By Rosalind S. Helderman and Ovetta Wiggins
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) was elected to a second term Tuesday, a result only clear yesterday afternoon as county workers were stymied by technological problems with voting machines and did not count nearly half of the ballots until midday yesterday.
Johnson, 57, fended off a tough challenge from former state delegate Rushern L. Baker III, who called Johnson just after 3 p.m. to concede. With all but two precincts reporting, Johnson led by 52 to 48 percent.
"The message that was sent was that the majority of citizens are very proud of my record, despite negativity that was put out," he said in an interview before addressing supporters at a late-afternoon victory party at his Largo headquarters. "People know me, and they know the type of person that I am."
Baker did not speak publicly yesterday, but in a statement, he thanked family and friends and said his race against Johnson was "simply worth fighting."
In the county's other high-profile race, Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.) appeared to hold off challenger Donna Edwards in her bid to replace him in the 4th District for the U.S. House. Edwards, however, said she was "outraged" with problems counting votes in Prince George's and wanted to the see the results of provisional vote counts in Montgomery. She did not concede.
Many elected officials and political observers said they were stunned at Johnson's relatively narrow margin of victory over Baker, who served in Annapolis for eight years but was relatively unknown even weeks ago. Johnson faces no Republican challenger in the November general election.
They said voters' willingness to back the surging challenger in a county that has historically reelected its incumbents with double-digit leads indicated widespread dissatisfaction with Johnson's handling of the county's years-long struggle to improve schools and reduce crime.
"Those become symbolic issues of the disaffection for voters, who were saying they wanted to see things solved," said Ronald Walters, a political scientist at the University of Maryland.
He predicted that a weakened Johnson would spend the next four years locked in a "great struggle" with a newly elected Board of Education and a County Council filled with ambitious members eyeing the county executive job.
"Generally, you get a year or two-year break," said M.H. Jim Estepp, who came in second to Johnson in the 2002 executive race. Estepp said he could feel jockeying beginning already for the next executive race. "What it means is somebody better get moving quickly and start solving these problems. Not put out press releases, not talk about it, but solve these problems."
Term limits will force Johnson, a former state's attorney, from office after he serves the second term. And he has told residents this would be his last political campaign.
Both camps said they were disappointed with the county's first experience with electronic balloting, though neither thought the problems had affected the outcome.
Unlike in Montgomery County, where an error on the part of election workers wreaked havoc at polls through much of the day, voting ran mostly smoothly in Prince George's. The ballot counting process was a different story.
Election workers said they had trouble transmitting results electronically from precincts to a central tabulating office. Widespread confusion then resulted as workers removed voting cards from individual machines and drove them to the Board of Elections headquarters in Upper Marlboro. By late afternoon yesterday, data still had not been received from 81 of the county's 2,056 voting machines. The numbers represented two whole precincts -- in Chillum and Landover -- as well as cards from individual machines at 34 polling stations.
At a news conference, Johnson called the problems "abysmal" and said, "We've been doing elections for 200 years, and it seems we still can't get it right."
As questions swirled for much of the day about the unusual delays, county elections supervisors declined to offer a full explanation to reporters. County elections Administrator Robert J. Antonetti Sr. said his office was still reviewing why some precincts did not get their vote totals to elections officials until late yesterday.
"The lack of a paper trail with this election equipment is an absolute disaster," said Edwards. She said she was "outraged" that voting cards had not been secured a day after balloting. "It's important that voters' interests are honored."
But the outcome of the county executive race appeared to be settled. No Prince George's incumbent has been defeated since 1978. Johnson's predecessor Wayne K. Curry (D) was unopposed when he ran for reelection in 1998, and Parris N. Glendening, who went on to become governor, won 75 percent of the vote when he last ran for reelection as county executive in 1990.
Both men endorsed Baker last week, however, creating momentum that brought him to the edge of victory. Baker may have been particularly successful in convincing voters that Johnson had not done enough to curb crime.
The county's police force has grown under Johnson's administration, and the election results were a sign that residents believe crime is decreasing. But many residents recall last year's record number of homicides, which Baker referenced in a television commercial aired months ago, complaining of a "Johnson crime wave."
In other races, all seven council incumbents running for a second term on the county's legislative body won the primary. College Park council member Eric C. Olson won election to one of the council's two open seats. Ingrid M. Turner, a former Navy judge advocate general commander, was ahead by 100 votes in a race for the other, though absentee and provisional ballots had not been tallied.
Staff writers Hamil R. Harris and Eric Rich contributed to this report.
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