The Mayor of Chevy Chase

Mier Wolf will not be returning to the Chevy Chase Town Council after an twelve terms of service to the Town. Mier and his wife, Cathy, always encouraged me and made me feel like a friend even when we were both running for the Council. I've always appreciated how his calm demeanor could deftly turn down the temperature in the most heated debates. His experience, knowledge, and warmth will be sorely missed on the Council.

Mier has had many, many accomplishments on the Council--too many to detail here--including serving as mayor of Chevy Chase for nine years. I know Mier is particularly proud of tenacious effort to protect the Capital Crescent Trail on the north side of Town. The Town Hall was constructed while he served on the Council. Although his children have graduated (and he just became a proud grandfather for the first time), Mier is still an active and engaged supporter of Rosemary Hills, Chevy Chase Elementary, and B-CC High School.

A class act and a role model even after a very tough election night when around twenty votes kept him from reelection, I received an extremely gracious call from Mier and Cathy this morning. Both congratulated me on my election to the Council, expressed their confidence in me, and wished me nothing but the best.

I hope the Town will continue to benefit from Mier's experience and knowledge in the years ahead. Even more, I hope the Council forges ahead in the same spirit of neighborliness, even temper, and love of the Town that characterized Mier's long service. I'm glad that Mier will remain active in the County.

And I'm sure the residents of the Town of Chevy Chase will continue to refer to him affectionately as "the Mayor of Chevy Chase" just as they have since he relinquished that title in 2004.

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Charlie Cook in Chevy Chase

Councilman Mier Wolf introduces Larry O'Rourke and Charlie Cook

Charlie Cook has one of my dream jobs: he's a political prognosticator for a living. Although he normally gives his opinions for a living, he kindly shared his views of the political landscape at a community event at the Leland Center tonight. I always knew he had a lot of knowledge about politics on the ground. I hadn't known he was so entertaining--a political Garrison Keillor.

He has a real flair for explaining complex political events with easily understandable analogies and good stories, skills this classroom teacher could only envy. I won't report too much of what he said. It hardly seems fair to steal the political thoughts of someone who sells them as his livelihood. But I thought he shared some interesting views on why Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire primary and on the upcoming general election.

First, like me and many others, he believes that race does not explain why Obama lost to Clinton in New Hampshire. He argues that the last minute shift among college-educated women in New Hampshire is not plausibly explained by a racial voting. He also thinks that Clinton's moment of choking up in public helped her look more human to the electorate.

He also mentioned something which reflects less well on Sen. Clinton. Apparently, the Clinton campaign sent out a flyer to independent undecided women the weekend before the primary claiming that Obama had failed to stand up for choice in contrast to Clinton. Cook brought and read from a copy of the mailer. Someone also called in on WAMU who was in New Hampshire mentioning this today but I hadn't wanted to give it credence based on one phone call to the radio.

It certainly shows that the Clintons can fight hard and rough--some will undoubtedly also say dirty. I'm not sure how well this will play with Democrats since Obama is clearly pro-choice and the flyer does more than suggest otherwise. On the other hand, the campaign has moved on to the other states so it remains to be seen if this issue will get more press coverage or anyone will care.

On a different note, Charlie Cook explained that he thought it would be a close election even though the fundamentals support the Democrats. He indicated that he thought McCain would be the toughest Republican to beat for either Clinton or Obama, an assessment I share, though Cook noted that McCain is vulnerable on the question of his age.

Of course, the question remains whether the GOP will be savvy enough to nominate him in the first place. Romney just won the Michigan primary.

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Endorsements for Al Carr Come In

Disclaimer: I have not endorsed any candidate for this vacancy. But in the interest of openness and transparency I want to post things of interest for all to see. I have been contacting candidates asking for information about them to post here. So far, only Al Carr and Dana Beyer have done so. Maybe it is because they have run for elected office before and understand the process a bit better. Maybe others have not responded here because they don't know we exist. So if you are a candidate for the District 18 vacancy please leave a message and I will post it or leave your email and I will contact you privately.

Mier Wolf endorses Al Carr
Mier Wolf is a long-time activist in Chevy Chase, a former Mayor of the town, an early supporter of Chris Van Hollen as well as the late Jane Lawton. Here is his letter to the MCDCC on behalf of Al Carr.

