Cheryl Kagan sided with tobacco lobbyists and fought against anti-smoking efforts.

FOREHAND MAILER

• Cheryl co-sponsored a bill to raise the tobacco tax by 139% (http://mlis.state.md.us/1998rs/billfile/hb1073.htm), and when that failed, supported an 83% hike. (http://mlis.state.md.us/1999rs/votes/house/1309.htm)  
•  The Washington Post has called her “a strong supporter of limiting tobacco use.”  (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-586341.html)   
•  Cheryl doesn’t smoke, never has, and has never taken a dime from the tobacco industry. 
• Cheryl opposed a whopping 278% tax hike because of the devastating effect it would have on Maryland small business.  If the increase had passed, Maryland’s tax would have been over double D.C.’s rate, and over 50 times what Virginia charged.  Family-owned markets and filling stations would have lost millions of dollars in sales of other products like groceries and gas as smokers avoided Maryland retail outlets.   
• At the time of the proposed job-killing tax, Maryland was about to receive over $2 billion for smoking cessation programs from the tobacco industry as part of the national tobacco settlement. (www.gao.gov/new.items/d01851.pdf)
  
•   Jennie’s mentor and political backer, State Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, led a filibuster in the Senate against the proposed tax. [LINK: “Tobacco Battle Too Close to Call; Smoking Foes Show Muscle in Assembly Fight Over Tax Hike [FINAL Edition] The Washington Post -Washington, D.C. Author: Saundra Torry; Daniel LeDuc Date: Apr 6, 1999 Start Page: B.01]          

Cheryl Kagan was top gift recipient (over $2000) from lobbyists and then voted against ethics reform.

FOREHAND MAILER

• In the mid-1990s, Cheryl Kagan dated a guy who happened to be   a lobbyist.  Unlike the other two legislator/lobbyist couples, Kagan and her then-boyfriend chose to disclose every movie and every meal (all paid with his personal, not client money.)  This made her the #1 gift recipient in the House for one year.  (Source: Washington Post 8/21/96 “Dating Lives of Legislator-Lobbyist Couples an Open Book under Md. Disclosure Law”)
• If you remove the personal relationship from the total amount reported on Kagan’s ethics forms, there is just $40.50 remaining.  This reflects her attendance at a reception for a Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and one for the MD Independent Colleges and Universities.  (Source: AP story reported in the Journal on 8/21/96 “Lawmakers’ private lives go public”)
• Kagan had been a “proud supporter of the legislation that created the reporting requirements.”  (Source: Editorial, Journal 8/22/96 “All for the love of a legislator”)
• Despite all these ‘gifts’ that the misleading Forehand mailer references, Kagan voted against her beau’s #1 client’s top legislative priority!  So much for expecting something in return…

Jennie Forehand voted against common sense lead paint restrictions.  She has received campaign contributions from groups with an interest in avoiding lead paint testing.

KAGAN MAILER

• Senate Bill 136 would have required all landlords to conduct lead dust testing before a new tenant moves.  It was defeated April 11, 2009, by a vote of 25-22, with Jennie voting no. (http://mlis.state.md.us/2009rs/votes/senate/1124.htm).
• The Maryland Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) considered this vote important enough to include it among just five used in their scorecard of how State Senators voted on issues of public interest.(http://www.marylandpirg.org/advocacy/legislative-scorecard).
• Over the years, Jennie has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from entities with an interest in avoiding more accurate determination of lead paint risk in buildings.(http://www.mdelections.org/campaign-finance/advanced-search/contributions?acctno=A100)
• For example, five months after she helped defeat the lead paint bill, she received a $1,000 contribution from the Property Owners Association of Greater Baltimore PAC (http://www.mdelections.org/campaign-finance/advanced-search/contributions?acctno=A100

Jennie Forehand failed to vote on the key vote regarding repealing the death penalty.

KAGAN MAILER

• The Washington Post (2/18/09) was just one of many sources quoting Governor O’Malley saying that repealing the death penalty was one of his top priorities.  He even went so far as to testify personally before the Senate.  www.bit.ly/cgBMeS
• As on most legislative proposals, there were several votes in committee and in the full Senate.  While Forehand did vote on others, the key vote was on an amendment sponsored by Sen. Brochin.  She was the only Senator to leave the Chamber and choose not to cast a vote.  http://mlis.state.md.us/2009rs/votes/senate/0293.htm
• Forehand has announced on many occasions in debates and other public settings (see the 7/21/10 debate posted here or the 8/31/10 debate posted on Rockville Central {5:15 minutes into the segment}) that she had gone to the Amendment Room.  Typically, legislators need only CALL the Amendment Room; their work is delivered to the sponsor directly in the Senate Chamber.  No amendment was ever introduced by Forehand.
• Forehand’s position on this issue is unclear. In Judicial Proceedings Committee, she voted for total repeal.  She took a walk on the key vote to water down the proposal.  And in a candidate debate, she admitted to wanting several exceptions that would allow capital punishment in Maryland.  (http://bit.ly/9auOs7)

Jennie Forehand cast the deciding vote to levy a tax on computer services, hurting a key Montgomery County industry.

KAGAN MAILER

• A tax on computer services was included in a proposed 2009 Maryland budget (see page 2). Jennie Forehand was the deciding vote for the bill, allowing the proposed tax to proceed despite her acknowledging at the time that it would be “detrimental to my county.” (Source:  The Washington Post, 11/20/07 “Wary Senator Provides Key Vote for Tax Bill; Intensely Lobbied Montgomery Democrat Completes Majority Needed for Passage.” 
• Forehand claims the fact that the tax was later repealed makes it harmless.  But businesses plan based on the facts as they are, not on hoped-for changes.  At least one company traces its demise directly to the computer tax, and no one can know how many companies failed to locate or expand in Maryland because of the tax Forehand was instrumental in passing.   
• Forehand claims credit for voting to repeal the tax.  But that’s like someone setting your house on fire and then expecting praise for helping put it out.
• Forehand claims she knew the tax would be repealed when she voted for it.  But if that’s the case, then she knowingly voted for a sham budget-- one that appeared to balance taxes with spending, but really had a $200 million hole in it-- thus contributing to the fiscal woes the State faces today. 

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