Montgomery Republican committee picks 14 to run for state, local office

Candidates must file by July 18; most will run in races where there had been no Republican candidates

Friday, July 14, 2006

by Margie Hyslop

Staff Writer

Montgomery County’s Republican central committee has nominated 14 people to challenge Democrats for races ranging from the County Council and state’s attorney to state senator and delegate.

‘‘They are not just going to exterminate us the way they thought they were,” county GOP Chairman Tom Reinheimer said.

Under Maryland law, if no candidates file for an office by the filing deadline, a political party’s central committee must name candidates within 15 days, or July 18.

If the GOP’s nominees file to run by July 18, the Nov. 7 ballot will offer a Republican choice for all but five seats in the state legislature and the District 4 congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D) of Mitchellville.

On Thursday, party leaders were still looking for a challenger to take on state Sen. Patrick J. Hogan (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village, who switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic before the 2002 election.

Republican leaders are still looking for — but are less likely to find — candidates for the state Senate and three state House seats in District 20 and the congressional seat held by Wynn.

GOP treasurer George E. Sauer said he could not recall the central committee ever nominating so many candidates.

‘‘I’m surprised we found that many,” said Sauer, who has worked with the central committee for many decades.

Democrats outnumber Republicans more than 2 to 1 in Montgomery, and by wider margins on the county’s east side and in the 4th Congressional district.

Three of the nominees are central committee members, including James F. Shalleck, who filed Thursday to run for state’s attorney, an office he sought twice before.

Shalleck said he declined to run again until his party recruited him because the race is likely to be uphill and expensive.

Shalleck said knowing he will not face a bruising primary as he did in 1998 against Thomas M. O’Malley, who died in January, makes it easier this time around.

Shalleck, who prosecuted the 1977 Son of Sam case in New York, said he hopes to raise $100,000 and will campaign on a plan to reduce plea bargaining and to move away from community-based prosecution to the creation of expert units to prosecute crime by category.

Gaithersburg City Councilman Henry F. Marraffa Jr. also filed Thursday for the County Council seat for District 3, which includes Gaithersburg. Marraffa has opposed the establishment of a taxpayer-funded center for day laborers, citing concerns that the move would support workers who did not enter the country legally. Marraffa would face the winner of the Democratic primary, incumbent Philip M. Andrews or Rockville City Councilman Robert E. Dorsey.

A.P. Pishevar, a lawyer, has been nominated as the fourth Republican to run for one of four at-large seats on the County Council.

Restaurateur Dennis Walsh, who lives in Kensington, has been nominated in the council’s District 5. Walsh sought that seat in 2002.

Other nominees who have agreed to run include:

*Frank Enten for county register of wills

*Robert F. Dyer Jr. for senator in District 16 (father of Robert F. Dyer III, who is running for delegate in District 16)

*Angela Markelonis for delegate in District 16

*Sastry Dhara for senator and Mary Haley and Josephine Wang for delegate in District 17

*David Stegmaier for senator and Joan Pleiman, Lorri Simmons and Richard Ferati for delegate in District 18.

Beyond showing the flag and giving Republicans a chance to win seats, putting more candidates on the ballot could increase turnout among GOP voters in November and force campaigning, debate and spending by opponents, Reinheimer said.