It is ironic that the final thoughts of Don Praisner included a recommendation to appoint his successor. That goes against one of the greatest achievements of his predecessor, the great former County Council Member Marilyn Praisner.
Section 106 of Montgomery County’s charter provides that the County Council will appoint new members to fill vacancies. In 1997, Republican County Council Member Betty Ann Krahnke (R-1) called for a charter amendment (Question C) to allow special elections for Council Members. Mrs. Praisner, then in her second term, supported the idea. The voters passed Question C in 1998 by a 190,283-21,615 (90%-10%) vote.
It now fell to the council to draft implementing legislation. The task became urgent as Krahnke was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1998 and was having trouble performing her job by early 1999. Krahnke and Mrs. Praisner then began to draft the special election process. One item of contention was whether to have one election or two (a primary and a general). The Washington Post reported the following on 3/17/99:Krahnke has argued that primaries should be eliminated in a special election, saving the county as much as $400,000. But a council majority intends to keep the primary because that is the way Montgomery elections have always been staged.
Mrs. Praisner agreed with Leggett and her implementation bill called for two elections. It passed by a 7-2 vote, with Krahnke and Republican Nancy Dacek (R-2) voting against it. Leggett (who now wants an appointment), freshman Phil Andrews and Mrs. Praisner voted in favor.
Council President Isiah Leggett (D-At Large) yesterday called the single-ballot system the “David Duke ballot,” after the former Ku Klux Klan official who has done well in Louisiana elections run that way. When a council colleague noted that Duke is not planning to run in Montgomery, Leggett shot back:
“But we have Robin Ficker.”
In January 2000, Krahnke announced she was leaving the council. Republican Howard Denis then defeated Democratic primary winner Pat Baptiste in the special general election. One of Krahnke’s aides, Joy Nurmi, later became Chief of Staff to both Marilyn and Don Praisner. Montgomery would not go on to have another special election until the 2008 District 4 race.
Mrs. Praisner was the champion of special elections in Montgomery County. She designed the system that operates today. And the concept of special elections was approved by 90% of the county’s electorate. Any call for appointments goes against the legacy of Marilyn Praisner – and the will of the voters.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Special Elections and the Legacy of Marilyn Praisner
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2 comments:
With the County Council as divided as it is, there's no way they could agree on a consensus candidate. Plus, as a voter and resident of District 4, I would like to have my "say" by having the opportunity to vote.
An appointment would exclude the voices of the residents of our district, which is inherently unfair and I believe was one of the primary considerations that Marilyn Praisner had when crafting the special election provisions that were adopted into the Charter with overwhelming voter approval.
I believe most of my fellow wonks who engage in civic life would feel this way. It's just shameful, but true, that predictions indicate a low turnout.
I just hope that the Board of Elections will implement ways to conduct the special primary and special general elections as cost-efficiently as possible.
I have re-read what I wrote earlier, and regret two things that I didn't make abundantly clear in my previous comment:
1) Marilyn was well-regarded as a fiscal conservative. Don was also a fiscal conservative in the same mold. That is why I believe he stated in his last letter to the County Council that he thought an appointment should be made this time instead of spending an estimated $1.3M of taxpayer dollars on yet another special election that no one anticipated in such a short timeframe. Yet we have heard Phil Andrews say in the last few days that a special election is going to be the way we will go. So be it. The voices of the voters will be heard through the ballotbox (figuratively speaking).
2. Don's last letter to the County Council did not indicate disrespect to his wife's work in crafting the special election law as was implied by the original post that Adam wrote. Marilyn recognized that exceptions to rules should be made if it made sense to do so. Regretfully, as divided as the County Council is, while it technically and fiscally makes sense to have an appointment -- and I, at least, really don't have the heart to go through another special election -- it doesn't make sense politically. At least that's how I see it, with no disrespect to the Praisners and their legacy.
A number of us, like me, worked hard to elect Don to carry on the record of independence, integrity, and leadership we wanted to see in our District 4 Councilmember, especially with regard to "reasonable growth" as well as fiscal prudence especially in this very tough budget year.
Thanks for allowing me to clarify. I'm still hurting, as many are, and perhaps I am not thinking or writing clearly.
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