The scene at the Clarksville home of wealthy Republican businessman J. P. Bolduc, host of a lavish fund-raiser for Charles C. Feaga last June, could have served equally well as an advertisement for Feaga or ammunition for his Republican primary opponent in the county executive's race, fellow Councilman Dennis R. Schrader.

"There are those that will tell you that growth is a problem," said Bolduc, a development financier, as guests sampled citrus marinated quail eggs, smoked oriental scallops, herb-encrusted turkey and curry-roasted garlic shrimp. "Charlie will tell you that growth represents opportunity."

With new residential communities on the way in southern Howard and scattered controversial developments around the county, growth has been the prevailing undercurrent in the county executive's race. It has swayed some of the county's residential developers to Feaga, a 65-year-old property-rights advocate whose family farm is being developed into homes, and driven "slow-growthers" to Schrader, a 45-year-old hospital executive who has criticized the pace of residential building.

But even though many in the Schrader and Feaga camps see stark differences between the two candidates on growth, the reality is more complex than the rhetoric. As they approach the Sept. 15 primary, Feaga may be less the favorite of developers than he appears, and Schrader may be more friendly to them than some voters realize.

Schrader's latest television campaign advertisement, for example, boasts that he knows how to say "no" to developers, and labels Feaga as "the developers' friend." But what the ad doesn't boast is that nearly half its cost was paid for with the largess of the development community, a wide-ranging group of contributors who have given more generously to Schrader than to Feaga.

Close to $80,000 of Schrader's nearly $173,000 amassed by the end of August -- or more than 45 percent-- came from more than 100 developers, architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers, zoning attorneys and others who profit from development, including their close family members, according to a review of campaign reports and interviews with the candidate.

Returning contributions

Yesterday, Schrader decided to return perhaps a quarter of the development community's contributions, money he had raised from contractors who have done business with him in his role as vice president of the University of Maryland Medical System. Some ethicists and influential state legislators had suggested the appearance of a conflict of interest, though Schrader said yesterday he did nothing wrong and is returning the contributions to protect the reputation of the medical system.

By comparison, about 40 percent of Feaga's nearly $113,000 in contributions came from the development community.

"Charlie admits to taking money from businesses, has never apologized for it," said Feaga's treasurer, Councilman Darrel E. Drown. "Dennis is saying these businesses are bad and yet he is taking their money. He wants it both ways."

Schrader responds that he's not saying developers are bad, and he didn't intend for his ad to come off as anti-developer, even if it does exclaim in red letters under his picture, "No! to developers." In interviews, he delivers a more balanced message than his 30-second attack ad conveys, one that slow-growthers in the county may not find quite as appealing.

"The message is not that we're against developers. The message is that we need an independent approach to managing growth looking at the economics of growth," Schrader said. "It's not saying that development is good or bad or that developers are good or bad."

Contributors to Schrader don't seem bothered by his ad, either. In interviews over the past week, many of Schrader's biggest benefactors said they view the candidate as pro-development.

"Dennis is not anti-growth. Misunderstanding. Big misunderstanding," said Ron Brasher, a Columbia architect who designed the county's Gateway building and numerous private projects and has contributed $866, including in-kind donations, to Schrader's campaign. "He is pro-growth. I had a long talk with him before I supported him."

Developer contributions to candidates are a staple of suburban politics, where a never-ending stream of zoning issues and permit applications comes before county governments. The county executive is instrumental in crafting the county's plan for growth, and the executive's staff can act as a crucial gatekeeper for developers' proposed zoning changes and site plans.

This year, two Republican candidates for County Council, Allan Kittleman of western Howard and Christopher J. Merdon of Ellicott City, have sworn off contributions from developers and their attorneys, saying they don't want voters to think that a builder's money will influence their votes on the council, which also sits as the Zoning Board.

But Kittleman and Merdon likely can afford to reject such contributions, since doing so can win them points with voters, and council races are inexpensive anyway.

