Silver Spring

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.”

When Marilyn Praisner (D) passed away on Feb. 1 she left a legacy of service and dedication to the people of Montgomery County. The fourth district councilwoman had served since 1990; the longest serving woman in the council’s history. Her death left a deep hole in the council, one that her husband, Don Praisner (D-Silver Spring), hopes to fill.

“My wife and I shared ideas and had discussions about the important issues facing the district,” Praisner told PolitickerMD.com.

Praisner is one of four Democratic candidates competing in Tuesday’s special primary election to fill the vacant seat. Other candidates include Nancy Navarro (D-Silver Spring), the president of the Montgomery County Board of Education, activist Steve Kanstoroom (D-Ashton), and Patrick Ryan (D-Silver Spring), a lawyer and management consultant.

“I know the council, I know the system,” Praisner said when asked why he should be elected.

“I have experience,” he added.

A resident of Montgomery County since 1947, Praisner served for 30 years as an analyst, manager, and recruiter for the CIA. His civic involvement includes work as the vice president of the Calverton Citizens Association, and time as the Democratic Precinct Chair for Precinct 05-12.

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.”