This mailer was produced not by MCEA, but by Council Members Nancy Navarro and Valerie Ervin and at-large candidate Hans Riemer, all of whom have endorsed each other and all of whom are on the Apple Ballot.
Showing posts with label Nancy Navarro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nancy Navarro. Show all posts
Monday, September 13, 2010
East County Apple Mailer
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Nancy Navarro Endorses Jay Hutchins for Delegate
County Council Member Nancy Navarro has endorsed Jay Hutchins in the District 19 Delegate race. Navarro's East County district has a substantial overlap with the state legislative district. Following is Hutchins's press release.
CONFIDENCE IN JAY HUTCHINS’ LEADERSHIP EVIDENCED BY MORE THAN TWENTY ENDORSEMENTS
SILVER SPRING, MD – With just over four weeks until the September 14th primary, Jay Hutchins has earned more than 25 endorsements from local and state organizations and political leaders throughout District 19 and the State of Maryland. Most recently, Jay received an endorsement from Councilmember Nancy Navarro.
Expressing her confidence in Jay’s leadership, Councilmember Navarro said, "Jay is an experienced progressive voice with deep community ties. District 19 will be well served by Jay in Annapolis. He has my full support."
Jay’s deep ties to District 19 are reflected in his long-standing involvement with several community organizations and boards. He serves as a Commissioner for the Montgomery County Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs; is a member of the Montgomery County Executive’s African-American Advisory Group; belongs to the Northwood-Four Corners Civic Association and the PTA at his son’s schools. Jay is also on the executive boards of both the District 19 Democratic Club and the African-American Democratic Club (he is on hiatus from both boards while campaigning for Delegate) and is a Precinct Chair in District 19.
Jay has also received endorsements from three key education organizations - the Montgomery County Education Association, Maryland State Education Association, and the Montgomery County Public Schools Retirees Association. Jay said, “As a father of two young boys in Montgomery County Public Schools, and with a spouse who is a University of Maryland law professor, I truly understand the importance of having teachers, staff and volunteers who take part in the development and nurturing of every student’s learning experience.”
For months, Jay has been out knocking on doors and continues to meet voters all over the District. Jay said, “I go out every day, personally talking to as many voters as possible, talking with them about their concerns or issues. I want to give each voter the confidence that, if elected, I will work hard to be a strong voice on the many issues that are so important to the voters I have met.” Jay continued, “The positive response I receive from voters is very encouraging and motivates me to keep working hard. I know there are many voters who fully believe in me and my campaign.”
Jay’s endorsements, which come from a variety of organizations, are evidence of widespread confidence in Jay’s experience with, and knowledge of, the pertinent issues. As a result of his extensive professional experience, Jay has the depth and breadth of knowledge that will be needed to take on the diverse issues that come up in Annapolis. In addition to the teachers’ unions mentioned above, Jay has been endorsed by unions that support working families (AFL-CIO, SEIU, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, Progressive Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters), environmental groups (Sierra Club and the Green Democrats), and organizations that support civil rights issues (Montgomery County National Organization for Women, NARAL, and Equality Maryland). In addition to the support of Councilmember Navarro, there are several political and community leaders, including Montgomery County Executive, Ike Leggett, who have all stated their strong confidence in Jay and his ability to be an effective leader in Annapolis.
Jay stated, “I am honored by all of the endorsements I have received, and am very happy to know that these organizations and political leaders have great confidence in my ability to be a leader in Annapolis. They know I will work with other elected officials to make changes that will improve the quality of life for so many working families and individuals in District 19.” He continued, “But, I also understand that in the next four weeks and beyond, there is much work that needs to be done. I want each voter I come in contact with to know that I will continue to work hard every day to earn their confidence and support. The work doesn’t end on September 14th, it is really just beginning.”
A full list of the endorsements Jay Hutchins has received is available on his web site, www.jayhutchins.org.
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Monday, June 07, 2010
Berliner Endorses Navarro
Council Member Roger Berliner released this statement supporting Council Member Nancy Navarro for re-election:
On the major environmental issues facing Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Navarro has been a partner and a strong voice for environmental responsibility. From promoting transit use and preventing sprawl development, to preserving greenspace and demanding accountability from polluters, Nancy has been an ally in creating a greener future for all of us. I am proud to endorse my colleague Nancy Navarro for re-election to the County Council.Berliner supported Don Praisner over Navarro in the 2008 special election. Navarro voted for Nancy Floreen as Council President over Berliner last year. But now Navarro and Berliner have exchanged endorsements, so that all looks like water under the bridge.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Consequences of the Budget, Part Five
Budgets have political consequences. This one was no exception. Here are a few things that stand out.
1. Dominance of the Bond Rating Agencies
In our very first blog post, we labeled MCEA the “800-pound gorilla of MoCo.” No more. Now the county has three 800-pound gorillas: Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch. When the rating agencies began issuing warnings on the county’s AAA bond rating, the County Executive and the council immediately moved to increase the size of the energy tax hike, grab more money from furloughs and the school system and boost next year’s reserve from 5% to 6% of the general fund. One aggrieved labor leader compared the county to a third world country having to deal with the IMF. For years and years, the Post, taxpayer groups, conservatives and others have howled in the wind about fiscal discipline while the council regularly approved budget increases in the upper single digits (or more). The rating agencies have successfully bullied the elected officials into spending restraint – at least, for now.
2. The Unexpected
There were a number of surprises this year. First, Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg flipped her vote to yes on the ambulance fee, allowing it to pass 5-4. In explaining her change of mind to the Gazette, she said, “We no longer have the luxury of leaving insurance money on the table.” Well, if the ambulance fee was nothing more than insurance money, why not support it last year or the year before? The volunteer fire fighters are now vowing to unseat everyone who supported the fee, adding to Trachtenberg’s LONG list of enemies.
