Candidates Calibrate Positions On Growth

Council member Steven A. Silverman, right, is facing two other Democrats, a Republican and an independent in the race for county executive. (By Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)

"My philosophy is not an aggressive growth policy," Leggett said. "We grow strategically." The council recently approved about 6,000 units for the area.

On other issues, it is sometimes hard to tell the two apart. Both call for more affordable housing, safer streets and less crowded schools.

Voters have other choices for county executive. Leggett and Silverman will face Robert Fustero, a former grocery store clerk who ran for governor four years ago and managed to capture 20 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary against Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face Charles R. Floyd, 56, a former State Department employee known for his affiliation with the Minuteman Project, a national anti-illegal-immigration group. Running as an independent is perennial candidate and anti-tax-activist Robin Ficker, a 63-year-old lawyer. Both candidates are trying to appeal to voters frustrated with county leaders' failures in the northern Montgomery community of Clarksburg, where houses were built too high and too close to the street.

An investigation ensued, and the county's once nationally renowned planning department was chided for bad oversight.

Clarksburg has also cast a shadow on the council race. There are 31 candidates running for nine seats. More than half -- 18 -- are running for one of four at-large seats. Many of the challengers are pointing to the Clarksburg controversy as proof that the county needs a change in leadership.

"It was as if no one was minding the store and developers could build how and where they wished," said Sharon Dooley, a 64-year-old health-care consultant who is vying for Democrat Michael Knapp's District 2 seat, representing the upcounty area.

Incumbent George L. Leventhal (D-At Large), the 43-year-old council president, said the answer to the county's problems is not slowing growth but making sure the infrastructure catches up. He said the council has made significant contributions to transportation improvements and school construction.

"Saying that we're going to slow growth, I think it is in part a hollow promise," he said.

He also pointed out that Montgomery is not growing as fast as other counties in the region. From 2000 to 2005, the population increased 6.2 percent in Montgomery, compared with 50.7 percent in Loudoun County, according to census figures.

"I am not going to say voters' concerns are not real, and I don't want to minimize voters' concerns and toss them aside," he said. "But I think it's important to look at the actual statistics. We're not growing as much as our neighbors."

Seven of the nine incumbents are seeking reelection, guaranteeing at least two new faces on the council. Each incumbent is facing at least one challenger in either the primary or general election.

"There could be a tremendous amount of change if voters choose to do it," said council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville), who is seeking reelection.