Choices for State's Attorney, Sheriff

Candidates Line Up for Open Court Clerk's Seat as Well

Montgomery County voters will pick between a veteran county prosecutor and a newcomer to the Rockville legal arena when they elect a new state's attorney in September.

Deputy State's Attorney John McCarthy (D) is running against Dan Fox (D), a Bethesda lawyer and business consultant who worked as a gang prosecutor in Southern California.

Although the Sept. 12 vote is a primary election, because no Republican candidates are running for state's attorney, the winner of the Democratic primary will win November's general election.

Incumbent Montgomery County Sheriff Raymond M. Kight (D), who has been in office since 1986 -- making him the longest-serving sheriff in the county's history -- has three opponents: Rob Moroney (D), a retired Maryland State Police sergeant; retired county police officer Dave Stultz (R); and former head of security for Montgomery County public schools Edward A. Clarke (D).

Four candidates are running for Clerk of the Circuit Court, now that Molly Q. Ruhl (D), who has been clerk since 1994, has announced her retirement. One of Ruhl's deputies, Loretta E. Knight (D), is running against Rick Dabbs (D), case manager in the family division of the Circuit Court, lawyer Caryn Hines (D) and Terry Bork (R), a retired administrator.

Register of Wills Joseph M. Griffin (D) is running unopposed.

McCarthy, 54, widely seen as the front-runner in the race, has received numerous endorsements, raised far more money than his opponent and is campaigning as a slate with Kight, Knight and Griffin.

He has been a prosecutor in the state's attorney's office since 1982 and has served as deputy state's attorney since 1996.

McCarthy has vowed to try to create stiffer penalties for perpetrators of domestic violence who commit crimes in front of children, and he wants to create a unit to target sexual predators who use the Internet to find victims.

He said he also intends to demand jail time for offenders who commit violent, gang-related crimes and wants to create more effective information-sharing networks for agencies involved in gang prevention and suppression in the county and elsewhere.

"The work in this area will continue for years to come," McCarthy told a group of law enforcement officers during a recent meeting of regional gang investigators in Baltimore. "The challenges are as diverse as the gangs themselves."

Fox, 44, called McCarthy the "status quo candidate" and said the office has suffered from poor management and lax oversight for years -- a characterization the current administration disputes.