Second, long-time business allies Nancy Floreen and George Leventhal supported the energy tax against loud outcries from their friends. Floreen told them, “At this point we have to raise this revenue… We have no choice.” Leventhal said, “We’re in a box. We need the revenue... We’re faced with a lot of really hard choices.” All the Council Members wound up favoring an increase of some kind, though they disagreed on the amount and the final hike was a compromise.
Third, former Board of Education members Ervin and Navarro turned a lot of heads by taking on both the school system and the school unions. Ervin was out front early in supporting school furloughs and voted with Navarro and Trachtenberg in favor of them in the Management and Fiscal Policy Committee. That quickly became the position of the entire council. School officials and school union leaders were sorely disappointed with both women, whom they expected to defend them. One such official accused them of “hypocrisy” by pointing out the contrast between rhetorical statements about protecting kids and demands for teacher furloughs. Another official said that both women had “alienated” some in the school unions. This level of rage coming from the schools proves once and for all that neither Ervin nor Navarro can ever be characterized as servants of Jerry Weast or labor.
3. Sticking Together
The council was under intense pressure from all sides during the crisis. But rather than pull them apart, it actually pushed them together. Your author has heard multiple stories of Council Members who were barely on speaking terms with each other now being bosom buddies! None of them felt they had many choices, and all were battered and hardened by the abusive emails they received. (The ones containing grammatical errors that were sent by teachers provoked some gallows humor about the need to invest more in teacher training.) At the end, the Council Members had no one but each other. This may not last, but it was a unique moment during this term.
One benefit to this is that it becomes harder for endorsing organizations to differentiate between the incumbents. Labor is displeased with furloughs, but every Council Member supported them. Business is displeased with the energy tax hike, but every Council Member except Phil Andrews voted for it. (Andrews wanted an even steeper levy on business customers.) Every Council Member voted for the budget except Andrews and Knapp. Andrews voted against it because of the ambulance tax, while Knapp is displeased over “one-time solutions.” Unless an endorsing organization thinks it can take out seven or more incumbents, there’s not a lot to work with here.
One outraged observer sputtered, “A majority of this council is determined to appear united and unanimous out of a perceived need for incumbents to circle the wagons for the September primaries. That means that the majority will follow the minority to achieve the goal of unanimity. It is about them and their careers, not the taxpayers.” That’s fine, but what are you going to do about it?
4. Common Interest
The Council Members are not the only ones with common interest. The business community was hammered by the energy tax. County employees received no raises and some were furloughed. Non-profits and immigrants will endure large grant and service cuts. The smart growth community is constantly defending the Ride On system from route eliminations and schedule cuts. This is all going to continue.
The common enemy that all of these groups have is not the County Executive or the County Council: it’s the lack of economic growth. In our “Population, Jobs and Commutes in the Washington Region” series, we demonstrated that Montgomery County has lagged behind Fairfax and much of the rest of the region in population, employment and real wage growth for decades. That hurts the business community by limiting profits. It hurts county employees by limiting the tax base. It hurts the non-profits, the poor and the immigrant community by limiting services. And it hurts the pursuit of smart growth by limiting revenues necessary to build transit projects. Whether they know it or not, their interests are all intertwined. In the end, just like the politicians, all these groups have is each other. Only if these communities work together in pursuit of economic revitalization will MoCo’s long, slow fall come to an end.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Police, Fire Fighters Picket Navarro Fundraiser
Council Member Nancy Navarro won last year’s District 4 special election with lots of labor support. But that did not stop members of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35 and International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1664 from picketing her fundraiser in Silver Spring’s Forest Glen Seminary yesterday. Navarro, along with the rest of the council, decided to furlough public safety workers after County Executive Ike Leggett recommended furloughs only for non-public safety employees. If the police and fire fighters will do this to Navarro, they will take on anyone. We have photos below.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Governor O'Malley Endorses Nancy Navarro
Governor Martin O'Malley released the following statement of support for County Council Member Nancy Navarro. Navarro is the first Council Member to receive an endorsement from the Governor.As Governor of Maryland, I am committed to making sure Montgomery County remains an engine of job-creation and economic development. Councilmember Nancy Navarro has stood with me every step of the way to bring jobs and investment to Eastern Montgomery, and I was proud to announce that one of the nation's first federally-funded stimulus projects was located within her Council District. I am proud to endorse Nancy Navarro and join her in her efforts to create jobs and support the priorities of Montgomery County families. Together we are moving Maryland forward!
Monday, May 03, 2010
Franchot Endorses Navarro
Comptroller Peter Franchot released the following statement of support for County Council Member Nancy Navarro.Like me, Nancy Navarro is an independent voice who puts the interests of working families first. Her campaign message of "standing up for all of us" is guided by the same Democratic principles I fight for every day -- making government open and accountable and ensuring that all Marylanders have the opportunity to succeed. I am proud to endorse Democrat Nancy Navarro for re-election to the Montgomery County Council.
Navarro has already been endorsed by Senator Jamie Raskin (D-20), Delegates Sheila Hixson (D-20) and Karen Montgomery (D-14) and County Council Members George Leventhal, Nancy Floreen, Marc Elrich and Valerie Ervin. So far, she has no announced challenger for her seat.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
How to Show Momentum, Part Two
Here’s a few more ways for candidates to show momentum over the next couple months.
4. Blast your lit.
We will never understand candidates who do not want their literature posted on this blog. Look people, when we reprint your literature, we are spreading your message for free. So just send it to us because your district residents will probably pass it along anyway. We ran almost every candidate piece in the 2009 District 4 special election. Since then, we have run literature from Council Members Marc Elrich, Roger Berliner, and Phil Andrews and Senator Mike Lenett (D-19). Lenett’s Big Stick image, which we reprint again below, is priceless. Candidates should keep it coming and show everyone what you’ve got!
