Category Archives: Jeff Waldstreicher

Chevy Chase View, Jeff Waldstreicher

Waldstreicher Aide Running in Chevy Chase View

Ardy Kamali, Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher’s legislative aide has now filed to run for the Chevy Chase View town council after failing in his effort to file for delegate at the last minute after Del. Al Carr withdrew from the race. Three candidates are running for the two town council seats. Besides Kamali, Thomas George and incumbent Paula Fudge are seeking election.

Kamali still hasn’t explained how he and another Waldstreicher supporter just happened to learn that Carr had dropped out to file for county council. Hard to imagine that Kamali decided at the last minute to challenge Waldstreicher’s slate. Waldstreicher has not responded to a request for Kamali’s contact information.

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District 18, Jeff Waldstreicher

Waldstreicher Misrepresents

What a difference two letters can make.

In the tweet pictured above, Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher touted that he was “honored to be recognized by Maryland Matters today as a champion of racial justice.”

Except that he wasn’t recognized by Maryland Matters. At most, he was “recognized” in Maryland Matters by the author of a guest opinion piece. It’s like a politician claiming he was endorsed by the Washington Post because a guest columnist wrote a piece saying nice words about him somewhere in the paper.

The opinion piece is also longer on politician speak than concrete evidence. It explains that Jeff Waldstreicher “led” and “fought for” various goals rather than reporting specific bills he passed or how he played a critical role beyond serving as Vice Chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee. You could probably write a similar piece about most Montgomery legislators.

What makes this tweet an especially sorry twisting of the truth is that it served no purpose. There was no material benefit to touting being “honored to be recognized by Maryland Matters” instead of simply thanking the constituent who wrote the piece. Instead of political nous, it shows an odd desperation by a four-term legislator who has raised over $400,000 for his reelection campaign.

Sen. Waldstreicher often likes to say that he is “humbled” when he receives an endorsement. This tweet is humbug, not humble.

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Adam Pagnucco, Dana Beyer, District 18, Jeff Waldstreicher

Luest Asks D18 Candidates to Sign Anti-Waldstreicher Statement

By Adam Pagnucco.

District 18 Delegate candidate Helga Luest, who has accused Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher of asking her to switch races to benefit his Senate candidacy, has circulated a statement against him to other candidates in the district requesting that they sign it.  The deadline she set passed and after the statement leaked to the press, the effort collapsed.

Luest has previously accused Waldstreicher of asking her to run in the Senate race to reduce the chances of rival Dana Beyer of winning.  Waldstreicher replied in Bethesda Magazine, “These claims are false, defamatory, and born of actual malice… When they go low, I go high—standing up for our community’s progressive values, leading the fight for $15 minimum wage, investing in our schools and resisting the Trump administration at every turn.”

Luest then circulated the statement below to the other candidates for Senate and House in District 18, including the two running against Waldstreicher, and asked them to sign it.  We reprint Luest’s proposed statement and her transmittal email below (with the private email addresses of recipients redacted).

Fellow House candidate Joel Rubin pushed back, writing this email to Luest and the other candidates.

Dear Helga – After careful consideration, I’ve decided to neither provide edits to nor sign on to this letter.

I have spent my entire life as a son, brother, grandson, husband, father, nephew, and son-in-law to powerful, smart, amazing women. Professionally, I have dedicated years of my public sector service to programs that advance women’s rights as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Latin America and to women’s economic advancement in the Middle East as a State Department officer. And politically, I have supported women candidates for office both financially and with advice and support. In fact, I was recently endorsed for State Delegate by Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky – the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues.

This is why I’m not signing the letter. Because what I have learned from all these women in my life – not to be bullied – empowers me to say no. Yet that is precisely how you are approaching this letter.

This letter is about an issue that you have with another candidate. You have made your concerns about his behavior clear publicly. And you have gotten significant press coverage about this issue. It is not hidden from public scrutiny. In addition, I have privately spoken with you to express my admiration for your willingness to stand up for yourself on an issue that you find of ethical importance.

Yet instead of making this your own fight, you’re now attempting to re-frame this issue as one about women versus men. And you made it clear in your outreach to me that if I didn’t sign the letter, I would be portrayed as anti-woman. This type of approach undermines your claims of principled behavior. Not only are you using bullying tactics, but you are also engaging in guilt by association and the potential smearing of my reputation because I may not support your personal position expressed in this letter.

