By Steven Overly
Staff writer
As House of Delegates candidates charge toward Tuesday’s Democratic primary, the hopefuls find themselves at varying distances from the finish line in what could be the hardest-fought race in Prince George’s County.
While incumbent delegates Brian Moe (D-Laurel) and Barbara Frush (D-Beltsville) are thought by most to have re-election in the bag, challengers Mike Sarich and Tekisha Everette, both from Laurel, and university student Jon Black, of College Park, are struggling in the last six days of the campaign to make their candidacies viable.
In political races with a wide field of candidates, campaign funds are often an indicator of a candidate’s popularity chances of earning the majority vote. But delegate races can contain surprises on primary day because voters are asked to pick three candidates from the field, and the top vote-getters are declared winners.
Still, the incumbents have not been extremely successful fundraisers, with Moe raising more funds than any of the seven candidates and netting nearly $60,000 in contributions. Frush has close to $19,000 on hand, while Everette and Sarich, who are both members of Sen. John Giannetti’s 21st District slate, have raised a combined $8,765.
And senior philosophy major Jon Black, ever the optimist despite his reported $732.59 in contributions, spoke as though he had the race by the tail yesterday in interviews.
“Out on the trail, I’ve heard people are fed up with their representation,” Black said. “You shouldn’t have a lock [on the seat]; it’s up to the people.”
Despite being dwarfed in fundraising, Everett, Sarich and Black aren’t giving up the fight, leading strong campaigns until the ballots are cast. Sarich, a university alumnus, did not hesitate to attack the incumbents’ legislative records.
“[Frush’s and Moe’s] records on supporting students and supporting education are so poor that I don’t think their seats are locked up,” Sarich said.
Frush disagrees with those who believe her reelection is in the bag, but said she thinks that if a representative serves his constituents well, they may see another term.
“Every election is an election that looks at all the candidates,” Frush said. “I don’t think anyone has a lock on the election. If people you represent demand your reelection than I think you will be.”
The four have selected the issues they think most need to be addressed in Annapolis, several of which overlap. Higher education and transportation hold top spots on the platforms, and all runners are advocates for increased public transportation funding and tuition caps.
Both Everette and Sarich said their experiences as students at public universities make them sympathetic to the plight of students. Everette, a Virginia Tech alumnus, said she can relate to the burden college expenses have on the pockets of students and their families.
“As somebody who went to a state institution, I understand the importance of capping tuition costs,” she said.
Sarich added: “People can’t afford to send children, so we need to make that affordable.”
Black said being a student makes him most in-tune to higher education issues.
“Education always has been the backbone of this country and particularly this district, which has the flagship university,” Black said. “We need publicly funded preschools in the beginning and well-funded college at the end.”
Despite the criticism Frush’s record recieved from Sarich, she stands behind her record as an advocate for students.
“I have consistently been out front and spoke out against the increases that the governor proposed,” Frush said. “If I could find a way to fund it, and I’m looking into it, I want to make tuition free for all in-state students.”
All candidates stand in support of extending the Metro Green Line and constructing the proposed Purple Line, a common theme among many candidates’ platforms across the region.
“I drive up and down Route 1 every day and I know the traffic congestion,” Everette said. “We need to look at ways of getting people off the road with public transportation.”
The candidates part ways when it comes to political background: Sarich is a three-term city councilman, while Everette and Black lack experience as elected officials.
“There is no other candidate that has been elected to political office three times,” Sarich said. “Brian [Moe] and Barbara [Frush] were initially appointed to their position and they’ve been elected twice on their own.”
Additionally, Sarich said his legislative experience as a three-time elected official to the City Council of Laurel puts him in touch with voters and demonstrates his strength as a leader.
Frush too leaned on her legislative record for support, citing her successful initiatives to end smoking in bars in Prince George’s, Montgomery and Howard counties as well as D.C. and to eliminate children’s access to cigarette vending machines.
Everette, on the other hand, said her experience as a lobbyist in all levels of government and her personality set her apart from elected officials.
“I have experience in all levels of both state and federal government,” Everette said. “I know how to build consensus around an idea and get support for that idea. I know how to make an idea become a law and I know how to [build] relationships without compromising the idea of a bill or my vision for the district.”
Comparing himself with the other candidates, Black relies on his lack of political experience to earn him votes, he said.
“A lot of people are tired of these old-boys networks,” said Black. “They don’t resonate with the voters. I’ve got no political baggage and I worked in Annapolis for a term and I think I understand how it works.”
Black was an aide to Del. Herman Taylor and worked on Taylor’s Folic Acid Supplement Distribution bill.
Contact reporter Steven Overly at overlydbk@gmail.com.
