Relying on our extensive spy network inside the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee (MCDCC), we have uncovered the identity of the MCDCC member who voted to send Jason Jennings and not Donna Edwards to Congress. But first some background.
Back in February, Donna Edwards defeated incumbent 4th District Congressman Al Wynn in the Democratic primary. Shortly afterwards, Wynn announced he was resigning early to accept a lobbying job. The Governor declared that there would be a special general election held on June 17th to determine who would fill the rest of Wynn’s term. There would be no special primary; instead, the party central committees in both Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties would nominate a candidate to stand in the special general election. If the two central committees failed to agree, the state central committee would make the choice.
Donna Edwards, who steamrolled the eight-term incumbent, was widely expected to be MCDCC’s choice. But Jason Jennings, another Democratic challenger who lost badly to Edwards in the primary, submitted his resume to the committee as an alternative. MCDCC voted to nominate Edwards by a margin of 22 to 1. But it’s the one vote in favor of Jennings that has really made tongues wag. “Who was it?” cried out the county’s political junkies.
We gave the top-secret mission to our hardened spy corps inside MCDCC. These are the people who scale the castle walls, pick the locks, steal the bon bons and penetrate the hidden vaults of the Baroness. After numerous brushes with guards, attack dogs and angry peasants from Georgia Avenue, our spies brought back the name of the Jennings voter: Vilma P. White.
Ms. White is a Silver Spring resident who lives in Congressional District 8. She was elected as part of MCDCC’s at-large slate in 2006. The slate had no opposition apart from eternal school board candidate and MPW favorite Tommy Le. We emailed Ms. White asking for comment and she has not responded.
Let’s keep in mind the scope of Edwards’ election victory over Jennings. In the Congressional District 4 primary, Edwards finished first in the district with 78,008 votes. Jennings tied for fourth of seven candidates with 1,429 votes. In Montgomery County, the jurisdiction represented by Ms. White, Edwards received 28,781 votes compared to Jennings’ total of 609. And yet Ms. White, who does not live in Congressional District 4, was convinced that Jennings deserved to be the Democratic nominee despite the overwhelming disagreement of her constituents.
[Sigh…] I guess this is our fault. We have been overly harsh with MCDCC over the last few months. Perhaps the pressure of fending off our constant troublemaking is getting to some of them. I had dismissed the rumor that MCDCC Vice Chairman Alan Banov was seen walking down the center of Connecticut Avenue in full scuba gear, but maybe that was true after all.
So perhaps MCDCC should be given a break. We at MPW are going to start a holiday fund for them so that they can take a well-deserved vacation at Wheaton’s beautiful Brookside Gardens. In the meantime, we will recruit Kevin Gillogly, Robin Ficker, Itchy and Scratchy and Muffitt to hold down the fort.
We can only hope that none of them would vote for Jason Jennings!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Unmasked: the MCDCC Member Who Voted for Jennings Over Edwards
Sunday, February 03, 2008
A Chicken In Every Pot
It's that time of the year. T minus 10 days to primary day where attacks pick up their intensity. Last night's Debate at People's Community Baptist Church for the candidates for the Fourth District was the most charged of the three I attended. Fortunately for the incumbent most of the charges were focused on his principal rival.
The blogosphere has not been kind to Incumbent Al Wynn. So this may be the first words to highlight his positives. 
This was his night. His skills as a debater came through in spades. The former coach of the Howard University Debate team was on. He had position all night (being the first one to speak in opening and the last one to speak during closing) using both to great effect. The questions favored him. Others made charges against his principle rival, Donna Edwards, sparing him the trouble. No one except her called on him to explain some of his votes. It was the perfect storm of a debate for the incumbent. Edwards had to feel as if it was four against one, with the genial George McDermott refraining from the testosterone festival.
Wynn's Perfect Storm
In his opening statement Wynn took time to honor Marilyn Praisner's work getting all to stop what they were doing to give her a moment of silence. Classy move. He had held his own during the Q&A. None of the questions highlighted his vulnerabilities. He also got a major assist from Dr. Michael Babula, who laid into his principle challenger Donna Edwards early. Jason Jennings and George Mitchell (note link is broken) bunched Wynn and Edwards together on multiple occasions blurring the lines. Al Wynn completed the night by having the final word in closing statement. Harking back "to the old days where politicians promised a chicken in every pot" to voters, Wynn compared what he has done in office to the lack of accomplishments by his opponents.
"She disgusts me"
The first question was on campaign finance and special interest money. Babula, pictured to the lower left, speaking after Edwards and before Wynn went after the former with a vengeance. 
Sounding as if he was reading from the recently filed Wynn complaint against Edwards centered on soft money and 527s, Babula, a former Republican candidate in his native New Jersey, highlighted perceived connections between 527s and her campaign ending with the subhead quote above.
Other Observations
Mitchell, pictured to the right, sounding as if he was the Pastor of this powerful
Baptist church, charged you can't continue to elect the same people and expect different results. He called Wynn and Edwards "two peas in a pod". Babula piggybacked on Mitchell and called Edwards "a wolf in sheep's clothing" and Wynn "a wolf dressed up as a grandmother".
