The first day for candidate filing is more than a week away and the state and local Primary Election isn’t until June 2014, but already the District 16 House of Delegates race is shaping up to involve a wealth of candidates who could be vying for two open seats.
District 16 covers Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac and North Bethesda and is represented by Democrats Bill Frick, Susan Lee and Ariana Kelly.
With Frick contemplating a run for Attorney General against District 16 State Senator Brian Frosh and Lee rumored to be making a run for Frosh’s vacant Senate seat, there is potential for Bethesda’s representation in Annapolis.
And a lot of people want in.
County Councilmember Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg) predicted 15 to 20 candidates would jump in for next year’s Primary at a campaign training event earlier this month in Bethesda. Other observers have estimated more, perhaps up to 25 or 30 candidates.
At that event were a handful of people who said they will run, including Jordan Cooper, a 27-year-old healthcare policy wonk who has worked as an aide to Annapolis lawmakers. Cooper on Wednesday debuted a Facebook page and will hold a press conference on April 13 to announce his campaign.
Marc Korman, a communications attorney at D.C. law firm Sidley Austin and chair of the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board expressed interest in running. Korman has experience in the Montgomery County Democractic Central Committee and used to post on the now defunct Maryland Politics Watch blog.
Kyle Lierman, who lost out on the third District 16 seat to Kelly by just 374 votes in the 2010 Primary, will run. So will former District 1 County Council candidate Karen Kuker-Kihl.
