A campaign postcard sent to some 6,000 county voters Friday by Republican state delegate candidate Todd Arterburn has prompted cries of dirty campaigning from the political newcomer's Democratic opponent, District 12B incumbent Elizabeth Bobo.

The Bobo camp held a news conference yesterday to denounce the postcard, which includes an unflattering caricature of the former Howard County executive riding on the shoulders of Baltimore Oriole star Cal Ripken Jr. and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire.

In it, Arterburn refers to all three as "all-time record holders" -- Ripken for playing in 2,632 consecutive games, McGwire for hitting 70 home runs in a season, and Bobo for issuing 5,348 housing permits in 1989. "Bobo's lack of vision has overcrowded NTC our schools and clogged our roads," the mailing declares.

Lloyd Knowles, Bobo's campaign treasurer and husband, called the mailing "very negative" and "downright erroneous." He defended Bobo's record on land use and criticized Arterburn -- a golf course developer -- for the amount of money he has received from developers.

Reached later in the day, Arterburn said the number of building permits issued in the county increased in 1987, 1988 and 1989 -- the first three years of Bobo's tenure as county executive. "Five thousand, three-hundred forty-eight [building permits]. I didn't make that number up. Are they dealing with that?"

Pub Date: 10/20/98