Anderson mounts Republican challenge to Bohanan in 2010

Engineer puts focus on taxes, nurturing business

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009

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Severe budget challenges in an election year could spell trouble for incumbents.

Drayden resident Erik Anderson hopes to capitalize on that prospect in his run for the seat currently held by Del. John Bohanan.

Anderson, 38, who filed last week, says Maryland is being fiscally mismanaged and is headed in the wrong direction.

His interest in seeking elected office was born out of frustration about higher property and income taxes, he said.

Anderson's wife, Jennifer, heard his aggravation at the dinner table one night several years ago and essentially challenged him to put up or shut up.

"She was expecting me to sit down and eat my roast beef," he quipped. "As a result I started going through the process of learning and educating myself on how to do something about it."

Anderson, who came to St. Mary's County 10 years ago to work on a project at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, said he has spent the last few years schooling himself on local and state issues.

His platform incorporates budget efficiencies and tax reform, pro-business policies, smarter use of education funds and environmental advocacy.

The Michigan native has a list of ideas:

ï He supports the establishment of a taxpayer bill of rights that aims to rein in government spending and would require voter approval of all proposed tax increases as a way to avoid "burdening our citizens with excessive taxes."

ï He wants to lower the state sales tax from 6 percent to 4 percent to keep Maryland consumers in the state and to draw shoppers from surrounding states.

ï He backs the conversion of coal power plants to nuclear energy production.

ï He advocates a thorough review of state spending to eliminate waste, re-establish priorities and put more money toward school construction at buildings with dilapidated mobile classrooms.

ï He believes the state must do more to retain and recruit businesses and influence major corporations to put their headquarters in Maryland. "We are forcing our businesses away through unregulated taxes," Anderson said.

But defeating Bohanan (D-St. Mary's), who has served since being appointed to fill a vacancy in 1999, will require more than a set of ideas, Anderson acknowledged.

Bohanan easily beat back Republican challengers in 2002 and 2006, and he has developed a strong rapport with the area's defense community.

To be competitive, Anderson will have to hope for "a very strong anti-Democrat surge in the country" next year, said St. Mary's College of Maryland political science professor Michael J.G. Cain.

The Republican, Cain added, will also have to overcome the challenges of being a first-time candidate, such as fundraising and name recognition, as well as being non-native to St. Mary's.

But Anderson said he's prepared to "speak to every bridge and tea club out there" and understands asking for donations, albeit difficult in a tight economy, is a necessary part of running for office.

"Unfortunately, I don't believe that this election will be won on a grass-roots movement," he said. "If this was still the tech boom of ‘98, I would have no qualms about asking people for their money."

Challenges aside, Anderson believes he can win over voters with strong credentials and what he calls a "mutually conservative" philosophy that appeals to both Republicans and Democrats in the conservative-minded district.

Bohanan, he charged, has regularly voted for tax hikes that have bucked the views of his constituents.

"It's not about personal self-interest," he said of his candidacy. "If you're in it for personal self-interest, you're in it for the wrong reasons."

During his 20 years in the U.S. Army, Anderson flew an Apache helicopter. He left active duty in 1999, but was recalled in December 2002 and served an 18-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The initial engineering contract that brought Anderson to Pax River spawned several others in his fields of expertise, aerospace and aviations systems.

He and his wife have two children, Conner, 6, and Morgen, 4.

abrody@somdnews.com