Sparrows Point has become an election issue.

With the “L” blast furnace shut down, 1,000 to 1,200 workers facing joblessness and the plant’s Russian owner looking for someone to buy the century-old plant, which once employed 30,000, Maryland’s incumbent officeholders are scrambling to show they are responding to a crisis that is both specific and symbolic.

Gov. Martin O’Malley and other elected Democrats plan to meet Tuesday at the steel mill with union leaders and mill management, including Sergei Kuznetsov, CEO of parent company Severstal North America, The Brew has learned.

This follows a concerted campaign by United Steelworkers Local 9477 to lobby Democratic officeholders to place pressure on Severstal to halt the layoffs or sell the mill to a new owner who would restart the L furnace.

Tuesday’s meeting is an attempt by O’Malley to show his resolve in dealing with Maryland’s stubbornly high unemployment rate and the loss of manufacturing jobs crystallized by the troubles at the sprawling steel mill.

“Clearly, the governor’s objective is to save jobs… It is something the governor is deeply involved in,” spokesman Sean Adamec said yesterday.

Ehrlich Sees “New Uses” for Sparrows Point

Bob Ehrlich, running against O’Malley in the Nov. 2 election, shot back late yesterday that the governor’s efforts are too little too late.

“Martin O’Malley has had four years to work with the owners at Sparrows Point and come up with a plan for a viable future; he failed to save the business and failed the save the jobs of the workers,” said spokesman Andy Barth.

“Bob Ehrlich,” Barth continued, “will devote resources to educating displaced workers for lasting jobs in evolving industries. He will look for new uses of the historic Sparrows Point facilities and seek ownership committed to creating new business and jobs.”

Tuesday’s meeting at Sparrows Point is being coordinated by the office of Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, whose district includes the mill in southeast Baltimore County.

“We want to bring together all the players to get an update,” said Heather Molino, Ruppersberger’s press secretary. “We would like to meet with everyone present at the same time – the union, the owners and all of us – so we’re all hearing the same thing.”

U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin’s office confirmed that he plans to attend the meeting, as did state Del. John A. Olszewski Jr.

Others invited, according to Molino, include Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, Congressman John Sarbanes, Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr., County Council Chair John Olszewski Sr. and the Sixth District delegation of State Senator Norm Stone and Delegates Joseph “Sonny” Minnick and Mike Weir Jr.

Deadline for Potential Buyers

Yesterday marked the deadline for bids by potential buyers of the Point and two other mills in the Midwest, Severstal Warren and Severstal Wheeling.

At least three potential buyers have toured Sparrows Point this month, including one bidder who went through the mill on Thursday.

That bidder was identified by sources as the Renco Group, a New York City holding company controlled by financier Ira Rennert.

Gov. O’Malley has been at the forefront of behind-the-scene efforts to encourage Severstal to make a “quick sale” of Sparrows Point. Such a sale could occur within weeks, according to sources, but there is a general feeling that Alexei Mordashov, the Russian billionaire who controls the Severstal group, will wait until the economy revives and the mills can fetch a better price.

Further complicating matters is the insistence by David McCall, a top United Steelworkers official, to sell all three mills to a single buyer. This approach has already placed Indian steelmaker Essar at a steep disadvantage for wanting to buy only Sparrows Point.

Strip Mill to Close Next Week

To save costs, Severstal is closing the hot-strip mill at the Point for the rest of the year. This will leave the tinplate mill as the only major section of the plant operating full-time. (The new cold sheet mill is scheduled to run on a daylight-only schedule, employing one instead of three crews.).

Asked what O’Malley was planning to say to Kuznetsov on Tuesday, spokesman Adamec said, “He will get involved in whatever way is appropriate depending on what the needs are … If the objective is to sell or to continue operating in some fashion, the main thing is to see that it be done with an emphasis on preserving and prioritizing the jobs that are there.”

After the meeting, O’Malley plans to attend a “get-out-the-vote” rally at the Local 9477 union hall on Dundalk Ave.

Ehrlich, who is not planning to attend Tuesday’s meeting with Kuznetsov, has not disclosed his position on whether the mill should be sold.

However, the Republican hopeful said that if steelmaking did resume at Sparrows Point, he would make sure that it “complied with environmental standards of the community,” a reference to L furnace’s recent pollution problems.

NOTE: On Monday, proposals for reviving Sparrows Point by the two candidates vying for Baltimore County Executive, Kenneth C. Holt and Kevin Kamenetz.