OCEAN CITY - Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend said yesterday that unless Maryland's fiscal outlook improves significantly, she would as governor freeze spending for most state programs in next year's budget.
Townsend made the remarks while outlining a broad platform of issues she plans to use in her gubernatorial campaign against Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., the expected Republican nominee.
She released a 31-page booklet that she said details how she would make Maryland a leader in education, health care, job creation, crime prevention, environmental protection and restoring aging communities.
Trying to insulate herself from Republican charges that she and Gov. Parris N. Glendening have been fiscally irresponsible, Townsend said she would undertake a "top to bottom" review of state finances.
She said she would cut wasteful programs, then freeze funding for most others except those dealing with education and public safety.
The proposed one-year spending freeze assumes that the state's revenue outlook will not significantly improve this year. Legislative analysts estimate Maryland could face a $900 million shortfall in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2003.
Paul E. Schurick, Ehrlich's political director, said Townsend's proposal would do little to eliminate that deficit.
"The state is broke because she and Glendening have taken the state on a wild spending spree," Schurick said. "Freezing spending and cutting waste will not come close to closing this billion-dollar deficit."
Schurick said that to balance the budget, Ehrlich is proposing to put slot machines at racetracks and make "significant" cuts. Townsend reiterated her opposition to slot machines yesterday, saying she fears they would increase crime.
Townsend also attempted to distinguish herself from Ehrlich by pointing to his congressional record, which she maintains is too conservative for Maryland voters.
"I am proud of what we did on education. He voted to eliminate the Department of Education," she said. Schurick said the congressman voted to eliminate the agency so $1.3 billion could be shifted into classrooms.
Townsend, during a 90-minute exchange with reporters, said that if elected, she also plans to:
Continue the death penalty, despite her support for Glendening's decision to impose a moratorium.
Expand the HotSpots program, which she founded in 1997.
Expand the Maryland Children's Health Insurance Program so more children are covered.
Create a Maryland Teachers Corps that recruits teachers for poorer and underachieving schools.
She said proposals involving additional spending would "have to wait a while, given the state's fiscal picture."
Townsend also said she plans to do some things differently from Glendening.
She pledged to continue his Smart Growth programs, which seek to curtail sprawl by limiting development, but said she plans to focus more on revitalizing older communities than purchasing land.
"We are going to still have sprawl unless we make sure our existing neighborhoods are places people want to live," she said. "Do I like preserving land? Yes, but we have to look at the budget picture."