McKay ramps up heat in Senate race

Dyson: ‘I want to stick to issues ... I know I can win on issues’

Friday, Oct. 20, 2006

St. Mary’s County Commission President Thomas F. McKay (R) mailed a four-page letter to voters this week torching Sen. Roy Dyson’s record on an array of issues, from illegal immigration to transportation to veto overrides.

Maryland Republicans say they believe McKay offers one of their best chances to gain a Senate seat. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., his running mate Kristen Cox and first lady Kendel Ehrlich all appeared at events with McKay in the past two weeks.

‘‘This race is arguably the No. 1 race in the state,” Ehrlich said at a recent fundraiser in St. Mary’s. ‘‘The reason is because you have an incumbent who is increasingly out of touch with his district and you have talent and quality willing to step up.”

For months, the candidates have focused on building their war chests and shoring up their bases of support. But McKay went on the offensive during the candidates’ first showdown at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and has since kept up the assault.

‘‘There’s a lot at stake here and it’s absolutely critical that people understand from my perspective that there are two Roy Dysons,” McKay said. ‘‘The one they think they know and the one who is known in Annapolis as a completely different guy.”

In the most recent mailer, McKay scolds Dyson (D-St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles) for siding with Baltimore city lawmakers in the state’s attempt to take over 11 underperforming city schools.

‘‘You deserve a senator who defends Southern Maryland values, not one who talks Southern Maryland and goes to Annapolis and votes Baltimore city,” McKay writes.

But Dyson defended his vote.

‘‘As I said in the debate that day, do you want Nancy Grasmick running your schools?” he said, referring to the state schools superintendent. ‘‘We have two or three [schools] in St. Mary’s County that could be on that list” at risk of being taken over by the state.

McKay scoffs at that claim and said Dyson is trying to scare voters into supporting him.

Since 1974, Dyson has served in the Maryland House of Delegates, the U.S. Congress and now the Maryland Senate. He won his last election, in 2002, with about 58 percent of the vote. That same year, McKay won his first bid for elected office with about 61 percent of the vote, defeating the incumbent St. Mary’s commission president.

‘‘The pivotal swing voters down here are the people who have come to the district in the last 10 years,” said Zach Messitte, who heads the Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. ‘‘Old county families know the Dysons and the McKays.”

Although neither candidate lacks name recognition, their first dispute was over campaign signs.

Dyson was forced to take down a billboard that violated the county’s sign ordinance, while McKay had to alter signage at his campaign headquarters.

Dyson prefers to let his record speak for itself and canvass door to door with longtime supporters. He touts a bill he sponsored that he says reduced the number of teen driver fatalities, a charter school bill that drew national praise and promoting long-term transportation fixes for Southern Maryland’s congested arteries.

‘‘I want to stick to the issues because I know I can win on the issues,” he said.

Recent leaflets publicize his work on strengthening sex predator laws, increasing education funding and protecting military installations from base realignment and closure.

McKay maintains the incumbent has had little influence in those efforts and has hurt Southern Maryland for supporting increased school funding in Baltimore.

‘‘He’s got a lot to answer for,” McKay said. ‘‘If people look at the record, they’ll see it’s pretty clear that Roy Dyson aligns himself with the union bosses of Baltimore city more than he does the hard-working people of Southern Maryland.”

For Dyson, a combative McKay could be good news, Messitte said.

‘‘The aggressive candidate usually portends someone who feels they may be trailing, but it’s hard to tell in this case,” he said.

E-mail Alan Brody at abrody@somdnews.com.