5. Release supporter statements.
This is an ancient tactic but it acquires new life on blogs. During the 2009 special election, Council Member George Leventhal sent us a guest post comparing Nancy Navarro to Marilyn Praisner. That rattled the Kramer campaign enough so that Alison Klumpp, Marilyn Praisner’s daughter, responded with an angry blog post denouncing it. Supporter statements have value because they may carry more credibility than a candidate’s own statements, especially when coming from prominent people. The above exchange had a side benefit of low-grade psychological warfare.
If we could pick the three best supporter statements in this county, they would come from Barack Obama, Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards, in that order. Land one of them and you’ll be right as rain.
6. The video endorsement.
When Donna Edwards endorsed Nancy Navarro last year, the Navarro campaign could have contented itself with a mere press release. But they went one step further with this video.
The imagery says it all. Progressive hero Donna Edwards has her arm around Navarro, testifying to her credentials before a clapping crowd. This video cemented Navarro as the progressive candidate in the race and she rode that message to victory.
7. Show your money.
Campaign finance reporting is very irregular. It is a crying injustice that there are no financial reports required for state and county candidates between January and August this year. It is not much better during short special elections. But in 2008, Don Praisner’s special election campaign began printing all of his contributions on his website right after they came in. Praisner scored points with his disclosure, and he also stressed the differences between his contributors and those of his opponents – a key part of his message. Other candidates who do the same in coming months will be respected for their honesty and, if their results are good, for their strength.
8. Move on the small issues.
During the 2009 special election, opponents to movement of the Wheaton library became a factor. So Nancy Navarro sent out a targeted mailer into a couple precincts where the issue was important siding with the opponents. Ben Kramer’s campaign squawked since they too opposed the move, but they never made a mailer out of it – and never sent it along to the blogs.
More tomorrow, folks!
Monday, March 08, 2010
How to Show Momentum, Part One
Political campaigns are processes of milestones. In presidential campaigns, those milestones consist of poll releases, big endorsements, financial reports, debates and state primary results, one after the other. The relative progress demonstrated by candidates is very obvious. In statewide campaigns, all of the above except sequential primary results are also a factor. But in state legislative and County Council races, there are fewer milestones. We are now in a long dry period between two of them: the January financial reports and the Apple Ballot announcement, which took place in June back in 2006. How can candidates show their momentum during a time when few objective measures of their progress are available?
Make no mistake: the appearance of momentum and strength is very important, especially for challengers, open seat candidates and anyone running in a close race. Candidates who look strong find it easier to raise money, pick up supporters and ultimately gain the county’s most important endorsement, MCEA’s Apple Ballot. Some of the county’s politicians have shown that they are true experts in the art of looking good over the last year or two. If you are a candidate and want to show your strength, here is what you should do.
1. Assemble a giant supporter list.
District 17 Senate challenger Cheryl Kagan is the undisputed queen of the supporter list. Way back in June – over a year before the primary – Kagan released a fundraising invitation containing 158 supporters. Just four months later, her list grew to 199 names. Incumbent Jennie Forehand replied with a list of 93 names, but it had three problems. First, 28 of the names were other elected officials. Incumbents are expected to endorse each other. Second, Senator Jamie Raskin (D-20) and former Montgomery College President Charlene Nunley, both of whom were on the list, said that they never gave permission for use of their names. (Nunley said she was supporting Kagan.) And third, one of the people on the list had died prior to its publication. Advantage: Kagan.
County Council District 1 incumbent Roger Berliner also made good use of this tactic. Berliner got wind of a possible challenge from East Bethesda civic leader Ilaya Hopkins last fall, so he began combing through the district asking for support. When Hopkins announced her exploratory committee, Berliner countered with a 158-name supporter list less than two weeks later. In one fell move, Berliner changed the story from Hopkins’s challenge to his own strength as an incumbent, prompting us to declare him the favorite.
Finally, at-large County Council challenger Hans Riemer’s 90-name list started his campaign with a bang. More than one incumbent was upset by it and several phone calls were placed to Riemer supporters in protest. These are signs that Riemer’s campaign is being taken seriously by friends and foes alike.
In building a supporter list, candidates should keep the following in mind. Out-of-state and out-of-district people matter less than in-district people unless they are prominent. (Donna Edwards’s name, for example, goes a long ways outside of Congressional District 4.) In-district opinion leaders may be the most valuable and most overlooked names for a list. If a candidate’s list does not include anyone inside the district, that candidate is probably unknown – a bad sign. Work your districts, people!
2. The bio video.
Nancy Navarro opened her 2009 special election campaign with this video.
District 5 incumbent Valerie Ervin, who will probably not even have a challenger, released this video last fall.
Both videos served two purposes. First, these candidates spoke directly to voters establishing their biographies and goals. Second, they also demonstrated that they were running highly professional campaigns with a range of outreach tools. Any opponent watching these videos would be impressed and perhaps a bit intimidated. Mission accomplished.
3. Guest blogs.
Here is a paraphrased account of a conversation that your author has had with many politicians.Pagnucco: Have you ever Googled yourself?
MPW does not exist to glorify politicians. (That’s why they spend campaign contributions.) But we have had a longstanding invitation for guest blogs. We do not want posts saying, “I’m great; vote for me!” We do want posts on policy initiatives favored by candidates. Some of the ones we have received have been excellent, such as the submissions from Delegates Heather Mizeur (D-20), Bill Frick (D-16) and Kirill Reznik (D-39) and County Council Member George Leventhal. But nothing beat the four-part series Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39) wrote differentiating his positions from those of Senator Nancy King (D-39). Ali caused a BIG splash with that series and probably raised himself a lot of money because of it – along with a bit of cash for King as well. So if you are a candidate who wants to write about a genuine policy issue, drop us a line.
Politician X: Not lately.
Pagnucco: If you do, you are likely to find blog posts written about you.
Politician X: Get out! (Googles himself.) Cripes, you need to take that stuff you printed about me down.