I think it’s wrong that someone whom I barely know and met just a couple of months ago on the campaign trail believes that they have the right to define for me what it means to be a supporter of women. My personal and professional track record speaks for itself and runs counter to these claims.

It therefore seems that this letter is more about politics than about principle. It appears to be an attempt to leverage the #MeToo movement for personal political benefit. And that is a real shame.

I prefer to stick to principle when it comes to advancing women’s rights. It is time to build alliances between women and the men who are already on their side.

All the best,

Joel

After Rubin’s email was sent, the statement leaked to the press and Luest’s deadline on Wednesday at 5 PM passed with no consensus.  Then the discussion ended.

We make no judgment on whether Luest’s account or Waldstreicher’s is closer to the truth.  But we understand why Luest’s statement failed to get traction.  In District 18, the House and Senate contests are fundamentally different.  The House race is a popularity contest.  Whichever three candidates have the most appeal for voters will win.  Controversy does not facilitate victory.  The Senate race is going to be a war.  At some point, Beyer and Waldstreicher – neither of whom are the other’s devoted fan – will start launching live fire.  Only the strongest will survive.  Why would the House candidates want to be in the middle of that?

Here is a prediction: this is not the last time we will hear of this.  As Waldstreicher is a three-term House incumbent, he has the advantages of name recognition, constituent service, community relationships and endorsements over Beyer.  Since the two have virtually identical positions on issues, Beyer will seek an edge to make the case that she is a better choice than Waldstreicher despite his twelve years of service.  Luest’s story will therefore live on – in Dana Beyer’s mail.

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Adam Pagnucco, Ben Kramer, Cheryl Kagan, Jeff Waldstreicher, MCEA

MCEA Endorses Kagan, Kramer and Waldstreicher

By Adam Pagnucco.

The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) has endorsed three MoCo Senate candidates: Cheryl Kagan (D-17), Ben Kramer (D-19) and Jeff Waldstreicher (D-18).  Kagan is an incumbent who is running unopposed.  Kramer is a Delegate running for the Senate seat being vacated by Roger Manno, who is running for Congress.  So far, Kramer’s sole opponent is a Green Party member.

Waldstreicher is a Delegate who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Rich Madaleno, who is running for Governor.   Waldstreicher now has the support of MCEA, MCGEO, the Sierra Club, SEIU Local 32BJ, the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Fire Fighters Local 1664 and Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35.  Dana Beyer, his principal opponent, has been endorsed by SEIU Local 500.

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Adam Pagnucco, Dana Beyer, Jeff Waldstreicher, Larry Hogan, Marc Elrich, Marc Korman, Rich Madaleno, Roger Berliner

Top MoCo Fundraisers, January 2018

By Adam Pagnucco.

Recently, we have run several reports on fundraising through January 2018.  This post combines all of our data and presents the top 20 fundraisers in MoCo so far.  Note that we break out self-financing and report totals raised for the cycle, not just totals since the last report.  And… here they are!

A few random thoughts.

1.  It’s natural to expect Brian Frosh and Peter Franchot to be the leaders since they both hold statewide offices.  Of the county-level candidates, Council Member Roger Berliner, who is running for Executive, is number one.

2.  The numbers for Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18), who is running for Governor, are misleading since he will be applying for public matching funds.  Madaleno has said that he anticipates receiving about $975,000 from the state.

3.  Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher (D-18), who is running for Senate, is the leading fundraiser among all of MoCo’s state legislators.  He will need that money against his self-funding rival, Dana Beyer.

4.  County Executive candidate David Blair, gubernatorial candidate Krish Vignarajah, Council District 1 candidate Andrew Friedson and Council At-Large candidate Bill Conway are first-time candidates.  It’s a significant achievement for first-timers to make a list of this kind although it’s somewhat tempered by the self-financing of Blair and Vignarajah.

5.  Delegate Marc Korman (D-16) is the only first-term elected official on this list.  That’s a big deal and a sign of good things to come.

6.  Council Member Marc Elrich, who is running for Executive, has never been on a top fundraising list in his life.  He is now, and that’s thanks to public financing.

7.  Lieutenant Governor candidate Susan Turnbull raised more money in a month and a half of campaigning than half the people on this list did in the entire cycle, a staggering feat.

8.  Governor Larry Hogan has raised more money this cycle ($11.5 million) than everyone on this list combined.

Note: an earlier version of this post mistakenly omitted Turnbull’s results.  We have corrected it to include her.

