Politics & Government

Sen. Cardin: Not Placing Blame for Storm Response

The senator visited a cooling shelter in North Baltimore on Monday.

Sen. Ben Cardin said the response to Friday’s has been frustrating for Maryland residents, but that they understand the storm was unforeseen.

"It’s very frustrating. People are at risk, they are losing patience, and people are doing some really dramatic things the help their neighbors," Cardin said.

During a visit with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at the Northern Community Action Center in North Baltimore on Monday, the senator said residents know the storm was sudden, and didn’t give BGE and PEPCO much time to prepare.

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"It’s wrong to place blame at this point. We will assess how they responded and try to learn from it," Cardin said.

In the wake of the powerful storm hundreds of thousands of residents were without power, and some still didn't have power as of Tuesday morning.

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Cardin’s tone about dealing with utility companies BGE and PEPCO was more conciliatory than other leaders in the state.

“No one will have his boot further up Pepco’s and BGE’s backsides than I will,” Governor O’Malley said on Sunday, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

During a news conference on Monday, Rawlings-Blake said the restoration rate in Baltimore lagging behind the statewide rate was “not satisfactory.”

But Cardin hasn’t been experiencing the fallout from the storm in a bubble. The senator, an Owings Mills resident, said that he has been without power as a result of the storm.

“I’m one of those who hasn’t had any power, so I’ve slept in my home with pretty high heat.  So I know what people are going through,” Cardin said. “But at this point, I think, we just want to be as understanding as we can. We want to get power up as soon as possible for everyone.”

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