Five candidates vie for Montgomery County Planning Board seat

Five candidates for a vacant seat on the Montgomery County Planning Board will be interviewed Thursday by the County Council.

They were selected from a group of 26 applicants for the seat left vacant by the death of Jean Cryor, a Republican and former state delegate.

The board serves as the council's principal adviser on land use and community planning. Planning board members also serve on the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

The candidates are Donna L. Barron of Chevy Chase, formerly vice chairman of the county's zoning Board of Appeals; Allison Bryant of Rockville, a former member of the planning board and a business consultant who specializes in organizational development; Norman M. Dreyfuss of Potomac, executive vice president of IDI MD, developer of Leisure World, and a member of the county's Housing Opportunities Commission; Bruce A. Goldensohn of Gaithersburg, a systems engineer for Northrop Grumman Mission Systems; and Kenneth Hurdle of North Bethesda, a real estate and architectural consultant.

All are registered Republicans; the seat needs to be held by a Republican. The part-time post pays $30,000 per year.

Current board members, who serve four-year terms, are Chairman Royce Hanson (D), Joseph Alfandre (D), Amy Presley (R) and Marye Wells-Harley (D). After selecting a successor to Cryor, the council will select a new chairman as Hanson has said he will not seek reappointment. His term expires in June.