Paid for by Citizens for Colburn Committee. Authority John W. Phillips, Jr., Treasurer

Colburn surprised by challenge
By SARAH ENSOR PEARCE
Staff Writer - Star Democrat
March 16, 2006

EASTON — With less than six months left until the September primary election, state Sen. Richard Colburn, R-37-Mid-Shore, the popular incumbent who has served three terms in the Maryland Senate, appears to have little competition, according to Maryland Board of Elections records.

Colburn announced his intention to run again for the Senate and plans to formally file when the 2006 Maryland General Assembly session ends in mid-April.

Hilary B. Spence, a Democrat currently serving on the Talbot County Council, has announced plans to run against Colburn, although she has not filed. She said she plans to file in the next few weeks. July 3 is the filing deadline.

Colburn said he was surprised to learn Spence may be his opponent in the November election. Ten months ago, Spence announced plans to run against incumbent Del. Jeannie Haddaway Riccio, R-37B-Talbot, for a seat in the House of Delegates.

Spence first announced her bid for the Senate to friends and supporters as a courtesy apparently this past weekend. She said she decided to run for senator instead of delegate after many constituents asked her to abandon her 10-month campaign for the House and run for the Senate instead.

Colburn said Spence is getting “a double bang out of this” because she now has announced twice. He said her most recent announcement surprised him. People have bumper stickers on their cars supporting Spence for delegate, said Colburn.

“I didn’t expect her to flip-flop on an issue like this ... If you can’t make up your mind on a monumental decision such as which office you are running for ... then what kind of trouble are you going to have trying to decide on 3,000 or 4,000 bills during a 90-day session,” Colburn asked.

Spence said a delegate and a senator have the same focus — the legislative process. They review and act on the same bills, she said, and she holds the same views on issues that she has had for eight months.

“I love politics and therefore I’m very enthusiastic about this classic match-up between a liberal Democrat and a conservative Republican,” Colburn said. He said the “classic match-up” will give constituents a clearer choice. Colburn said Spence is a Democrat in line with U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. He said he welcomes her change of mind because he has never run unopposed, and elections are part of having a democracy.

“I welcome her whole-heartedly into this race,” said Colburn. “I’ve faced some tough Democrats.”

He said he thinks it will be a fantastic race between two people with two completely different ideas about what a government should do.

“I still believe that the Eastern Shore is conservative, and if Ms. Spence does file and she is on the ballot Nov. 7, we’ll find out once and for all if the Eastern Shore is more conservative,” said Colburn.

Colburn said he has a lot going for him, most importantly that he delivers constituent service. He said he believes he has done a good job in his 8 years in the House of Delegates and 12 years in the Senate.

“I know I can’t work any harder,” Colburn said. “I work as hard as I can to represent the people of the Mid-Shore.”

He said he is very knowledgeable about the 2006 legislative issues.

Legislation he has supported has helped plans to build the Frederick C. Malkus Jr. Bridge, spanning the Choptank River at Cambridge; two bridges over the Nanticoke River; the Salisbury bypass and state Route 404 improvements. Although he said the Route 404 improvements are not being completed as quickly as he would like, he is “proud of every mile” of it.

Some of his work is invisible, he said, although it has helped the Eastern Shore. In 1995, the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review passed emergency regulations to limit the crab harvest that affected watermen.

At the time, he said, the committee had 18 members, nine each from the Senate and House of Delegates, but none of the members were Eastern Shore residents and 10 were from Baltimore County or Baltimore City.

Colburn said he talked with Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, D-27-Calvert and Prince George’s, and Colburn and Del. Mary Roe Walkup, R-36-Kent, were added to the committee.

Colburn said he works well with Democrats in the General Assembly. Miller and former House Speaker Casper Taylor, a Democrat, appointed Colburn to represent the Maryland General Assembly on the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission.

Colburn, who was born and raised in Oxford, lives in Dorchester County and works five days a week as Federalsburg’s town manager (when he is not in session).

“Nobody knows the 37th district better than I do,” said Colburn. The son of a waterman, Colburn is a 1968 graduate of Easton High School. He has lived on the Shore all his life, except for three years he served in the Army Security Agency on the border between East and West Germany during the Cold War.

Colburn has been campaigning in the district for 28 years. He said he tries to give Caroline County special attention, because it is the only Shore county without a resident representative.

Spence said she plans to formally announce her bid for Senate at an April event in Dorchester County. The event date and location have not been set.