Also from August 2006: Campaign contributions can compromise candidates

"Progressive neighbors" publish their endorsements for the primary
August 2006

For the past several weeks a group of Takoma Park and Silver Spring neighbors has been sorting through the various political candidates in an attempt to make sense of who we might consider supporting in the September 12th primary. Unquestionably, the group wanted to support some of the challengers to the status quo. But who? A lot of folks simply don't have the time to make a priority of following the candidates, examining their statements, history, and agendas.

Like many of you, we were opposed to wasteful and costly projects like the ICC and in favor of campaign finance reform, affordable housing, a living wage, fairness in matters of race and gender, and environmental protection. But most savvy politicians will present themselves as sensitive to those issues and gear their message accordingly when speaking to us. For example, at a recent Takoma Park forum, incumbents Sheila Hixon and Garreth Murray appeared to be anti-ICC, when, in fact, they had voted to fund it in the past.

The polls presently show that at-large council incumbents Mike Subin and Nancy Floreen are the front-runners. Both give credible presentations when they speak. But insiders are aware that Subin is well-known for his emotional and uncontrollable fits of rage and anger against opponents and that Floreen is know for her incompetence in matters when a level of depth is required, which surfaced during the Clarksburg fiasco. Both have been proponents of pro-developer and pro-ICC positions.

The teachers union, other unions, and various groups will invariably endorse candidates who have generally supported their selected positions since the last election. So when promising candidates, such as Jamie Raskin come along, groups like Progressive Maryland and the MCEA (the teachers union) side with the incumbent, in this case Ida Rubin.

So, how do neighbors overcome this tendency to support the incumbents and take a more progressive position and get their endorsements out, especially when our resources are limited? Because unless this is done, nothing much changes, and we end up with career politicians and business-as-usual politics. Our answer is an expanded neighbor-to-neighbor letter spread through grassroots efforts - emails, talking to friends and neighbors, door-to-door fliers, distribution at public events, a sample ballot at the polls, and possibly newspaper ads if we raise enough money.

After much discussion and deliberation, here's who we thought would be the best progressive candidates in the September 12th Democratic primary.

For County Council at-large, voters have four choices. We selected three: Marc Elrich, Duchy Trachtenberg, and Hugh Bailey.

For County Council in District 5, Valerie Ervin.

For MD House District 20, there are three choices. We endorsed two: Heather Mizeur and Aaron Klein.

On the Federal level, Kweisi Mfume for U.S. Senate, Donna Edwards for U.S. House 4th District, and Chris Van Hollen for 8th District.

For County Executive, Ike Leggett.

For School Board, Shirley Brandman, Judy Docca, and Nancy Navarro.

For Maryland Senate, District 20 Jamie Raskin.

And for MD Attorney General, Tom Perez.

Our 'Progressive Neighbors' steering committee has included Joseph Horgan, Joan King, Joe Libertelli, Wally Malakoff, Larry Rubin, Jonathan Shurberg, Stephan Sylvan, Fran Tall, Cynthia Terrell, George Vlasits, and myself. We are now contacting folks in Takoma Park and Silver Spring and have been getting a good response in terms of individuals willing to sign on as endorsing these candidates. Among those already signing on are: Win (W.W.) Allred, Sheila Balke, Virginia Bell, Sheila Balke, Rabbi Binyamin Biber, Nadine Bloch, Yvette Butler, Mike Conclin, Joe Cook, Anna Doroshaw, Evie Frankl, Donna Graham, Eileen Hanlon, Ann Hendrix-Jenkins, Esther and Gene Herman, Marty Ittner, Ben Jacqmotte, Diana Kohn, Howard Kohn, Priscilla Labovitz, Jenny Lee, Rachel Lemberg, Sue Katz Miller, Erin O'Brien, Don Pelles, Ben Rosenthal Hank Prensky, Kate Sebastian, David Shneyer, Esther Siegel, Susan Silber, Debbie Speilberg, Rachel Fineberg Sylvan, Ann Taylor, Adrienne Torey, Joe Uehlein, Laura Welch, Lois Wessel, Frankie Winchester, and Denise Young.

We welcome you to join this effort (unless you are a candidate or a listed official in a campaign). Sign on, come to meetings, make a financial contribution to help get this message out. Pass out a "Progressive Neighbors" Voting Guide. For further information, email esiegel2@igc.org. or malakoff@starpower.net.

Michael Tabor is a Takoma Park-based organic farmer and activist.

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