Let the chips fall where they may in the 20th District July 2006

The recent forum for 20th District Delegates hosted by the Takoma/Silver Spring Voice revealed seven candidates who most of the time weren't particularly distinguishable from each other when it came to basic issues. All were liberal pro-environment, pro-choice, pro-social justice, etc.

Heather Mizeur's Clintonesque ability to recognize two-thirds of the audience by name gave her a personal sparkle no one else quite achieved. Aaron Klein's sharp analysis, particularly of economic issues, gave him a boost. Tom Hucker's list of accomplishments for Progressive Maryland in the General Assembly, suggested he can hit the ground running in Annapolis. Lucinda Lessley, previously a staffer in Annapolis and currently an aide to U.S. Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, was articulate and well-grounded in the issues. Diane Nixon, the animal rights activist, gave a good account of herself. Sheila Hixson, an incumbent and chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, clearly knows the job. Even Gareth Murray, the incumbent considered missing in action much of the past four years, was able to portray himself as a seasoned liberal.

On the issue of the ICC, though, there was a question of credibility. Hixson and Murray positioned themselves as critics of the costly anti-environmental, developer-friendly boondoggle despite voting to finance the ICC on April 6th of last year. Murray also talked about having support in the environmental community, although he was not endorsed by the Montgomery County Sierra Club.

Fallout from Duncan's withdrawal

County Executive Doug Duncan exited the governor's race after being diagnosed with clinical depression. Already behind in the polls, Duncan was carrying the baggage of the "End Gridlock" slate of four years ago and had been damaged by revelations of campaign funds from scandal-tainted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Duncan's withdrawal serves as a reminder that ordinary citizens can make a difference in the direction of the county and even the state. Citizen groups such as Common Cause Maryland, Montgomery County Civic Federation, Clarksburg Town Center Advisory Committee and Neighbors for a Better Montgomery should be commended for their efforts to expose Duncan's ties to developers. As far as the others from the "End Gridlock" slate--Steve Silverman, running for County Exec, and Mike Subin, Nancy Floreen and George Leventhal, running for Council at-large--they should be remembered for inviting in development that brings you higher taxes and overcrowded schools.

Watch out in the next two months for "End Gridlock II" (or some other benign name), a slate that may include Subin, Floreen, Leventhal and Newsome running at-large and Berliner, Knapp, Dorsey and Jones running in Districts 1 thru 4.

With the exception of Leventhal and Knapp, none of the other End Gridlockers got the endorsement of the all-important MCEA teachers union (Apple Ballot). In contrast, two at-large candidates, Takoma Park's Marc Elrich and County NOW president Duchy Tractenberg, as well as District 5's Valerie Ervin, were awarded the MCEA seal of approval. Hugh Bailey, another promising at-large candidate, is picking up momentum as a strong voice coming out of the African-American community.

Meanwhile, Stuart O. Simms, a Baltimore attorney who had been Duncan's running mate, announced his candidacy for attorney general, creating potential problems for Takoma Park's Tom Perez, who is in the same race. It is legal for Simms to divert funds that Duncan raised in his gubernatorial campaign for governor, which would give Simms a jump start in fundraising despite his late entry in the race. And, as an African-American, Simms may gain traction among pivotal voters in Prince George's County.

Good News for Raskin

Jamie Raskin’s surging grassroots campaign for State Senate in the 20th District received two big boosts in June.

Raskin was endorsed by U.S. Senate candidate Kweisi Mfume, the former Congressman and head of the NAACP. "Jamie brings a creative and visionary leadership not controlled by special interest money and out-of-touch political bosses" and is "reaching out to all communities," said Mfume, who is running a modestly funded but exciting progressive campaign that might propel him to become the second African-American in the U.S. Senate (along with Barack Obama). Martin O'Malley, now the unopposed Demcoratic candidate for governor, also spoke at a Raskin fundraiser and hailed Raskin's vision. The testimonials from senior Maryland Democrats help establish Raskin's political bona fides against incumbent Ida Ruben, whose major claim in her campaign seems to be her connection to party pols.

Ruben also suffered severe embarrassment when she was taken to task in a Washington Post editorial for "acting like an ill-tempered rookie." Ruben had called the principal of Blair High School, Phil Gainous, to demand a meeting with the editorial board of the Silver Chips student newspaper after the paper endorsed Raskin as "the right choice for District 20." While an "irate" Ruben was making her demands, it came to light the student journalists had tried to reach her four times for an interview but she never returned their calls. The Post pointed out the irony of a state official criticizing students for getting passionately involved in politics at a time of widespread electoral "apathy." Ah, the arrogance of incumbency!

Editor's Note: The Voice endorses a progressive viewpoint, but the specific opinions expressed in "Progressively Speaking" are those of the columnist, and not necessarily of the Voice. We find it important to clarify this as we move closer to the 2006 Maryland Democratic primary. We will make our endorsements in late August. We encourage readers to express their opinion about the coming election by sending us a letter (editor@takoma.com) or post your letter on our new opinion blog at www.silverspringvoice.com/ed_blog or www.takoma.com/ed_blog.

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