Pagnucco: Look at it this way. If a casual voter Googles you and finds blog posts, do you want them to read the rubbish that I write about you, or do you want them to read your own statements about things that you care about?
Politician X: Well, that’s an obvious question. I sure don’t want them reading the awful things you write.
Pagnucco: So give me a guest blog!
We’ll have more in Part Two.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Transactions Worth Noting, Part One (Updated)
Buried in the new contribution reports are little nuggets. Some may be gold, some may be zirconium and some may be scrap metal. Read the following and you can decide.
County Executive Ike Leggett contributed $1,500 to District 4 County Council candidate Nancy Navarro on 5/12/09 after endorsing Ben Kramer in the 2009 special election primary. Navarro also received $2,000 from Governor Martin O’Malley on 5/13/09 and $2,000 from Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown on 7/8/09. Navarro was the only MoCo politician to whom the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor contributed last year. Navarro’s opponent in the general election was anti-tax activist Robin Ficker, a man whom neither the County Executive nor the Governor apparently wanted to see holding elected office.
District 17 Senate challenger Cheryl Kagan received a total of $4,000 from the MoCo Career Fire Fighters PAC, but returned $1,000 to comply with her self-imposed “Clean Seventeen” pledge. That pledge restricts Kagan to a maximum contribution level of half the legal limit. The Fire Fighters are the only institutional supporter of Kagan of whom we are aware.
Senator Nancy King (D-39) received two $1,000 checks from Senate President Mike “Big Daddy” Miller on 6/1/09 and 12/28/09. Miller also gave $1,000 to Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18) and another $1,000 to Senator Mike Lenett (D-19).
District 19 Delegate candidate Sam “Hunk of the Hill” Arora received an incredible 666 individual contributions for $64,460. One of those contributors was former DNC Chair and Virginia Governor candidate Terry McAuliffe, who gave Arora $1,000 on 11/22/09. Only 30% of Arora’s contributions came from Maryland. That figure excludes his $45,000 loan to himself.
Council Member Valerie Ervin gave $150 to occasional ally and occasional adversary Council Member Marc Elrich on 12/7/09. Elrich also received contributions from fellow Council Members Roger Berliner ($2,000 on 1/11/10), Duchy Trachtenberg ($1,000 on 1/11/10) and Phil Andrews ($150 on 1/12/10) and District 39 Delegate Saqib Ali ($200 on 10/21/09).
Former County Executive Doug Duncan spent $39.86 on 7/28/09 for “domain registration.” The check went to former Duncan staffer Jerry “Darth Vader” Pasternak. Duncan contributed $2,000 to Comptroller Peter Franchot, $1,000 to at-large County Council candidate Becky Wagner and $1,000 to District 19 Delegate candidate and former MCEA President Bonnie Cullison, all on 1/12/10.
Former District 39 Senator Patrick J. Hogan made 20 contributions from his old campaign account for $7,010 last year. The biggest recipients were Governor O’Malley (two $1,000 checks plus a $500 check), Big Daddy ($1,000) and Speaker Mike Busch (two $500 checks).
Potomac resident Patrick Lacefield, County Executive Ike Leggett’s spokesman, made two contributions in the last reporting year to Council Member George Leventhal ($100 on 11/29/09) and District 14 Delegate Anne Kaiser ($25 on 12/1/09). Lacefield does not live in Kaiser’s district.
Marylandreporter.com publisher Len Lazarick gave $60 to the Republican State Central Committee of Maryland on 6/8/09. This follows other contributions of $30 (on 4/24/03) and $35 (on 5/7/04) to the Howard County Republican Central Committee and $40 to the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee on 5/30/06. We traced Marylandreporter.com’s funding to right-wing groups last year. The founders of competitor Center Maryland, on the other hand, have contributed $54,802 to state and local politicians over the last ten years, with 92% of the money going to Democrats. Both sites claim to be sources of objective news.
More transactions tomorrow!
Update: Len Lazarick says that his “contributions” to the GOP were actually meal reimbursements when he was covering their events. We appreciate Lazarick’s discussion of the issue. Truthfully, we are much more interested in why Center Maryland founder Howard Libit wrote a $1,000 check to Doug Gansler on the very day that Center Maryland began operations.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Nancy Navarro: "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs"
Council Member Nancy Navarro's newest newsletter starts with an obligatory photo featuring Leisure World residents - a natural given the retirement community's big role in her district - but is really all about the economy. For heaven's sake, it mentions the word "job" twenty-two times! Navarro talks about "jobs and investment for East County residents," attracting bio-tech jobs to the Route 29 corridor, more transit options to help residents get to (you guessed it) jobs, bringing jobs to Burtonsville, protecting libraries since residents use them to find (say it with me) jobs, expanding *job* opportunities for disabled residents, and so on. If you didn't get the message, the words, "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs" appear in bright red letters right in the middle of the newsletter. Sheesh, folks, it's quite a job to keep up with all these mentions of jobs!
But we believe that Navarro, who will be the only candidate who has gone to the voters for three straight years(!) by the end of this cycle, has a point. In 2006, debate over the pace of development was a big part of the county elections. 2010 looks like it could be very different.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Where are the District County Council Challengers?
We have written extensively about the At-Large County Council race. But what about the District County Council elections?
Sadly for us but happily for the incumbents, there’s not very much to report.
At first glance, it should be easier for challengers to overthrow County Council incumbents in the county’s five districts for one simple reason: it is cheaper to run in a district than at-large. But that has not helped recent district challengers. The only two district incumbents who were thrown out in the last two cycles were Republicans unseated by Democrats: District 1’s Howard Denis, who was defeated by Roger Berliner in 2006, and District 2’s Nancy Dacek, who was defeated by Mike Knapp in 2002. All of the Democratic incumbents who were challenged won.
Here are the Democratic primary statistics for all district seats held by Democratic incumbents from the last two cycles.
