Colleagues, constituents, neighbors saddened by Duncan’s withdrawal

Friday, June 23, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Laurie DeWitt⁄The Gazette Barbara Duncan and her son, John, stood by the county executive's side as he acknowledged sustained applause from colleagues in Rockville on Thursday before he announced an end to his gubernatorial campaign. Later that afternoon, she and her son quietly removed yellow-and-black campaign signs from their front lawn in Rockville. “It is a big shocker,” said a neighbor for whom Duncan's daughter baby sits. ‘‘And I’m identifying it on more of a personal level than a political level.”

‘‘It is a big shocker,” said Kate Chai-Onn, who lives in Duncan’s Rockville neighborhood and employs his daughter as a baby sitter. ‘‘And I’m identifying it on more of a personal level than a political level.”

Minutes after the announcement, Duncan’s wife, Barbara, and his son, John, were outside their home solemnly removing the two yellow and black Duncan signs from the front yard.

‘‘I love my husband very much,” was all Barbara Duncan would say before going inside the two-story brick home.

‘‘Depression is a hard thing,” said Al Jaques, who lives nearby.

Jaques, who said his wife insisted they get a pair of Duncan signs for their yard, praised the county executive for pulling out of the race.

‘‘He wasn’t thinking about politics, he was thinking about Maryland,” he said.

Paul Benkert, who ran for District 17 delegate in 1994, was jogging through the neighborhood.

‘‘I feel for him,” he said. ‘‘I was diagnosed with depression. I know exactly where he’s at. It’s tough to try to accomplish something with that.”

In his brief withdrawal announcement Thursday, Duncan said he would be supporting the man who was his bitter rival just the day before — Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley.

And with the hometown favorite out of the race, some Montgomery voters say the scales could tip toward the Republican incumbent, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

Cathy Faraone, 33, of Gaithersburg, a registered Democrat who supported Duncan, now says she’ll cast her ballot for Ehrlich and predicts that other moms will do the same.

‘‘I like [Ehrlich’s] family values,” she said, strolling two of her four children around The Kentlands in Gaithersburg. ‘‘He’s much more personable. I don’t go by politics as much as I go toward, you know, personality.”

Maria Theurer of Germantown, a stay-at-home mom, said her foiled plans to cast a ballot for Duncan don’t necessarily push her in O’Malley’s direction.

‘‘At this point, I’m going to have to read a little more,” said Theurer, 37. ‘‘I don’t really vote on party lines. I trusted [Duncan].”

O’Malley supporter Tom Champion of Gaithersburg called Duncan’s withdrawal ‘‘a great day for Martin O’Malley,” allowing him to pull cleanly away from an already muddy race.

‘‘With no bloody primary, he’ll come out with a much clearer shot,” said Champion, an energy analyst. ‘‘I think it’ll go his way.”

Our opinion Mr. Duncan’s bravery Gazette editorial Barry Rascovar Duncan makes the ‘right move’ Blair Lee Maryland politics after Duncan Related coverage * Duncan drops out * Between applause and smiles, a politician bows * Stresses of campaigning can bring on depression for some * A legacy built on a ‘can-do’ attitude * Reaction to Duncan's withdrawal * Transcript of Duncan's statement Multimedia Photo gallery: Doug Duncan in pictures Graphic: Timeline of a political career

Politically, Duncan’s departure means O’Malley can build his war chest and compete with Ehrlich, who is aiming to raise $20 million.

‘‘From a pragmatic fiscal perspective, both competitors won’t be spending to near zero and then restarting in September when you would be at a significant disadvantage to the governor,” said Del. John L. Bohanan Jr. (D-Dist. 29B) of California.

‘‘A bruising primary could have been a very bad thing,” added Del. Murray D. Levy (D-Dist. 28) of La Plata.

Bowie Mayor G. Frederick Robinson said Duncan’s decision took him by surprise. ‘‘If you look at the numbers, they seem to be moving in Mr. O’Malley’s way — but [Duncan] was clearly a strong candidate. He’s been in that position before.”

Robinson said that given Duncan’s diagnosed depression, making the announcement quickly was the best course of action, for him, his family and his campaign.

‘‘It’s pretty well sure who’s going to win the Democratic primary, and who’s going to save millions of dollars,” he said.

Other supporters were saddened by Duncan’s withdrawal, but said it was in his best interest.

‘‘I applaud [Doug] for his courage. Sometimes when we get into politics, we put our personal lives and our families second to the political office,” said Sen. Thomas ‘‘Mac” Middleton (D-Dist. 28) of Waldorf, who spoke with Duncan Thursday morning. ‘‘I know it was a very tough decision for Doug, but personally it’s the right decision for him.”

The pair has had a close relationship stemming from their days leading municipal governments — Duncan as mayor of Rockville and Middleton as president of the Charles County commissioners.

‘‘I thought his chances were improving,” Middleton said of Duncan’s energetic quest. ‘‘If in fact they were, that made the decision that much tougher and that much more courageous to make.”

As for the voters, many stressed that they were concerned for Duncan’s health and said his decision to pull out of the race to deal with depression wouldn’t deter them from supporting him for any public office in the future, including governor.

‘‘I think he can stand on his own record,” said Lloyd Ryan of Gaithersburg, a 41-year-old high school teacher. ‘‘He’s been a good politician and people won’t forget that.”