Seniors, Women Hold Key To Election

Twice a week, Marcia Wilson, a loyal Democratic voter, spends 30 minutes driving three miles on Georgia Avenue between her rehab hospital and her home in Leisure World. She commends the two leading candidates for Montgomery county executive -- Isiah Leggett and Steven A. Silverman -- for talking about getting traffic moving with a light-rail line and a new highway connecting Interstates 270 and 95.

But in the final days of the campaign, Wilson has been turned off by both candidates' television ads, leaving her conflicted about whom to support in Tuesday's primary.

"The name-calling, I really don't like," she said. "I'm afraid both are guilty of that."

Wilson, a 77-year-old grandmother, is part of an important demographic that will help determine the outcome of the first competitive race for Montgomery's chief executive in 12 years. Seniors could make up as much as one-third of the turnout, and women could represent 58 percent of voters, according to Bethesda-based pollster and analyst Keith Haller.

Like Wilson, a number of frequently Democratic voters in the county said late last week they were still undecided in the contest that decides who will succeed popular County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), who has presided over Montgomery's government since 1994.

In interviews with two-dozen likely voters in two of the highest-performing precincts -- Leisure World in Silver Spring and Bannockburn in Bethesda -- nearly everyone complained about traffic, although no single issue emerged as transcendent in inspiring participation in the election.

Voters in both communities, however, offered clear and distinct impressions of Leggett and Silverman, suggesting that leadership style and personality could be driving factors in the outcome.

Leggett, 61, a Howard University law professor who served 16 years on the County Council, was characterized as experienced, thoughtful, independent and able to work with different constituencies. Voters described Silverman, 52, a lawyer and at-large council member since 1998, as energetic, confident, sharp on the issues and most likely to serve in Duncan's mold.

Yesterday, Leggett and Silverman sought to shore up their support and sway undecided voters, walking in parades in Poolesville and Sandy Spring. Leggett shook hands outside a Rockville market, and Silverman planned to hit a jazz festival in Silver Spring and movie night at King Farm.

When it's all over, the two candidates will have easily spent more than $3 million combined to get their message out to voters -- three times the spending of any previous executive race in Maryland's largest jurisdiction.

With competitive contests for governor and comptroller and open races for attorney general and U.S. Senate, many voters said the mailers and ads have overwhelmed, rather than stirred excitement about voting.

The intense politicking was most apparent in the planned retirement community of Leisure World, at Georgia Avenue and Norbeck Road. It is the county's most populous precinct and is known for its activist voters. Turnout in the 2002 Democratic primary was 61 percent, compared with a 45 percent average countywide. In the last week, residents said they had received as many as 10 leaflets a day from candidates, plus calls, calls and more calls.