Incumbents Gather As Competition Grows

Manno, of Silver Spring, is a longtime Capitol Hill staffer. He works on Capitol Hill as legislative director for Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.). He's also worked for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.).

In 2004, County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) appointed Manno to the county's Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission.

Manno, a lawyer, said he plans to run on the issues of education, access to affordable health care and transportation.

"We got probably the worst gridlock in the country, maybe second worst," Manno said. "It's a problem that affects everything we do, and it is something that needs to be addressed."

The proposed intercounty connector, which would cut through District 19, has long been a hot political issue for residents.

Manno said he supports the ICC in theory but worries that state officials have proposed too many interchanges for the highway.

Counting His Grass Roots

Silverman should have at least 1,000 votes in his race for the Democratic nomination for county executive against former council member Isiah Leggett .

Last week, Silverman unveiled a diverse list of 1,018 supporters for his candidacy.

"Everybody always claims they have grass-roots support. I thought it was appropriate to provide some proof," Silverman said. Now that he's identified his base, Silverman could theoretically win the two-man race if each one of those supporters persuaded 50 neighbors or friends to vote for him.

In the 2002 race for county executive, 102,118 votes were cast in the Democratic primary.

Democrat to Declare

Roger Berliner will formally announce on Monday that he's running for the Democratic nomination for the County Council in District 1.

Berliner, who says he has raised $44,000, is trying to unseat Republican council member Howard A. Denis , who represents parts of Potomac, Bethesda and Chevy Chase.

Berliner, a lawyer, is a longtime Democratic activist who unsuccessfully ran for the council from District 1 in 2000.

Incumbent Democrats on the council are reluctant to campaign against Denis -- whom many consider an ally even though he's the lone Republican but Berliner is being supported by an array of Democratic leaders, including former county executive Neal Potter ; Susan Turnbull , vice chair of the Democratic National Committee; Daphne Bloomberg , a precinct official in Potomac; and Vic Weissberg , a member of the county's Democratic Central Committee.