2006 Cycle
District 2 (Upcounty): Incumbent Mike Knapp vs. Sharon Dooley
Vote Percentage: Knapp 63.8%, Dooley 36.2%
Contributions: Knapp $213,547, Dooley $16,339
District 3 (Rockville/Gaithersburg): Incumbent Phil Andrews vs. Bob Dorsey
Vote Percentage: Andrews 75.9%, Dorsey 24.1%
Contributions: Andrews $98,298, Dorsey $25,570
District 4 (East County): Incumbent Marilyn Praisner vs. Mike Jones
Vote Percentage: Praisner 79.9%, Jones 20.1%
Contributions: Praisner $52,326, Jones filed no reports
District 5 (Silver Spring/Takoma Park/Kensington): Open Seat
2002 Cycle
District 3: Incumbent Phil Andrews vs. Bob Dorsey
Vote Percentage: Andrews 53.6%, Dorsey 46.4%
Contributions: Andrews $75,173, Dorsey $68,072
District 4: Incumbent Marilyn Praisner vs. Steve Joseph
Vote Percentage: Praisner 80.2%, Joseph 19.8%
Contributions: Praisner $27,739, Joseph $42,942
District 5: Open Seat
Averages, District County Council Seats Held by Democratic Incumbents, 2002 and 2006
Vote Percentage: Incumbents 70.7%, Challengers 29.3%
Contributions: Incumbents $93,417, Challengers $30,585
The only competitive district race in the last two cycles was incumbent Phil Andrews’ 2002 win over Bob Dorsey in District 3, which includes Rockville and Gaithersburg. Dorsey was a Rockville City Council Member who ran as part of County Executive Doug Duncan’s End Gridlock slate. Andrews survived twelve(!) pro-Dorsey mailings and numerous negative attacks in part because he was endorsed by MCEA. (My, how times change.) None of the other challengers had any significant institutional support. The only Democratic district incumbent to lose in 1998 was District 3’s Bill Hanna, who was driven out by none other than Andrews.
The winning recipe for district incumbents is straightforward: pay attention to constituent service, earn the support of community leaders around the district, wrap up important endorsements and raise more money than the opponent(s). All of that sucks up the oxygen needed by any challenger. At-large elections are more complicated since they are four-person round robins. Lots more factors count in those contests, including incumbent-on-incumbent rivalries. Both the 2002 and 2006 races featured one open at-large seat and one defeated incumbent, producing two at-large freshmen.
Currently, the district races do not look as interesting as the at-large contest. No incumbent has a confirmed challenger yet. Here’s what we are hearing.
District 1, Incumbent Roger Berliner
East Bethesda civic leader Ilaya Hopkins is exploring a challenge. We sized up this potential race last month.
District 2, Incumbent Mike Knapp
Knapp may not run for re-election. If he does, he may face civic activist Sharon Dooley again. Dooley lost to Knapp by 28 points in 2006. If Knapp does not seek to return, Gaithersburg/Germantown Chamber of Commerce CEO Marilyn Balcombe and Dooley seem certain to run, and there may be other candidates.
District 3
We reported rumors that former Rockville Mayor Larry Giammo was a possible candidate for this seat a year ago, but have heard nothing since. Phil Andrews may run unopposed.
District 4
Delegate Ben Kramer (D-19) is still smarting from his special election loss to Nancy Navarro in the spring of 2009. Kramer never conceded the race and never endorsed Navarro against Republican Robin Ficker. He may seek to challenge Navarro again. If so, he will likely be supported by at-large incumbent Duchy Trachtenberg, who lost her chance to become Council Vice-President in 2010 and Council President in 2011 because of Navarro’s election. The last Navarro-Kramer contest was a bitter affair culminating in multiple negative mailers by Navarro against Kramer. A rematch would see no quarter given by either side.
District 5
Incumbent Valerie Ervin has no rivals on the horizon. She could very well be a kingmaker in the at-large race. Many suitors will no doubt seek her support.
If anything changes, we’ll be sure to let you know!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Elrich and Navarro Exchange Endorsements
In a move that defies conventional perceptions of the County Council, Council Members Marc Elrich and Nancy Navarro have endorsed each other for re-election. Navarro and long-time ally Valerie Ervin are also supporting each other. Surprised? Just see the graphic below, sent out by an email blast from the Navarro campaign.
Elrich endorsed Don Praisner over Navarro in the 2008 special election, but sat out the 2009 special in which Navarro barely defeated Delegate Ben Kramer (D-19). Since Navarro’s election, she has worked with Elrich on a pair of Zoning Text Amendments concerning EZStorage in Burtonsville and Sandy Spring and teamed up with him to defeat a proposal by the Planning Board to increase the threshold of allowable school crowding. Steady growth in the working relationship between their two offices paved the way for a mutual endorsement.
At first glance, the two appear to be something of an odd couple. Elrich made his early name in politics by rejecting developer money and criticizing rivals who accepted it. Navarro was slammed by Don Praisner’s supporters for not adhering to similar standards (even though Marilyn Praisner never did.) Navarro’s signature campaign strategy was her effort to reach out to new voters. Elrich, a 60-year-old MoCo native who has held elected office in the county for more than twenty years, does not seem to fit that profile.
But the first glance is insufficient to understand some important commonalities between the two. Navarro ran on a smart growth platform and opposed the ICC. Elrich has been fighting the ICC since Moses came down from the Mount, and his BRT system plan is the leading smart growth initiative in the county. Furthermore, that proposal would benefit Navarro’s East County district, which would get BRT lines on US-29 and New Hampshire Avenue, possibly more than any other part of the county. Both Navarro and Elrich will draw significant labor support this year. And most importantly, each has reached the conclusion that any differences between the two are more than overshadowed by the benefits of cooperation.
Of all the mutual council endorsements that could have kicked off 2010, this one generates more surprise than most. Now the other candidates will have to adjust, react and respond.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Details on MoCo Equal Benefits Bill
Following is the press release from the County Council.
