Tag Archives: Al Carr

District 18

D18 Forum Tonight for Open Nomination

It has been a busy weekend in Legislative District 18, where Del. Al Carr’s surprise last minute decision not to seek reelection has left open a vacant nomination.

Maryland Matters reported the drama as two candidates tried unsuccessfully to register for the vacancy at the last minute. Ardy Kamali, the Legislative Director for Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher’s office, arrived in time to file but lacked the required Treasurer. Town of Chevy Chase Councilmember Joel Rubin, also a Waldstreicher supporter, arrived moments too late.

No one else interested in the seat heard about the vacancy in time. Waldstreicher would certainly benefit if an ally rather than a potential challenger took the seat. MM Editor-in-Chief Danielle Gaines captured an incredible photo of Kamali fruitlessly trying to register as Rubin stood just outside of the locked door.

If Kamali or Rubin want to run in what is effectively the oddest race for a full delegate term being held this year, they’ll now have to apply to the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC), which can fill the vacant nomination. MCDCC has to make the appointment on Tuesday night.

The District 18 Democratic Caucus has organized a candidate forum for Monday night that will be moderated by Danielle Gaines. You can register to watch by going to bit.ly/d18-04-18. Kudos to the Caucus for organizing the forum.

So who is running? Or rumored to be running? Candidates have until 11:59pm on Monday to submit a cover letter and resume to MCDCC, so we won’t even necessarily know all the candidates in advance of the forum. But here are some of the names being floated:

Shruti Bhatnagar. She is an appointed member of MCDCC and a member of the Maryland Democratic Party Executive Committee. Bhatnagar ran for an at-large county council seat in 2018 and came in fifteenth in the Democratic primary with 2.1% of the vote (equivalent to 8.4% if you assume that everyone voted for four candidates). She is a past chair of the Montgomery County Group of the Sierra Club and the D18 Democratic Caucus.

Aaron Kaufman was elected to MCDCC in 2018 and chairs its Issues Committee. He is a Senior Legislative Associate at the Jewish Federations of North America. Long active in District 18, he is best known as an advocate for disability rights and inclusion. Way back in 2007, when this blog was called Maryland Politics Watch, I published his testimony on a bill on health insurance before the General Assembly. Then Sen. Richard Madaleno said “you could have heard a pin drop while he spoke” and that “he really had an impact.”

Michael Tardif was appointed relatively recently to MCDCC but has been organizing and greatly improving their communications over the past two years. An architect, Tardif is the managing partner of Building Informatics Group. Tardif was named Democrat of the Year at the Montgomery County Democratic Party Gala in 2021. He has served on the Host Committee of a fundraiser for Max Socol, Waldstreicher’s challenger. Active in the LGBTQ Caucus, he joined Socol in calling for stronger police reforms.  

Leslie Milano ran for the House of Delegates four years ago and came in fourth in the Democratic primary with 14.2% of the vote, 1,557 behind now Del. Jared Solomon. Currently, she is President of the Montgomery County Women’s Democratic Club. She is the Chief Executive Officer at APIC Consulting Services, which specializes in “infection prevention and control solutions.”

Joel Rubin is a Town of Chevy Chase councilmember, an office he won unopposed three times. He ran for the House of Delegates in 2018 and placed fifth with 11.2% or 2,011 votes out of the money. In 2016, he ran for the open Eighth CD and won only 1.1% or 1,426 votes. A former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and frequent media commentator, Rubin has also worked at J-Street, as Bernie Sanders’s Jewish liaison in 2020, and is now Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress.

Other people mentioned include Max Socol and Natali Fani-Gonzalez, though I expect both candidates to stick with their current races.

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Al Carr, District 18, MCDCC

MCDCC to Fill Vacant D18 Delegate Nomination

In the wake of Del. Al Carr’s decision to seek election to the county council rather than reelection, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee is moving to fill the vacant nomination:

NOTICE OF VACANCY IN CANDIDACY FOR STATE DELEGATE, DISTRICT 18

The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC) will meet at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, April 19, 2022, via Zoom Meeting to interview candidates to fill the vacancy in candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates created by the withdrawal of Delegate Al Carr as a candidate for re-election from Legislative District 18. Delegate Carr has instead filed to run for election to the Montgomery County Council, District 4.