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Adam Pagnucco, Al Carr, Ben Kramer, Bonnie Cullison, Dana Beyer, District 18, District 19, Jeff Waldstreicher

Campaign Finance Reports: Districts 18 and 19, January 2018

By Adam Pagnucco.

District 18

Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher has posted a strong financial performance in his run to succeed Senator Rich Madaleno.  He has raised more money over the cycle and has more cash on hand than any other state legislator in the county.  But Dana Beyer has spent nearly a half million dollars of her own money in her three prior races and could spend a whole lot more.  Beyer told Bethesda Magazine “she does not plan to self-finance this year’s Senate bid” but still gave her campaign $109,100.  While Waldstreicher’s cash on hand advantage is substantial, Beyer could erase it with one check.

The recent endorsement by SEIU Local 500 of Beyer may have a big impact on this race.  Prior to that, Waldstreicher could make the case to other progressive endorsing organizations that as a three-term incumbent running against someone who was for 0-3 in elections (two running against him) that he would have a big edge and was the safe pick.  But SEIU is a huge player and brings credibility to Beyer’s run.  Now the endorsing groups may be more likely to evaluate the two against each other on a level playing field and see Beyer as a true alternative.  Our prediction is that this will not be the last significant endorsement that Beyer receives.

The Delegate race is just as interesting.  Incumbent Al Carr had the most raised over the cycle but also has a huge burn rate (81%).  He trails Mila Johns and Jared Solomon in cash on hand.  Johns leads in cash position (boosted by her $100,000 loan to her campaign) while Solomon led the non-incumbents in fundraising from others ($42,011).  Emily Shetty has been a prominent local player since her fourth place finish last time, joining the county’s Democratic Central Committee and doing work with Action Committee for Transit and her former civic association.  But she doesn’t want to trail in money behind Carr, Johns and Solomon to the extent she is now.  Town of Chevy Chase Council Member Joel Rubin’s cash balance is deceptively low since he began campaigning in November and raised $269,845 in his 2016 run for Congress.  Leslie Milano created her campaign account too late to file a January report but says she plans to raise $150,000.  Helga Luest was also a late starter.  Normally, the only incumbent in a race like this – in this case, it’s Carr – would be favored for reelection.  But the challengers are a pack of hungry wolves and Carr is going to have to work to keep his seat.

The Big Question: will there be competing slates in this district?  Both Beyer and Waldstreicher have money, which is much needed by all the House candidates.  Our prediction is that any move to set up a slate by either Beyer or Waldstreicher will provoke the other side to unify too.  Competing slates aligned with contested Senate races were common in District 18 decades ago and another one could really scramble this election.

The Other Big Question: will Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez stay in the Council District 1 race, where she has not qualified for public matching funds and ranks a distant fifth in cash on hand, or will she return to the District 18 House race?

District 19

With the departure of Senator Roger Manno, who is running for Congress in District 6, Delegate Ben Kramer will become the next Senator and the dominant politician in the district.  Kramer, who was first elected to the House in 2006, is known for his work on senior issues and public safety, and has been a true hero in his efforts to crack down on drunk driving.  He has an absolute lockdown on Leisure World and Kemp Mill, two vital power centers in the district.  Kramer is not universally beloved, but he is well respected and no other politicians will mess with him.  In politics, that is enough!

The two incumbent Delegates, Bonnie Cullison and Marice Morales, will sweep virtually all the progressive endorsements and be reelected.  As for the seat being vacated by Kramer, the simple view is that former Raskin campaign aide Vaughn Stewart, who totally smoked the field (including the incumbents) in fundraising, will win it.  But the race may not be that simple.  MCDCC Member and labor attorney Marlin Jenkins did reasonably well in fundraising and should get a lot of labor support.  And attorney Charlotte Crutchfield, who barely lost to Morales for the open House seat in 2014, is running again.

Crutchfield is not a strong fundraiser, having collected just $11,960 from others last time while self-financing $44,149.  But she has a long history in the district and Kramer formed a slate with her in 2014.  Manno endorsed Morales, his former legislative aide, and Morales won by 382 votes.  Crutchfield filed an affidavit as her January report but her new campaign has just started.

The Big Question: will Kramer team up with Crutchfield again?  And if he does, will Cullison and Morales also join in?

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Adam Pagnucco, Dana Beyer, District 18, Jeff Waldstreicher

District 18 Senate Battle by the Numbers

By Adam Pagnucco.

