Ulman Wins as Democrats Strengthen Hold on Council

Voters waded through a flood of campaign materials on their way to cast ballots at Hollifield Station Elementary School in Ellicott City. (By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)

The 32-year-old wunderkind of Howard County Democratic politics yesterday became the youngest person elected county executive in Maryland in recent history, cresting to victory on a wave of opposition to President Bush and Congressional Republicans.

In a near Democratic sweep that secured the party's hold on the bellwether county, Ken Ulman defeated his colleague from the County Council, Republican Christopher J. Merdon, and the Democrats picked up a fourth seat on the five-member panel.

The major local issue was how to control the unrelenting growth in Howard. But many voters said yesterday that their primary motivation at the ballot box was animosity toward national GOP leaders.

"This is a message to George W. Bush," said Julie Pogach, 50, a consultant from Clarksville, describing her votes for every Democratic candidate on the ballot. "My anger at him and the Republicans trickles all the way down to the local races."

Voters yesterday said they still cared deeply about the impact of growth on Howard, the third-wealthiest county in the nation and the site of one of the region's best-rated school systems. They expressed concern that an influx of new residents, including many from a planned expansion at nearby Fort Meade, could begin to erode the quality of life in the county.

But many residents said the wonkish debates over growth were so intricate that they could not differentiate between the two candidates. Merdon, a 35-year-old businessman, portrayed himself as the slow-growth candidate and said on his campaign signs, "Vote Slow Growth!" Ulman, a lawyer, disputed his opponent's characterization and attacked him for doing little to control growth in his own council district.

"Everybody says, 'I'm slow growth, I'm slow growth,' but I really don't know who is or who isn't," said Jason Shapiro, 45, an attorney from Columbia. "Who knows what they'll do once they get into office?"

Republicans are outnumbered in Howard, with about 56,000 registered voters compared with 77,000 registered Democrats. Still, the local GOP waged a fierce effort to gain control of both the county executive's office and the County Council for the first time in eight years.

But in the end, local Republican candidates appeared to fall victim to a national backlash against President Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress.

One of those casualties was state Senator Sandra B. Schrader, a Republican who lost her seat in District 13 to outgoing county executive James N. Robey, a Democrat who could not seek reelection because of term limits. The race turned nasty in recent weeks, with each campaign issuing attack ads and trading accusations that their records had been distorted.

The bitter contest was closely watched because the district is regarded as an indicator of prevailing political winds in Maryland, and because Democrats had identified it as one of five state Senate seats held by Republicans that they had a good chance of winning.

In another sign of the county's anti-Republican mood, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) held a slight edge over Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. with more than 85 percent of the precincts reporting. In 2002, Ehrlich won 55 percent of the vote in Howard in his race against Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

The County Council will be filled almost entirely with new faces next year. The only sitting member who sought election, Calvin Ball (D-East Columbia), an ethics and conflict management instructor who was appointed to the council this year, soundly defeated Gina Gabrielle Ellrich (R), a communications consultant, for the District 2 seat.

In District 1 (Northeast County), Democrat Courtney Watson, a school board member, won against Tony Salazar, a Republican lawyer. For the District 3 (Southeast County) seat, Democrat Jen Terrasa, a lawyer, beat Republican Donna Thewes, a schoolteacher. In District 4 (West Columbia), another school board member, Mary Kay Sigaty (D), defeated Tom D'Asto (R), a mechanical analyst.

The only Republican to win a seat was Greg Fox, a former member of the county public works board, who beat back a challenge in District 5 (West County) by Democrat Don Dunn, a member of the recreation and parks board.