Montgomery County District 4 Councilmember Nancy Navarro at 12:30 p.m. TODAY, Monday, Nov. 2, in Rockville will announce details of an “equal benefits” bill she will be introducing before the Council that would extend to employees of many contractors and subcontractors performing work for the County the same benefits already granted to County employees. Among those speaking Monday will be Morgan Meneses-Sheets, executive director of Equality Maryland.
Neil H. Greenberger
Legislative Information Officer
Montgomery County Council
240-777-7939
Contact: David Moon 240-777-7953
Montgomery Council to Consider Bill That Would Provide Equal Benefits to Same Sex Domestic Partners of Employees of County Contractors
At Event TODAY, Monday, Nov. 2, Councilmember Nancy Navarro Will Detail Bill to Give Employees Working on Certain County Contracts Equal Benefits as Others
ROCKVILLE, Md., November 2, 2009—Montgomery County District 4 Councilmember Nancy Navarro at 12:30 p.m.
TODAY, Monday, Nov. 2, in Rockville will announce details of an “equal benefits” bill she will be introducing before the Council that would extend to employees of many contractors and subcontractors performing work for the County the same benefits already granted to County employees.
Councilmember Navarro will join other supporters to discuss the legislation at 12:30 p.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. Among those speaking Monday will be Morgan Meneses-Sheets, executive director of Equality Maryland. The bill will be officially introduced before the Council on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
The County has a longstanding policy, in law and practice, against employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Montgomery County already grants equal benefits to a same sex domestic partner of a County employee that are offered to an employee’s spouse, through Bill 29-99, effective March 3, 2000. Navarro’s bill would simply extend this law to many employees of County contractors and subcontractors.
Councilmember President Phil Andrews, Vice President Roger Berliner and Councilmembers Marc Elrich, Valerie Ervin, Nancy Floreen, George Leventhal and Duchy Trachtenberg are co-sponsors of the legislation. The equal benefits bill also has the support of County Executive Isiah Leggett.
What It Does: The legislation would extend equal benefits to a same-sex domestic partner of a covered employee recognized under a marriage license, domestic partnership or civil union granted out of state or to a same-sex domestic partner as defined under Maryland law. The legislation would only cover employees who perform work for the County on a contract that is currently covered by either the County’s Wage Requirements Law or the recently enacted Prevailing Wage Law.
Benefits that may be extended under the legislation could include bereavement leave, family medical leave, sick leave, health benefits, dental benefits, disability insurance, life insurance and retirement benefits.
“When it comes to civil rights, it is critical that we treat contract employees with the same respect as County employees when it comes to something as important as same-sex benefits for their domestic partners. This is a matter of basic fairness,” said Councilmember Navarro. “Because we are a large County with a diversity of employment situations, we have people who provide services and do outstanding work over long periods of time, but who do it working as contractors instead of as County employees. This should not stop them from receiving the same benefits as their opposite-sex counterparts.”
Some of the important exclusions from this Bill would be:
· Non-construction services contracts for less than $50,000
· Contractors with less than 10 employees
· Contracts with government agencies or non-profit organizations
· Contracts for public utility services
· Emergency contracts
· Bridge contracts based upon a contract awarded by another government agency
Construction contracts valued at less than $500,000 or financed by State or Federal grants
“Equal treatment for individuals who have domestic partners in Montgomery County is a right, and I strongly support efforts to provide equal treatment for those partners of employees of companies who do business with Montgomery County,” said County Executive Leggett.
Maryland currently grants limited rights to same sex couples through legislation passed in 2008 to establish “domestic partnerships” in the state. According to Equality Maryland, the 2008 State laws included 11 protections for domestic partners, including hospital visitation and the making of funeral arrangements for each other. The organization said the State laws also make allowance for a domestic partner's name to be added or removed from the deed of a residence, without incurring a tax liability, as with married spouses.
Montgomery County’s law granting equal benefits to County employees has been upheld in the Maryland Court of Appeals after it was challenged in the case Tyma v. Montgomery County, 369 Md. 497 (Md. 2002).
“I am joining with Councilmember Navarro to support equal benefits for same sex-domestic partners who have formalized their civil unions,” said Councilmember Ervin, who represents Kensington, Silver Spring, Takoma Park and Wheaton. “For me, equal protection under the law is a civil rights issue. Benefits such as health insurance, maternity leave and dental and vision coverage are critical for all working families. Same-sex couples should have the same protections.”
Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg said: “While the County awaits the Attorney General’s opinion recognizing the valid marriages of out-of-state same-sex couples, as well as action from the General Assembly to recognize the humanity of all Marylanders by providing equal access to marriage and its rights and responsibilities, I fully support Councilmember Navarro’s bill to extend domestic partnership benefits to those who work for contractors doing business with Montgomery County.”
Councilmember Nancy Floreen said: “As a long time advocate of equal rights, I’ve always felt that the LGBT community has been underserved. I’m very proud to support this bill as another small step toward full equality in the workplace for Montgomery County’s LGBT community. I hope that, moving forward, LGBT couples and individuals are able to realize true equality under the law, both in Montgomery County and the State of Maryland.”
Councilmember Roger Berliner said: “This legislation builds upon Montgomery County’s proud tradition of fighting discrimination. Committed same sex partners do not have the same rights to basic health care that married heterosexual couples have. Our County extends these benefits equally; those who work for us should as well.”
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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Nancy Navarro Calls for District 4 Parkland Acquisition (Updated)
Following is the press release from the Council Member's office.
Update: The resolution was endorsed by the Audubon Naturalist Society and the Montgomery Countryside Alliance and passed on a 7-0 vote.
