THE GAZETTE
Page A-8
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 p
Perry pitches Texas to Md. leaders Two companies mull move, but neither is from Free State
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BY
KEVIN JAMES SHAY STAFF WRITER
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Texas Gov. Rick Perry might have succeeded in his trip to Maryland to lure businesses to his home state, but so far, the only businesses that might move aren’t from Maryland. One is based in Virginia, and the other is in Colorado. Perry, a Republican who ran for president in 2012, met with about 50 business and government representatives Sept. 18 at Morton’s in Bethesda in a wellpublicized effort to entice businesses to leave Maryland, and its taxes, and head to Texas. “Texas is the fastest growing state in jobs,” Perry said Wednesday before a substantial group of broadcast and print reporters outside Morton’s, following his closed-door meeting inside. “Our two states are going in opposite directions.” Perry said it was “premature” to announce that any Maryland businesses are moving to Texas. However, Janice Grenadier, founder of My Pillow Pack of Alexandria, Va. — which provides a handy, stylish way to carry pillows like a backpack — said she has tried for three years to obtain funding and support in the Washington, D.C., area without luck. “I’ve already received more
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks to the media outside the Bethesda Hyatt after a lunch meeting with Maryland business representatives at Morton’s, a restaurant inside the Hyatt Hotel. support from these Texas officials here today than I have the past three years,” she said. Joe Wagner, sales manager for Aurora, Colo., alternative energy business Zeus Power Systems, said he and others want to start a solar panel firm in Maryland, but the process “hasn’t been easy.” “We are looking into moving,” said Wagner, who attended the Bethesda meeting. “I’m impressed with Colorado, but it’s even getting tougher to run a business there,” he said. “There are always more taxes and red tape.” Other business executives said they would keep their enterprises in Maryland. Perry and Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), who is eyeing a 2016 White House run, have dueled in the past week or so over Maryland’s tax climate and
other matters. Perry is running ads on local radio and television stations trying to lure Maryland businesses to Texas. Perry said he had “no idea” what he would do in 2016. The governors debated Sept. 18 on CNN’s “Crossfire” program. Earlier that day, Perry toured the Beretta USA gun factory in Accokeek; the company has considered moving from the state. O’Malley disputed Perry’s job-growth claim during the debate and in printed material. He said Maryland’s economy is better designed to help raise middle-income workers than Texas, which ranks high in poverty and low in residents with health insurance. O’Malley also said Maryland has fared well in studies such as one by the Anderson Economic
Group that showed Maryland businesses had the seventh-lowest local and state tax burden in 2011 — a look at taxes such as corporate income, sales and property — while Texas ranked 17th. Michael Binko, president and CEO of kloudtrack, a high-tech company with offices in Rockville and Annapolis, said taxes should not be the defining issue for where a business is based. “The quality of schools and the work force, as well as venture funding programs, are two other important considerations,” said Binko, co-chair of entrepreneurial advocacy group Startup Maryland. He and others listened to Perry’s remarks outside Morton’s. Texas has lured a few businesses from Maryland, aided by a substantial incentive program, but Maryland has attracted a good number of out-of-state companies, said Julie Lenzer Kirk, director of the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship and co-chairwoman of Startup Maryland. “Both states have a lot to offer businesses,” said Kirk, who grew Applied Creative Technologies to multimillions in revenues before selling the software assets to a business partner. Diana Waterman, Maryland’s Republican Party chairwoman, who also attended the Bethesda meeting, said Perry shined some important light on tax issues in the state. “We’d prefer that businesses stay here and help us elect more Republicans to office,” she said.
Meyer Marks out of governor’s race Bethesda Republican still considering District 16 delegate race n
BY AGNES BLUM STAFF WRITER
The gubernatorial race has shrunk by one candidate since Meyer Marks of Bethesda announced Friday that he was no longer in the running. That leaves Harford County Executive David Craig, Anne Arundel Del. Ronald George (Dist. 30) of Annapolis and Waldorf businessman Charles Lollar seeking the Republican nomination. Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and Del. Heather R. Mizeur (Dist. 20) of Takoma Park are fighting for the Democratic nomination. Citing time constraints, due to his job as a health care policy consultant, as well as a field full of qualified candidates, Marks said this was not the year for him. “I am going to keep my options open for another opportunity in the future,” Marks said. “I
just didn’t really have the time to commit to a statewide race.” Marks said he has spent the past few months meeting and talking with Marylanders and has not ruled out running in the District 16 delegate race. Three Bethesda Democrats have filed for that race so far: Jordan Cooper and Hrant Jamgochian, both with backgrounds in health care policy, and Marc Korman, a lawyer. “I am still considering that, but I am not announcing anything yet,” Marks said. His decisions will hinge on the financial support and encouragement he receives. In 2008, Marks ran for the 8th Congressional District seat, losing the Republican nomination to Steven Hudson, who went on to lose to incumbent Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D) of Kensington. Then in 2010, Marks ran in the race for delegate in District 16 and lost. It hasn’t all been losses — that same year, he was elected as an at-large member of the Republican Central Committee from Montgomery County. ablum@gazette.net
Bethesda Metro in for a trio of repair projects Agency still unsure how it will fix water leaks in tunnel
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BY AGNES BLUM STAFF WRITER
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As ridership at the Bethesda Metro station continues to grow, the station prepares for a trio of construction projects, according to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. In mid-October, stairs from the mezzanine level to the platform will be repaired for use, said Dan Stessel, a spokesman for the transit authority. Then in November, workers will begin to rehabilitate one of the short escalators at the Metro station, Stessel said. The project will take about three months; all the components will be replaced and it will be “like new,” Stessel said. In a third project, the three long escalators from the bus bay to the turnstile level will be completely replaced, one by one, he said. They are the second longest in the system, at 475 feet long with a rise of 106 feet. The
longest escalator is in Wheaton. The station sees about 10,600 riders on a typical weekday, Stessel said. The escalator replacement will be carried out in such a way as to minimize any inconvenience to passengers, he said. The project will take several months, based on similar work at the Dupont Circle and Pentagon stations and is expected to begin in the spring. “It will be a very challenging project because, unlike Dupont Circle, there is no second entrance there,” Stessel said. Metro has no immediate plans to close stations to deal with the water leak in the tunnel between the Medical Center and Friendship Heights stops, said Allison Davis, a Metro representative, at a meeting of the Western Montgomery Citizens Advisory Board on Sept. 16. Metro is currently looking at how to fix that issue, and if the answer is to temporarily close the Medical Center, Bethesda and Friendship Heights stations, such a closure would not take place before the summer of 2015. ablum@gazette.net