Elections To Bring Change At the Top

The most-contested races are for the four at-large seats. Nineteen people -- including incumbents Nancy Floreen, Michael L. Subin and George L. Leventhal, all Democrats -- are running. Two of the candidates, one Green and one independent, will appear only on the November ballot.

All of the County Council incumbents in the district races face challengers in either the primary or general election. Howard A. Denis, the only Republican on the council, will try to hold on to his District 1 seat representing the Potomac-Bethesda area against Roger Berliner, a Potomac lawyer. In the Democratic primary in District 2, which comprises most of northern Montgomery, Mike Knapp faces Sharon Dooley, a health-care consultant.

The District 3 Democratic primary is a rematch between Rockville City Council member Bob Dorsey and incumbent Phil Andrews, considered the County Council's most adamant proponent of slow growth. Dorsey tried to win the seat, which represents Rockville and Gaithersburg, four years ago with the support of Duncan, who was pushing several largely pro-development candidates.

Four seats are up for grabs on the seven-member school board. Two incumbents -- Charles Haughey (At Large) and Gabe Romero (Gaithersburg) -- chose not to run for reelection, but two other incumbents -- Patricia O'Neill (Bethesda) and Nancy Navarro (Northeastern County) -- hope to hold on to their seats.

O'Neill faces no opposition. Navarro has two challengers. Five people are competing to win the at-large seat held by Haughey, and two people are running to succeed Romero.

The new board will have many issues to deal with in the coming school year. Negotiations will take place on contracts for teachers, administrators, classroom aides and other school workers. Superintendent Jerry D. Weast's contract, also set to expire next year, has been the subject of much discussion. And despite the school system's stellar reputation, recent test scores showed that some middle school students are lagging.

Montgomery voters will hand over the state's attorney's office to either a newcomer to the Rockville legal scene or a veteran prosecutor who's currently third in command.

Daniel M. Fox, a Bethesda lawyer who worked as a gang prosecutor in Riverside, Calif., says he has better management skills than his opponent, Deputy State's Attorney John McCarthy. McCarthy says that the office is the best-run state's attorney's office in Maryland and that he has the skills to build on the work of his boss, State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler, a Democrat who is running for attorney general.

Voters also will turn their attention to the Maryland General Assembly. Nearly 80 candidates are running for the 24 House of Delegates seats and eight Senate seats in Montgomery's eight General Assembly districts.

District 20's high-profile Democratic primary is a matchup between Senate president pro tem Ida G. Ruben and newcomer Jamie Raskin, an American University law professor.

In Districts 18 and 19, decisions by incumbent delegates to seek higher offices have created a flood of candidates. The opening created by the retirement of Del. Michael R. Gordon (D), first elected in 1982, has attracted 10 candidates for three spots.

Democrats are running unopposed for the Senate in Districts 17 and 39, and neither party has a primary contest for Senate in Districts 14, 15, 16 and 18.

Frederick County voters will also head to the polls Sept. 12. Most of the contested primary races in the conservative county are between Republicans.

Both incumbent Republican state senators are running for reelection. The race in District 3, where Sen. Alex X. Mooney faces Tim Brooks and Hugh M. Warner in the Republican primary, has drawn the most attention. Mooney has had great success in raising money -- he has more than $200,000 in his campaign chest, over 20 times as much as his two opponents combined -- but has been criticized by opponents for receiving contributions in 2002 from the notorious lobbyist Jack Abramoff. (Mooney has said that he did not have a personal relationship with Abramoff.)

Another Frederick race that has interested some political observers is the contest for state's attorney, where incumbent Scott L. Rolle (R) is running on the Republican ticket for Maryland attorney general, leaving the position vacant. The contest on the Republican side is between Rolle's deputy, Charlie Smith, and well-known local lawyer Dino E. Flores Jr.

Six candidates have filed in the race for three seats as judges on the Orphans' Court.

Staff writers Lori Aratani, Ernesto Londoño, Nelson Hernandez and Ann E. Marimow contributed to this report.