District 18 Forum Tonight

Tonight at 7PM there will be a forum for Democratic state legislative candidates in District 18 at the Kensington Armory (Town Hall) located at 3710 Mitchell Street. While Del. Richard Madaleno is unopposed for the Democratic senatorial nomination, the campaign for the three delegate seats is shaping up as interesting one. One assumes that incumbent Dels. Ana Sol Gutiérrez and Jane Lawton, who are running on a slate with Madaleno, have an edge (Disclosure: I am volunteering for the District 18 slate).

However, Dana Bayer has been relenteless in her efforts to knock on doors and meet voters. Dan Farrington is on target to spend by far the most money in the district on his delegate bid and been able to send out an expensive mailing (with a surprisingly unflattering cover picture) and to hire canvassers. Noah Grosfeld-Katz is the youngest candidate but probably has the best name recognition as he shares part of his last name with the retiring senator. Whether he succeeds in his energetic bid, I hope and expect we'll see more of him.

James Browning recently sent out a press release touting his endorsements by Clean Water Action and the National Organization for Women, Montgomery County Chapter. Jeff Waldstreicher has been endorsed by the influential MCEA. Yesterday, I received a robo phone call from him announcing that I will soon receive two mailings from his campaign, so I now will check my mail with great anticipation. I met Kensington Councilman Al Carr recently at a District 18 slate event; he struck me as a potentially formidable candidate if he runs an aggressive campaign to get better known outside of Kensington.