In the county executive's race, Schrader plans to spend up to $300,000. Raising that much money would be far more difficult, if not impossible, without the help of the development community.

Support for developers

Still, even many slow-growth Republican voters may not be too unnerved by the development community's contributions to Schrader. That's because his ad capitalizes on what many in the county say is Feaga's deserved reputation of consistently backing developers' interests.

In some communities hyper-sensitive to growth, such as Fulton and Dayton, neighborhood leaders say their motto is, "Anybody but Feaga." Indeed, even some Republicans who don't believe Schrader will control growth adequately are hesitant to criticize him publicly because they don't want Feaga to win.

Schrader saw such strong anti-Feaga sentiments when he went knocking on doors of Republican homes one night last month on Reservoir Road in Fulton, in Feaga's district.

"You'll get my vote because I want Mr. Feaga out," said James Utley, a 49-year-old claims adjuster. "I think he has sold out to the developers and it's time for him to retire."

Feaga's detractors also remember the controversy that erupted in early 1996, when it was revealed that Feaga had voted for a zoning amendment that helped two developers shortly after the developers had purchased an option on 200 acres of his family's farm in Ellicott City.

Feaga said he had no reason to disclose the sale of the option, and local and state ethics probes found he did not break the law. But critics have continued to use the episode to question the councilman's integrity.

Feaga said such critics are "bitter" and unusually vocal, not representative of the entire community. He said the county has "great growth control" and the government shouldn't go further to rein in developers.

"My ancestors fought for the freedom that we have today, and I won't let any of it go," Feaga said after a community forum in the Mount Hebron neighborhood last week. "There's limits to what government can do, thank God."

For Schrader, whose polls suggest his stance on managing growth is a winning issue for him, those are the kinds of comments that he says distinguishes Feaga from himself.

In the last year in particular, Schrader has made some bold moves to underscore this point: He has proposed requiring studies of the economic impact of proposed projects, including infrastructure costs and expected new tax revenues; he has cast two deciding votes against commercial projects near the Long Gate shopping center in Ellicott City, pleasing residents nearby; and he cast a losing vote against a Rouse Co. rezoning request that sped up the developer's plan to build a controversial Columbia-style community in North Laurel.

On each of those issues, Feaga was on the opposing side, supporting developers. But Feaga's supporters point out that their candidate has sometimes opposed development. Just as important, they say, Schrader has made all these high-profile moves since announcing last year he would run for county executive.

'Changed his tune'

Of the six zoning cases in the last four years in which Schrader voted against development and Feaga voted the other way, five have come in the last year, according to a review of county Zoning Board records.

"I think he's changed his tune a little bit, at least the way he's been voting on the County Council," said Harry "Chip" Lundy Jr., a Feaga supporter and home builder who along with his wife gave Schrader $1,000 in 1996 and early 1997 -- before Schrader's string of recent votes and before Feaga entered the county executive's race. "He's got the pollsters telling him what to say."

Schrader concedes most of his high-profile votes against development have come recently, but he points out that the biggest proposed development, the Rouse Co. project in North Laurel, happened to come before the Zoning Board near the end of his term. He also pointed out that two years ago, he cast an important vote for slow-growthers in defense of Question B, a voter-approved charter amendment that allows citizens to petition some zoning decisions.

The growth question

Schrader also insists his substantial financial support from the development community will not influence his decisions if he is elected county executive.

"I consider what's best for my constituents and the good of the county, and when I accept money from people, I believe that they are giving to me because I will pursue good government," Schrader said. "And sometimes that means saying no to developers."

Schrader, though, is careful to say he's not against growth. He is wary of being perceived as a slow-growther only to enter office and begin touting some development, such as commercial projects that he believes will bring the county more revenue than headaches.

"The irony of it is, I'm pretty moderate on growth," Schrader said last month, as he walked through the Reservoir Road community talking to voters wary of growth. "All they know is the schools are crowded, the roads are crowded and they're paying too much taxes."

Pub Date: 9/06/98