O'Malley Takes Race To Duncan's Home Turf

Dolores Milmoe, a longtime Democratic activist from Montgomery who is backing O'Malley, said the contributions from supporters of Yeshiva reinforced "the pay-to-play mentality the county is becoming known for" and suggested that Duncan is interested in "developers, not citizens."

Duncan ally Richard N. Parsons, president of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, however, said the disclosure would be viewed by voters as "inside baseball," because businessmen give to "everyone to cover their bases."

Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), who has endorsed Duncan, also played down the impact on Duncan's race against O'Malley. "I don't think these campaign finance questions really bear any relation to the question of who's a good manager," Wynn said. Voters are "not likely to nitpick or fret over campaign contributions that are legal."

For much of the race, O'Malley, who leads in polls and fundraising, has been the Democrat on the defensive. Duncan has joined O'Malley's political foes in Baltimore in questioning whether the city's crime statistics are accurate. An attempted state seizure of 11 low-performing Baltimore schools focused attention on O'Malley's commitment to education. And Duncan's TV ads have chided O'Malley for failing to reduce homicides as much as promised.

Tomorrow's events are shaping up as O'Malley's most visible foray into Montgomery, though the mayor has said for months that he would not cede the county to Duncan. Aides to O'Malley, who grew up in Montgomery, have been aggressively recruiting volunteers there, and O'Malley's running mate, Del. Anthony G. Brown (Prince George's), declared this month that the ticket would carry Duncan's county.

Brown said his prediction was based in part on a recent poll, which Duncan aides have sought to discredit, that showed the contest to be tighter than expected in Montgomery. Duncan's campaign has long acknowledged that the county executive will have to win Montgomery by a large margin to beat O'Malley.

Tomorrow's events appear designed to chip away at that margin. A flier advertising the town meeting invites Montgomery residents to "come to share your concerns and your ideas for how to better manage growth" with O'Malley and Brown.

The irregularities at Clarksburg were largely blamed on the county's planning department, which reports to the County Council, not to Duncan. But the problems have become symbolic of concerns about the pace of growth in Montgomery.

Aides to Duncan questioned the sincerity of O'Malley's efforts, pointing to a campaign appearance last year in which O'Malley referred to the quality of life in Montgomery as "the envy of the nation."

Staff writer Ann E. Marimow contributed to this report.