With two of the three incumbents not seeking re-election, District 33 is a wide-open race for the eight Democrats and six Republicans vying for the House of Delegates.
Candidates and election board officials say the retirement of six-term Republican Elizabeth S. Smith and Republican John G. Gary's decision to run for county executive has caused this to be the largest field of candidates in recent years.
The third incumbent, Crofton Democrat Marsha G. Perry, says her 13 competitors are giving her a new election experience.
"In other parts of the state the elections will be over in September, but in this district we have strong candidates on both sides and the race will be hotly contested all the way until the general election," says Mrs. Perry, 57, who broke a GOP monopoly in the district by winning her seat in 1986.
Mrs. Perry, a power skater who coaches the Washington Capitals part time, says she has an outlook that works equally well on the ice and in the state legislature. "I've been chasing 200-pound, 6-foot-3-inch, 21-year-olds around the rink, so if I can do that then I can certainly deal with men in the legislature."
Mrs. Perry says her main priorities are land preservation and conservation and the cleanup of Maryland's streams and rivers, especially the Patuxent. She has co-sponsored legislation to reduce levels of nitrogen and phosphate that pollute local waters. She says she plans to work with environmental groups to reduce toxic wastes.
Other Democrats on the ballot are:
* David G. Boschert of Crownsville, who is leaving his seat on the County Council because voters approved a two-term limit on the job in 1992. The former council chairman says he is focusing his campaign on issues that involve small businesses, including child care, economic development and the environment.
He says he would like to have the state provide tax incentives for small businesses to provide child-care facilities on their premises for employees.
"We need to help small businesses care for their employees by giving them a place that will care for their child while they work, so we can maintain family units and give more of a bonding experience between parents and their children," Mr. Boschert says.
Mr. Boschert says he favors mandatory sentences for criminals and greater use of home detention.
* Mike Canning, 33, a Crofton lawyer, who says he is relying largely on door-to-door contact with voters.
He says a federal crime bill will help provide alternatives to first-time nonviolent criminals, which he believes is a "necessity to help them with their addictions so they don't come in and out of the system."
Mr. Canning, a member of the Crofton Civic Association board of directors, thinks education will help improve the environment. "People have to get off their couches and get out and do something about improving the environment, whether it's planting trees or cleaning up streams."
* Hal Counihan, 51, of Gambrills, who says his 25 years in political science and history have given him "a desire to experience the political process hands-on."
An assistant dean of social sciences at Anne Arundel Community College, Mr. Counihan founded the Center for the Study of Local Issues in 1978.
He says the center's recent research shows that more than 80 percent of county residents have a strong distrust of "career legislators."
Mr. Counihan says his top three issues are crime, education and the environment.
* Patricia A. Huecker, a 51-year-old former school board member and president, who says her background helps her understand the effects programs and regulations may have on students and teachers.
"I know what motivates children and what they need to learn," she says. "I know the importance of programs that work and that are realistic."
Ms. Huecker, who lives in Crofton, says she earned a reputation for doing her homework on issues as a 10-year member of the school board. She wants to reduce the amount of paperwork for teachers and administrators so more time can be spent teaching.
* Sylvia Fielder Jennings, 58, a legislative aide to County Councilwoman Virginia P. Clagett with 10 years' experience in state Democratic committees.
"I have a leg up on the rest of them -- except Mrs. Perry -- on how to develop legislation and then follow it through the process," says Ms. Jennings, who lives in Edgewater. "I have long years of legislative experience of knowing how to work with communities to legislatively develop their concerns in issues that are important to them."
She says she is concerned about crime, overcrowded schools and managing the county's growth.
* Daniel Nataf, a 40-year-old Severna Park resident, who wants to apply the theories of political science he teaches as a professor at University of Baltimore County in the House of Delegates.
"I've always considered myself a generalist -- someone who is an instant expert on everything -- and that's the nature of politics. Politicians are somebody who have an ability to quickly understand a variety of things," Mr. Nataf says.
He says crime can be reduced if job-training programs and services are provided for nonviolent criminals. Mr. Nataf says that creating a relationship between small business and schools, students will be better prepared to go out in the work force and survive.
* Alvin Tilghman, a 59-year-old Severn resident, who ran for delegate in neighboring District 32 four years ago. He says his lack of experience in elective office will better his chances of getting elected.
"People are tired of the same old thing and nothing ever getting done," he says. "It's time for people to have more of a voice in issues instead of letting a delegate's opinion represent a community that he/she knows nothing about."
Mr. Tilghman has held personnel management positions in state government for 20 years.
Candidates on the Republican side are:
* Janet Greenip, 47, founder and former president of the Greater Crofton Republican Women's Club, who says she has knocked on about 5,000 doors in the past few months.
She says students, teachers and parents should manage education funding and curriculum rather than upper-level management. Mrs. Greenip was a substitute teacher in Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties for three years.
"When it comes to crime, I say let's reform the parole system so people serve their full sentence," she says.
* Robert Baldwin, a 59-year-old Crownsville contractor, who says he wants to help end the state's "downward spiral" of the past few years.
Mr. Baldwin says growing regulations and taxes burden small businesses. "A more careful look needs to be taken on laws that are being proposed and the effect they could have on small businesses . . . legislatures need to help keep business here because they create jobs.
"When a people get a job, they get their self-esteem back, they get off welfare, they stay away from crime and they get health insurance. That's almost all the problems solved right there."
Mr. Baldwin was finance chairman for former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Holt's eight campaigns.
* David Almy, a 35-year-old Crownsville resident, who says he knows how to run and win a campaign after serving as Robert R. Neall's campaign manager in his successful race for county executive in 1990.
"You need a sense of humor, character and convictions to survive in a political office along with a sense of vision and the ability to deal with people, even your enemies," he says.
Mr. Almy is the director of communications at the National Business Aircraft Association Inc. in Washington, and is a former speech writer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"I don't view this as a two-seats-open race, I see it as a potentially mismatched liberal incumbent in a primarily conservative district," he says.
* Ingvard "Ed" Bach, a 60-year-old Severna Park resident, who says he wants to see "no early outs for criminals."
He says boot camps and stockades should be used to house nonviolent offenders.
Mr. Bach, owner of Sparkle & Village Cleaners in Severna Park, says small business are "being taken over by big governments."
"We can't take care of everybody, but we can reduce the size of government on all levels," Mr. Bach says.
* Margaret McLean, a 51-year-old Severna Park resident, who says she is concerned about the small businesses leaving the area because of regulations or high taxes.
Ms. McLean, a sales and marketing manager for O'Conner Piper & Flynn, says she is concerned about the hard times homeowners face in establishing homes in the area.
She said she would also like to see tougher legislation on criminals.
* Ronald A. Pullen, 55, who is a retired tax lawyer and owner of Advanced Home Oxygen and Medical Supply in Annapolis.
"I am a negotiator who won't give up until the work is done," says Mr. Pullen. "I care for the people in the communities, I care about their problems and needs and I feel in the past that they haven't gotten their money's worth with some of these politicians."
The Annapolis resident says he wants to work on cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay, so "someday I can walk into the waters and see my feet like I could when I was a kid."