by key votes, controversies

ANNAPOLIS -- Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr.'s office in Annapolis has the quiet, dignified air of a small museum, filled with prints of paintings, busts of great philosophers and Roman emperors, and knickknacks from the various towns in his district.

Giannetti himself, however, is anything but subdued. Since winning election to the state Senate in 2002, the 40-year-old Laurel Democrat has been at the center of one controversy after another. For some of it, he accepts the blame.

"I'm not going to sit here and be a bland, noncontroversial senator that's unwilling to take tough stands on issues," he told The Gazette. "If the voters don't think I've done a good job, then they'll kick me out. But I think they want me to believe in something and stick to it, and that's what I do."

For Giannetti, the publicity heated up soon after he was elected. He had defeated Arthur Dorman (D), who had served in the state legislature for more than three decades and was close to the three delegates from the district.

When the delegates held town meetings to discuss District 21 issues, they didn't ask the new senator to be a co-host -- a slap in the face because in the past Dorman and the delegates would have sat at the same meeting.

In the years since, the division has deepened.

Giannetti has split with the delegates on a number of issues. He supports putting slot machines at Laurel Park racetrack, building the Intercounty Connector to link Interstate 270 in Gaithersburg with I-95 near Laurel, and building a connector road from the Capital Beltway to the University of Maryland, College Park, that would go through land at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.

The delegates -- Barbara A. Frush (D), Pauline H. Menes (D) and Brian R. Moe (D) -- oppose all three. None returned calls for comment.

Missteps and timing

Last year turned out to be a banner time for Giannetti.

He made headlines after he became the swing vote in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee to defeat the assault weapons ban.

Giannetti and alcohol issues didn't mix either. He held tailgate parties at University of Maryland football games, where critics said underage drinking was occurring. Giannetti apologized after it was pointed out that drinking alcohol in campus parking lots is illegal.

Other senators and even Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an organization that has praised him in the past for his legislative efforts, took to calling the longtime proponent of tough drunken driving laws "Senator Tailgate."

The senator admits he made a bad decision.

"I should be held to a higher standard," he said. "But I'm trying to reach out to students."

The tailgate debacle was followed by his push for brewpubs in College Park, an effort that he said would aid economic development by helping build up more high-end dining. Because of the timing so soon after the tailgate problem, many balked at his suggestion of adding brew pubs. However, the City Council saw the benefits and eventually approved the measure.

Worlds collide

Giannetti was thrust back into the public eye again in December after his wife, Erin, 26, was stopped by police on suspicion of drunken driving.

After calling her husband, a lawyer, she refused to take a breath test to determine the alcohol content of her blood.

For years, Giannetti has been pushing for legislation that would stiffen penalties for drivers who refuse breath tests.

Giannetti declined to say what he told his wife when she called him. He said she did request a blood test, but one was not performed. They are currently seeking a lawyer to represent her.

"Erin is going through a six-month [alcohol rehabilitation] program, and it's tough on everybody," Giannetti said. "I felt if she'd not been married to me, it wouldn't have been a story."

Critics say the senator is in a tough situation in both defending his wife's actions and his tough stance on drunk driving.

"It does have a negative effect on his credibility," said Laurel attorney Mike Walls.

"You have the social use of alcohol," Walls said referring to Giannetti's tailgate parties and brewpub push, "and then you have the more conservative approach, which is pretty much a zero tolerance on drunk driving. It's tough to square the two."

'Dynamic and energetic'

Giannetti's supporters say some of the controversy that has surrounded the senator is due to his eagerness to get things accomplished. The fact that he remains upbeat and energetic, they said, is impressive.

"He's a very talented senator with a great work ethic," said Sen. Philip C. Jimeno (D-Dist. 31) of Brooklyn Park, who sits with Giannetti on the Judiciary Proceedings Committee. "His judgment, sometimes he needs to work on that."

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., whom Giannetti counts as a mentor, acknowledged that Giannetti has taken a pounding in the media and in Annapolis.

