Duncan Wins Support as Candidates Look to Battle in South

Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Douglas M. Duncan and running mate Stuart O. Simms join hands Wednesday in Baltimore. (By Matt Houston -- Associated Press)

Some past and present Southern Maryland politicians lined up Friday behind Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) in his bid to become Maryland's next governor.

Duncan used the gathering on a 300-acre farm near Waldorf to introduce his running mate, Baltimore lawyer Stuart O. Simms, to a crowd of about two dozen Democrats.

Duncan is trailing his primary opponent, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, in fundraising and polling, and he has sought to present his team as the policy-wonkish alternative to both O'Malley and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).

His choice of Simms, months after he had promised to announce a running mate, was an example, Duncan said, of his practice of putting substance ahead of style.

"This decision was too important to be rash," he said.

It was Duncan's record in Montgomery County that attracted endorsements Friday from state Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles) and Del. Murray D. Levy (D-Charles), who is himself considered something of a wonk.

"He's a nuts-and-bolts-type government person. He knows how to make it work," Levy said, recalling crucial advice and support Duncan provided in the aftermath of the April 2002 La Plata tornado.

"The last four years we've had a government of politics," added Middleton, in a not-so-subtle jab at Ehrlich.

Some of those assembled said they were still sizing up the primary candidates and were not prepared to commit to either one.

Charles Commissioner Edith J. Patterson and lawyer Reuben Collins, a candidate for commissioner, said they were undecided but attracted to Duncan's success with his county's public schools.

Still, Patterson said, comparing schools in Montgomery with those in Baltimore would be "unjust."

O'Malley, she said, "inherited issues and problems, and he's done a great job turning that city around."