Council Race Is on for Campaign Money

There's lots of money being raised and spent in the race for County Council seats. There are also lots of candidates whose reports haven't made it online to the Maryland State Board of Elections' new nifty database. For some, that's because they filed instead with the Prince George's County Board of Elections.

Starting next year, all candidates will be required to file with the state, but for this year, candidates who don't plan to keep money past this election may file locally.

Among those who filed with the state, Council Chairman Thomas E. Dernoga (D-Laurel) wins the prize for most prolific unopposed candidate. He collected $25,135 since campaign reports were last due in January, perhaps anticipating an opponent who never materialized.

Nine candidates are competing for the council seat being vacated by Thomas R. Hendershot (D-New Carrollton), who is being forced from office by term limits. They run the fundraising gamut. Florence Hendershot , who is running to replace her husband, has no file in the online database -- though the Better Communities Committee Slate filed a report stating that it donated $10,300 to her campaign. Derrick Coley raised close to $12,000 in the last reporting period. College Park City Council member Eric C. Olson collected $15,218.

In the other race for an open seat, in District 4 where Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Bowie) is stepping down to pursue a seat in the state Senate, two of three candidates have records in the online database. Former Bowie mayor G. Frederick Robinson has raised more than $13,500 since January. Former Navy Judge Advocate General commander Ingrid M. Turner has raised $16,431. Darrell Carrington did not have a record online.

By all accounts, Samuel H. Dean (D-Mitchellville) is in a tough race against community activist Phil Lee in District 6. Hard to say how Lee's doing in garnering financial support -- there's no report online for him. But Dean seems to be doing just fine. He has collected $62,850 since January.

Incumbent Marilynn Bland (D-Clinton) is being significantly outraised by several of her five opponents in District 9. She's collected just under $7,000 since January. James "Fred" Harley collected almost $38,000 in the same period, and Keith Washington gathered more than $23,400.

Finally, in the nice-try category, is Francis Marshall , the Republican challenging David Harrington (D-Cheverly) in District 5. According to his report, Marshall has raised $150 from two contributors since January. He took in one $50 check from Reza Sheibani in July and collected $100 in June -- from himself. On the upside, he's only spent $45, so he still has $105 in the bank for the remaining weeks of the campaign.

Want to learn more about how much money state and local candidates have raised and from whom? Check out http://mdelections.umbc.edu , run by the National Center for the Study of Elections at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. It provides quick and easy-to-follow campaign finance data.

Politics-Free Zone?

Prince George's Community College was the place to be for politicians and office-seekers Sunday, as four community groups hosted an appreciation event for County Council members Dean, Harrington and Camille Exum (D-Seat Pleasant).

The event was billed as a politics-free zone: "This is not a political event and does not constitute a political endorsement," the widely circulated e-mails advertising the party screamed in capital letters.

But this is an election year. And each of the honorees is running for reelection (though Exum is unopposed). So it's not exactly surprising that candidates of all stripes came by to meet and greet the crowd, which numbered in the hundreds.

According to one attendee, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) was on hand, presenting a citation to each of the council members.

The Rev. C. Anthony Muse , pastor of the Ark of Safety Christian Church and a candidate for delegate, gave the invocation.

Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin and NAACP ex-director Kweisi Mfume , the leading Democrats in the race for the party's nomination for U.S. Senate, stopped by. So did comptroller candidate Peter Franchot (D), attorney general hopeful Tom Perez and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley 's running mate Anthony Brown .

And, of course, it's hard to go anywhere in the county these days without running into a few school board candidates. They came to honor the council members as well.