First Draft

So there I was, 8:54 pm, all set to file my paperwork to run for elective office when <bam> stuck in sudden and unrelenting traffic at Admiral Drive and 450.  Jumping out of my assembled-largely-in America Camry, I sprinted eastward.  I may have accidentally bumped into/knocked over Senate President Mike Miller. No time to look back.  I reached the main door of the Board of Elections building. Attempting to fling it open, I found it locked.  9:01 pm.  Closed for the day.  Filing period over. Dreams dashed.

You won this round, Congressman Cummings.  It would have been a spirited primary…     

Wait, that didn’t happen at all.

There is much to cover, too much for one post on a school-night (speaking of schools…educator Sharon Blake, I don’t know much about her (yet), but (topline) her choice scans well.  Former head of the Baltimore Teachers Union…I think Krish Vignarajah made a solid LG selection. So here are some bullet points focusing on Democratic candidates for state races:

Governor:  No last-minute surprises here. Still noodling on which progressive to back:  Vignarajah, Rich Madaleno, or Ben Jealous.  Kevin Kamenetz made a fine decision to bring Valerie Ervin on the ticket. I wish she was running with any of the Big Three I mentioned earlier in this paragraph (yes, yes, it might have been a MoCo-heavy ticket and geographic balance is still fairly important).    

Senate 9:  With a number of Republicans losing solid GOP seats in local races in other states, I am wondering if MD SD-9 might become more competitive now (as opposed to 2022 or 2026).  Katie Fry Hester is a good candidate.  And if Reid Novotny weakens, or (can one dream?) defeats, Gail Bates, could the Democrats pick up this primarily Western HoCo (with a slice of Carroll County) district in this cycle with, say, 50.2% of the vote?  It would require a big gain from the last cycle, but 2018 should be a significantly more favorable D environment compared to 2014.

Senate 12: Once this became an open seat with Ed Kasemeyer’s announcement, this one could have gone so many ways.  Yet here we have it: a Clarence Lam – Mary Kay Sigaty primary.  Personally, I think Sigaty (my County Councilperson) has problems in her base.  Had she been eligible and had she run for re-election, I believe she would have had a serious primary challenge on her hands.  She may run well in Howard County, but I think Lam runs essentially even with her in HoCo and carries the (not majority but substantial) part of D12 in Baltimore County by a comfortable margin.  First formal prediction: Lam 56% - Sigaty 44%...and I might be a bit generous to Sigaty here.

Senate 13: Congratulations Senator Guzzone.

House 9A:  3 Democratic challengers facing off against 2 Republican incumbents.  I have heard most about Natalie Ziegler about I am reluctant to comment further on this race at this time.

House 9B:  Daniel Medinger seems like a fine and serious candidate.  That said, I believe Courtney Watson would be a superb Delegate and would be the better Democratic standard-bearer against GOP incumbent Bob Flanagan in the General Election.

House 12:  This one got weird.  Let’s assume that Terri Hill and Eric Ebersole are both well-positioned to win re-election.  Is there a Team 12 slate?  Are there two slates?  Right now, I read the two strongest challengers as Jessica Feldmark and James Howard.  Dario Broccolino has credentials…but I don’t know how he would fare seeking a state legislative office.  This being my home district, I will be commenting on developments frequently.  I am looking forward to receiving and reviewing the completed D12 candidate questionnaires.  Hint hint.  

House 13.  Vanessa Atterbeary is an excellent legislator who works on important issues and deserves re-election.  Shane Pendergrass should win another term and Jen Terrasa – a capable Councilperson who is right on downtown Columbia development issues (comparing favorably to the aforementioned Councilperson Sigaty) – should have the strength to win both the primary and general elections.  Sorry, Larry Pretlow.

Of course, candidates still have a couple of days to withdraw their names.  So there may still be changes hurtling our way.  Stay tuned, etc…

Up next:  Howard County races. 

In solidarity.