Baltimore Democratic official removed after confrontation with campaign volunteer

The Maryland Democratic Party Credentials Committee has unanimously voted to remove an official after a confrontation with a campaign volunteer over a contentious West Baltimore state Senate race.

The decision by a three-member panel came in response to a petition against Ronald Rosenbluth from the 41st District Democratic Central Committee. The 62-year-old was accused of yelling at 78-year-old Betsy Krieger on June 17 at an early voting center near Pimlico.

“The Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party accepts the recommendation of the Credentials Committee to remove Mr. Rosenbluth from the body. As such, Mr. Rosenbluth is hereby removed as a member of the Baltimore City Democratic Central Committee and the DSCCM,” the committee said in a letter sent to the petitioners and reviewed by The Banner.

Rosenbluth did not respond to a request for comment.

Amalie Andrew Ward, one of the three petitioners, said she was “pleased that the Credentials Committee took our complaint seriously.”

Krieger, a supporter of Del. Malcolm Ruff in the state Senate race to represent the Northwest, West and Southwest Baltimore district, previously told The Banner that she was talking to voters when Rosenbluth confronted her, saying, “I hate Jews like you” and “How many people did your family lose in the Holocaust?”

Ruff defeated Sen. Dalya Attar, the first Orthodox Jewish woman to serve in the Senate, in the June 23 primary.

Two people who spoke to The Banner said they intervened to prevent physical contact, while a local party leader said other witnesses gave a different account of events. The incident was not reported to police.

The committee held a hearing on the petition Wednesday, where Rosenbluth and others testified.

Andrew Ward, who attended the meeting, said Rosenbluth accused Krieger of starting the interaction, saying Krieger told him that he was “an embarrassment to Judaism.”

Rosenbluth, who won nomination for another term on the central committee in the June 23 election, denied that he told Krieger he “hated her kind of Jew” and said the election was “emotionally charged.”

Krieger denied Rosenbluth’s version of events, according to Andrew Ward.

Rosenbluth brought no witnesses to the hearing, attendees said. The three petitioners brought five witnesses, including Krieger. Ten members of the Maryland Democratic Party attended, Andrew Ward said.

The hearing lasted about an hour.

Claudia Leight, one of those seeking Rosenbluth’s ouster, submitted the closing statement for the petitioners.

“He has shown a course of conduct of intimidation, harassment, and abusive behavior inappropriate for a party leader,” the statement said.

According to the letter, the committee’s decision may be appealed to the Executive Committee of the Maryland Democratic Party within 15 days.

The Ruff-Attar race took on more significance in October, when federal prosecutors charged Attar, her brother and a Baltimore Police officer with extortion.

Rosenbluth has a tie to the case — he was on a list of people ordered to have no contact with Kalman Finkelstein, one of the defendants. Both the Attars and Finkelstein pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.