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Silverman Takes Aim at Phantom Foe
Gang Violence as Election Issue
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The recent spate of gang violence in Montgomery County could become a major factor in next year's race for state's attorney.
Dan Fox , a Bethesda lawyer, announced last month he plans to seek the job. With incumbent State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler considering a bid for Maryland attorney general, there could be a free-for-all for the job Gansler would vacate.
But Fox said he's prepared to take on Gansler -- who has more than $800,000 in his campaign account -- if he decides to seek reelection.
"I think there needs to be some dynamic change in the state's attorney's office, because it has not kept pace with the change in Montgomery County with regards to population and urbanization over the past 10 or 15 years," Fox said.
Fox thinks county prosecutors have been too slow to address the burgeoning gang problem.
Fox spent eight years as a prosecutor in Riverside, Calif., including three years in a specialized gang-prosecution unit.
"I don't think the current state's attorney has made this a priority," said Fox, adding that gangs "are the number one threat to the county's quality of life."
Gansler notes that he hired a full-time gang prosecutor in 1999, which he said has helped keep gang violence in Montgomery County in check compared with jurisdictions in Northern Virginia.
"Our gang problem is very much in its infancy and very much under control, and the reason for that is we have been on top of the problem," Gansler said.
As for Gansler's decision to hold a Maryland trial for Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad, the District-area snipers who were convicted of murder in Virginia, Fox said he doesn't think it's worth the expense. Gansler responded that he didn't have a choice once Virginia decided to send the pair to Maryland.
As One Holds Back, the Other Shows His Hand
The two announced Democratic candidates running to replace County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) next year -- Leggett and Silverman -- offer different answers when asked whom they will support in next year's race for governor.
Both Duncan and his likely opponent for the nomination, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley , are gearing up their campaigns in Montgomery County.
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