The House of Delegates chamber. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines.
Nine Democrats have applied for the chance to replace newly appointed state Sen. Sara Love (D-Montgomery) in the House of Delegates, and on Tuesday evening they made their cases at a public forum sponsored by a local political club.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) will have the final say on filling the District 16 House vacancy, but the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee is scheduled to make its recommendation for the appointment to the governor on July 11. The new delegate would serve the duration of Love’s four-year House term, which ends in January 2027. Love was appointed to replace former Sen. Ariana B. Kelly (D), who left last month to become executive director of the Maryland Commission for Women.
Each of the nine candidates who appeared at Tuesday evening’s virtual forum, sponsored by the District 16 Democratic Club, laid out expansive, progressive agendas, touting their ability to best deliver for the district, which is centered in Bethesda.
“I think we’ve got an all-star bench for the Montgomery County delegation, which I am very proud of,” said Saman Ahmad, the county Democratic chair.
With the applicants showing broad agreement on the need to protect the environment, provide more affordable housing for the district, expand gun safety initiatives and fight to preserve democracy, it was their experience, commitment and connections that were paramount in the candidates’ pitches to Democratic leaders.
“There may not be much difference in our policy positions, but there is in our experiences and activism,” said Diana Conway, one of the contenders.
Hanging over the 2 1/2-hour forum was the increasingly controversial legislative appointment process, which has come under mounting attack from political reformers and some legislators themselves. In the 35-member Montgomery County legislative delegation alone, Love’s House replacement will become the 15th lawmaker appointed to their current or initial legislative seats.
More than one-quarter of all the members of the General Assembly were, at some point in their careers, appointed to their seats. When Love’s successor is selected, three of the four lawmakers representing District 16 will be appointees. Kelly was herself an appointee to the Senate; she was elevated from the House to replace former Sen. Susan C. Lee (D) when Lee became Maryland’s Secretary of State early last year. Lee had initially been appointed to the legislature in 2002.
A bill that would have required special elections for legislative vacancies, depending on the timing of the opening, passed in the state Senate this year, 43-2, but stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee amid debate over whether the appointment process results in more candidates of color advancing to the legislature than special elections would.
During the forum, the applicants were asked whether they would support the special election legislation: Six said yes, two said no (one candidate had to leave the forum early and did not get a chance to answer the question).
Filling vacancies for legislative seats is a tricky process with political dynamics that are often hard to read outside the committees that make the recommendations. But it appears the early frontrunners for Love’s seat are Teresa Saavedra Woorman, a member of the Democratic central committee who is an aide to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D); Conway, a longtime civic activist and leader of the Montgomery County Women’s Democratic Club; and Melissa Bender, another officer of the Women’s Democratic Club who has worked for two state lawmakers in Annapolis.
Bender was the runner-up for a House appointment last year, when now-Del. Sarah T. Wolek (D) was selected to fill Kelly’s House seat.
Woorman, who was campaign manager for Elrich’s 2022 reelection, serves in the county’s public information office. An immigrant from Mexico, who moved to Montgomery County at age 9, she worked in the legislature for seven years and has been a leader of the Maryland Young Democrats.
“I have the most legislative experience and the greatest knowledge of how to get things done in the Maryland General Assembly,” Woorman said.
She also described her experience as an immigrant, recalling that she became a U.S. citizen while she was in college. “I was so proud to be an American citizen that I was jumping up and down at my naturalization ceremony,” she said.
Conway is an environmental advocate best known in Maryland for her push to end the use of artificial turf on scholastic and local athletic fields. She and her husband have hosted fundraisers for scores of candidates and causes at their Potomac home (Disclosure: The Conways have hosted two events for Maryland Matters, in 2016 and 2022). Conway said that the combination of her activism and the networks she’s developed as a philanthropist would serve the district well.
“I have the relationships and the skills and the bandwidth to represent District 16 in the House of Delegates,” she said.
Bender has upped her political activism and visibility in the district since falling short in the appointment process last year.
“Since the vacancy last year, I have worked hard to be an advocate for Montgomery County children and families,” Bender said, touting her “deep understanding” of Annapolis through her work for Del. Debra Davis (D-Charles) and former Del. Shane M. Pendergrass (D-Howard).
Also seeking the appointment:
Joe Hennessy, a lawyer who unsuccessfully sought the District 16 seat in the 2018 Democratic primary
Jason Nuñez, the chief of staff to Del. Deni Taveras (D-Prince George’s)
Steve Shapiro, a Coast Guard veteran and federal retiree
Amol Tripathi, an entrepreneur and veteran of the commercial real estate industry
Heather Weaver, a public school teacher and former tech industry worker
Scott Webber, a progressive activist who called himself “a professional problem-solver”
Asked whether they supported the bill to require special elections for legislative vacancies, only Weaver and Hennessy said they didn’t. Weaver said she worried about the cost of special elections and the prospect that legislative seats would be vacant for too long waiting for the election calendar to roll around. Hennessy said wealthier candidates would have clear advantages during “a snap election.”
Nuñez was not present on camera to answer the question.
Most of the candidates submitted letters of application and resumes, which are available for viewing on the central committee website. The members of the committee will hear from the candidates again before voting on their recommendation next Thursday at 6:30 p.m. That meeting will be held in person but will also be live-streamed.
The post Applicants for District 16 House vacancy offer different skill sets appeared first on Maryland Matters.