A Jan. 29 Metro article said that Tufail Ahmad is running for a seat on the Montgomery County Council to increase voter turnout among Muslims, not because he thinks he can win. Ahmad said he does believe he can be elected, although his primary goal is to boost turnout.
State Politicians Courting A Growing Immigrant Vote
Duncan, Others Attend Lunar New Year Celebrations
Sunday, January 29, 2006; Page C05
Most Maryland voters probably didn't realize that Asian Americans were celebrating New Year's yesterday, but Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan marks the date on his calendar every year.
Duncan, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, crisscrossed Montgomery yesterday, attending two Lunar New Year celebrations and a gathering to commemorate the anniversary of India becoming a republic, on Jan. 26, 1950.
For Duncan and other elected officials, showing up at these events is part of a strategy to reach out to immigrants whose political influence remains relatively untested statewide even though their numbers are growing rapidly.
"We are proud of the diversity in our community," Duncan said at a Lunar New Year celebration in Gaithersburg. "As we celebrate that diversity and wrap our arms around it, it makes us stronger."
Pollsters and political consultants say it will probably be a few years before foreign-born residents are major factors in statewide elections. But candidates this year aren't taking any chances.
Several Montgomery County Council members, including county executive candidate Steven A. Silverman (D-At Large), and state legislators also attended the Lunar New Year event in Gaithersburg. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) was scheduled to attend an Indian Republic Day event in Greenbelt last night at the same time Duncan was at one in Gaithersburg.
"These are people you simply cannot ignore," said former Montgomery County Council member Isiah Leggett, the former chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party and a candidate for county executive. "Not only are they voting, they are giving money and volunteering, so I think candidates who ignore them do so at their own peril."
Duncan's opponent for the Democratic nomination, Baltimore Mayor Martin J. O'Malley, was scheduled to meet with a group of African immigrants in Prince George's County today. In 2002, they helped Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) win the Democratic primary.
But Duncan may have the most to lose if he fails to draw votes from immigrant communities. Foreign-born residents make up a significant share of the Montgomery voters he needs to offset O'Malley's expected advantage in the Baltimore area.
Although foreign-born residents account for 10 percent of Maryland's population, they make up 27 percent of Montgomery's, according to the 2000 Census. In Prince George's, they account for 14 percent.
"As a percentage of the statewide likely vote, these immigrant populations will still be in the modest single digits, but when you look within the greater Washington marketplace, particularly Montgomery County, these new immigrants can tip the balance," said Keith Haller, a Maryland independent pollster.
Since becoming county executive in 1994, Duncan has cultivated immigrant communities, among other things, hiring Asian, Hispanic and African American liaisons who report directly to him. In 2000, at Duncan's urging, the county also opened the Charles W. Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity in Wheaton, which is described as a one-stop shop for new immigrants to get services. The county has also created separate health care programs for Asians and Hispanics.
Duncan's gubernatorial campaign is aggressively targeting first- and second-generation immigrants.
With a record number of minority candidates anticipated on the primary ballot in Montgomery this year, some Democrats are hoping to maximize the turnout among foreign-born voters, which could benefit Duncan.
Tufail Ahmad, a Pakistani American and Democrat who plans to run for County Council, says he wants to encourage Muslim voters to turn out, even though he doesn't believe he can win.
Lily Qi, Washington director of the Organization of Chinese Americans, said many Asian Americans -- who account for 13 percent of Montgomery's population -- are solidly behind Duncan. "We value education, and that is his crowning achievement," Qi said.
But Duncan's strategy to woo immigrant communities could be undercut by O'Malley's efforts.
Kamala Edwards, an Indian American and Democratic activist from Silver Spring, says she's supporting O'Malley -- mainly because he asked first.
"Mayor O'Malley approached the community, and he has come out to have meet-and-greets," she said.
