There's a saying about evil happening when good people remain silent. Here in Montgomery County, we're not exactly overwhelmed by doers of evilÑin fact, many of our elected officials are incredibly generous with their time and energy. Some just represent the wrong interests.

The problem is that so many potential voters know very little about who represents what. Simply walking in to the voting booth with a list of recommendations from the Democratic Party, the Teachers' Union, or Progressive Maryland isn't enough. We need an informed and involved community.

What I've done here is give you some of my insights into the current political situation in our county. If you want to find out more, start reading the local newspapers, watching the local TV channels, and attending meetings whenever they're held nearby. Try volunteering on a political campaignÑand make sure you turn out and vote in the primaries. Theoretically, it's the core of the American experiment.

These representatives are doing a good job and need our support.

Tom Perez (D-Dist. 5), Phil Andrews (D-Dist. 3) and Marilyn Praisner (D-Dist. 4) are the three members of the Montgomery County Council who are the bulwark against rampant development interests.

Senators Sharon Grosfeld (D-Dist. 18) and Brian Frosh (D-Dist. 16) stand out for their gutsy positions and relative effectiveness in the MD Senate.

Maryland General Assembly Delegate Karen Montgomery has earned a lot of respect and admiration for her work last year. Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-Dist. 19) is one of the most progressive politicians in the Maryland General Assembly.

On the other hand, here are some local politicians who have done, at best, a questionable job. They were re-elected because their constituency is often not aware of their voting records.

Senator Rona Kramer (D-Dist. 14) is basically an arm of the Chamber of Commerce and proud of it! She needs to be challenged in the next election. Her constituency needs to know how bad she is.

Del Carol Petzold (D-Dist. 19) Partially because of a poor quality of democratic leadership in LeisureWorld (she gets their blanket endorsement!), many seniors don't know about her poor voting record on progressive and environmental issues.

I consider Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) and Mike Knapp (D-Dist. 2) two of the worst members of the county council when it comes to progressive issues.

Howard Denis (R-Dist. 1) is the only Republican on the council and represents the Chevy Chase interests in District 1. What has he done for those who rely on public transit to go from Silver Spring/Takoma Park across county to work? He comes out strongly against the Inner Purple Line, the best transit option to link Bethesda with Silver Spring.

These are some examples of good people who should be in office and are considering running.

Blair Ewing. One of the most dedicated, outspoken, and progressive representatives of the people. It took millions of dollars of disinformation to get him off the County Council in the last election. One of the few strong advocates of mental health services.

Duchy Tractenberg. Lost by a tiny fraction to Republican Howard Denis when she ran for the County Council. Very active in the National Organization for Women. Also a very strong advocate for better mental health services. Hopefully she'll run again.

Marc Elrich. Has served well on the Takoma Park City Council and deserves support if he runs for delegate in the State Assembly or for the County Council. He walks like he talks.

Linda Schade. Garnered over 10,000 votes when she last ran for delegate to the Maryland Assembly, and stands for everything that's fair and just. Hopefully, the work she's doing exposing the electronic voting machine fiasco will generate awareness and support.

Lou Helm. Former undersecretary of HEW. Television producer and anti-tobacco activist. All the right politics.

Jamie Raskin. American University law professor, National Public Radio commentator, well-known progressive insider. We need more people like him in local politics.

Meanwhile, a number of opportunities will be coming up for other progressive candidates.

Although recently considered a spineless, malleable arm of the superintendent's office, the Board of Education has been a stepping-stone to higher political office. Marilyn Praisner, Blair Ewing, and Ana Sol Gutierrez all served on the board.

There may be several open positions in the March primary election. Walter Lange has already announced he won't run again. Kermit Burnett, originally appointed to fill out a vacancy, has the poorest attendance record of any of the members. Luckily, Valerie Ervin, the highly regarded president of the Montgomery Blair High School PTA, will run for Burnett's position and is considered a best bet if she gets enough early support. Ervin has a background in labor organizing and works with the County CouncilÑshe really knows her stuff! (However, Sheldon Fishman, an activist from the Einstein Cluster has recently entered the race and might give her some competition.)

Looking ahead to 2006, Delegate Peter Franchot (D-Dist. 20) is said to be bored with his current job and is considering running for higher office. Montgomery County Council chair Steve Silverman (D-At-Large) is hoping to get County Executive Douglas Duncan's job when Duncan runs for the Governor's slot. Councilmember Mike Subin (D-At-Large) will run for State's Attorney.

In Maryland General Assembly District 20, there's room for challengers. I consider Gareth Murray a general disappointment. He shows no leadership and flubbed it on campaign finance reform. Rep. Sheila Hixson has garnered some respect for her leadership on gay and immigrant rights issues, but is considered mediocre in other areas. Sen. Ida Ruben has name recognition but does little when it comes to progressive issues. She needs to be challenged by a more creative candidate with enough financial backing and legwork to reach out to the electorate.

Send money, volunteer, become more aware of the local political scene. In the last election, the development industry dominated with millions spent on a massive disinformation campaign. And most of their slate won. If that's going to change, you need to become aware and involved. Make it your New Year's resolution.