After four years as the loyal supporting player, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is methodically making her way to the center stage of Maryland politics.
Having established herself as the state's champion of mandatory community service and several anti-crime initiatives, Townsend now serves as point person on the state's economic development efforts.
Yesterday, she took the first public step toward an expected run for governor in 2002, with a $10-a-head fund-raiser at the Baltimore Zoo that attracted an eye-popping crowd of about 3,400 and featured warm tributes from Democratic leaders.
And Wednesday and Thursday, Townsend, 48, will serve as co-chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council's "national conversation" in Baltimore, a policy fest that draws rising political figures from around the country and will be highlighted by a speech Wednesday by President Clinton.
"Her landmark work on crime, character education and volunteerism has served as a model for New Democrats," Al From, president of the Democratic Leadership Council, says of Townsend.
Some Maryland politicians give the Ruxton resident the early lead in what is likely to be a crowded gubernatorial field in 2002.
"If you were going to handicap it, she has the edge," says state Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman, a Baltimore Democrat.
Such talk sends shudders through the Townsend camp.
The lieutenant governor, after all, has not been fully tested on her own, because she has loyally stayed in line behind Gov. Parris N. Glendening the past four years.
And politically speaking, a front-runner ends up taking arrows in the back from challengers.
"The question is, when put to the test, facing very controversial issues or decisions, how will she perform?" says Keith Haller, a Bethesda pollster who has watched Townsend's career closely. "Right now, it's somewhat of a magic carpet ride."
Townsend makes clear she want to keep the focus on policy.
"I intend to be around for a long time, but I'm not going to talk about a gubernatorial campaign today," Townsend said in a recent interview. "It's a ways off. If you only talk about elections, you focus people's attention on something down the road and not on what you're trying to accomplish."
Plus, she adds: "Good policy is good politics."
In recent months, Townsend has focused on the Maryland economy, meeting with business leaders to hear their concerns and to tout the state's economic strengths.
At a recent Annapolis gathering of about 30 representatives of firms new to Maryland, Townsend made sure the guests knew where they could turn for help.
"If you need anything, please call me," Townsend told the group at the Annapolis Yacht Club. "We really want to make sure you have the tools you need."
To hear a member of the nation's most prominent liberal political family make such a pro-business pitch might be a bit unexpected for some Marylanders.
But for Townsend, it is a logical step to widen her reach.
Townsend said the administration will begin proposing policy initiatives in economic development in coming months. The state, she says, should streamline its regulatory structure and not force businesses to make several stops to get routine permits.
"Wouldn't it be easier to do it in a simplified process?" Townsend asks, echoing for a moment one of the chief themes of Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey, who was defeated twice by the Glendening-Townsend team.
But, generally, the Maryland economy is strong, she says, rattling off good job growth numbers to show it.
"Part of my challenge is to get that story out there," she says.
Even as she makes publicized forays into the Maryland business world, Townsend is quietly spending time with more traditional Democratic constituencies such as unions, African-American religious leaders and a minority contractors group.
She recently spent 2 1/2 hours in a Cockeysville union hall meeting with about 125 labor leaders and rank-and-file members of both private-sector and government unions.
"She just wanted to spend a significant amount of time with working-class people to hear their concerns," says Kevin B. O'Connor, president of the state firefighters union and one of the organizers of the event. "It's something more elected officials should do."
While Townsend did not explicitly ask for endorsements from the assembled unions, O'Connor says, "She brings a lot to the table."
Few political insiders would have been so complimentary four years ago.
Early in the Glendening administration, a handful of awkward public appearances hurt her image, and many lawmakers dismissed Townsend as a "lightweight."
She often scrambled her speeches, unartfully quoting Greek philosophers or the Bible. One legislator speculated that Townsend had "attention-deficit disorder."
Undaunted, Townsend and her effective staff worked harder.
She crisscrossed the state to discuss her anti-crime initiatives and sought advice from ranking Democrats.
'Room for improvement'
Townsend watched herself on videotape and worked with advisers on her public speaking.
And gone are the days when she would turn up looking decidedly ungubernatorial -- her hair askew, her hands stained with ink from leaky pens.
"In the early days, I thought there was room for improvement," says Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat. "I commend her for growing in the job."
By the time of last year's election, with Townsend given a more visible role than in 1994, the public seemed to embrace her.
Polls showed that Townsend's popularity far exceeded Glendening's. For every voter with a negative impression of her, three had a favorable one -- a ratio most politicians only dream about.
Well aware of those figures, Glendening tapped her to speak in some campaign ads.
"She comes across very well on camera, and we took advantage of that," Glendening says.
The governor says both he and his No. 2 have improved in office.
"Each of us feel more confident," Glendening says. "I think she absolutely loves her job, and that's what comes across."
Haller, the Montgomery pollster, says Townsend made "enormous strides in a very short period of time" last year.
"She benefited greatly from this last campaign, like few lieutenant governor candidates I've ever witnessed," Haller says. "It's really quite extraordinary."
Some Annapolis players say Townsend will have the tools to keep building on the momentum she developed last fall.
She will likely have little trouble raising money, both in Maryland and through a national network of admirers eager to help the oldest child of Robert F. Kennedy.
And as a statewide official, she has built-in advantages over potential challengers.
Last month, for example, she announced $353,500 in grants to 300 community groups throughout the state.
Some grants had political overtones. One of the largest, $2,475, went to an after-school program at Koinonia Baptist Church, whose pastor, the Rev. Douglas I. Miles, was a strong supporter of the Glendening-Townsend ticket.
But those advantages could mean little as the race heats up.
If the Maryland economy tanks before the next election, Townsend could share the blame.
Townsend has also taken the lead in reforming Baltimore's courts. Will she suffer politically if the courts continue to produce negative reports?
"If we keep our priorities right, the economy continues to boom, and we keep a good sense of fairness and justice, she's going to be a natural," Glendening says. "If the state is having problems, she's going to have problems."
Spontaneity
While Glendening seems carefully programmed, Townsend will continue to be spontaneous.
The other night at an Orioles game, she scrambled over a box-seat railing to greet a friend. Saturday, she slid down a slide at a playground ribbon-cutting.
Sitting in for Glendening at a recent meeting of the state Board of Public Works, Townsend interrupted an official, who was describing problems reaching the state's health insurer while suffering with a 104-degree temperature.
"If you had a 104-degree temperature, you shouldn't have waited" to seek medical treatment, Townsend lectured him. "When you get older, that's very serious."
Then, with no apparent forethought, Townsend tossed out an aside with enormous implications: "There may be a movement toward national health care, which may solve some of these problems."
Says one Democratic operative: "When she gets off-script, watch out."
But, her free-wheeling style can also produce endearing results.
At the recent business lunch at the Annapolis Yacht Club, Townsend charmed the business people one by one, as they came forward to receive a state citation and have their photograph taken.
She reminded the mostly male group to remove their laminated name tags, which would, she said, reflect the camera's flash.
And Townsend made sure each put his arm around her to give the picture a friendlier feel.
"The hug," she reminded them with a beaming smile, "is very important."
Pub Date: 7/12/99