The Nose was just coming to accept that this year's oddball
election dates--a primary this September, followed by a general election next fall, leaving 14 months of lame-duck city government--were set in stone (
The Nose, April 23, ). Then, on Monday, June 2,
Mark J. Adams, erstwhile lawyer and occasional newspaper editor/publisher (
Harbor Crescent and the
Baltimore Press, both now defunct), filed a citizen's suit arguing that this season's election dates should not fall so far apart.Adams' argument rests in the arcana of the
Maryland Constitution and the
Baltimore City Charter and delves into legal history dating back to the early years of the 20th century. On this short notice, the Nose won't pretend to have a full grasp of the issues Adams raises. But we hope the court gives his complaint a close reading, because the relief he's asking--that the general elections be held this fall for three-year terms in office, followed in
2006 by the next round of elections, which would be for full four-year terms--sounds a lot more reasonable than the current calendar.
