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For months, the Annapolis rumor mill has been churning about the future of Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown. Will he leave the O'Malley ticket for the 2010 election to seek elective office elsewhere?

Brown (D) could not be reached for comment, but his spokesman, Mike Raia, said his boss plans to seek re-election as lieutenant governor in 2010.

"He's excited to be a member of the O'Malley-Brown administration, and he's reshaping the role of the lieutenant governor," Raia said.

And Tom Russell, campaign manager for the governor's re-election campaign, said he was unaware that Brown would leave the ticket.

"I certainly haven't heard anything like that," he said Thursday.

Still, that doesn't stop the speculation that the 47-year-old Iraq war veteran and Harvard-trained lawyer is antsy to take his own path.

Previous speculation had him taking an Obama administration job or possibly a cushy position with the University System of Maryland.

The latest rumor has Brown entering the race to succeed Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), who is term-limited.

Del. Galen Clagett said Brown would be a good pick for county executive.

"God knows, Prince George's needs leadership," said Clagett (D-Dist. 3A) of Frederick.

The county's school system and hospital issues could provide Brown the opportunity to show his management skills, he said. The county is trying to sell its financially troubled hospital system, and turmoil has surrounded its school system leadership for years.

"It could be a springboard for him to be an excellent candidate for governor," Clagett said.

Fueling the speculation among prognosticators is a series of recent events.

First, Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith (D) announced in July that he won't be running for state comptroller. Smith is term-limited, but he still has raised more than $1 million for whatever seat he chooses to seek in 2010.

Smith could replace Brown on the ticket and provide O'Malley's re-election not only with all that cash, but a bankable popularity in Baltimore County that could make a challenge more difficult for possible opponent Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).

As one observer put it, "A good offense is a solid defense for O'Malley in Baltimore County."

History could push Brown off the ticket, too. No lieutenant governor has been able to use the position as a launch pad for higher office. If anything, it's been a drag on political success.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Melvin A. "Mickey" Steinberg each were unable to convert eight years as No. 2 in the State House into No. 1. Despite Michael S. Steele's term, he lost his 2006 attempt to become U.S. senator.

Part of the problem is that the lieutenant governor has no real duties. In the administration, he handles Base Realignment and Closure, veterans' affairs, health care, higher education and economic development.

For an ambitious politician like Brown, it can lead nowhere.

"I don't think he's had a chance to blossom, and it's not like the governor hasn't given him a chance. It's the nature of the position. The parameters of the job are skimpy," Clagett said.

One person who would challenge Brown for the Prince George's seat believes the lieutenant governor could do more for the county where he is.

"We'd lose a lot of what the potential would be," said Prince George's County Councilman Tony Knotts (D-Dist. 8) of Temple Hills.

"I was under the understanding that he's far more likely to become the first African-American governor," Knotts said. "The bar for lieutenant governor should be governor."

Knotts, former Del. Rushern Baker and Prince George's County Councilman Samuel L. Dean have all confirmed that they are running for Johnson's vacant seat. At least four other candidates are rumored to be planning a run in the September 2010 Democratic primary for county executive.

Staff Writer Daniel Valentine

contributed to this report.