COUNTY EXECUTIVE CAMPAIGN
In Montgomery, Personality Makes the Candidate
Few Political Differences Seen in Silverman, Leggett in Their Race for County Executive
Sunday, July 23, 2006; Page C04
Campaigning for Montgomery County's top political job 12 years ago, Douglas M. Duncan (D) promised forceful leadership and a radical departure from the county's tradition of process-driven, consensus-building politics.
He redefined the role of the county executive, using the office as a bully pulpit like never before and waging war with the County Council when necessary to advance an agenda that often favored business and economic expansion.
  Isiah Leggett, a past council president, is seen as quiet and deliberative. (Unknown - Courtesy Of Ike Leggett) |
As Duncan prepares to hand over the office for the first time since 1994, supporters of leading Democrats vying to replace him -- council member Steven A. Silverman (At Large) and former council member Isiah "Ike" Leggett -- say voters will again have a choice between an assertive leader and a deliberative conciliator. Underlying that decision is whether voters want a continuation of Duncan's style of leadership.
"It's going to come down to the personalities of the two people and how the public reacts to them and what they're looking for in terms of style of government," said Gail Ewing, a Democratic council member from 1990 to 1998 who is not endorsing a candidate in the Sept. 12 primary. "Doug has been very demonstrative, very aggressive, very out there, and Steve has more of those same kind of characteristics. Ike is much more low-key, quieter, not as aggressive."
Duncan, former mayor of Rockville, ascended to Montgomery's top elected position at a time when the county was easing out of a recession. He offered a stark contrast to his slow-growth, passive predecessor Neal Potter. At times, he alienated council colleagues as he appeared to disregard the county's guiding document, which restrains the executive's authority in such matters as deciding how to divvy up the county's $4 billion budget.
"It was a great difference in style and philosophy between Duncan and Potter because Duncan wanted to be the mayor of Montgomery County. He wanted to make decisions, to get things done," said council President George L. Leventhal (D-At Large).
Since Duncan took office in 1994, the county has grown by 157,000 people, 92,000 jobs and 48,000 homes. Its population is on track to surpass the million mark before the end of the next county executive's term. Neighborhoods such as downtown Silver Spring have been revitalized. The stretch along Interstate 270 has developed into a vibrant biotechnology corridor.
Duncan launched a campaign for governor last year but dropped out of the Democratic primary June 22 to focus on his health after he said his doctors diagnosed clinical depression.
Neither Leggett nor Silverman have has suggested departing from Duncan's vision of promoting economic development, improving roads and transit and providing high-quality schools and affordable housing.
"I don't see either one of them as a radical change of direction," said Leventhal. "If voters want a radical change in direction, Robin Ficker is on the ballot or Chuck Floyd," he said, referring to anti-tax activist Ficker, who is running as an independent, and former State Department employee Floyd, the only Republican candidate.
In recent interviews, both Democrats offered similar visions.
"I want to build primarily on what we already have," Leggett said. "We need to build on it. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. We simply need to make the wheel better."
And Silverman: "My vision is a community in which all kids have equal educational opportunities, people are spending more time with their families than in their cars and hard-working men and women have a shot at living in Montgomery County."
County politicians said Silverman and Leggett are responding to the public mood. In 1994, the county was struggling to compete against Northern Virginia for new business, and older parts of the county were deteriorating.
Then "Duncan could step up to the plate very quickly and fix" the perceived problems, said County Council member Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty). "I don't think it's as clear for [Leggett and Silverman] to say, 'We're really in rough shape, and we have to go down this road.' "
What is clear though is that residents are wary of the pace of growth, an issue crystallized by the discovery of building violations in the northern town of Clarksburg, where houses were built too high and too close to the street. Both candidates say they want to discourage sprawl, and preserve open space.
"That's what the people want, and both candidates get that message loud and clear," said Del. William A. Bronrott (D-Montgomery). "We're going to grow. We can't shut down our economy. The question is, how we're going to grow."
Leggett has portrayed himself as a centrist on growth issues, saying the county "is growing too fast" and needs to "slow down in order to catch up." Silverman is trying to shed his reputation as a pro-growth politician by moderating his stance. He talks of "managing" growth.
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| Council member Steven A. Silverman has been called a bit "more raucous."(Timothy Jacobsen) |
Leggett accuses his opponent of minimizing their differences on growth issues to blunt the perception among his critics that Silverman is too closely tied to developers and their interests.
In answering questions from the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, the candidates have come across as substantively similar on most other issues, said the group's president, Richard N. Parsons.
"There is a lot of posturing. They are trying to make it appear that there is more difference than there actually is," he said.
Most observers, however, agree that the differences in leadership styles are clear.
"Ike listens more than participates. Steve participates as much as he listens, and the tenor of the discussions is different," said County Council member Michael L. Subin (D-At Large), who has worked with both men on the council and is backing Leggett. "Ike tends to bring the professor into the room, and with Steve it's more raucous."
As council president in 1999, for instance, Leggett took up the controversial cause of banning smoking in restaurants, despite powerful opposition from businesses and tobacco companies. He made his case in editorial columns, defining it as a moral issue and quietly persuaded enough of his colleagues to join him in passing the measure.
Last year, Silverman opposed a bill popular among residents who complained of "mansionization" and among his eight fellow council members. Silverman considered the height limits for new houses too broad, and he pushed back aggressively even when he was far outnumbered on the council.
The candidates' own words highlight those distinctions.
"I think you have to listen to everybody, but you have to ultimately be prepared to make decisions and to recognize that you can't please everybody," Silverman said. "And as county executive, you have no choice but to stick your neck out first. That's what's expected. You can't be the 10th council member."
Leggett said he wants to put an end to the "cutthroat political atmosphere" that has developed in recent years. "We've become far more divisive and not able to bring people together to solve the many problems we have."
If Duncan's mantra was to end the county's policymaking "paralysis by analysis," Silverman has a motto with a similar message. The Chinese proverb over his desk reads: "A person who says it can't be done shouldn't get in the way of the person who's actually doing it."
To Marc Elrich, a Takoma Park City Council member and County Council candidate who is supporting Leggett, "There's a sense that Steve will do what he wants to do."
Silverman and his supporters counter that Leggett has too often refused to take a position on important issues, such as the controversial intercounty connector highway. Leggett said he wanted to remain neutral because he owned property along one of the proposed routes.
"He has not demonstrated, I think, an ability to make a strong, unflinching decision once he decides something is correct," said Del. Luiz R.S. Simmons (D-Montgomery).
To Leggett's supporters, that quiet, deliberative style is his strength. County Council member Marilyn Praisner (D-Eastern County), who has endorsed Leggett, used the analogy of a high school band with Leggett playing the role of band director rather than drum major.
"Folks are looking for a drum major to be the leader in the front of the band," she said, "when actually if you think about it, the real leader is the band director who is walking alongside, keeping them focused and having done much of the work behind the scenes."
The issues facing the county, she said, require facilitating, coaxing and encouraging -- not necessarily jumping out in front.
"I'm looking for results and not necessarily for attention," Leggett said when asked about the band analogy. "But if it requires getting out and charging ahead, I'll do that too."
