By Paul M. Bessel.
If you compare the statistics on voting in Leisure World with voting in the county and district 19, there are some interesting comparisons.
According to the Montgomery County Board of Elections, about 19% of the registered voters in the county cast ballots in the September 14, 2010, primary.
Using statistics from the same source, at least 33% of the registered Democrats in Leisure World cast ballots in that primary, and the number of registered voters in LW is unusually high to begin with, about 7,200 registered out of about 8,500 residents.
While this shows that the voting in LW is very significant, the way LW residents voted differs from the way district 19 and the county voted. (This also happened in last year’s special election for the district 4 County Council seat, where LW voted overwhelmingly for Ben Kramer while Nancy Navarro narrowly won in the district.)
Mike Lenett won in Leisure World by about 225 votes, about 58% to 42%, while Roger Manno won in all of district 19 by about 870 votes, 54% to 46%, so Lenett won in LW by a larger percentage than Manno won in the district. Both Lenett and Manno worked very hard in LW. (LW voting statistics are from the voting machines on Sept 14, where it appears that the votes from one machine were not counted because of a problem with that machine --- and not counting early voting and absentee ballots, which might change the picture somewhat.)
The lineup of votes for district 19 Delegates in Leisure World was Kramer, Arora, Cullison, with 31%, 21%, and 19% of the total votes, while the lineup in district 19 as a whole was Kramer, Cullison, Arora, (reversing the LW results for the 2nd and 3rd spots) by 26%, 21%, and 20%. Ben Kramer is extremely popular in LW, and Arora and Dang were the candidates who probably had more events at LW than others.
For County Council LW voted for Leventhal, Trachtenberg, Floreen, and Elrich, with Riemer in 5th place, by 17%, 17%, 16%, 15%, and 12% of the votes. The county as a whole went for Elrich, Riemer, Floreen, and Leventhal by 18%, 15%, 15%, 14%, and 13%. Riemer probably had more events at LW than other candidates for this position.
Conclusions: Leisure World residents, especially registered Democrats in LW, vote in far larger numbers and percentages than elsewhere. However, the winners and losers in LW are not necessarily the same as in the whole district or county, despite the force of the large LW voting numbers --- which is still extremely significant and will continue to be so.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Comparing 2010 Primary Election Voting in Leisure World with Voting Elsewhere
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Guest Blog on the Last Council At-Large Forum
Leisure World resident and Democratic Party activist Paul Bessel sent us the following guest blog about last week's County Council At-Large forum, which the Gazette characterized as an all-out attack by the incumbents on challenger Hans Riemer. Your author was not present, but Bessel was, and the following is his reaction to the event.
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I attended the July 29 County Council At Large candidates’ debate hosted by Progressive Neighbors and I was upset by what I saw and heard. Some of the candidates, especially some of the incumbent Council Members, behaved in a way that disheartened me and I think should disappoint all citizens.
Several times, some of the incumbents (not all) laughed and whispered among themselves, and sometimes interrupted, while other candidates were speaking.
I understand that these incumbents may have felt that some statements by their challengers were inaccurate or exaggerated. However, in my opinion that is no excuse for acting in a manner that was disrespectful to others and presented a very poor image to voters.
Toward the end of the debate some of the incumbents said they would welcome working with any of the challengers who might win in the coming election, but their earlier comments and actions did not support those statements.
Challenger Hans Riemer seemed to be the target of most of the attacks, yet in my opinion he handled himself with courtesy towards others. I feel that he and other challengers presented themselves and their ideas well.
The behavior of some incumbents indicates that the County Council could benefit from the addition of some new people with new perspectives, especially younger people who have good ideas for the future of Montgomery County and who show respect for others. Hans Riemer seems to fit that description well and in my opinion the attacks against him backfired and should cause more people to support him. The same applies to the other challengers, too.
My hope for future events is that all candidates, especially current office holders, will show respect for all other candidates and voters, and will focus exclusively on telling us why they feel we should vote for them.
Paul M. Bessel
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Joe Biden Comes to Leisure World
Following is an account from Leisure World resident Paul M. Bessel.
Today (Wed, Sep 23, 2009) at Leisure World VP Joe Biden came to a town meeting to talk about the Obama-Biden administration’s health care reform efforts. Also there were HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the White House director of the health care reform effort. In the audience there were Senator Mikulski, Senator Cardin, Congressman Van Hollen, about a dozen Maryland State Senators and Delegates including all those who represent LW: Mike Lenett, Hank Heller, Ben Kramer, and Roger Manno, County Executive Leggett, State’s Attorney McCarthy, and Councilmembers Navarro and Ervin.
VP Biden spoke for about an hour and a half and also answered questions about the administration’s work to reform health care insurance, emphasizing over and over that he and the Democrats in Congress have worked for decades to create and improve Medicare and there is nothing in the current effort by them that would in any way harm Medicare and its coverage for seniors. He urged seniors to strongly show their support for the administration’s health care reform efforts.
There were a few funny moments, such as when VP Biden climbed over the security partition to sit in an empty chair in the audience between two ladies. HHS Secretary Sebelius pointed out that Joe looked like he belonged in the LW audience.
This event was sponsored by the Leisure World Community Corporation and Marian Altman, the Chair of LWCC, arranged and organized this town hall meeting.
