiui.com roughlyspealdng. BOOKSHOP An independent bookstore for independent minds challenging the Republican governor in the 2018 election. The board has been the scene of several political skirmishes between the Hogan-Franchot alliance and Kamenetz. The governor and comptroller joined forces to withhold money from Baltimore County because they were dissatisfied with the pace of plans to install air conditioning in county schools.

They have also thwarted Kamenetz's plan to sell the North Point center to a developer. Franchot chided Baltimore County on Wednesday for allowing the center to fall into what he called "a complete state of dilapidation and disrepair." Kamenetz, meanwhile, has not agreed to a state plan to eradicate midges on the Back River. Hogan said he had no quarrel with the plan to build an equestrian center at the Baltimore County Center for Maryland Agriculture and Farm Park. But he echoed Franchot's criticism of the county's plans for the Dundalk complex, saying the county wants to replace the center with fast-food restaurants. mdresserbaltsun.com twitter.com michaeltdresser By Michael Dresser The Baltimore Sun Sending a message to Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, the Maryland Board of Public Works deferred action Wednesday on a proposed $2.3 million state contribution to a new horse riding center in Cockeysville.

Gov. Larry Hogan and Comptroller Peter Franchot voted to delay acting on the county's request for Program Open Space money, which would help pay for the arena. The board's other member, Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, dissented. Franchot told county officials he had heard complaints that plans for the proposed therapeutic equestrian center were developed without adequate input from the community.

But the comptroller also linked the project to the Kamenetz administration's decision to sell off the North Point Government Center in Dundalk. While Franchot and Kamenetz are both Democrats, the two are seen as intraparty rivals. Franchot and Hogan, a Republican, are allies. Kamenetz has said he is considering THE BALTIMORE SUN MEDIA GROUP The Baltimore Sun Media Group, a tronc, Inc. Company, 501 N.

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