A question for my MoCo readers (and/or those with an
interest in MoCo politics), what are your thoughts on the Democratic primary
for the Montgomery County Council (At Large) race? With 33 candidates angling to be one of only four
with tickets to the General Election, I am fascinated by the dynamics of this
campaign.
By my count, there are at least 23 varying-degrees-of-serious
candidacies. Moreover, even several of the
less promising efforts involve individuals with legitimate credentials.
Organization, the ability to project coherent and compelling
messaging, and the ability to turnout voters are going to be (as they generally
are in County-wide primaries) essential.
The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) has endorsed three
candidates: Brandy Brooks, Chris Wilhelm, and Will Jawando. If I were
still residing in MoCo, I would almost definitely vote for Brooks and Wilhelm
and I would probably vote for Jawando. Jawando
has solid qualifications and, frankly, he needs a W to avoid falling into the “frequent
candidate” category.
The one incumbent running for re-election, Hans Riemer, should be a mortal lock
for a top four finish…should be. Twice
elected to the County Council, he has solid Name ID. He placed third in the Democratic primary in
2014, behind Marc Elrich and Nancy Floreen and ahead of George Leventhal, so he
is a proven vote-getter. And he has some
cash in the bank.
The decision by Jill
Ortman-Fouse to run for County Council instead of seeking re-election to
the Board of Education, in my outsider-y estimation, shook up the field. Many
voters won’t pick more than three candidates and I can see her garnering a
substantial number of “top 3” votes. She, like Riemer, ran and won County-wide in
2014 (albeit for a different office).
She tallied 95,900 votes (51.7%) in a hard-fought and high-profile BoE race
against Shebra Evans (47.8%).
So what do you think? Feel free to post your ruminations or email
them to me directly.
In solidarity.
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