Harold G. Gordon and Lougene Williams, Masonic brothers and friends for 30 years, were happy warriors as they walked the streets near Woodmoor elementary school recently, knocking on doors, distributing literature, and talking to people on the street.
"We're out here 10 or 11 hours a day," Mr. Williams, 58, said, "and we're making headway."
Mr. Williams, a rehabilitation worker for the state is one of 12 Democrats running for three House of Delegates seats in the New, heavily Democratic 10th District. Mr. Gordon is running for the state Senate.
"Also waiting patiently -- and confidently -- for the Sept. 13 primary is a powerful ticket headed by state Senate candidate Delores Kelley, 58, who was elected to the House from the 42nd legislative district in 1990. Her ticket includes House candidates Shirley Nathan-Pulliam, Rev. Emmett Burns, and Joan N. Parker.
The 10th District runs from Randallstown in Baltimore County to Edmondson Avenue in the City, and it includes Woodmoor, Woodlawn, Hunting Ridge, Villa Nova and the Liberty Road corridor.
The 10th District was created out of the 1990 census to give the county a black majority district. The formulation appears certain to achieve its goal, which is to give the county its first black elected official. The district is about 65 percent black, and its voter registration makeup is one-sided, with 30,000 Democrats and only 5,000 Republicans eligible for the primary.
Mr. Gordon, 48, an administrator with the state Board of Social Work Examiners, is the main challenger to Mrs. Kelley for the 10th District Senate seat. He has been active in voter registration and in the community for years, and was one of those responsible for the renovation of the Woodmoor-Liberty Crest shopping centers on Liberty Road, which is scheduled to begin this fall.
The third Senate candidate in the Democratic primary is George K. Gribbroek, 36, a computer scientist and a follower of perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche.
The winner of the Democratic race will face Jerome Goodman, 65, an acoustical engineer and consultant, is unopposed on the GOP side.
Mr. Gordon is relying on hard work and his charge that Mrs. Kelley is a "carpetbagger" to carry him to victory. Mrs. Kelley moved from her home in the 42nd District to Randallstown so she could run in the 10th District.
Mrs. Kelley, who teaches English and speech at Coppin State, notes that redistricting reduced the black voting base in the 42nd District from 38 percent to 12 percent, and took "eight of my best precincts" from the 42nd and put them in the 10th District.
"Except for my candidacy, the 10th District would be devoid of General Assembly candidates with any experience in public office," she said. "Also, I have excellent relations with the city precincts which will now be part of the new 10th."
Says Mr. Gordon, "She knows she can't win the city, so she came out here. Many of the candidates have taken large sums from special interests. I only accept individual contributions."
Mr. Kelly supports more equitable funding for the state's school districts, attracting new businesses that create jobs and finding new approaches to controlling crime.
Mrs. Kelley is running on her record as a pro-choice, education, environment, and gun control legislator, and favors attacking the drug trade by attacking the "pillars of society" who profit from the drug trade by laundering drug money.
"We're going after the bottom of the drug pyramid by arresting drug dealers on the street when we should going after the leaders," she said.
In the Democratic House primary Mr. Burns, 53, has been pastor of the 500-member Rising Sun Baptist church in Woodmoor for 10 years, and has been involved in voter registration throughout the South.
He says there is no excuse for violence, "poverty notwithstanding."
If elected, one of his projects, if elected, would be to solicit automakers for fully-equipped cars, to be distributed to community associations for neighborhood crime patrols.
"We can't continue to make excuses for crime," he says.
Mrs. Nathan-Pulliam, 55, is a registered nurse, who considers her knowledge of health care an asset to the Kelley ticket. She stays healthy herself by campaigning door-to-door seven days a week.
"I feel strongly about universal health care," she says. "If you're healthy, you have everything, and the health issue is connected to many other issues, including crime."
Ms. Parker, 59, worked in fiscal management and minority enterprise positions for the state for 33 years. She said she decided she "had something to offer" because she understands finance.
"Politicians are not accessible enough or accountable enough," she says. "The problems of the 10th District are the same as they are anywhere -- crime and jobs for instance -- and we can do more to deal with them."
Other House candidates include Garland A. Brown, 61, a retired teacher who taught social studies at Franklin High School. Mr. Brown is not campaigning because he fears the large number of black candidates -- 9 of 12 in the House race -- will dilute the black vote.
"I would be the best candidate for this area," he says. "I would like to have seen black organizations get behind just three candidates, but everyone thought they should be among the three."
Not to worry, says Arthur Murphy, a political consultant for 25 years who is advising a number of candidates in the state's legislative races, including the Kelley ticket.
"They (the Kelley ticket) will win in a walk because they're the best organized, and they know how to spend their money, which is quite adequate," Mr. Murphy said.
Mr. Perry, 31, a former teacher and trade association lobbyist, is the only Jewish candidate in the House race and expects to get most of the Jewish vote in the district Mr. Murphy says he will get "all" of it. He is well-financed, and has raised more than $25,000 in campaign funds.
Mr. Perry also is a member of the board of Metro Crime Stoppers, he started his drive early, forming a campaign committee more than a year ago.
"I've got the endorsement of the police and firefighters associations, and I helped found the citizens' patrol in Randallstown," he said..
Mr. Perry said police departments are undermanned and under-equipped. He has prepared careful position papers on education, regionalism, commuter taxation, and the welfare reform. He favors abortionm rights and opposes state-sponsored gambling because he said it exploits the poor.
The reminder of the House field includes a variety of energetic community activists, all well versed on the issues.
Helena S. Hicks, 43, an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore and president of the Maryland Federation of Democratic Women. She is on the street "eight to 10 hours a day," focusing on strengthening local communities.
"This election will be decided by people who are not into politics, but (who) remember you from personal contact and how you respond to their problems," she says.
John T. Moylan, 63, has been retired from Westinghouse for two years and now works as a business consultant.
"Corporations look for skilled, educated workers, so it's obvious we have to provide a good education in order to create good jobs," he says. He said his campaign accepts no contributions, and that he is financing his direct mail campaign with his own money.
William Obriecht, 62, is a retired management policy specialist with Social Security Administration. He said voters are mostly concerned with local issues, and want responses from elected officials.
"Traffic, speeders, water standing in their gutter, that's what concerns them," he said. "I don't hear much about the great issues of crime, education and state finance except guns. I'm against handguns because the citizen has no defense against them."
He and his wife own and operate the Calico Cat gift shop in Woodlawn.
Robert E. Vassar Sr., 55, teaches course in life, health, property and casualty insurance, and is a member Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc., the largest and oldest fair housing organization in the country. He is concentrating on government spending and waste. "We have to make public officials accountable," he says.
Gary Monroe, 37, is a former state trooper who works for the state Commission on Human Relations. He favors gun control, and a ceiling on welfare benefits.
Evelyn Campbell, 43, is a computer consultant, who volunteers in the county public schools, and is managing director of the Baltimore county Youth Ballet. She says her main concern is education. "Everything starts with youth."
The winners of the House Democratic primary race will face Republicans Clifford Andrews, Cliftonn McDoanld and Alicia Walker in November general election.
The September GOP primary is uncontested.