Indications For Duncan Look Good -- at Home

On Friday, Silverman held a "women's fundraiser" at the Hilton Hotel in Silver Spring.

About 300 people attended the $100-a-ticket luncheon.

The event was hosted by about two dozen business and community leaders, including Barbara Krumsiek , the chief executive of the Calvert Group; Maribel Torres-Piner o , past president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and Dorothy Fait , past chair of the county's Commission for Women.

The guest speaker was Rachel Simmons , author of "Odd Girl Out" and director of the Girl's Leadership Institute. Simmons is the daughter of Del. Luiz R.S. Simmons (D), who is also a Silverman supporter.

No Front-runner in District 18

The race to replace Del. J ohn A. Hurson (D) in District 18 is entering its final weekend.

On Tuesday, the 23 voting members of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee will decide who will replace Hurson until next year's election. Hurson stepped down last week to take a job as a lobbyist.

Nine candidates are in the running for the seat, but party leaders say there doesn't appear to be a front-runner.

Last weekend the candidacy of Samuel L. Statland , a member of the Board of Elections, got a boost after he won the backing of the District 18 Democratic Caucus.

But it took six ballots for a winner to emerge.

According to Bernice Mills , the chair of the Caucus, Statland and County Cable Administrator Jane Lawton were neck and neck until he barely gained a majority on the last ballot.

The caucus comprised 63 Democrats in District 18, which includes parts of Chevy Chase, Kensington and Silver Spring.

Besides those two, the other candidates in the race are: Alex Luecking , former president of the Montgomery Young Democrats; Vic Weissberg , a member of the central committee; Jeff Waldstreicher , a lawyer and precinct chair; Michael Griffiths , past president of African American Democratic Club; Al Carr , a member of the Kensington City Council; Dana Beyer , a leader in Teachthefacts.org, an organization dedicated to teaching a progressive curriculum in county schools, including discussions about homosexuality and teaching proper condom use; and Steven P. Hollman , a lawyer and Democratic activist.

A Blog in Need of Visitors

Montgomery County residents who want to discuss politics, gripe or debate the issues of the day have a new online forum.

"Some Guy from MoCo," who according to his online profile is a student living in Rockville, has created "Hello MoCo, the Montgomery County Blog" at http://hellomoco.blogspot.com .

In the past week, the unnamed blogger posted articles on "McMansions," Clarksburg and next year's race for governor.

The site has not been visited often. The blogger has posted a dozen subjects, but only two others have chimed in with opinions.