considerations

Councilwoman Heather Mizeur said this week she will give up her Ward 2 seat next month because she is moving to another part of Takoma Park.

As a result, the City Council will have to appoint another Ward 2 resident to fill the remainder of Mizeur's two-year term, which would have ended following the Nov. 8 municipal elections and the inauguration two weeks later.

Because she and her partner have purchased a home on Maple Avenue in Ward 1, Mizeur will give up her position on the council July 19. But even though the departure is an early one, Mizeur said she had already decided that this would be her only term on the council.

"I had made a decision in March, and had informed many of my supporters in Ward 2 that I was not going to run for reelection in the ward," Mizeur said Tuesday. "It was a hard decision for me, but it was because, in part, I was giving consideration to running for the state legislature in the fall of 2006."

Mizeur, a policy director in the office of U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), said she is weighing a run for the District 20 seat in the Maryland House of Delegates that would open if Del. Peter V.R. Franchot (D) of Takoma Park decides to run for comptroller. City Councilwoman Joy Austin-Lane, who will be Mizeur's new council representative when she moves to Ward 1, also is considering a campaign for the House of Delegates.

Whatever happens, Mizeur said she would not run against Austin-Lane in the city's non-partisan municipal elections this fall. But if and when the two Takoma Park Democrats decide they'll run for the District 20 seat, Mizeur said looks forward to a spirited campaign.

"I believe that vigorous primaries are healthy for democracy," Mizeur said. "I don't shy away from being in competitive races myself, and I'd welcome anyone else who is willing to be in that race."

Mizeur and her partner, Deborah Veres, weren't looking to move outside of Ward 2, but with their upcoming marriage celebration in August, Mizeur said they were looking for a larger home that they could call their own. "We just stumbled upon our dream home" in Ward 1, she said. "... Preferably, I would pick up the house we are moving into and set it in the same lot where we are now."

Because there are fewer than 240 days before the Nov. 8 city election, the Municipal Charter requires the remaining six members of the City Council appoint a replacement for the duration of Mizeur's term, a period of 18 weeks with between 10 and 12 council meetings (the City Council's summer recess is in August).

A field of possible Ward 2 candidates for the fall election is already coming together, Mizeur said, and she is encouraging her council colleagues to appoint an interim member who isn't interested in running for a full-term so that none of the potential candidates has the advantage of being the appointed council member during the campaign.

Mizeur's presence in the ward and on the council will be missed, said Sabrina Baron, president of Historic Takoma and a resident of the ward. Speaking before the City Council Monday, Baron said Mizeur had been "unfailingly responsive, proactive and productive" on the council. "It's going to be a great loss for Ward 2."

For her part, Austin-Lane said the decision for Mizeur and her partner to leave Ward 2 must have been a difficult one. "I welcome her participation in the life of Ward 1," Austin-Lane said.

As for the possibility of running against a neighbor and constituent for a House seat, Austin-Lane agreed with Mizeur: "I also think vigorous primaries are a very good thing for democracy, and I welcome that."