Dear Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee,

I urge you to approve the appointment of Al Carr to replace Jane Lawton in the House of Delegates for District 18. This request comes in the midst of our great grief over Jane's untimely death. We all have our stories about working with Jane, a legendary community servant and friend to so many people. For me, we were local government colleagues for 25 years. We worked together on numerous projects including the building of the Leland Community Center and the opening of the Capital Crescent Trail, Georgetown Branch. I followed Jane as Chairman of the Town of Chevy Chase Council and later became our first mayor. Most recently I was chairman of Jane's House of Delegates campaigns in 2002 and 2006.

Since the requirement to replace Jane is upon you I wanted you to know how much I respect Al Carr and believe he should go to Annapolis in the House of Delegates on behalf of District 18. Al's government experience includes serving on the Kensington Council which has given him the opportunity to learn how municipalities are best governed and how those methods might be extended to other county jurisdictions Al is an environmnental advocate who convinced municipalities like ours to look for more efficient energy sources for our public lighting which we have done. Secondly, he is a consistent proponent of nurturing the Capital Crescent Trail. Furthermore, Al has the intellectual firepower to take on any other issue he chooses to pursue or to which he is a assigned to study. Finally, Al is a gentleman who listens to the points of view of others in formulating his positions on issues. His constituents would feel well listened to if Al were representing them in Annapolis.

It is heartbreaking for me to think that Jane will not be in Annapolis serving us, let alone how sad it is for her family and friends to have had her life end so soon. That's why I felt as a matter of conscience I should at least contact you to let you know that Al Carr would serve us with distinction in Annapolis in Jane's stead.

Thank you for your efforts in such an important time for our legislative district.

Sincerely,
Mier Wolf

James Browning Endorses Al Carr
James Browning was a candidate for Delegate in District 18 in 2006. He is a former Executive Director of Maryland Common Cause lobbying in Annapolis on behalf of progressive issues.

I write to express my support for Al Carr as Dist. 18's next Delegate. I had the privilege to run against Al for one of Dist. 18's House seats in 2006 and came away with enormous respect for his intelligence, dedication, and ability to be an effective advocate for all parts of the district.

In particular, I believe Al is the right person to help the District and Montgomery County as a whole with two of its biggest challenges--controlling development and improving public transportation. Al understands how the big picture fits with the minutiae when it comes to offering better transportation solutions. I believe he will also do a great job of recruiting legislators from other parts of the state to support progressive solutions which, due to party and geographic stereotypes in Annapolis, may not seem to be in their best interests, at first. Al is the messenger who will make sure that Dist. 18's message will be heard in Annapolis.

Sincerely,
James Browning

MCDCC Member Alan Banov supports Al Carr
Alan Banov has been a member of the District 18 Caucus since 1989 and a member of the Central Committee for five years. He lives in Kensington and was an active supporter of Al Carr in 2006. He is an employment lawyer in private practice in Silver Spring.

In a phone conversation, Alan told me there are five reasons why he supports Al Carr for Delegate: 1) he has the most relevant experience; 2) he has run for Delegate in the past, which means that he knows how to campaign and that he has already won votes from District 18 Democrats; 3) he has been an effective lobbyist for municipalities in Annapolis; 4) with Jane’s passing, the County Delegation needs another Delegate who understands the issues of local municipalities; and 5) based on his temperament, contacts, and experience, Al will probably work well and effectively with the other legislators in District 18, the County, and the State.

Martha Jones
Activist supporting Rollingwood incorporation

Among the candidates seeking this position, Al Carr is the best one to pick up the gauntlet and be prepared from the beginning. Al's experience is relevant to what is needed by those who are leaders in Annapolis. He has a quiet and effective way of working with people to bring them together to accomplish their goals. As a municipal official, in a district which has so many municipalities, he has experience with working with a constituency, a wide variety of agencies and governments, the Maryland Municipal League and the General Assembly. In addition to his government background, he has served in the precinct organization for the Democrats in District 18.

With a thorough working knowledge in the telecommunications field, Al has the tools to achieve success in his areas of interest more efficiently and effectively. Many of those interests parallel Jane's in promoting the environment, helping the Chesapeake Bay, helping communities become more "Green" and working on ways to reduce domestic violence and assist victims of domestic violence.

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