3 Candidates Campaign Aggressively In Race to Be Next County Executive

"I do believe his decision to run as a delegate for President Bush and to serve in this particularly Republican Congress are statements of his values that I think the voters of the district have the right to be aware of," Berliner said.

Denis said Berliner is trying to hype the race as a partisan battle.

"I don't think Howard Dean's talking points are going to win in the Montgomery County Council race," he said, referring to the national Democratic Party chairman.

Berliner has also criticized Denis for taking donations from developers. Denis points out that he has pushed anti-developer bills, such as one to prevent "champion" trees -- designated as the largest of their kind -- from getting knocked down and another to combat the construction of mansions.

Even if Denis is reelected, county residents will have a very different council representing them starting in December.

Three of the nine council members will not be returning. At-large incumbents Nancy Floreen and George L. Leventhal and Maryland National Organization for Women President Duchy Trachtenberg and Takoma Park City Council member Marc Elrich are the four Democratic nominees in the race for the four at-large seats.

The list of Republicans running for at-large seats includes well-known figures Tom Reinheimer, the chairman of the county's Republican Central Committee, and school board member Steve Abrams, a latecomer to the race.

In the race for Montgomery County School Board, four seats are open.

Two incumbents, Gabe Romero (Gaithersburg) and board President Charles Haughey (At large), have chosen not to seek reelection. Two other incumbents, Patricia O'Neill (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) and Nancy Navarro (Northeastern County), will appear on Tuesday's ballot. O'Neill is unopposed.

Navarro, a community activist who was appointed to the board in 2004, is being challenged by Philip Kauffman, a lawyer who has been active in the PTA. Kauffman wants to maintain the school system's high standards but would like to see more programs for students who might choose to enter the workforce rather than attend college immediately after graduation. Navarro said she would push for more programs designed to close the achievement gap.

In the contest for the at-large seat, Tommy Le, an engineer whose children attended Montgomery County public schools, faces Shirley Brandman, a special-education lawyer and longtime PTA activist. Brandman would like to see more supports for students who aren't meeting the minimum standards to participate in athletic programs, a 2.0 grade-point average or more than one failed class. The issue recently surfaced amid reports that grades were altered for five students to allow them to play football at Albert Einstein High School. Le, who ran for the board in 2002, said he would like to see more programs designed to help immigrant students adjust to their new country.

In the race to succeed Romero, retired school principal Judy Docca faces Michael Ibañez, a Catholic schoolteacher. Ibañez said he supports programs to help students who are at risk of not passing the High School Assessment -- a graduation requirement beginning with the Class of 2009. Docca said her previous work as an administrator in the school system would give the board a much needed perspective on what it takes to establish successful programs.