Dean laments lack of diversity

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean yesterday said that Maryland’s Democratic ticket should have had a black or other minority at the top, but added that the national party isn’t to blame for the lack of diversity.

“I do think there should be more diversity on this ticket,” Mr. Dean said during a visit to the Maryland Democratic Party’s campaign headquarters in Hyattsville.

However, Mr. Dean said that the national party bears no responsibility for Maryland’s Democratic ticket, which offers four white men for the state’s top offices — the U.S. Senate, governor, attorney general and comptroller.

“We don’t interfere in primaries,” he said of the DNC.

The Washington Times yesterday reported that black business owners and religious leaders have expressed discontent with the Maryland Democratic Party’s lack of black statewide candidates and said it will encourage support for Republicans — especially Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele’s run for the U.S. Senate.

In addition, the Baltimore Sun reported Thursday that Maryland’s 10 black state senators met last week with U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, the Democratic nominee for the Senate, and Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley, the Democratic nominee for governor, to complain about the lack of diversity at the top of the statewide ticket.

State Sen. Ulysses Currie, a black Democrat from Prince George’s County, blamed a lack of discipline by the national party for the lack of diversity among the top nominees on Maryland’s Democratic ticket.

“The Republican Party made the decision at the national level that they wanted Michael Steele to run for the U.S. Senate,” said Mr. Currie, who supported Mr. Cardin over Kweisi Mfume, a past president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, in last month’s primary.

Mr. Cardin beat Mr. Mfume in the statewide contest, but Mr. Mfume trounced the 10-term congressman in the majority-black districts of Prince George’s County and Baltimore.

In next month’s general election, Mr. Cardin squares off against Mr. Steele, who is the first black to win a statewide office in Maryland.

What’s more, the Republican Party offers two women in other top contests — Anne McCarthy for comptroller and Disabilities Secretary Kristen Cox for lieutenant governor.

Mr. O’Malley’s running mate for lieutenant governor — Delegate Anthony G. Brown of Prince George’s County, who is black — is the only minority at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Mr. Dean, a former Vermont governor whose presidential campaign fell apart in 2004, took issue with charges that Maryland Democrats lack diversity, noting Mr. Brown’s candidacy.

“We don’t have a lack of diversity. We just don’t have as much as I would like,” he said. “But we do have some, and Brown is a fantastic candidate, and he’s got a great future in Maryland politics.

“Yes, we need more diversity. I’m pushing that very hard. I know [state party Chairman] Terry Lierman’s pushing that very hard,” Mr. Dean said. “But on the other hand, we’ve got four weeks left until this election. We need to do what’s right for America, and what’s right for America is to make sure we get rid of this rubber-stamp Congress.”

Story Continues →