By Shawn J. Soper, News Editor
Originally published May 28, 2010

BERLIN – Ending months of speculation, Delegate James Mathias this week officially filed for election to the Senate seat in District 38, which includes all of Worcester County, Somerset County and a portion of Wicomico County.

Unofficially, Mathias, former mayor of Ocean City, has made no secret of his intention to seek the District 38 Senate seat since Republican Senator Lowell Stoltzfus, who held the position for nearly two decades, announced last year he would not seek re-election. Mathias informally confirmed his intention to seek the Senate seat to this newspaper earlier this year, but was reluctant to go fully public with his decision because of the weighty issues he had in front of him as one of the district’s House of Delegates representatives.

With the most recent General Assembly session completed last month, Mathias formally filed for the Senate seat on Monday. He said this week the decision was made less difficult by the overwhelming support he has received from constituents throughout the district and it wasn’t a decision he made rashly.

“Honestly, we’ve been working through this for over a year since Senator Stoltzfus announced his retirement,” he said. “As I worked through the entire district in all three counties, people I talked to asked me to consider it. They were very encouraging.”

Mathias said the decision to seek the Senate seat came after considerable soul-searching and consultations with his wife and family, friends and others.

“This was not a unilateral decision,” he said. “This was a stakeholder decision contributed to by family, friends and focus groups in each county. We talked about the ups and downs and made the decision to seek the Senate seat. With their help, we’re going to win this race.”

Mathias has represented the district in the House of Delegates since June 2006 when he was appointed to fill the term of the late Delegate Bennett Bozman. He was elected to the House of Delegates in November of that year, along with long-time district representative Norman Conway (D-38B). Prior to his appointment and eventual election to the district’s House seat, Mathias served as mayor of Ocean City for 10 years, following a six-year stint on the City Council.

Mathias will draw from his considerable career in public service as he prepares for the campaign. Considered by many to be a strong fiscal conservative, Mathias has voted to cut the size of government and give small businesses incentives to create jobs. He said this week he became a Democrat many years ago when he asked his grandmother how to register to vote, but has not always been married to the party over the years.

“When I was first on the City Council and later mayor, nobody really knew or cared what my party affiliation was,” he said this week. “When I was appointed to serve in the House and later elected, I suddenly became Jim Mathias with a big ‘D’ behind my name.”

The delegate pointed to his recent work in the General Assembly to further illustrate the point.

“Our government’s top priority must be keeping our communities safe, and I worked across party lines to give prosecutors and police officers stronger tools to fight gang violence and to crack down on sexual predators who prey on our children,” he said. “I stood up to those in my party who wanted to repeal the death penalty because I believe the most heinous crimes deserve the ultimate penalty.”

Mathias’ official filing this week potentially sets up a highly anticipated showdown in the district with Republican candidate and Ocean City hotelier Michael James, who has also publicly declared his intention to seek the Senate seat. James narrowly missed election to the district’s House seat in 2006, falling to Conway and Mathias by single-digit percentage points. When the last of the absentee ballots were counted, James trailed Conway be a mere 254 votes and Mathias by just over 1,100 votes.

Mathias said while it appears likely the two are on a collision course this fall, it was premature to speculate on the potential race because both candidates will likely have primaries to get through. Mathias certainly will as candidate Charles Mickey Lehrer, a Somerset County Democrat, filed for the district’s Senate seat last week. When asked about James, Mathias said he was prepared to take on all comers.

“We have a primary to get through yet, so we’ll see what happens,” he said. “Whoever the opponent might be, I welcome that. I urge the voters to do their homework and get to know their candidates. The most intelligent person out there is the voter, and the voter will know who is the most qualified.”

James also said he anticipates a challenge in the primary, but welcomes a chance to face Mathias.

“The voters will have a very clear choice because Jim and I are so different,” he said yesterday. “Clearly, Jim is an insider with considerable political experience, but this might boil down to practical private sector experience versus public sector experience. Clearly, the budget crisis is the biggest issue and it might be time for somebody from the outside with a 20-year track record in turning around a business and creating jobs take a look at it in a different way.”

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