Councilmember Nancy Navarro Calls for District 4 Parkland Acquisition
Proposed Parkland Purchase Would Mitigate ICC Impact & Protect Environment
Contact: David Moon (240) 777-7953 or david.moon@montgomerycountymd.gov
ROCKVILLE, MD – As part of her ongoing desire to mitigate environmental impacts from the ICC, Nancy Navarro announced her staunch support for a County Council resolution to approve the purchase of 52 acres of land for Burtonsville’s Fairland Park. The parcel contains old growth forest over 100-years-old, as well as wetlands and bogs that would serve as a buffer for the ICC, which is located only 1.5 miles away. Groups ranging from the Sierra Club of Montgomery County to the East County Citizens Advisory Board endorsed the purchase.
Navarro noted: “The ICC cuts aggressively through District 4, and as a result, the residents of my community are shouldering many of the highway’s negative impacts. But by saving this delicate land from development, the County would be taking a step forward to demonstrate basic fairness. We transferred so much land to the State for ICC construction, that it only makes sense to take advantage of these rare opportunities to preserve replacement land.”
The land would be sold to Montgomery County by Fairland Development LLC, at a cost of $8,750,000, which has been negotiated down from the original asking price of $11,550,000. If the County Council rejects the purchase, this sensitive land will undoubtedly be developed into 109 housing units. Navarro highlighted the fact that this acquisition would not have been possible were it not for the weakened financial conditions in the development and housing industry. “The housing crash has presented Montgomery County with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect and preserve land at a steep discount.”
The County Council will vote on this resolution during its July 14th session today.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Is Leggett Undermining Navarro on Day One?
County Executive Ike Leggett was quick to endorse Nancy Navarro in the District 4 special general election after twice opposing her in the 2008 and 2009 special primaries. But Leggett’s efforts to patch things up with Navarro and her supporters may well be hindered by his appointment of a prominent Navarro opponent to a critical position in her district. It seems the battle for District 4 will never end.
On Friday, the Gazette reported that Leggett appointed Joy Nurmi as the new Acting Director of the East County Regional Services Center. Nurmi is a former Chief of Staff to both Marilyn and Don Praisner. But she is far more than that.
Joy Nurmi once worked for Republican County Council Member Betty Ann Krahnke (R-1), who stepped down from her seat in 2000 and died in 2002. The Maryland Voter Activation Network lists Nurmi as a former “Republican Voter” and she contributed to the county’s GOP. She is now a registered Democrat.
Nurmi was never merely a staffer. She was also a political supporter of the Praisners. In 2006, Nurmi bought office supplies for Marilyn Praisner’s campaign.
In 2008, Nurmi was one of Don Praisner’s key supporters in his bid to succeed his wife despite her employment on the council staff. The Post reported that Nurmi and William Klein, a press aide to Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg, conferred with Praisner campaign manager Eric Hensal during working hours. And Don Praisner’s original website, which we preserved, listed Nurmi’s home phone number and email address as his campaign contact.
Don Praisner’s Gazette profile also listed Nurmi’s home phone number as his campaign contact.
Now Joy Nurmi is the Acting Director of the East County Regional Services Center. That is a powerful position. The directors of the county’s five regional services centers are the County Executive’s liaisons to the community, including to the area citizens advisory boards, and coordinate service provision to residents. Some compare them to appointed “mayors” and they are especially important in areas without municipalities – like East County. Regional services directors have lots of direct contact with activists and can make Council Members look good or bad. Nurmi is known to be a friend of Alison Klumpp, Marilyn Praisner’s daughter, who endorsed Ben Kramer and once had ambitions to run for the District 4 seat. Joy Nurmi is hardly the top choice of any Navarro supporter for the East County job, which covers half of District 4.
The regional services directors were once merit positions, meaning that they were filled by competitive application and could only be dismissed for cause. But one of Leggett’s first initiatives upon winning election was to convert those jobs into political positions, meaning that they serve at the pleasure of the Executive. The County Council passed a bill in 2007 making the change.
Sec. 1A-102 of the County Code says this about non-merit positions:(2) a. If the position of Chief Administrative Officer, head of a department or principal office, or any other position in the Executive Branch designated by law as a non-merit position, is vacant, the County Executive must appoint someone to fill the vacancy.
So if Joy Nurmi is to remain in her new position, the County Council must confirm her.
b. The County Executive should submit the appointment to the Council within 90 days after the vacancy occurs.
(3) a. Within 60 days, the Council should vote on confirmation of an appointment.
b. The affirmative votes of a majority of councilmembers in office are necessary to confirm an appointment.
(4) If the Council votes on an appointment, does not confirm it, and does not reconsider the vote, the County Executive must make a new appointment. The County Executive should make the new appointment within 90 days after the deadline for reconsidering the vote.
(5) If the Council does not act on confirmation of an appointment within 60 days, the Council may no longer vote on that appointment. Within 90 days after the end of the sixty-day period, the County Executive should either:
a. Resubmit the appointment; or
b. Submit a new appointment.
Back in 2007, no one imagined the succession of events that occurred in the District 4 seat. And if the Council had believed that the Executive would ever appoint a political opponent of a Council Member to serve as Regional Director in his or her district, they may very well not have approved his proposal to make them political jobs. But that is exactly what is about to happen to Nancy Navarro.
There is simply no way that Ike Leggett and his senior staff are unaware of the above facts. Joy Nurmi is a longtime supporter of Leggett’s and it makes sense that he would want to take care of her. But there are many other positions inside the government in which Nurmi could be placed without picking open the scab of the special elections. Whether it is intentional or not, Leggett’s appointment of Nurmi looks like an attempt to undermine Navarro’s tenure even before it starts. Will the County Council allow it? We’ll see.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Reflections and Advice for 2010
Eric Luedtke’s analysis of the impact of the District 4 campaign on future Montgomery races was truly excellent. So naturally, I’d like to spoil it with my own two cents.