Why the Increase in Charges?
These increases in charges are common and expected. The further down you are in the race the greater the intensity. The closer to the election the greater intensity. This is a race where no one knows who is ahead. We have a crowded six person race. No public polls to digest. No leaked candidates polls. So this is moving time. You either move up or you move out. The uncertainty of the race has all but the main players fighting for their place in the sun.
This is the second debate inside a week where Edwards served as the pinata 
for her male opponents. There were numerous times a finger was pointed and charges directed at her as if she was the eight term incumbent. When people talked of change it was as if she was the one blocking change. Her attempts at connecting with the voters was lost in a sea of "they are both the same".
Debates, or forums as we like to call these things in the 21st century, are just a small part of an overall campaign. More people will read these words than were in attendance. So hopefully, my recollections match others. All sides will spin to highlight their candidate. It will be tough for Edwards to "win" another debate if the attacks continue. Wynn used his oratory skills to great effect. He defended his positions without being defensive. It was the best I had seen him in several debates over two election cycles.
What's Next
The candidates have another debate at PG Community College on Monday evening. I would expect more of the same. Also expect to see and hear more interviews on cable and radio in the coming week.
General Observations After Three Debates
Having sat through three debates and interviews with all candidates but Wynn (still waiting Congressman) here is a thumbnail sketch of the candidates, so far.
George McDermott (pictured to the left), the longest of long shots, continues to bark at a corrupt judicial system and wants you "to throw the bums out of office". He may not win but he is a decent and honest man who is determined to speak out against the faults of our judicial system as he sees it.
Jason Jennings (pictured to the right), who has not mastered the sound bite, has a theme of 'us, working folks vs. them, the rich'. He is the only candidate who was educated in local schools from kindergarten to graduate school. Jennings wants to be a different legislator than you have seen previously. He wants to not just change the representation in this district but he wants to change the way Congress operates completely.
George Mitchell wants you to know that he will speak out for the children. Not that others won't but he will be the first and the most vocal. His facts sometimes are off (e.g., when he mentions the district is 85% PG and almost 20% MoCo meaning the district equals 105% or he cites campaign contribution percentages for his opponents that don't match the public record) but Mitchell gives a good speech. You can tell he has not missed too many Sunday sermons. His cadence is good.
Mike Babula, the newest of the newcomers, wants you to know that without a serious change in our fiscal & monetary policy we face an economic future that rivals Independence Day. He may be right; but it is not the type of message that inspires. He also has some of the more libertarian views on drug control, education, health care, gun control, and foreign policy, though he will reject the use of that label. Somewhere the far right meets the far left and that seems to be where he resides.
Donna Edwards wants you to know that she has been where many have been -- a single parent, without health insurance, trying to raise a son -- all while serving as a public interest advocate. Outside of the Congressman, she is only person who can point to several accomplishments for the public good.
Al Wynn wants you know that he is not about promises but about results. His results speak for themselves though others may disagree. He claims "transparency" on campaign finance. He wants both universal education and universal health care. He sounds as if he got the message in 2006 and is willing to become a more vocal advocate for the district.
All candidates claim to be the latest agent of change in the year of change.
We are in a for wild 10 days sprint to the election. It is All in The Family now.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
That Other Congressional District
Most MoCo residents live in Congressional District 8 (I do) and therefore are represented by Chris Van Hollen. But almost a third of the county residents are located in Congressional District 4 (CD4) and therefore are represented by Al Wynn (official site). Ok and those people of Damascus are in yet a third district. But with 29 days to the primary I thought it would educational to meet and interview all of the six candidates running in the Democratic primary in CD4, where we will the potential to have the closest primary contest in the state.
Last election cycle, a mere 17 months ago, there were two challengers to Rep. Wynn (campaign site): Donna Edwards and George McDermott, between the two challengers they had a plurality of the votes. Not a good sign for an incumbent. The closeness of that race has spawned three additional candidates: George Mitchell, Jason Jennings and Michael Babula making for a crowded six person race. To help sort through things I thought it would be helpful to set down with each of them and get their opinions on the key issues.
So beginning this week I will be interviewing the candidates and posting here. Let me know if there are any questions that I should pose to the candidates. No below the belt comments, please there are other blogs for that.
First up will be the only newcomer in the race: Upper Marlboro Businessman George Mitchell.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Jason Jennings on Education
More from the 4th Congressional District:
Here is Jason Jennings position on education from two recent debates one of which was in front of the Prince George's African American Democratic Club.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Jennings Comes Through
I am taking a break from the District 18 vacancy to update you on the coming and goings in the biggest local race on the February ballot. It is the Congressional District 4 race. The field is now set with yesterday's filing deadline and the candidates are: incumbent Al Wynn, and challengers Donna Edwards, George Mitchell, George McDermott, and Jason Jennings with no Herman Taylor. In two earlier posts, I asked all the campaigns for video clips of themselves at the many local forums. Well we got our first posting from challenger Jason Jennings. Here it is. I hope the other campaigns will share their videos with us making us all more informed voters. Thanks Jason.
