Rick Abbruzzese

A third member of the Anne Arundel County Judicial Nominating Commission has resigned in protest over the nomination of Thomas V. Miller III and four other candidates for a District Court judgeship. Miller III, the son of Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., the president of the Maryland State Senate, was nominated by the 13-member commission last week. There are three open positions.

In the last six days, three commissioners, including Paula J. Peters, Eileen E. Powers, and Marysabel Rodriguez-Nanney, all attorneys, have announced their intentions to resign. Peters, who was the first to announce her decision last Thursday, alleged that she had been lobbied by unnamed political insiders to support Miller's nomination.

"I decided to resign because of blatant political cronyism," Peters told PolitickerMD.com today. "This was something I had never seen in 20 years on the commission."

OMalleyWatch.com, the bane of Government House, turned a year-old this week. On whether it has it left the ubiquitous ‘Martin Watcher’ the wiser, 'the more astonished' is probably more appropriate, as the wide number of people interested in his perspective never ceases to amaze him.