The MCDCC derives its authority to fill this vacancy in candidacy from the Maryland Elections Code, § 5-901 [2002] and from the Rules of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee as last amended May 12, 2021.

By order of the Maryland Court of Appeals dated March 15, 2022, the MCDCC must fill the vacancy in candidacy no later than Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

Candidates should submit a cover letter and resume by email to office@mcdcc.org no later than 11:59 pm, Monday, April 18, 2022, with the subject line Application for Vacancy in Candidacy, District 18 Delegate.

Candidates should also provide their current home address or legal residence.

An applicant must be a registered Democratic voter in the State of Maryland, a resident of Legislative District 18, and have attained the age of 21 years.

Candidates who meet the above qualifications will be invited to make introductory statements at the April 19 meeting, to be followed by questions posed to the candidates by members of the Central Committee

The Central Committee will vote publicly to fill the vacancy immediately after concluding the interviews.

The April 19 meeting will be conducted via Zoom Meeting and will be open to the public. Any person wishing to attend must register in advance at bit.ly/mcdcc-04-19. Registrants will receive an auto-reply email with the Zoom Meeting link.

Please email any questions to office@mcdcc.org.

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2022 Democratic Primary, District 18, Montgomery Council District 4

Del. Al Carr Jumps in Council Race, Leaves Vacancy

Even as Tom Hucker (D-5) was abandoning his quixotic county executive bid, Del. Al Carr (D-18) jumped from a safe, unopposed re-election to one of the three delegate seats in his district to the District 4 Council race.

He joins Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart and Friends of White Flint Executive Director Amy Ginsburg among others in that contest for this seat extending from White Flint through Kensington to Takoma Park. Carr is a former Kensington Town Councilmember.

Does this mean District 18 will have a Republican delegate? One Republican did file. However, party central committees can fill vacant nominations. Unhappily, this means that the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee will choose D18’s next delegate.

The big winners from this are Dels. Jared Solomon and Emily Shetty, who will not face a contested primary. The big losers are other potential candidates and the voters. Instead of an open contest with many candidates who would likely try to fill a vacancy, D18 voters will see MCDCC members from all over the county choose their next delegate.

Among others, Max Socol, Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher’s challenger could seek the seat. I doubt that will happen for several reasons. While Sen. Waldstreicher would likely love to dispense with a tough challenger, he’s hardly likely to set him up to dog him in the General Assembly for four years and would oppose it from behind the scenes. Socol also seems very focused on unseating Waldstreicher, though an easy seat in the House of Delegates is appealing.

Finally, the extremely identity conscious MCDCC is likely to think hard before replacing an African American delegate with a white male. Natali Fani-Gonzalez, who served on the Planning Board and ran a respectable race for delegate four years ago would be a strong candidate. But she seems all in on her own race for County Council in District 6.

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Ethics, Montgomery County Planning Board

Planning Board Violated Open Meetings Act

Like many institutions, the Montgomery County Planning Board has taken to holding meetings online during the pandemic. Incredibly, they chose not to give public notice about how members of the public could attend the meeting online.

Del. Al Carr (D-18) filed a complaint on November 1 alleging that the Development Review Committee (DRC) of the Montgomery County Planning Board repeatedly violated the Open Meetings Act by failing to provide the public this information.

Unbelievably, the Planning Board Counsel, overseen by Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson, defended this decision as acceptable because there was no physical location for the meetings:

Since March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DRC meetings have been held via Microsoft Teams. Someone wishing to join the Teams meeting would call the Information Counter (number provided on the website) and request to be added to the Teams meeting. There was no in-person option so no “location” was required.

The Open Meetings Compliance Board did not agree:

We believe the DRC construes the Act’s notice requirement too narrowly. The purpose of § 3-302(b)(2) is to ensure that members of the public who would like to attend a public body’s meeting have enough information to be able to do so.

An individual cannot attend a meeting without knowing where the meeting will take place. And while a virtual meeting may not happen in a physical location in the traditional sense, a person hoping to attend the meeting must still know where to go to observe the public body’s business. . .

The notices further indicated that “project applicants and their team” would receive information about “how to participate in the DRC meeting[s]” remotely. But the notices gave no indication of how an interested member of the public could obtain access information for the meeting. In its response, the DRC asserts that “[s]omeone wishing to join [a] Teams meeting would call the Information Counter” and “request to be added to the Teams meeting.” But the DRC fails to explain how an individual interested in attending such a meeting would even know to call “the Information Counter” or where to find that number, as such details are missing from the meeting notices.

