Montgomery County

Don Praisner (D-Silver Spring) defeated Mark Fennel (R-Silver Spring) by a margin of 2-to-1 in yesterday's special election to fill the vacant District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council. Praisner, widower of the late Councilwoman Marilyn Praiser, received 66.11 percent of the vote to Fennel's 33.62 percent.

Voter turnout was 10.64 percent, according to the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

Mark Fennel (R-Silver Spring), the GOP nominee to replace the late Marilyn Praisner (D) on the Montgomery County Council, District 4, issued a statement yesterday objecting to the distribution of what his campaign called "an unnecessary 4-page letter to 90,000 plus voters in council District 4 to try to stimulate voter turnout for Don Praisner," his Democratic opponent in Tuesday's special election.

The issue revolves around the Montgomery County Board of Elections sample ballots, which include the candidates' names, but not party affiliation.

Today, the county board of elections began distributing the mailings to District 4 residents, which Fennel called "a political waste of the taxpayers' money."

The county is heavily Democratic-likely the main reason why Fennel voiced his concern.

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.”

Nancy Navarro and Don PraisnerSILVER SPRING — Nancy Navarro and Don Praisner, the leading Democratic candidates in today’s special primary election to fill the vacant District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council, campaigned within steps of each other at the massive Leisure World retirement community in Silver Spring, today.

“We always know that turnout will be low for a special election, but turnout is at its highest here,” said Navarro, who worked the crowd as voters came to the polls.

Praisner said of Leisure World’s electoral bounty: “It’s where the voters are.”

The District 4 seat was left open after the Feb. 1 death of Praisner’s wife, Marilyn, who was first elected to the council in 1990.

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.

Nancy Navarro (D-Silver Spring) has served on the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) since 2004; the latter two years as board president.

Today, Navarro is a candidate in the race to fill the open District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council.  She will compete against her three Democratic opponents, Don Praisner (D-Silver Spring), the husband of the deceased councilwoman Marilyn Praisner, Pat Ryan (D-Silver Spring), a federal consultant, and activist Steve Kanstoroom (D-Ashton) in Tuesday’s special primary election.

Speaking with PolitickerMD.com, Navarro’s campaign manager, David Moon, said Navarro was the “only one of the candidates willing to look at the changes going on in the county and make a decision not just based on ideology.”

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.