Five vie for Dist. 5 seat

Lineup includes mayor of Edmonston, former candidates, council staff

No Republicans filed for the seat.

Up to 46,000 voters in District 5, which includes Bladensburg, Cheverly, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, Edmonston, Fairmount Heights, Glenarden, Landover and Mitchellville, will take part in a special primary vote April 1. A general election is scheduled May 6. The winner will serve through 2010, and can run for a second term through 2014.

Dudley is no newcomer to elections. She unsuccessfully ran four times for the council seat, beginning in 1994. The Kentland resident teaches at Kenmoor Middle School in Landover and was one of the first to file for the special election.

‘‘Each time I ran, I’ve gotten more support,” said Dudley, 45. ‘‘I really feel this time we’re going to do it.”

Two other hopefuls, Howell and Harrison, are running with connections to people high in county politics.

Howell, a Glenn Dale resident, former Washington, D.C., aide and local lobbyist, has close ties to County Executive Jack B. Johnson. The 38-year-old worked as a County Council liaison for Johnson from 2005 to last year.

Harrison has also had hands-on experience. She is the chief of staff for the District 5 County Council office, writing legislation and handling resident issues for six years. Harrington has endorsed her in the campaign.

‘‘I know the county, I know the issues, I have the relationships,” Harrison said. ‘‘It’s not on-the-job training.”

Though the executive has not endorsed him yet in the race, Howell said he believes his experience in the council and working for the Clinton administration make him the best choice.

‘‘It might happen,” Howell said of a Johnson endorsement.

Others are hoping to follow Harrington’s political career track, as well. The new senator served for years as Bladensburg mayor before making a run for council in 2002.

Adam Ortiz, Edmonston mayor, said he thinks it’s time to move from city to county leadership.

‘‘There’s a limited amount of impact one can have on a municipal level,” said Ortiz, who said he is running on a platform advocating ‘‘good government.”

‘‘We have to stop putting personalities and politics above the public interest,” he said.

Sherry James-Strother, a Landover resident and registered nurse, said resolving the county’s hospital funding crisis and providing health insurance for residents would be top priorities.

‘‘It will have a significant impact if we don’t get it resolved,” said James-Strother, who ran unsuccessfully in the county school board at-large seat in 2006.

One rumored candidate, school board member Pat J. Fletcher (Dist. 3), decided not to run just days before the Tuesday deadline.

‘‘I feel compelled that my work is not yet done as a board member,” said Fletcher, the only school board member whose district is focused solely on the county’s Inner Beltway schools. ‘‘I am the only member of a disenfranchised community, and we are opening doors that were once closed.”

Several community associations are planning to hold forums for the candidates in the next month. The group Progressive Cheverly plans to host a forum at 7 p.m. tonight at the Judith P. Hoyer Early Childhood Center in Cheverly.

E-mail Daniel Valentine at dvalentine@gazette.net.