Notice that the Board not only called out the Planning Board for failing to provide the information but also for their disingenuous claim that members of the public would somehow magically know to call the Information Center to be added to the meeting.

As with M-NCPPC’s complete ignoring of lobbying disclosure requirements and failure to address this ongoing violation despite their assurances, the Planning Board’s failure shows contempt for ethics laws and the public that they are supposed to serve.

In this case, the Planning Board finally altered its behavior in response to Del. Carr’s complaint But it should not take action by a member of the General Assembly for the Montgomery County Planning Board and M-NCPPC to comply with ethics laws.

And why didn’t the County Council, which has responsibility for appointing and overseeing the Planning Board, take action? Or do they condone this illegal nexus between the Board and the interests that they are supposed to regulate.

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Adam Pagnucco, Al Carr, Craig Zucker, taxes

Zucker and Carr Give Hope to MoCo Property Tax Victims

By Adam Pagnucco.

Last fall, I wrote about a bombshell General Assembly audit of the State Department of Assessments and Taxation which found that the agency had miscalculated property taxes for thousands of MoCo home owners. As a result, some home owners had been overcharged property taxes for years. The agency’s response was to deny that its prior practice was inaccurate but also to change its methodology going forward. Overcharged home owners would then get no refunds for past overpayments.

That wasn’t good enough for Senator Craig Zucker (D-14) and Delegate Al Carr (D-18), who each represent parts of Montgomery County. They introduced legislation that would enshrine the new tax calculation methodology in law and would provide three years of refunds to affected home owners. One of the best parts of the bill is that the burden is placed on the state, not the home owners, to calculate and apply the refunds. The fiscal note states:

For taxable years beginning after June 30, 2017, but before July 1, 2021, the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) must determine whether a homeowner is owed a refund of property taxes paid by the homeowner as a result of the changes made to the calculation of the homeowners’ property tax credit by the bill and if so, the amount of the refund owed.

SDAT must notify the homeowner and the county within which the homeowner’s dwelling is located of the amount of the refund. Upon certification by SDAT, the Comptroller must pay eligible homeowners the amount of the refund from the Local Reserve Account.

Every MoCo state senator co-sponsored the bill. MoCo delegates co-sponsoring the house version include Carr (the lead sponsor), Charlotte Crutchfield (D-19), Julie Palakovich Carr (D-17) and Jared Solomon (D-18). Because the problem also affected Baltimore City, several city lawmakers co-sponsored the bill as did a number of Republicans.

The bill’s senate version passed the senate on a unanimous 47-0 vote yesterday. It now proceeds to the House Ways and Means Committee, which is chaired by MoCo Delegate Anne Kaiser (D-14). Please look favorably on this bill, Delegate Kaiser!

Thank you to Senator Zucker, Delegate Carr and all others who are standing up for their constituents by supporting this legislation.

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Montgomery County Planning Board

Lucrative Waiver to Chevy Chase Land Company Scrutinized

Today, I am pleased to present a guest post from Del. Al Carr (D-18) on an issue that the Planning Board is taking up today.

The Montgomery County Council approved the Chevy Chase Lake Sector Plan in 2013 after a lengthy process of gathering public input.

The plan contains environmental provisions requiring developers to restore the local tree canopy which has been ravaged over the years by road construction, development, Pepco, and clear cutting for the Purple Line. It requires that utility wires be buried allowing for the planting of large overstory trees. A healthy tree canopy is vital to protecting water quality in Rock Creek and its tributaries.

Unfortunately, the Montgomery County Planning Board quietly waived these environmental provisions for the well-connected developer in 2017. The developer successfully lobbied to be released from the requirement to bury the wires on the east side of Connecticut Ave. As a result, the developer is not planting tall overstory street trees on Connecticut Ave and Manor Rd to maximize the restoration of the tree canopy.

In the 2017 staff report, planning staff used the following rationale when recommending the waiver: “Although undergrounding of utilities is typically required for site plan applications in Chevy Chase  Lake Sector Plan area, this application is not required to do so because the electrical utilities along the property frontage are high-voltage transmission lines that are not routinely buried.”

