Summary
Even as Barack Obama and the Democratic Party won resounding victories in Maryland, voters in two of the state's most liberal jurisdictions signalled resounding "nos" to tax increases Nov. 4. In Prince George's County, voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to increase the telephone tax. And in neighboring Montgomery County, they approved a charter amendment that will make it extremely difficult to increase property taxes. The votes constituted embarrassing defeats for two of the most powerful liberal Democratic machine politicians in the state - Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson.
In Prince George's, 72 percent of voters rejected Mr. Johnson's proposal to increase from 8 percent to 11 percent the amount that residents pay on their land-line and cell-phone bills. Mr. Johnson wanted the additional revenue to fund schools, and tried to deny residents the opportunity to vote on the tax increase. The Prince George's County Council disagreed with Mr. Johnson and voted to put the measure on the ballot. With the county facing an estimated $70 million budget deficit next year, Mr. Johnson, prohibited by law from seeking a third term, held a closed-door meeting with local and state legislators early this month in an effort to find new ways to expand the county's taxing authority.See the full content of this document
Extract
Maryland Taxpayers Win Big
In Montgomery County, voters approved by a narrow 5,000-vote majority a measure known as Question B that will ...
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