Last week, David Lublin broke the news that former District 18 candidate Dana Beyer is planning to run for Senate against Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher.  Both Beyer and Waldstreicher have run three times in the district.  Let’s see how their past performances stack up.

Electoral Results  

Beyer and Waldstreicher first ran for office in 2006 when both ran for the House.  Waldstreicher, aided greatly by the Apple Ballot, won a close contest with attorney Dan Farrington to claim the open seat vacated by Rich Madaleno.  Beyer ran a credible campaign but finished fifth of eight candidates.  Waldstreicher would never be seriously threatened in his two reelection contests while Beyer lost another House race in 2010 and a Senate challenge to Madaleno in 2014.  One fact apparent in the electoral data is that Waldstreicher’s performance has improved over the years while Beyer has consistently received between 5,000 and 5,500 votes.

Fundraising

In 2006, both Waldstreicher and Beyer were primarily self-financed candidates.  Since then, Waldstreicher has successfully raised outside money while Beyer has continued to mostly self-fund.  Beyer’s loans to her 2014 campaign against Madaleno constituted one of the largest self-financing performances in the history of MoCo General Assembly elections.  Drawing on her own money, she is easily capable of matching Waldstreicher dollar for dollar.

Major Endorsements

Waldstreicher has been endorsed by virtually every major progressive group over the course of his career as well as by the Washington Post in 2014 and the Gazette in 2010 and 2014.  Beyer was endorsed by the Post, the Gazette and Equality Maryland in 2010 and by MCGEO in 2010 and 2014.

Beyer vs Madaleno for Senate

In 2014, Beyer ran against incumbent Rich Madaleno for Senate.  It was a steep uphill climb.  Madaleno is beloved by nearly all District 18 activists and is arguably the most prominent Senator in the district’s history other than the immortal Chris Van Hollen.  Despite all of that, Beyer lost by a 58-42% margin, coming closer to winning than many people believed she would.  She outraised the incumbent by more than 2-1 (if you count her epic self-financing), won the precincts in Rockville and Wheaton and was competitive in Silver Spring and Garrett Park.  Her loss was due to Madaleno running up margins of close to 30 points along Connecticut Avenue.  Still, this was a loss and not a disaster.

So what does all of this mean?  Your author agrees with David Lublin and sees Jeff Waldstreicher as the favorite in this race.  He owns most of the advantages that come with incumbency: fundraising capability in Annapolis (especially with those who have business before his powerful House Economic Matters committee), relationships in the district built through constituent service and relationships with many influential progressive groups who have endorsed him in the past.  He is also a hardworking, adept campaigner who has survived three straight competitive elections.

But Dana Beyer will present a real challenge.  She could wind up spending more than Waldstreicher due to her self-funding capacity.  She has shown some strength in the less wealthy parts of District 18.  And she is more than willing to get tough to win, burying Madaleno in waves of negative mail in 2014.  She is definitely going to bring it against Waldstreicher.

This is gonna be one hell of a race!

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District 18, Jeff Waldstreicher

Waldstreicher Announces Supporter List for Senate

Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher has announced his suppporter list for his run for State Senate in District 18.  His press release appears below.

*****

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WALDSTREICHER RELEASES LIST OF COMMUNITY LEADERS IN SUPPORT OF STATE SENATE CAMPAIGN

KENSINGTON, Md., July 27, 2017 — Today, Maryland Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher, a Democrat, released a list of community leaders supporting his campaign for State Senate.  The release follows Waldstreicher’s official announcement that he is running for State Senate, which occurred last week.  The senate seat is being vacated by Sen. Rich Madaleno, who formally announced his candidacy for Governor.

“The list of key supporters is a diverse one,” said Henriot St. Gerard, a community activist in Wheaton.  “African American, Latino, Asian American, disabled, and LGBT leaders are well represented.  The list includes men and women from all corners of Legislative District 18, including Wheaton, Silver Spring, Lyttonsville, Kensington, Chevy Chase, Rockville, Garrett Park, and Bethesda.”

Waldstreicher stated: “I’m humbled that these community leaders are supporting my campaign for State Senate.  These diverse activists represent a broad racial and geographic cross-section of our County.  Together, we’ll join together to fight for our community’s values, stand up for justice, and resist the Trump administration at every turn.”

