Every election cycle, I am asked by many friends, “Who are you voting for?”
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Mostly, I am asked about the Montgomery County Board of Education contests, since I have been an activist in Montgomery County Public Schools matters since 1984. I started as Co-President of the Rosemary Hills Primary Magnet Integration School PTA and later served as Public Affairs Director of the Gifted and Talented Association (a terrible name for what was often a very useful organization). In this Century, I have been proponent of constructive policies on LGBTQ+ matters, first as Chair of the Board of Education’s Family Life and Human Development Committee and then as Metro DC PFLAG’s Chair and then Co-Chair for Maryland Advocacy. In that latter role, I helped develop candidate questionnaires for BOE candidates on LGBTQ+ issues.
I have always been concerned that candidates who are anti-LGBTQ+ might seek to fly under the radar in the down-ballot Board of Education races, in which voter turnout is lower than in other contests. That was very much the case in 2010, but we were able to bring that to light, and to defeat the “stealth candidate.” See pp. 15-16 of this report.
The answers to this year’s Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire may be found at the following hyperlinks:
After reviewing the questionnaire answers and attending virtual campaign forums, I have decided to vote for incumbents Karla Silvestre (At-Large), Scott Joftus (District 3), and Brenda Wolff (District 5), as well as for Grace Rivera Oven (District 1). (Long-time District 1 member Judy Docca is retiring.)
(NOTES:
My endorsements are as an individual, not as a representative of Metro DC PFLAG.
Although District candidates must live in that District, all Montgomery County voters may vote in all the contests.)
All the incumbents have excellent records on LGBTQ+ matters and have been responsible for the enormous progress made by MCPS in recent years. With respect to other issues, I believe they have done well, including on matters that have not had obvious resolution – notably with respect to the Covid pandemic. All of them will certainly stand up to the kind of attacks that we are seeing from right-wingers in other jurisdictions. That the incumbent candidates are willing to stand for reelection speaks to their dedication and stamina. The last couple of years had to have been hell for them.
My review of her answers and my conversations with Ms. Rivera Oven convince me that she would be the best addition to the Board from District 1.
Candidates Valerie Coll, Domenic Giandomenico, Jay Guan, and Julie Yang gave very good answers, as well. And from what I know of them, they all would make good members of the Board of Education. It is encouraging that so many candidates understand the needs of the community on important LGBTQ+ matters. Still, for me, at the end of the day, the experience of Ms. Silvestre, Ms. Rivera Oven, Dr. Joftus, Ms. Wolff warrant their election.
I can only assume that the three candidates who failed to respond to the Metro DC PFLAG questionnaire at all would have had answers that would have been an anathema to those who care about LGBTQ+ students and staff and their families. I made every effort to enable them to respond. Some other candidates provided answers that suggested some ambiguity. Hostility or ambiguity as to LGBTQ+ matters at this stage of the public discussions in Montgomery County are, for me, veto points. All students must be protected, included, and made to feel welcome in our MCPS community.
OTHER CONTESTS
As a registered Democrat, living in Congressional District 8, Legislative District 14, and Council District 7, here is how I will be voting:
Governor: Tom Perez
Attorney General: Anthony Brown
Comptroller: Brooke Lierman
Senate: Chris Van Hollen
Congress: Jamie Raskin
State Senate: Craig Zucker
House of Delegates: Anne Kaiser, Eric Luedtke, Pamela Queen
County Executive: Marc Elrich
A prefatory note on the County Council contests: I am a long-time member of Jews United for Justice and I participated in most of JUFJ Campaign Fund (JUFJ C-4) interviews for the At-Large and District 7 candidates. In so doing, I learned a lot about the candidates. (Tom Hucker did not file as a candidate for County Council until after the JUFJ C-4 process had closed.) If anyone is interested, a list of the JUFJ C-4 endorsements may be found here. The JUFJ Campaign Fund did not make an endorsement for District 7.
I will be voting as follows:
County Council At-Large: Evan Glass, Tom Hucker, Will Jawando, Lauri-Anne Sayles
As for the County Council District 7 race, some candidates declined to respond to the JUFJ C-4 questionnaire and to be interviewed. That sent a signal to me that they likely were so far out of line with JUFJ's progressive values that I would not find them to be good choices. I was particularly impressed with two of the candidates who were interviewed: Dawn Luedtke and Ben Wiker. In addition to the formal interview with the JUFJ C-4 Committee, I had follow-up one-on-one conversations with both of them. Each would bring different strengths to the Council.
Ms. Luedtke, a Maryland State Assistant Attorney General, clearly knows a lot about local governance and has handled a number of important matters in outgoing AG Brian Frosh's office, including the training of police who are assigned as School Resource Officers. She understands the challenges of such training, and is very committed to seeing that program work. I differ with her as to whether the traditional SRO programs inevitably do more harm than good. But this is a matter over which reasonable people can differ, and her experience would be an asset to the Council. Her website is here.
Rev. Wiker is a newcomer to governmental matters. But as pastor of a diverse upcounty church, he founded the Equity Center in Lake Forest Mall, which has worked to help those in need as a result of the pandemic. In these efforts, he has learned how important county governmental support is -- and how difficult it can be to access that support. In my conversations with him, I found him to be a sincere, open-minded, progressive person. He does not have fully-formed views or experience on most governmental issues, but his experience and voice as a grass-roots, hands-on activist for those in need would be an asset to the Council. We probably should not have a Council made up of 11 Ben Wiker, but it might be a very good idea to have at least one. His website is here.
I do not know whether Ben has been able to put together a strong enough campaign to make him a contender in this seven-candidate field. So I am still undecided as between Ben and Dawn. I hope these short analyses will help others decide.
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