"He's dynamic and energetic. He brings a great deal of enthusiasm, and people seem to enjoy his personality," said Miller (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach. "The nail that sticks out is the one that gets knocked down. He's bold and brash, and if I have any complaint about him it's only that he doesn't walk into things, he jumps in."

Karen Coakley, president of the Beltsville Citizens Association and, in the 2002 election, a Dorman supporter, said she was happy to work with the senator and appreciated his support of the Intercounty Connector, which she and her association support.

"Quite frankly, I'm tired of only reading about the groups ... that don't support the ICC," she said. "I'm very happy to have an elected official who carries forward our support of the project in Annapolis."

Roads, guns and smoking

Giannetti has his fair share of critics, as well.

Besides Moe, Frush and Menes, who continue to criticize him, College Park City Council members and residents are unhappy with the senator.

"There's a lot of feelings of discontent with the senator," said Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk, a stalwart opponent of the campus connector road project. "We feel he hasn't been listening to the people he represents. He's been very disrespectful to the community."

Peña-Melnyk said the road project would damage the environment by going through land at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.

Giannetti contends the connector road would reduce gridlock on Route 1, one of the most heavily traveled roads in Prince George's County. He said the road is a campaign promise he intends to keep.

"I've campaigned on that connector road, it's one of the planks in my platform," Giannetti said. "All we're doing is studying it, but if we get it, we'll have a new gateway for our university."

The opposition is coming from a few neighborhood enclaves, he said.

"I'm willing to take the political hits from people who don't like it," Giannetti said. "It's just that in the past people didn't have the courage to stand up to certain neighborhoods."

Giannetti's vote against the assault weapons ban also brought him a few more enemies.

Leah Barrett, director of Cease Fire Maryland, a gun-control lobbying group and a key proponent of the ban, rebuked the senator for what she considered his abandonment of a pivotal public-safety issue.

"He never gave a good, coherent reason for his opposition to the assault weapons ban," Barrett said. "But the governor clearly got to him. We asked, 'Why are you doing this? It will make you vulnerable in a primary challenge.'"

Giannetti points out that there are many fair-weather friends in politics.

He said he received no support from Cease Fire Maryland when he was a delegate and put in a bill that would have increased penalties for using assault weapons in a crime.

"In 2000, Leah Barrett was my best friend," he said with a smile. "But did she come out to support my bill? Hell, no."

Giannetti said he was one of the key vote gatherers in the House for the 2000 Gun Safety Act, which was heralded by Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) as well as President William J. Clinton (D).

Giannetti admits that even then he had problems with the bill -- especially with the ballistic fingerprinting portion, which he said has been shown ineffective since being enacted. Still, he was willing to help the governor make policy.

Giannetti, who had a shotgun by the time he was 13 when he was living on a farm in Carroll County, said he does not necessarily have a problem with assault weapons and respects lawful gun owners.

"Giannetti represents the views of mainstream moderate Democrats in Maryland," said Augustus Alzona, a gun rights advocate and former Republican Party Central Committee member in Montgomery County. "There are members of the anti-freedom establishment who want to take him out politically speaking. Nanny state, big government types."

The senator, who enjoys unwinding in the smoky bars of Annapolis, also stood in opposition to a Howard County smoking ban in public buildings and restaurants that was being pushed by Frush.

He said he appreciated what Frush was trying to do, but said in the end it was better for government to stay out of private business as much as possible.

Touting accomplishments

While admitting that controversy has been a constant companion, Giannetti points to the many successes he has had in office.

Giannetti is proudest of a bill that passed in 2002 allowing the refusal to take a breath test to be used as evidence in court. He also touts a bond bill he was able to pass last year providing $165,000 for a new Laurel/Beltsville Senior Center building and a bill this year that makes assaulting a police officer a felony.

To solidify these achievements, Giannetti acknowledges the need for strategy.

In his office, on a shelf, there is a three-dimensional chess set, much like the one seen in old "Star Trek" episodes.

Giannetti enjoys the legislative game, crafting many pieces of legislation at once, submitting them and seeing which ones pass.

"That's a metaphor," he said, pointing to the chess set. "Some people play checkers, some people play chess. I like to play three-dimensional chess."