Local politics: The good, the bad, and the ugly Candidates jostle for position in the upcoming Democratic primaries

With the ’06 primary five months away, front-running candidates and definitive issues are taking shape for Silver Spring and Takoma Park voters.

First, in the Maryland 20th District race, all the incumbents show signs of running scared. It should be the most progressive district in the state, yet at best has a lackluster liberal reputation. Challenger Jamie Raskin is running a strong and vibrant grassroots campaign and stands a good chance of replacing the current Senator Ida Ruben.

Ruben has never garnered a big personal base of support despite 30 years in the legislature. Mostly, she has relied on machine politicking. Recently, she authored a bill to consolidate control over the Democratic Central Committee for herself and the other incumbents. After several precinct captains reacted with outrage, Ruben was embarrassed by a 21-0 vote by Montgomery County delegates to kill the bill on March 24.

That same night, 300 people turned out to hear Texas populist Jim Hightower endorse Raskin at a benefit in Silver Spring. This kind of turnout for a state senate campaign more than five months before the election is unheard of and shows what shaky ground Ruben is on. In a recent poll conducted by the Gazette Newspapers, Ruben was ranked at the lowest level of effectiveness.

The three delegate seats in the 20th District are also up for grabs by worthy and aggressive new candidates. Former Takoma Park Councilmember Heather Mizeur has put together a strong election team and is thought to be the frontrunner to take Peter Franchot’s spot. (Franchot is running for state comptroller against right-wing pseudo-Democrat William Donald Schaefer.)

Also running an aggressive campaign for District 20 delegate is Aaron Klein, a Montgomery Blair and Princeton graduate and the Democratic Party’s Chief Economist on the U.S. Senate’s Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee under Senator Paul Sarbanes. And when he eventually announces, longtime activist and Progressive Maryland’s Exec Tom Hucker would become a viable candidate.

These four new candidates, if elected, would give 20th District voters a more dynamic team than the present gang of four. Gareth Murray is generally thought of as a weak candidate and is rarely present in Annapolis or in the 20th District. Sheila Hixson, who is popular and actually has accrued a generally favorable history, probably can’t lose, but she could get caught between the old guard and this progressive new energy. She will run into criticism for her support of slot machines and, until earlier this year, for her opposition to a paper trail for electronic voting.

County Councilmember Tom Perez is waiting to announce his candidacy for the Attorney General post currently held by Joe Curran because Curran has not yet said whether he will retire. If Curran does step down, Tom’s popularity, positive record, determination, and the need for Latino representation in higher office would make him a strong contender at the statewide level.

That would open Tom’s District Five county seat for Marc Elrich, nine-term representative on the Takoma Park City Council. Marc is probably the most progressive elected official in our region, with a record of activism going back to the mid-1960s. Most recently, he and Jamie Raskin successfully prevented the displacement of local tenants from their rent-controlled apartments.

Two of Marc’s opponents would be Joy Austin-Lane from Takoma Park and Hans Reimer from Silver Spring. Joy is a two-term City Councilmember but with little record of involvement in the wider district. Hans, whose claim to fame is at the national level as director of Rock the Vote, only moved to Montgomery County a year ago and has never voted in the county.

Joy & Hans probably share the same positions as Marc on foreign policy and national issues. But this is a local election where what matters most is what you know about a community, with whom you have worked, and the rest of your local experience, and on this score Marc is far ahead.

In the race for County Executive current County Councilmember Steve Silverman of Silver Spring doesn’t seem to be picking up any ground on Ike Leggett, a former member of the County Council. Silverman has already shot half of his camapign wad of $1.2 million, but Leggett, even with modest spending, leads by 11 points in a poll. And Leggett still has over $350,000 in the bank. In recent public debates Leggett seems to be drawing more applause and higher kudos than Silverman, who is hurt by his affiliation with big developers.

Leggett is generally considered the more progressive of the two candidates. For instance, on the controversial predatory loan legislation (see accompanying article), Leggett strongly backs the current law while Silverman appears ready to make concessions to the banking industry. However, Silverman shouldn’t be counted down and out quite yet because he is on track to raise $2.5 million, with a big proportion from development interests. Remember that when you get his stream of slick flyers and robo-calls.

Stay tuned for further developments as we approach the elections.

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