Name Recognition and Ignorance

County Councilman Steve Silverman is taking big money from developers and other fat cats as he builds a war chest for the County Executive race in 2006:

Although Silverman reported a smattering of $25 and $50 checks, most of the money came from large donations, including a hefty take from developers, builders, real estate brokers and related interests.

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But council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg) said Silverman's donor base "is troubling."

"If someone is raising $600,000 in $100-or-less contributions, that would tell me they have tremendous public support," Andrews said. "If someone is raising $600,000 in $1,000 chunks . . . that raises all kinds of questions for me about whether that person can do what is best for the public."

Andrews said Silverman's ties to builders, as chairman of the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development Committee, could have implications in a county struggling to manage growth.

Mike Tabor in the Silver Spring Voice this month reminds us that Terry Lierman worked for the living wage, pokes a needle in the eye of Duncan's pro-development slate that holds firm control in Rockville despite the "Democratic" label, and pushes readers to overcome our laziness and ignorance that keeps bad officials in place and prevents a new generation of more progressive people from getting elected. His riff on the long-time occupant of one Senate seat tells the tale: "The only thing going for her among District 20 residents is name recognition and ignorance."