Tension among Democrats is straining relations in Howard's new 13th Legislative District as former Columbia Democratic Club President Neil F. Quinter prepares to formally announce his candidacy for the Maryland House of Delegates.
The pre-primary disagreement is the kind of intra-party rift that can cause hard feelings, raising Republican hopes in a district designed to favor Democrats, though the Democrats insist that won't happen.
Quinter, who is planning a ceremony in front of Atholton Elementary School tomorrow, is supporting two other Democrats running in the redrawn, eastern county district - state Senate candidate C. Vernon Gray and Del. Frank S. Turner, who is running for re-election.
And both of them say they support Quinter, too, in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary. But there is no single slate of Democrats running for the one Senate and three House of Delegates seats in the district.
That's because one incumbent - Del. Shane Pendergrass - is not part of the mutual endorsement picture. Nor is another Democrat: novice candidate Ada Bohorfoush, the fourth Democratic candidate for three delegate nominations.
On the Republican side, Sandra B. Schrader is running for state Senate, while Bob Adams of Long Reach and Mary Beth Tung of Clarksville are running for delegate seats.
"I gave my word to several people, including Neil [Quinter] that we would not put a third person on the [delegate] slate," Pendergrass said. "It's generally best to let the candidates run independently [in a primary]. I thought that's what we were doing."
Pendergrass said Quinter didn't invite her to his May fund-raiser, nor to his announcement, which features his former boss, Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr., doing the introductions.
"I'm completely baffled by it. It's clear that I'm not invited to things," Pendergrass said.
Turner said that while there won't be a group ticket in the party primary, he supports Quinter. For the past 18 months, Turner said, "he continuously asked for my support on a month-by-month basis. I've been very pleased with some of the things he has done."
Gray, too, said he has talked with Quinter frequently and finds him "eminently qualified to serve Howard County. I respect her [Pendergrass'] right to take her position. I hope she respects others' positions."
Quinter, 40, of Kings Contrivance spent five years as an assistant attorney general in Maryland, followed by a stint as Democratic counsel on a U.S. Senate committee, working for Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.
Feinstein will be host of a $250-a-ticket political fund-raiser for Quinter on July 15 at a Washington restaurant. Last year, Quinter chaired the County Council redistricting committee and worked with Turner on a legislative redistricting plan.
"I think she [Pendergrass] just wants to be neutral," Quinter said. "I think I've got a record of activism and contributions to the community and the party that would make me the better choice. I'm happy to have Vernon and Frank's support. Leave it at that."
Bohorfoush said she is aware of the tension and is running her own campaign. Having worked with Pendergrass on community issues during the mid 1990s, she said, "I'm not surprised that Shane keeps her word about something she was going to do."
Turner, like the other Democrats, says that once the primary is over, Democrats will unite.
"I think that by the general election, everybody will be in tune, and in line," he said.