Showing posts with label Scott Goldberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scott Goldberg. Show all posts
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Notes and Observations in District 16
By Marc Korman.
The race for District 16 is heating up with 13 candidates and 100 degree temperatures. Here are a few random notes and observations from the front, combined with some free advice to the candidates.
For those not living and breathing the race, the 13 candidates are: Incumbents Bill Frick; and Susan Lee; Attorney and former District 19 Democratic Club Officer John Adams; Attorney and repeat candidate Charlie Chester; Attorney Peter Dennis, also the son of Civic Federation President Peggy Dennis; Town of Somerset Councilman Bill Farley; Real estate management business owner and Montgomery County Young Democrats President Scott Goldberg; Attorney Craig Herskowitz; Attorney and health policy strategist Hrant Jamgochian; Former NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland Executive Director and MomsRising’s Director for Environmental and Workplace issues Ariana Kelly; Former Obama campaign staffer Kyle Lierman, also the son of local political bigwig Terry Lierman; Common Cause Board Member Michael Sriqui; And attorney and former Housing Opportunities Commission Chair Mark Winston. Whoa, that’s a lot of candidates.
The District 16 Democratic Club hosted a forum for all of the Delegate candidates at the Bethesda Library last week. Twelve of the candidates, including the two incumbents, attended. Craig Herskowitz was out of town for work but had a statement read.
The consensus among the individuals I spoke to were that the big winners were the two incumbents, Bill Frick and Susan Lee, and challenger Scott Goldberg. Other candidates had high points, but these three were consistently great. Frick and Lee were essentially endorsed by all of the other challengers during a question about what legislator you would like to emulate, cementing the impression that the 11 challengers are fighting for one open seat. Goldberg’s one two punch of strong and humorous delivery plus real policy proposals stood out even to those in the capacity crowd supporting other challengers. The funniest moment of the debate belonged to the moderator, who gave the field a grand total of 15 seconds to explain how they would solve the budget deficit.
The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Breakfast Club is also working its way through the challengers. The first installment featured Bill Farley, Craig Herskowitz, Ariana Kelly, and Kyle Lierman. Also in attendance was District 18 Challenger Dana Beyer. The moderator was kind enough to grant the candidates a grand total of 30 seconds to explain their approach to the budget.
Herskowitz has staked his campaign on speed cameras and constituent service, pretty much declining to comment on other issues and referring individuals to his website. Although no one loves the speed cameras, my own view is that he cannot mount a successful campaign in a crowded field on these narrow issues alone and should talk about some of his other ideas along with these passions.
Kelly and Lierman seem to view the race as between them, at least when they appear together. That thinking is understandable given that MPW and others have consistently cited them as the frontrunners. They both have a strong ground game and the resources to win. But I would just remind them that a race with two perceived frontrunners often creates opportunities for Trojan horse candidates (Just ask Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt about Iowa in 2004). With so many candidates in the field, there are plenty of places for voters to turn besides Lierman or Kelly.
Bill Farley is a Town of Somerset Councilmember, making him the only challenger with elected office experience and giving him a stronghold in one of the top performing precincts in the primary. I have no idea if he is working the doors or has money for mail, but he has a good candidate profile. However I am not sure what his message is and his approach to the Purple Line should also be explained. He supports starting over with some type of trench or cut and cover approach. That is an unrealistic option at this stage and in practical terms means Farley opposes the Purple Line.
If you care about the lawn sign primary, which does not win elections but is fun for bloggers, Lierman, Jamgochian, and the incumbent team have a strong start in Bethesda with a sprinkling of other candidates as well. I have not been to the northern or western portions of the district lately to see the signs there. So far the only mass mail I have received is from Mark Winston and Michael Sriqui.
Based on my conversations and impressions in the district, candidates are distinguishing themselves in many ways. Hrant Jamgochian is impressing people with his smarts, nice guy approach, and health care background. Winston is picking up what I view as strong endorsements including Ike Leggett’s and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce. Many long time District 16 residents I speak with think highly of Charlie Chester and his experience.
My advice to the candidates? Keep knocking on doors and stay hydrated.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Scott Goldberg’s Kick-Off
By Marc Korman.
There are numerous candidates running or rumored to be running for the District 16 open Delegate seat. The first challenger out of the gate with a kick-off was small business owner, law student, and Montgomery County Young Democrats President Scott Goldberg.
Goldberg’s kick-off was held at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center on a rainy Sunday afternoon. About thirty-five people of varying ages attended. Also present was Delegate Roger Manno, who introduced Goldberg to the audience. Goldberg and Manno worked together in 2006, when the new candidate was a volunteer knocking on doors and talking up Manno’s healthcare policies.
Goldberg stated some of the challenges facing not just District 16 or Maryland, but really the whole country. He said that over the past ten years we have chosen to send young people to war instead of college, drilled for oil instead of developed solar, put more demands on the poor and less on the rich, furloughed workers, put our students in trailers even in successful school districts like Montgomery County, and passed slots. Goldberg’s message was that we “expect more.”
By “expect more,” Goldberg indicated he meant we could not be satisfied with the status quo. One example he cited in particular really drove him towards running. Last session, an effort was made to increase the drop out age in Maryland public schools. One Republican State Senator said we could not necessarily afford to increase the drop out age, because it meant more kids in the school system and increased education costs.
Goldberg then ticked off several policy ideas he wanted to implement if elected:
1. Clean Energy - The candidate proposed deploying solar panels on schools, tapping geothermal energy, and retrofitting state owned buildings. The goal is to actually have the state generate power to sell back to the electric companies.
2. Rainy Day Fund - Goldberg said he wanted to save more, shifting from the shortsighted view of spending and save enough so that future downturns would not have the same budgetary effect as this one.
3. Marriage Equality - He called for full marriage equality, saying the benefits of marriage should not be denied based on sexual orientation.
4. Transportation - Goldberg said he supported the Purple Line, more bike paths, and encouraging gyms with showers in office buildings so more people could ride to work. Essentially, he wanted to get people out of their cars.
Scott Goldberg will be taking this message door to door between now and September 14th. He will have lots of company in the Democratic Primary.
Full disclosure, I am a Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee member from District 16. I have not endorsed Scott Goldberg or any other challenger. Goldberg and I did attend the same law school and have worked together in the Montgomery County Young Democrats.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Scott Goldberg Sets Campaign Kickoff for District 16
Scott Goldberg, President of the Montgomery County Young Democrats, is running for Delegate in District 16. He has set his campaign kickoff for Sunday, May 23 in Downtown Bethesda.
Goldberg briefly ran for the District 16 Delegate appointment when Marilyn Goldwater stepped down in 2007. He joins Obama campaign staffer Kyle Lierman and former NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland Executive Director Ariana Kelly in seeking the open seat vacated by retiring Delegate Bill Bronrott.
Hey Scott – we thank you for linking to our blog. But don’t you think you should have at least one picture of yourself on your website? You won’t scare any voters away by doing that!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
