Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Zina Pierre

So, someone asked in my "Who will run for mayor" post if Zina Pierre was going to run, and at the time I didn't know who she was. I still don't, but apparently I should.

Zina has been raising money, and has been getting involved--at least in Democrat circles. Her campaign finance report shows her as having raised over $26,000 since September--a substantial amount for this point in time--and the Democrat Central Committee report shows her as buying tickets to a couple of events. However, her disbursements and obligations are amazingly high, and she actually owes like $5000 more than she actually has.

So who is she? The short answer is an Annapolis native who has been active in politics, including at the federal level, for quite some time. She seems to be a Democrat super-lobbyist and career political operative. For the long answer, you can look HERE, to the extent that it's true.

Let's talk about some of the more interesting politics. A look at her report shows a lot of large donations, amounts large enough to disqualify her from eligibility in an aldermanic race, which suggests a Democrat candidacy for mayor.

There is a residency concern. In previous campaign reports, her address has been identified as 1915 WOODSHADE CT, Mitchellville MD. She now shows an address within the city (at 1901 West); however, the charter stipulates that a mayor must show voter registration in the city for 2 years prior to the date of the general election. There are other discrepancies. Notably, Ms. Pierre's campaign committee owes her $5000 for consulting fees. It is ok to pay yourself back a loan, but it's not ok to be a paid employee of your own campaign.
(EDIT: A commenter pointed out that the $5000 probably IS to pay herself back for a loan, which is within the law.)

Today's rumor mill involves the office sought. The amount of money would say Mayor, but hold the phone. Zina Pierre lives in Ward 3, home of the soon-to-retire* Alderman Hoyle. Rumor has it that the Democrats are trying to convince Zina to run for Alderman to hold that seat. The experience is there, and the money probably will be there, plus the residency requirement for an alderman is more lenient.

(*if you believe the hype)

At least now we know something.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Looks like Finlayson and others are going to have some serious competition if this Zina Pierre really decides to run. This could get interesting, however, I don't know if someone with her credentials would be satisfied being an alderman.

PastorT said...

If Zina Pierre is going to run for mayor, things will get real interesting in a hurry. Given our city's ever rising profile, it seems appropriate that a candidate for mayor here come with her level of qualifications and experience. But your comment about the consulting fees caught my eye so I read her report myself. The consulting fee is listed as an OUTSTANDING OBLIGATION. It looks like the committee OWES HER MONEY because she paid the $5,000 consulting fee and a few other bills for them. Plus, given her bio and experience, one would think she knows better than to use committee funds like that.

Brian Gill said...

That makes more sense.

Anonymous said...

I cannont believe that in this day and age we are still using the word 'NEGRO' to identify one's culture. Has anyone been to a school lately? It's 'African American' or (at least) 'Black', but we don't sound very intelligent using Jim Crow speak. Wake up people!

Anonymous said...

Trust me: if she doesn't win, it won't be because she's black or a woman; it will be because some of the citizens of Annapolis are too ignorant to recognize what's needed to get the job done.

Achilles said...

I seriously hope that Zina does not win ANY office she runs for. I woke up to 3 of the same flyers JAMMED into the doorframe of my apartment door, and the floor was littered with these flyers from the 3rd floor on down, and all my neighbor's doors look the same. I cleaned up the litter and headed to my car, where to my surprise I found that someone had jammed 3 more flyers under my windshield wipers on my car.

Does this lady not understand the meaning of the words - NO SOLICITING? How about NO LITTERING? And she is running for office? I reported this to the housing office and they are taking measures to stop this ridiculousness. I am thinking of calling the police if I can't get a number to her office.

Achilles said...

Just to complete the thought - I sent an email from her site through the contact me link. Also, I found the following link through google - it is facebook, but she is touting an environmental change - but her team is apparently ignoring it:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Zina-Pierre/63139145799?v=photos#/note.php?note_id=87005714264#comments

What gives?

Anonymous said...

We have heard that current Alderman Ross Arnett (D- Ward 8) has been courted as a possible replacement. Does he have the name recognition outside of his ward? Would the ADCC be able to find a Affiliate Programs replacement for the vacancy he will leave on the City Council?