Two of the three legislative and county council candidates endorsed by the Anne Arundel Sierra Club won their party’s nomination in contested races on primary election day, June 24.
House Speaker Mike Busch, District 30A, was the overwhelming top vote-getter in a field of seven Democrats looking for a slot on the November general election ballot. Mitchelle Stephenson was the top Democratic votegetter in District 30.
In County Council District 4, endorsee Scott Hymes finished second in a field of three Democrats, vying to replace former club endorsee Jamie Benoit, who retired from the council.
The club gave early general election endorsements to several Democratic candidates who faced no primary challengers, and all, of course, will be on the November ballot. These endorsees were: George Johnson for county executive; incumbent Chris Trumbauer for County Council District 6; and Henry Green for Delegate, District 33.
At the Sierra Club chapter level, where candidates are interviewed and endorsements considered by a statewide Political Committee, endorsee Heather Mizeur failed to pull off an admittedly longshot victory in her run for the Democratic nomination for Governor, but endorsee Brian Frosh surged over the final two weeks to win the Democratic nod for Attorney General.
Both the Maryland Chapter and the Anne Arundel group will be considering new endorsements now that the two main political parties have chosen their candidates for November.
Club endorsements are based on a number of factors. No endorsements are made in many cases because there may be multiple candidates with strong environmental positions, or vice-versa; candidates do not seek club endorsement, or fail to respond to a preliminary questionnaire.
The Anne Arundel group’s Kurt Riegel headed its political committee during the primary endorsement process, aided by Earl Bradley, Liz Vanden Heuvel and David Prosten. To win a club endorsement a candidate must be approved by two-thirds of the group’s executive committee.