WASHINGTON – What kind of Boy Scout would take on a career politician who has a reputation for balancing his progressive politics with bipartisan consensus building?
Eagle Scout Scott Conwell thinks he is that man.
A lifelong resident of the 3rd District, Conwell, 38, has worked as an engineer and lawyer, and has a master’s in business administration to go with his Eagle Scout badge. The Republican newcomer said he will pit the experience of “a Maryland life” against Baltimore Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin’s 35 years of state and federal legislative service.
“Cardin’s never run a tough race. I think he’s gotten out of touch with the people,” Conwell said.
“If you were at the parades this summer you’d wonder who the incumbent was. There were `Vote Conwell’ stickers everywhere,” he said.
But while Conwell may know the 3rd District, Cardin has spent the past 15 years in Congress serving its interests. Before that, he spent 20 years as a lawmaker in Annapolis, where he rose to become Speaker of the House.
Since running for Congress, he has routinely received more than 70 percent of the vote in his re-election bids. Political analysts expect much the same this year, even though redistricting took away some of Cardin’s core constituents.
“When Cardin retires, the 3rd District could become a competitive district,” said Carol Arscott of Gonzales/Arscott Research and Communication Inc.
Montgomery Journal columnist Blair Lee said the redistricting was retribution by Gov. Parris Glendening, whom Cardin considered challenging in 1998.
“Glendening punished him with redistricting and took away part of his Democratic base, but it is still Democratic enough,” Lee said. He put Conwell’s chances of unseating Cardin at “about zero.”
But Conwell maintains he is the perfect candidate for the district, which now snakes from central Baltimore County, through east Baltimore and into eastern Howard County before curling back to cover large chunks of northern Anne Arundel County.
His campaign bio promotes the fact that he was an Eagle Scout and, at 38, he still looks the part. He is of average height, with baby-fair blond hair and blue eyes sunk into a bearish face. His youthful ambition has taken many paths along the way to congressional hopeful.
After earning an engineering degree from Johns Hopkins University, he spent 12 years working as an engineer for the Defense Department. During that time, he took night classes that led to an MBA and then a law degree.
The law interest took and he switched careers two years ago. But his parents knew better than to think their son had settled down when he joined a Washington law firm.
“My parents said, `What’s next — med school?’ and I said, `No, politics.'”
Conwell was eyeing the governor’s race until Rep. Bob Erlich, R-Timonium, announced his candidacy for that office. So he turned his attention turned to the newly re-drawn 3rd District. It seemed a natural fit for someone who has made his home in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties and Baltimore City.
“I thought, `I know this whole district,'” Conwell said.
But he readily concedes that the race is not easy for a first-timer.
“I don’t have half a million in the bank, which is probably what it takes,” he said.
The actual numbers are closer to $12,000 for Conwell, most of it from his own pocket, against Cardin’s $765,000, much of it from political action committees, according to the latest reports with the Federal Election Commission.
Their take on the issues are as different as their bank accounts.
Conwell sees transportation as the top priority for the district. The former engineer hopes to draw on his experience to develop a “real core of transit” within Baltimore.
“You have to make carless city living feasible,” he said.
He has underlined his opposition to the proposed high-speed maglev train from Baltimore to Washington, which he considers overly expensive and misdirected. Conwell is exploiting Cardin’s support of the maglev plan, and the absence of transportation from the incumbent’s list of key campaign issues.
“I know he hasn’t even thought about it,” Conwell said.
But Cardin cannot help but think of traffic: His average day involves multiple trips between Washington and Baltimore. Cardin points to his record of earmarking resolutions to assure “hundreds of millions” in federal funds for local transportation projects, such as the Route 32 and Reisterstown interchanges. He talks of helping communities foster smart growth and building hiker-biker paths.
Conwell also hits Cardin on his decision to oppose the resolution that gave the president the authority to take military action Iraq.
“President Bush has brought together a bipartisan coalition. Voting against this resolution doesn’t give Bush the support he needs,” said Conwell, who said he was shocked by Cardin’s vote.
Cardin said he would have supported a resolution that clearly said that any U.S. action be part of an international effort or a response to a grave risk to the country. He said it is “unfortunate” that the resolution did not go as far as the president’s own statements in assuring consultation with the United Nations.
While Cardin is comfortable with his record on international policies, it is local issues that matter most to him. The incumbent is perhaps best known for his work to protect Social Security and pension programs but said the Chesapeake Bay “is the absolute most important issue.” Cardin said he hopes to build on gains he has already made in protecting watersheds and streams.
Education is a key issue for both candidates.
Conwell wants to ease teacher certification through a month-long or summer course suited to those moving to teaching from other fields. His proposal assumes federal funding and federal standards.
Cardin, who seeks more federal funding for schools and decreased class sizes, sees Conwell’s call for federal standards as misguided. While he said he has not seen a specific proposal, he opposes involving the federal government in teacher certification on principle.
“States are already taking care of this issue,” Cardin said.
Despite their differences, the two have run a respectful race. Accusations, if any, are usually met with a smile from both men.
Cardin has a laughing smile. It draws up in a crescent to his bespectacled eyes, while he lifts his button-small chin. His snow-white hair suggests a grandfatherliness beyond his 59 years. But he is a proud grandfather — granddaughter Madeline is featured prominently on the `kids’ zone’ page of his House Web site.
While he has lost some old voters to a new map, Cardin has spent time going out to areas like Towson and parts of Anne Arundel County to meet new ones. He is not content to sit back in Congress and wait for election numbers to come in.
“I’ve conducted every campaign with the same philosophy,” he said.
Conwell, in his first bid for office, is campaigning the same way, pressing as much flesh as he can before the election.
He acknowledges that running for congress is hard on family life — the divorced father has had to balance campaigning with coaching his tow-headed 9- year-old son, Brandon.
At the ribbon-cutting for another Republican’s campaign office, Conwell and other GOP candidates stood in the parking lot discussing redistricting and the race. Conwell had one eye on the campaign and one on Brandon, who was getting wound up over a radio-controlled Battlebot-style vehicle that a couple of kids were playing with.
“Now he’s going to tell me that he wants to make one,” Conwell said, looking over at the mini-monster of Plexiglas and fat tires, “and I’ll say, `Let’s see after Nov. 5.'”