THE CHINKS in the armor of Maryland's longest-serving Senate president may be growing wider.
Bruised by revelations that he improperly contacted Court of Appeals judges presiding over redistricting lawsuits, Thomas V. Mike Miller suffered a setback last week when a committee that is supposed to contain his closest allies voted against him - not once, but twice.
At a meeting of the Legislative Policy Committee, Miller tried to postpone a decision on spending $1.25 million in state funds to entice Giant Food Inc. to build a distribution center in Howard County.
Miller represents a portion of Prince George's County, which houses the current Giant warehouse and was passed over for the new facility. The senator was trying to go to bat for his turf.
But in a series of votes that surprised an audience of lobbyists, Miller couldn't get his way.
The committee voted twice against Miller's proposal to defer action for 30 days.
The decision was shocking because Miller is co-chairman of the panel, which includes the Senate majority leader and the heads of the four standing Senate committees - politicians who owe their status to the president.
House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr., the other co-chairman, also was unsuccessful in getting allies to vote with Miller.
Sen. Robert H. Kittleman, a Howard County Republican, called the votes against Miller "a solid trouncing" with implications far beyond the issue at hand.
"When [Miller and Taylor] lose a vote in that committee, it means their power is not as great as everyone assumes," Kittleman said. "Maybe this Court of Appeals thing is having some spin-off."
Del. James F. Ports Jr., the House Republican whip from Perry Hall, said the vote means "you are starting to see a big rumbling" in Annapolis.
"You might see some shake-up in the Senate," Ports said. "For the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House to lose a motion to delay, it's just phenomenal. I've never seen anything like this before."
In recent weeks, Miller has faced accusations that he violated rules by contacting judges about a redistricting plan he helped design.
Some say those contacts reflect an arrogance developed through years of Miller getting his way.
"The president of the Senate and the speaker of the House should be term-limited," Kittleman said. "They have both been there too long."
Miller's 16-year tenure as Senate president is the longest in Maryland history, and a new Senate office building bears his name. In recent years, however, discontent has surfaced. In 2000, he rebuffed a coup attempt to install former Sen. Thomas L. Bromwell, the Finance Committee chairman, as Senate president.
Bromwell retired this year to take a state insurance job, part of a wave of turnover that threatens Miller's influence. The new Senate that will convene after elections in the fall could contain more than a dozen new members who owe little allegiance to the longtime leader.
One of the senators most angry last week was Walter M. Baker, the Cecil County Democrat who is chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee.
According to some who were in the room, Baker raised his voice and told Miller he had no right to lead the meeting because he was in effect lobbying against the Giant deal.
After clashing with Miller during this year's General Assembly session, Baker brushed aside rumors of his retirement and filed for re-election last week. He said during the policy committee meeting that colleagues would see a "different" Walter Baker next year.
To be sure, Republicans have an interest in spotting weaknesses among powerful Democratic leaders. Democrats, however, aren't sure the Giant flap fits the bill.
"Prince George's members had to 'fly the flag'" on behalf of their county, said Sen. Robert R. Neall, an Anne Arundel Democrat who sits on the policy panel. "I'm not so sure you can draw a lot of conclusions from it."