Challengers go after incumbent legislators in Democratic primary

Friday, Sept. 1, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff Photo by Reid Silverman Clare C. Whitbeck, left, and Del. John F. Wood Jr. during a forum for candidates to represent northern St. Mary and a small portion of Charles County in the Maryland General Assembly. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Staff Photo by Reid Silverman James P. Cusick Sr., left, and Del. John Bohanan at a forum featuring Democratic candidates to represent southern St. Mary’s County in the Maryland House of Delegates.

Both Clare C. Whitbeck and James P. Cusick Sr. hope to convince voters that the legislature needs new representatives and that they offer an alternative to the status quo. But each must dethrone popular lawmakers: Del. John F. Wood Jr. holds the seat Whitbeck covets and Del. John Bohanan serves in Cusick’s district.

‘‘There are stark differences on our philosophies,” said Whitbeck, following the forum sponsored by the St. Mary’s County League of Women Voters. The Leonardtown resident highlighted the pair’s position on slot machines as one example. Wood supports gambling at controlled facilities, while Whitbeck does not ‘‘unless there’s some change in the proposal.”

‘‘I have been in this county when there were slots,” she added. ‘‘I remember, and I don’t want to see that happen here [again] and I can’t imagine it would be better anywhere else.”

Whitbeck, former vice president of the United Seniors of Maryland, also is targeting Wood’s fractured relationship with House Democratic leaders, which she argued is hurting St. Mary’s efforts to secure state dollars. ‘‘I’m always going to be looking to House leadership for direction,” she said, noting that she will not always heed their advice. ‘‘I don’t believe Delegate Wood does that, and that’s why he lost his committee, and when that committee went, St. Mary’s County lost a lot.

‘‘It is the job of a delegate in Annapolis to work with the leadership in order to be effective,” she added.

Wood (D-St. Mary’s, Charles), who has served in Annapolis since 1987, was stripped in 2003 of his chairmanship from the now-defunct House Commerce and Government Affairs Committee, reportedly due to philosophical differences between Wood and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel). Wood is viewed as a conservative in Annapolis, regularly siding with Republicans on key votes.

‘‘There is no question that me and the speaker didn’t agree. I’m a moderate conservative and that was not what he wanted his first team made up of, so that’s why I wasn’t picked to serve in that position,” Wood said. ‘‘I’m not there to impress the speaker of the House or anything like that. I’m there to do a job for my constituents, whether it’s voting on a piece of legislation or working for a constituent who has a problem with a state agency and needs help.”

Meanwhile, Cusick is calling to sharply curtail growth in St. Mary’s. He said the county cannot keep up with the infrastructure — housing, roads, schools and more — needed to handle the number of jobs associated with Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

Until the county has space for more people, it should turn down new military contracts and other expansion efforts, he said. ‘‘Allowing the growth to overload our infrastructure is what incompetent government means.”

Neither Wood nor Bohanan retorted when the challengers questioned their effectiveness. Instead, they highlighted their records on school construction funding, environmental advocacy and transportation initiatives.

The non-combative approach is a smart tactic for Wood and Bohanan, said Zach Messitte, a St. Mary’s College of Maryland political science professor. ‘‘If you’re the incumbent and you don’t feel threatened, you don’t rise to the bait,” said Messitte.

Wood said in a recent interview that his record of accomplishment over two decades speaks for itself. ‘‘I’ve been there 20 years, and I have never been ashamed of my voting record,” he said, adding his belief that he is as effective now as he was earlier in his career, despite the bruised relationship with Busch. Wood said voters may not know his accomplishments because he’s not a publicity hound. ‘‘I don’t blow my horn,” he said. ‘‘I don’t run to the newspaper every time I do something good ... because I think that’s something between me and the individual I’m working with.”

Whitbeck posted Wood’s voting record on her campaign Web site, which Wood said he welcomes. ‘‘I’ve never voted for anything that I know of that I could not stand up and defend why I voted the way I did,” he said.

Of the six bills Wood co-sponsored this past legislative session, none made it to the full chamber for consideration. ‘‘This is a numerical measure that’s easy to get your arms around and say this is a delegate that isn’t doing as much as he used to be,” Whitbeck said.

This is the first time since 1994 that Wood faces primary opposition. ‘‘I’m still running the same newspaper ads ... that I did four years ago with no opponent. I’m doing the same thing with mailers or fliers,” he said. ‘‘You never let people think you are taking them for granted.”

The winner will face Mechanicsville resident Joseph DiMarco, the sole GOP candidate, in the general election. Local real-estate agent Noel Temple ‘‘Tim” Wood will oppose the victor of the Bohanan⁄Cusick contest.

Alan Brody