By Ann E. Marimow and Nancy Trejos
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 7, 2006
In the final push before Tuesday's primary, Montgomery County candidates have come up with some, shall we say, memorable imagery to grab the attention of voters whose mailboxes are stuffed with leaflets.
A slate of District 19 candidates for House of Delegates has used the vanilla filling of a giant Twinkie to make the point that the names of its candidates can be found in the "middle" of the Democratic ballot of eight contenders for the district that includes Silver Spring.
"Why is the House of Delegates ballot just like a delicious cream-filled Twinkie? The middle is the very best part."
It shows the names of the three candidates -- incumbent Henry B. Heller and newcomers Guled Kassim and Benjamin F. Kramer -- against a Twinkie backdrop, and then photos of the candidates superimposed on the filling of split-open pastries.
With eight people on the ballot, Heller said, the question became, "How do you find us?"
The junk-food theme was the work of Annapolis-based political consultant Don Lamb-Minor , which Heller called a "refreshing break" from messages about heavy subjects such as universal health care.
Then there's the fish toothpaste. County executive candidate Steven A. Silverman 's latest mailer features an anchovy on a toothbrush. No, he's not suggesting that his opponent, Isiah " Ike" Leggett , has bad breath. Instead, the at-large council member is continuing to press his theme that Leggett, a former council member, has "bad ideas," along the lines of anchovy-flavored toothpaste.
Silverman lists what he considers Leggett's bad ideas, such as raising the state gasoline tax to pay for mass transit and roads. Leggett has said getting a double-digit increase in the gas tax through the General Assembly is unrealistic but necessary to raise the amount of money needed to build such projects.
Duncan on DepressionCounty Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) was greeted with a standing ovation at Tuesday's 50th anniversary celebration of the Mental Health Association of Montgomery County.
Duncan quickly deviated from his prepared script to expand on his personal struggle with depression and to encourage others to follow his lead in seeking treatment. In June, Duncan announced he had been given the diagnosis of depression and was dropping out of the governor's race.
"What struck me was, it didn't take any courage to stand up and say, 'Here's my problem.' The courage it took for me was to admit I have a problem, to admit that I needed help and to seek that help," he said to the crowd in the cafeteria of the Executive Office Building in Rockville.
"That was, I think, one of the most courageous things I've ever done, to say I can't do this on my own anymore, I can't fight through it, although I had for a long time."
The Mental Health Association, he said, does great work, "but people have to seek that help, they have to show that courage to get that help for the MHA and others to be helpful. So hopefully, today and through this celebration, we will get more people to seek help and seek treatment they need, because it does work, and I can tell you that personally."
A series of speakers praised Duncan, including U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), for helping people "through the power of his personal example," and state Sen. Ida G. Ruben (D-Montgomery), for "showing others that it is all right to say, 'I have a problem.' "
The celebration was Duncan's last public appearance before he headed for hip replacement surgery this week. Duncan has said he expects to be out of commission for at least four weeks after the operation. That means he'll be voting by absentee ballot in the contest to pick his successor. Duncan was mum about who he'd pick, saying that he has to "review the literature."
Forum Draws CandidatesAll five men running for Montgomery County executive and nearly two dozen County Council candidates turned out last Thursday night for a forum organized by Action in Montgomery, an interfaith network of congregations that has championed programs for immigrants and the poor.
Most of the candidates pledged to support AIM's progressive agenda: to increase the supply of affordable housing, open a full-service immigration office, make it easier for students to go to college and provide better community centers.
It made perfect sense for them to do so. AIM has 31,000 members at or above voting age. The group has also started a voter turnout drive, focusing its efforts on two districts -- one in Gaithersburg and another in Burtonsville. It has dispatched 100 volunteers to knock on doors and 108 to call potential voters this week and on Tuesday, the day of the primary.
"We know we're not going to sway elections, but if we're going to increase voter participation by 25 percent in these two precincts, then we can do it anywhere, and the candidates have to watch out," said Alisa Glassman , AIM's lead organizer.
More than 600 AIM members turned out to hear what the candidates had to say about their agenda items.
To cheers, Democratic candidates Silverman, Leggett and Robert Raymond Fustero and independent Robin Ficker said yes to all of them, including building 1,000 affordable and workforce housing units on public land by 2009 and increasing the percentage of such units in all new projects and condo conversions from 12.5 percent to 25 percent.
Republican Chuck Floyd said he would rather find a more "holistic" approach to adding affordable housing. And he said he did not believe it is the role of the government to open immigration centers.
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