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Sanction of Touch-Screen Voting Machines Under Review
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Johnson said he will narrow the list to a group of finalists for interviews this week and will forward the name of his nominee to the County Council, which must confirm the choice, during the week of July 16.
The selection will be important for a school system trying to regain its footing after years of turmoil. In 2002, the General Assembly disbanded the county's elected school board, replacing it with an appointed one. Only this November did voters get a chance to choose representatives again, selecting nine men and women from a field of dozens of candidates.
Many residents have expressed deep disappointment over the Thomas case, which they believe has undermined the leadership of a school system that is otherwise receiving high marks for making improvements.
Johnson will get a chance to help mold the school board with his selection. His choice must go over well with the County Council, with whom Johnson has clashed repeatedly in recent years, including over key appointments. Johnson and council Chairman Camille Exum (D-Seat Pleasant) have indicated that they hope to complete the confirmation process before July 24, when the council breaks for summer recess.
The list of potential nominees includes several well-known names, including Fort Washington resident Steven Morris. A retired educator, Morris ran in the November election, coming so close to defeating opponent Linda T. Thomas that it appeared he had won on the night of the election. Thomas was declared the winner by 885 votes only after provisional ballots were examined.
Amber Waller of Hyattsville, who also ran in November, is also on the list. So too is Judy Mickens-Murray, who served on the appointed school board. The full list can be found at: http:/
-- Rosalind S. Helderman
Commentator Lured Away
Zach P. Messitte, a political science professor at St. Mary's College of Maryland and frequent commentator on Maryland politics, is leaving to take an administrative post at the University of Oklahoma.
As director of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Messitte helped put the tiny Southern Maryland honors college on the political map last year. His politics seminar became an unusual stomping ground for many statewide candidates, including former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R), who flocked to the campus to speak with students.
A Maryland native who grew up in Montgomery County, Messitte, 39, frequently comments on state politics for radio, television and print media. He has been appointed to a tenured faculty position at the University of Oklahoma, where he will hold an endowed chair in geopolitics and serve as vice provost of international programs.
-- Philip Rucker
