News Corner

By John Walsh Candidate for U.S. Congress, District 8

Every ten years following the national census, all of the states are required to review their congressional district maps and make adjustments, based on shifts in population and the number of representatives allocated.

In 2011, after the 2010 census, Maryland’s Democratic governor and legislature passed a law deliberately designed to create an additional Democratic seat in Congress. In order to implement the new law, Republican voters in Frederick, Carroll and Montgomery Counties were effectively disenfranchised. This partisan redistricting process is commonly referred to as “gerrymandering.”

By Dwight Patel Candidate for State Senate, District 20

As the Republican running in District 20 for State Senate this year, I can assure you that I have the problem-solving expertise and the persistence to address the concerns of this district. I’ve taken the Americans for Tax Reform “No New Taxes Pledge.”  I went to Montgomery Blair High School in downtown Silver Spring.  I know Silver Spring and the citizens of LD 20.  Many of them would welcome the opportunity to create a more business-friendly environment in our community.

By Dwight Patel MCGOP First Vice Chairman*

Door knocking isn’t just a necessity, it is truly an art.  Door knocking is a key part of your campaign’s ground game, which also includes prescient organizations for poll coverage on election day.  I will be focusing on a few elements of door knocking that you should know about.

My mentor in 1994 – Sen. Marty Madden – advocated door knocking and told me that if you don’t go through 4 pairs of shoes by Labor Day, you aren’t knocking on enough doors.  Marty also made it a point to be consistent – Don’t tell people what you think they want to hear. When you get to a door, keep it brief and to the point.  Don’t ramble on or go overboard, and if you hit a door where they start to argue, move on.  They are keeping you from your job of hitting as many doors as possible.

By Mark Uncapher

Marylanders spend more time commuting to work than the residents of every other state, apart from New York.  The time spent stuck in I-270 or Beltway traffic is maddeningly frustrating.  Congestion results in less time spent with families and discourages workers from taking jobs involving longer commutes. 

By Deborah Lambert

U.S. Senate candidate Tony Campbell knew there was precious little time during the first few months of his 2018 campaign to establish himself as a frontrunner. Therefore, he moved quickly from the starting gate to the winner’s circle, defeating his ten GOP opponents on Primary Day and becoming the leader of the pack.

Not bad for his very first political campaign.

By Ann Hingston Legislative District 16 Chair

With outcome of the District 16 primary settled, Republican Bill Day kicked off his General Election campaign for Delegate at a Bethesda back-yard get-together attended by more than 70 friends and supporters on July 13th. Day introduced himself as a self-employed Montgomery County attorney specializing in business law, a US Naval Academy graduate, and a children’s soccer coach.

By Dwight Patel MCGOP First Vice Chair*

Facebook

The use of social media in politics including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube has dramatically changed the way campaigns are run and how Americans interact with their elected officials.

The prevalence of social media in politics has made elected officials and candidates for public office more accountable and accessible to voters. Plus, the ability to publish content and broadcast it to millions of people instantaneously allows campaigns to carefully manage their candidates’ images based on rich sets of analytics in real time and at almost no cost.

By Pat Fenati Candidate for Maryland House of Delegates, District 14

What does At-Large representation mean for the voters of this county? In District 14 where I live, the current state delegates, who are also the Democrat candidates for 2018, all live in the more southern precincts of the district. These delegates do not think it is important to spend much time in the up-county area. Since the votes in the more densely populated southern precinct are taken for granted, the constituents in the more rural up-county precincts are largely ignored.

In reading about the background and qualifications of Jae Hwang, this year’s GOP candidate for Montgomery County Sheriff, the write-ups about his career and experience practically jump off the page.

For example, in a section titled “Restore Safety and Security,” he pledges the following:

• Leadership from the Front Lines, Not from Behind a Desk
• Respect and Accountability Directly to You, Not to Special Interests
• Zero Tolerance for School Crime and Domestic Violence
• Restore the Sanctity of our Constitution and Shared American Values

By Sharon Cohen

The following oral statement was presented by Sharon Cohen at the July 10^th meeting of the Montgomery County Council during which the issues of eliminating At-Large County Council seats and redrawing the districts to represent smaller, like-minded communities were discussed, along with two proposed Charter Amendments that would (1) eliminate the role of party central committees in the re-districting process and give Council members the exclusive right to pick their surrogates and, (2) change the nature of a unanimous County Council vote to raise property taxes in excess of the growth in CPI.