However the exact same “high-voltage transmission line” was recently buried immediately to the south where the purple line bridge will cross Connecticut Ave. Identical lines are routinely being buried in the county including in Silver Spring (Linden to Sligo project) and in White Flint (new substation).

There is a long-shot opportunity to correct this mistake when that same developer returns to the Planning Board on July 23rd for amendments to their plan. The Planning Board has the opportunity at that meeting to mandate that the wires be buried at the developer’s expense and that tall overstory trees be planted where possible along the site frontage on Connecticut Ave and Manor Rd.

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Adam Pagnucco, District 18

On the District 18 House Race

By David Lublin and Adam Pagnucco.

Folks, this is an unusual joint post from the two of us.  David and Adam both live in District 18 and we’ve seen a lot of action here over the last few cycles, so we decided to write this one together.  Each of our remarks are labeled so you know who is saying what.  We begin by printing the June financial summary and the endorsements below.  We include the Senate candidates in that data but today’s post is on the House race.

Update: The original totals we reported for Emily Shetty were incorrrect.  The correct ones are below.

David

District 18 is blessed with eight (count ‘em!) candidates for the three delegate seats. How is the race shaping up as we head into Election Day?

Helga Luest created one of the real moments of the campaign when she attacked Del. Jeff Waldstreicher, a candidate for Senate, as sexist for trying to recruit her into the Senate race. Her “low carb” campaign is catchy but makes me think about the Atkins Diet rather than carbon emissions and the environment.

Regardless, Helga is not likely to come in the money because she just hasn’t raised enough of it to engage in sufficient voter contact. Ron Franks has run an earnest campaign and made a positive impression on voters who have met or seen him but faces the same fundamental problem. Like Helga, Ron has raised less than $15K, which is just not enough to win.

That leaves six other candidates, including incumbent Del. Al Carr. (Disclosure: I am supporting Al.) Maryland Matters sees Al as highly vulnerable, pointing to his past victories as part of a slate and that he has raised less money than several other aggressive, hungry candidates.

I see it differently. Though he has less money, he has raised just a hair under $100K, plenty of money for a delegate race and well over the threshold needed for sufficient voter contact. A former municipal official, Al has cultivated a network of support among local municipal, civic and environmental activists.

This is Al’s fourth time on the ballot with two previous victories under his belt, so he has greater name recognition. I also note that Al has managed to do just fine even when opposed by the Washington Post and the Post isn’t making endorsements this year. Finally, he has far more endorsements than the other candidates. In a crowded race, he has consistent support.

Adam

I agree with David that Helga Luest and Ron Franks don’t have the resources to compete.  I think Al Carr will probably win but I am less confident of that than David.  In 2010 and 2014, Al ran as part of a united slate of incumbents headed by Senator Rich Madaleno.  (I was the slate Treasurer from 2008 through 2012.)  In the one race that he ran by himself – 2006 – he finished seventh of eight.  Times are different now because Al is the only incumbent running for one of three seats.  That’s a huge advantage.  But the Delegate field is very strong this year with several well-financed and hungry new candidates.  I think Al will win but if he doesn’t I won’t be shocked.

David

Emily Shetty came in a strong fourth in 2014 and worked very hard to maintain visibility since the last election. She was a leader in the D18 Democratic Caucus and now on MCDCC as a gender-balance appointee. She has raised more than last time, though less than anyone besides Luest or Franks, and doesn’t face a slate of incumbents. Emily has tried to position herself as left wing and a new mom, succeeding better at the latter.

Word on the street is that Emily has been working very hard at the doors and run a good, focused campaign. Though she missed out on the Apple Ballot, Emily has secured a number of nice endorsements, partly because organizations perceive her as a likely winner. The one major downside: she was endorsed by the Washington Post last time and used the endorsement well to close strong. She won’t have that advantage this time.

By all rights, Leslie Milano ought to be out of the mix. She entered the race late, has fewer endorsements and has raised less money than all but Shetty, Franks and Luest. Nevertheless, Leslie has managed to make herself a strong contender. Though still relatively young, she is a bit older than several candidates and has made a consistent impression as someone with a real edge in terms of experience and maturity. Combined with authenticity, she strikes many voters as trustworthy and with the potential to be a strong delegate. At least in my area, she has sent out unusually strong neighbor letters with grassroots support. Still, she is making up ground.