The full list of supporters, which also includes important leaders from outside District 18, follows:

Allison L. Alexander, Kensington

Linda Amendt, Wheaton

Loretta Argrett, Silver Spring

William Astrove

Anne Balcer, Kensington

Mackie Barch, Kensington

Valarie Barr & Roger Paden, Silver Spring

Marilyn Bracken, Chevy Chase

Jennifer Burton, Chevy Chase

Mollie Byron

Jessica Chertow, Kensington

Charlotte Coffield, Lyttonsville

Gail Dalferes & Bailey Condrey, Kensington

Vinny DeMarco

Eden Durbin, Kensington

Susie Eig

Susan Esserman

Amanda Farber, Bethesda

Leslie Fried, Kensington

Marian Fryer, Wheaton

Tracey Furman, Kensington

Susie & Michael Gelman, Chevy Chase

Aviva Goldfarb, Chevy Chase

Natali Fani Gonzalez

Henry Hailstock

Karen Jackson-Knight

Devala Janardan, Wheaton

Brian Kildee, Silver Spring

Steve Lawton, Chevy Chase

Minh Le, Chevy Chase

Sean McMullen, Kensington

Sara Moskowitz, Rockville

Jen Pauliukonis

Kim Persaud, Wheaton

Erwin Rose, Silver Spring

Abe Saffer, Silver Spring

Esther Schrader, Chevy Chase

Joyce Schwartz, Chevy Chase

Jenilee Keefe Singer, Chevy Chase

Aimee Smart & Shefa Gordon, Silver Spring

Henriot St. Gerard, Wheaton

Jennifer Stein, Chevy Chase

Alec Stone

Paul Tiao, Kensington

Matt Tifford, Rockville

Sylvia Tognetti & Thomas Colbert, Silver Spring

Pat Tyson, Lyttonsville

Marisa Van Saanen, Bethesda

Lorna Virgili & Daniel Menendez, Wheaton

Janet Wegner, Garrett Park

Carrie Witkop, Chevy Chase

Janet Yu, Wheaton

#  #  #

Press Contact:

Name:  Duwane Rager

Email:  Duwane.Rager@gmail.com

About Jeff Waldstreicher:

Elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2010 & 2014, Delegate Jeff Waldstreicher represents Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington, Silver Spring, Lyttonsville, Wheaton, Rockville, and Garrett Park.  A Democrat, he is Chair of both the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and the Special Committee on Alcohol Abuse.  He authored landmark legislation to end the subminimum wage for people with disabilities, and was a leader in the historic fights to recognize gay marriage and end the death penalty.  Recently, he has been at the forefront of resisting the Trump administration.  Born and raised in Montgomery County, he lives with his wife and three young children in Kensington.

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Jeff Waldstreicher

Del. Waldstreicher Staying Put–Not Running for Congress

The following is a preview of an email that Jeff is sending out later today:

waldstreicher

I was born and raised right here in Montgomery County.  I love this place, and I’m proud to raise my family here.  But as I sat down to write you this email about an important decision I’ve made, I realized how illustrative the past few days of my life have been when it comes to the challenges we face here together.

On Sunday, I took my twins to a playdate for incoming Kindergartners at our local public school.  What I saw there was the best of our community: parents caring deeply about their children, meeting each other with neighborliness, and facing the future with the all-in-this-together spirit that makes Montgomery County so wonderful.

But we were also struck by the number of portable classrooms that shadowed the event, potent symbols of the challenges our County faces.  And come Fall, whether inside the school or outside, those classrooms will be filled to the brim with 25-28 children, including my own.  We can do better.

On Monday, I took the Metro to work as usual.  The ride was quick, uneventful, and shared with folks like me who prefer a less stressful, more environmentally friendly way to commute.  The return trip, however, was a disaster. Sardine-packed trains unloaded onto dangerously crowded platforms as delays mounted upon single-tracked delays.  We must do better.

I am NOT running for Congress–I love this County and have too much work to do locally.  I want to thank the many friends, family members, and business & labor leaders who enthusiastically asked me to put my name forward.  Your phone calls and emails were overwhelming and truly humbling.  I have no doubt that this opportunity may yet arise again.

For me, now is the time to double down on making Montgomery County better: investing in our local schools, fixing our local transportation system, and fighting for an economy that works for local families.  I love this place we all call home.  If you do, too, I hope you’ll join me once more.

Yours,
Jeff Waldstreicher

See Red Line Rush Hour Fail for more information on the Metro disaster that Jeff references.

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