First, many politicians I talk to seem to have learned the wrong lesson from this race. They assume Nancy Navarro won in part because of the negative mail and anticipate more of that in 2010. They may be right that negative campaigning will increase, but it is fundamentally unknowable whether the anti-Kramer mailers put Navarro over the top. Ben Kramer was able to use those mailers to depict Navarro as a nasty opponent and himself as a victim, and that may very well have helped him to increase turnout among his base in Leisure World. Politicians emphasize this tactic in part because of its mass visibility. In contrast, the micro-targeting that Navarro’s campaign used was never matched by Kramer and had no downside. Since it was largely invisible, it does not receive sufficient credit for helping Navarro win the primary.
Eric also said this:I think we saw a profound difference between the way the Navarro campaign treated bloggers – as real media targets in the same way they pursue reporters – versus how the Kramer campaign treated bloggers – as, well, bloggers.
And how! I have two pieces of advice for politicians on how to deal with bloggers in 2010.
1. Send us every bit of positive information about your own campaign.
The Navarro and Lamari campaigns fed us a steady diet of positive news about themselves. Navarro’s staff sent us lots of endorsements, pictures, videos, mailers and everything else short of a new sauna. Lamari did the same thing and even contributed an op-ed column. (We encourage all politicians to steal Cary Lamari’s community land trust idea as long as they give him credit!) But the Kramer campaign sent us very little positive info about him. We had to go out and obtain his endorsements from those organizations themselves. We also had to ask Duchy Trachtenberg’s staff for her endorsement of Kramer. We only received two unsolicited pro-Kramer statements – one from Kevin Gillogly and another from Alison Klumpp – and neither of them were paid Kramer staffers. If we did not affirmatively seek out positive information on Kramer, very little of it would have appeared here because his campaign did not volunteer it.
Kramer’s people did respond to requests for information. One item they sent me – a set of notes from the State Highway Administration about the Georgia-Norbeck intersection – directly contradicted a statement made by Lamari in a debate. Why didn’t they offer this to me right after the debate and not wait for me to ask for it? If I had not gone out of my way to pursue this information, Kramer’s side of the Georgia-Norbeck issue would not have been told.
2. Don’t lie.
At the very beginning of the campaign, I asked Ben Kramer this question:Delegate, the last time you ran for County Council, you finished seventh out of eight candidates in the 1998 at-large race. If you finished that badly last time, why do you think you will win this time?
Kramer replied the reason he ran poorly in 1998 was that he dropped out of the race but missed the withdrawal deadline. He told me that his name was still on the ballot, but since he did not campaign, he attracted few votes.
I quickly discovered this was untrue. Kramer earned County Executive Doug Duncan’s endorsement prior to June 1998. He participated in a candidate debate in August. The Gazette mentioned Kramer’s candidacy on August 26 and discussed his mailers on September 2. Also on September 2, the Gazette reported that 40% of Kramer’s contributions came from developers. The Gazette reported the results from a poll on the at-large race, including Kramer, on September 9. And on election night, Kramer went to a vote count at Richard Montgomery High School before learning of his loss. The Gazette carried this quote:“I don’t have an answer [about what happened],” said a key Kramer supporter, Gino Renne, president of the Municipal and County Government Employees Organization.
I did not report this at the time because I was hoping that Kramer had made a mistake. What candidate would deliberately make such a claim when it could be so easily checked? But the more I thought about it, the more my skepticism of his campaign’s statements grew. One problem was Kramer’s position on ICC traffic mitigation. His sister, Senator Rona Kramer (D-14), defended a plan by SHA to build a bypass around Georgia Avenue and Norbeck Road at a community meeting attended by Ben Kramer. But shortly afterwards, both Kramers slammed it in writing as “convoluted.” The honesty issue boiled over when Kramer told Leisure World that he was not accepting contributions from developers while looking me in the eye, a statement that I had previously found to be untrue and exposed again the day before the election. Thousands of visitors saw that post. The Kramer campaign never responded and I caught them taking a developer contribution again after the primary. The issue of truthfulness will now dog Ben Kramer throughout the rest of his political career.
We are not naïve. We understand that some issues can be interpreted in multiple ways. We know the differences between honest disagreements, spin, parsing words, using context and outright falsehood. Remember that this blog is based in part on research. If you lie, we will find out. So just tell the truth. It’s easier that way for you and for us.
Nancy Navarro Declares “New Day” in Montgomery County
Following is the press release from her campaign.
##FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE##
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Contact: David Moon, Campaign Manager
Email: david@navarroforcouncil.com
Nancy Navarro Declares “New Day” in Montgomery County
SILVER SPRING, MD – Today, Nancy Navarro declared victory in the Montgomery County Council, District 4 Special Election. After the now annual voting ritual that District 4 voters are becoming accustomed to, Navarro looks forward to reaching out to all members of the community and providing the steady, responsive representation that the late Councilmember Marilyn Praisner was so well-known for.
Navarro commented, “I am humbled to be able to give back to the community that has been so wonderful to my family for the past two decades. I am ready to get right to work and pick up where the Praisners left off.”
Navarro will host a series of town hall meetings in the coming months to meet residents throughout the many unique neighborhoods of District 4 and hear their concerns. During the campaign, in addition to reaching out to likely Democratic voters, Nancy began extensive outreach to communities traditionally taken for granted by politicians -- a strategy modeled partly after President Obama’s successful campaign.
As a result, this election is likely to have repercussions beyond simply filling a council vacancy. Many experts had been speculating about whether the droves of “unlikely” voters that Obama brought into the electorate would participate in off-year, down-ticket races. The answer in Montgomery County seems to be a resounding “yes.” Navarro’s campaign notes that 3,500 Democrats participated in the April 21st primary that did not participate in the 2008 Special Primary. The campaign plans to release a more thorough analysis of the 2009 Special Election in the coming weeks – but it is already clear that with the larger, and typically more diverse electorate expected to participate in the 2010 election cycle, Navarro’s margins can only improve.
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