Adam

I like Emily and Leslie very much.  Emily should be a model for politicians who lose their first race.  The temptation is to say, “Never again!” and go back to a sane life.  That’s totally understandable!  But Emily decided to stay involved, joining the Central Committee and working with both Action Committee for Transit and the Wheaton Hills Civic Association.  She has many more relationships now than when she first ran and is a stronger candidate.  I think she will win.

Leslie is one of my favorite new candidates in the entire county.  She is a very smart, charismatic and experienced person who is also a hard worker and a good listener.  Most of my friends in the D18 activist community love her to death.  She’s also versatile.  If you’re a progressive, you will love her work to pressure sweatshops to clean up their acts earlier in her career.  If you’re more of a moderate, you will love her emphasis on jobs and the economy.  But as David noted, she got in late and that hurt her ability to garner institutional endorsements.  If Leslie doesn’t win this time, I would like to see her come back and try again.

David

Jared Solomon is a young teacher and I hear repeated whispers from many that he’s extremely nice and seems on track to win one of the delegate seats. While his fundraising is lower than some at $93K, it is certainly well above the threshold for a strong campaign and Jared has run a very hard, engaging campaign. Among the non-incumbents, only Emily can go toe-to-toe in endorsements and he is on the Apple Ballot.

If this election were about signs and money, Joel Rubin would win a walk. In the Town of Chevy Chase, where he won election to the Town Council in 2017, I see about twenty of his signs as I walk into Bethesda. At $152K, he has also raised more money than anyone else in the field. As my mailbox indicates, he is closing with a lot of mail. A former political appointee in the State Department, Joel has real communication skills and a lot of foreign policy experience.

Joel sought the Democratic nomination for Congress in 2016. In terms of votes, it didn’t go well but he acquitted himself well and it turns out his donors were still ready to help fund his state legislative campaign just two years later. This previous campaign expanded his name recognition but his emphasis on national politics, including in some campaign videos, and running for offices at different levels of government, may not play well with all voters. On the other hand, his videos about his family are among the best and a great, authentic American story. He’s on the Apple Ballot but has few other endorsements from groups.

Mila Johns has made a real presence on social media. She speaks her mind both on Facebook and in forums, coming across as an opinionated, honest, straight shooter – welcome characteristics in an age where people are tired of canned politicians. At the same time, though social media is important, nothing beats meeting voters and our Facebook circles are often tighter loops than we realize.

Mila is also just a bit behind Joel in terms of having raised money and started sending mail out earlier than other candidates (i.e. before we started getting ten pieces a day). Like Leslie, she could use a few more endorsements but has accomplished the difficult feat of standing out in a crowded field in a very busy election year.

Adam

Jared is one of the strongest candidates in the race.  He has done everything right – he’s on more doors than an encyclopedia salesman, he makes a great impression, he has raised decent money and he has a bunch of endorsements.  He is also the only candidate who has ever mailed me a personal, handwritten thank you letter after a round of drinks.  I love old school manners like that!  Mila and Joel are good candidates who have enough money and support to be in the mix too.

Overall, this field is outstanding and is a result of the electoral spigot finally opening after three straight terms of the same four incumbents.  I wouldn’t trade our House candidates with any other district in the state.  I expect Emily, Jared and Al to win with Leslie having a chance to break through and Mila and Joel also getting big shares of votes.

David

This is a great field of candidates and District 18 is guaranteed to have turnover in at least one-half of its state legislative delegation. The newbies may be in office a long time, so make your choices thoughtfully.

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District 18

Telling Them Apart

Last night, your scribe attended and live tweeted the District 18 state legislative debate sponsored by the District 18 Democratic Caucus. Though policy differences continue to be somewhat hard to find, voters could still glean much from what was said–and not said–as well as about the style and experience of the candidates.

State Senate Candidates

Dana Beyer possesses limitless self-confidence often associated with doctors. At one point, she tried to tell Moderator Charles Duffy how to conduct the debate. Highly intelligent, her most thoughtful response was about how the General Assembly’s first priority ought to be to undergird the healthcare system against federal attacks.

Towards the end of the debate, Dana declared that there is almost no policy diversity among the candidates, so voters need to elect someone who can bring the delegation together and lead. Unfortunately, she has a well-earned reputation of not working well with others.

