John McKinnis

The results of yesterday’s special primary election to fill the vacant District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council remain unofficial, as absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be counted.

According to Marjorie Roher, a spokesperson for the Montgomery County Board of Elections, an initial canvass of absentee ballots is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., while provisional ballots will be counted on April 21. The board plans to certify the results on April 25, after performing a second canvass of absentee ballots that morning.

Don Praisner (D-Silver Spring) and Mark Fennel (R-Silver Spring) are the unofficial winners of today’s special primary election to fill the open District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council.

With all 45 precincts reporting, Praisner received 3288 votes in the Democratic contest, compared to 2940 for Nancy Navarro. Steve Kanstoroom and Pat Ryan followed with 804 and 402 votes, respectively.

On the Republican side, Fennel earned 898 votes, while John McKinnis tallied 771. Robert Patton followed with 114 votes, followed by Thomas Hardman with 96 votes.

If his 348 vote lead holds up, Praisner is favored to win the May 13 special election in this heavily Democratic district.

In the race to fill the open District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council, John McKinnis and Mark Fennel of Silver Spring are considered the favorites in today’s GOP primary.

McKinnis, the founder and owner of Light Integrations, LLC, an information technology (IT) business located in Beltsville, told PolitickerMD.com that the hardest part of the campaign has been “voter awareness,” but said he received “good responses” from those residents aware of his campaign.

Saying the county was in a “fiscal crisis,” McKinnis said he would work to improve education and root-out wasteful spending, if elected.

“We haven’t seen the true ramifications of the housing downfall,” McKinnis said, adding, “We need to take a look at the (county) budget.”

Fennel, a marketing analyst and the 2006 Republican nominee for the District 4 seat, said he was “feeling great” about his chances.

He said his message of “property tax relief” was “resonating with voters.”

ROCKVILLE-- Just as voters prepare to go to the polls to select nominees for the vacant District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council, the majority of the candidates participated in traditional get-out-the-vote efforts, from phone-banking to door-to-door campaigning.

On the Democratic side, Nancy Navarro, Don Praisner and Pat Ryan of Silver Spring, along with Steve Kanstoroom of Ashton, are vying for their party's nomination.

Running as a self-described “centrist,” information technology developer Thomas Hardman (R-Rockville) hopes to earn a seat on the Montgomery County Council. Hardman is one of four Republican candidates seeking the GOP nomination in the race to fill the vacant District 4 council seat left vacant by the death of Marilyn Praisner (D). A special primary election has been scheduled for April 15, while the general election will take place May 13.

“I’m not really a part of the established political community,” Hardman told PolitickerMD.com.

In 2006, Hardman made an unsuccessful run at a state delegate position in District 19. Today, the IT developer said issues like combating gang violence and improving education standards are some of his top priorities.

In 2006, Mark Fennel (R-Silver Spring) spoke out against what he called waste and mismanagement in local government. That message propelled the marketing analyst to the GOP nomination for the District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council. In the general election, however, Fennel was soundly defeated by Democratic incumbent Marilyn Praisner, who passed away February 1. Now, Fennel is once again seeking the Republican nomination for the same position in a special primary election, which will be held April 15. The general election is scheduled for May 13.

“I am the only person running today that previously expressed interest in the campaign,” Fennel told PolitickerMD.com.

If elected, Fennel said he would work to “curtail the vicious pattern of uncontrolled spending,” saying Montgomery County faces a “financial crisis.”

Theresa Dudley (D-Kentland) has been a social studies teacher for 11 years. She has served on the board of directors of the teacher’s union for the past three years. Now, Dudley is seeking to fill the open District 5 position on the Prince George’s County Council, which she has unsuccessfully sought three times before.

“It feels different,” Dudley said about this election. “People are really looking at this race.”

Dudley will be one of seven Democrats competing in next Tuesday’s special primary election. Her opponents include Mayor Adam Ortiz of Edmonston, Adrion Howell, a Glenn Dale resident and former liaison to Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson, and Andrea Fletcher Harrison, the deputy chief of staff for the District 5 council office.