While Dana gave voters a real opportunity to learn her views on a range of issues, Jeff Waldstreicher was reticent to the point of not speaking for the first 75 minutes. Loathe to say anything divisive, Jeff passed on opportunities to outline his views on issues such as liquor decontrol or single-payer healthcare.

Jeff finally spoke up to tout past and expected gun control legislation. A classic example of what political scientists call “credit claiming,” he steered clear of the more divisive issue of armed guards in schools. Complimenting Del. Al Carr’s work effusively, Jeff wooed his support. Jeff’s strategy is seemingly to avoid alienating any voters and run a focused “positive campaign” that ignores his challengers.

This was my first view of Michelle Carhart, the owner of a local chain of children’s gyms who jumped into the race at the last moment. Much less the pol than her two opponents, she came to the debate with the perspective of a local business owner who sees a need for both less bureaucracy and progressive change.

She complained about property taxes, and favors training over handouts as more useful and less demeaning. She argued that everyone should have to pay something for healthcare, so they’d have some skin in the game. Michelle has a lot to learn about public policy but could appeal to people looking for an ordinary citizen rather than a more practiced politician.

House of Delegates Candidates

Incumbent Del. Al Carr (who I support) demonstrated his comfortable policy knowledge on a number of issues and self-deprecatingly to laughter from the audience asked voters to send him as a “grizzled veteran” back to Annapolis after complimenting the strengths of the other candidates. He continues to emphasize the environment and climate change as a critical issue.

Since her respectable loss four-years ago in the primary, Emily Shetty has worked hard to position herself for this race by chairing the D18 Caucus and serving on the central committee. Among the most eloquent candidates, she advocated firmly for single-payer health care and is able to discuss the subject more fluently than many experienced legislators.

One of my favorite moments was when Ron Franks argued against the prevailing wisdom on police officers in schools. Making the case for people with diverse experiences by applying his own, he made a good argument that police officers serve as valuable role models and revealed a willingness to dissent thoughtfully.

Mila Johns stood out as someone unafraid to say what she thinks. In particular, when other candidates held back initially, she stated that the county should gradually get out of the liquor business because it’s killing off restaurants. She also advocated for making it easier for seniors to age in their own homes and death with dignity.

Joel Rubin highlighted his experience as an elected local official and seasoned policy advocate who has the communication skills and knowledge to fight for progressive ideals. Living with his mother-in-law (lovely woman, I’ve met her), he argued for incentives for multi-generational housing as one component to addressing senior living.

Helga Luest did not reprise her accusations against Jeff Waldstreicher at the debate. Speaking as the survivor of a murder attempt, she argued passionately for a trauma-centered approach and greater community connectivity to help address issues from kids prone to gun violence to isolated seniors. She believes a delegate should engage on leadership at the community level as well as outside the general assembly.

Jared Solomon’s answers gave the impression of someone who has studied the issues hard and would listen well but advocate forcefully. Labor should appreciate his advocacy of labor agreements as part of business incentive packages. He said education was his #1 priority. I hope higher pay for college professors is included!

Among the more knowledgeable candidates, Leslie Milano stood out as someone who would consistently advocate for economic growth. She referred to Amazon and Marriott tax incentives as normal business practices, which struck me less as politics as usual than someone who was being honest about the way the world works.

Issue Differences!

General similarities notwithstanding—everyone is anti-gun, pro-choice and wants to fight climate change—there was daylight between the candidates on a number of questions. While Leslie Milano expressed support for incentives to attract Amazon, Al Carr advocated investing in education and infrastructure that benefit all businesses. Emily Shetty wanted transparent negotiations, which was very popular, albeit wholly unrealistic. Dana Beyer said attracting Amazon is more important than keeping Marriott. Jeff Waldstreicher expressed no opinion.

Mila Johns, Ron Franks, Dana Beyer and Leslie Milano expressed support for getting the county out of the liquor business. I’d also like to know the opinion of other candidates.

In the most depressing part of the debate, Joel Rubin said he was okay with armed security guards if schools need them. Helga Luest highlighted the need for risk and threat assessment. Mila Johns and Leslie Milano opposed them with Leslie mentioning their impact on the culture of schools and suggesting bulletproof pods as an alternative.

Winner of the Debate

Adam Pagnucco. Hands down.

Candidates and the moderator referred to his posts here on Seventh State repeatedly with admiration.

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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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