In Dundalk and Essex they're getting to know Baltimore County Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, who is from way over on the west side; in Pikesville and along Liberty Road they're taking a closer look at his fellow council member, Joseph Bartenfelder, from way over on the east side.

In this sprawling county where folks identify closely with their neighborhoods, the two best-known candidates for the Democratic nomination for county executive are seeking inroads in each other's home turf, fighting cultural barriers and political tradition.

East or west allegiances might not be the potent force that some older political players suggest, but the fallout from one prominent east-side politician's endorsement of Kamenetz, a lawyer from Owings Mills, shows that some political activists still expect more regional loyalty.

Graham "Butch" Henry, a longtime member of the Battle Grove Democratic Club in Dundalk, was flabbergasted when he heard that his district's councilman, John Olszewski Sr., had endorsed Kamenetz. He would have expected his fellow east-sider to back Bartenfelder, a farmer and former state delegate from Fullerton.

"I couldn't believe what I was hearing," said Henry. He said Olszewski's decision has scrambled the local political alliance, and "disrupted this whole area, as far as I'm concerned."

Kamenetz and Bartenfelder have each won support in their opponent's backyard from local officials who have opened doors. One step at a time, they're learning about communities where they have not sought votes before. The candidates are hoping to bridge distances of geography — with the county's extreme east and west poles separated by a city in between — as well as the culture gap between places such as the affluent suburb of Ruxton and working-class Dundalk.

Suzanne Mensh, the former longtime Circuit Court clerk who has been Bartenfelder's Pikesville guide, said she was surprised at the good reception her man has received recently in her predominantly Jewish neighborhood — considering he's running against a candidate trying to become the first Jewish Baltimore County executive.

Bartenfelder, who said "I've been out there many times" before the campaign, went with Mensh to the Suburban House Restaurant, a Pikesville mainstay, and to the Pikesville Senior Center. Mensh said she found that people in this area known for relatively strong Democratic primary voter turnouts listened attentively to Bartenfelder.

"He did not get the brushoff I might have thought," said Mensh, who is seeking re-election herself after a brief retirement a few months ago from a post she'd held since 1984.

Olszewski has been playing guide to his District 7 for Kamenetz.

"Since he's been here to the east side so much, he's seen a different side of Baltimore County,"  said Olszewski, referring to the working-class, conservative culture of his district, as contrasted with the more affluent and liberal area where Kamenetz lives.

Olszewski's endorsement early this year for Kamenetz certainly made more waves in his home district than the Mensh announcement did in hers. Many political activists evidently figured one east-side councilman would support another.

Democratic state Del. Joseph J. "Sonny" Minnick of Dundalk said he was "a little bit" surprised about Olszewski's decision. He acknowledges that Olszewski's support is "significant. He's a force to be reckoned with."

Minnick said his relationship with Olszewski is not as close as it once was, now that they're on opposite sides of the primary contest. Minnick is backing Bartenfelder, as are two other of the four legislators running as a District 6 team: Sen. Norman R. Stone Jr. and Del. Michael H. Weir Jr. The fourth member of the group is understandably trying to stay neutral, as he's Del. John Olszewski Jr., who is walking a line between his father and his political colleagues.

Timothy Holland, president of the Battle Grove club, said it's been decades since there has been this kind of split between Democrats in that district. His club endorsed Bartenfelder, but not before a dispute — characterized either as a spirited debate or a heated argument — erupted in the club last month as Kamenetz backers tried to overturn the executive board's endorsement. The vote went 25-25, short of the necessary two-thirds majority. 

The County Seal Democratic Club in Dundalk has backed Kamenetz, and a third club in that district, the New 7th, has yet to announce. 

If the tumult surrounding Olszewski's decision suggests a sectional ethic, Minnick said that's how it's been and should be.

"Being from the old school," said Minnick, who is 77, "east and west are still the key to that particular race."

Don Crockett, a Battle Grove member and longtime campaign soldier, answered "absolutely" when asked if the east-siders he knows want one of their own as county executive. "That's a no-brainer," he said.

Though regional divides can affect political relationships, some political observers say sectionalism is more a creation of commentators and insiders than a real factor in voters' choices.

Herbert C. Smith, a professor of political science at McDaniel College in Westminster who has followed local politics for years, considers the notion a relic.

"My impression is the old continental divide in Baltimore County has subsided considerably," said Smith,  co-author of the soon-to-be-published book, "Maryland Politics and Government: Democratic Dominance Challenged." 

Former Democratic State Sen. Michael J. Collins of Essex, who is also backing Kamenetz, dismisses "this idea that people really care where the executive lives … that's just political-speak. I don't think the average voter cares."

Smith and county spokesman Donald I. Mohler said population shifts and the administrations of James T. Smith Jr. of Reisterstown and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Cockeysville — both of whom championed many projects on the east side — have helped heal the split, if it ever mattered in the executive race. 

Recent history offers few clues. There hasn't been a contested Democratic primary for executive since 1978, when Donald Hutchinson, of the east side, topped a field of seven candidates from different parts of the county, four of whom were bunched together at the top. 

Since then, the west side has grown in population, but even when the east side had more voters, it didn't necessarily follow that they elected an executive from their section. The first executive elected under the new county charter in 1958, Christian H. Kahl, was from the west side. Of the nine men elected to the position, three have been from the west, four from the east and two from the county's center.

Joining Olszewski and Collins, County Council member Vincent Gardina of the Perry Hall area also crossed sectional lines in endorsing Kamenetz, giving him support directly north and south of Bartenfelder's home territory. Before redistricting, Gardina represented a portion of Bartenfelder's district, and said he has been acting as a consultant to Kamenetz for months.

County Council member Kenneth N. Oliver of District 4, part of which used to be represented by Kamenetz, has not yet announced his endorsement, but he recently attended a Bartenfelder fundraiser at Paul's Restaurant in Arbutus — a conservative southwest community — where the county executive candidate lavished him with praise.

Along with considerable support in former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s hometown southwest territory, Bartenfelder is backed by Vivian Jefferson, a community activist in Woodlawn, part of Oliver's turf, and Alan Zukerberg, a Pikesville activist now running for the District 2 seat Kamenetz is leaving.

On the east side Kamenetz seems to have done well in picking up the crossover support of politicians, and he continues to work the voters. He has been attending groundbreakings, parades and ribbon-cuttings, stopping at the political clubs with Olszewski. The two recently appeared together under a punishing afternoon sun with a clutch of volunteers at the intersection of Merritt Boulevard, Wise and Holabird avenues in Dundalk, a crossroads Olszewski likes to call the "O-Zone" for the key role it has played in his political campaigns.

In pale khakis and a white polo shirt with a campaign logo, Kamenetz waved at passing motorists, hoping to be rewarded with a wave or a thumbs-up. He got a silver Mini Cooper with no problem, then a few Hondas and Toyotas. Several pickup trucks in rapid succession passed, the drivers offering no affirmations.

"All right, I gotta' work on the truck vote," Kamenetz joked. Then the driver of a white Chevy truck waved.

"All right, now I can go home," he said, smiling.

arthur.hirsch@baltsun.com

Joseph Bartenfelder

Resides: Fullerton

Age: 53

County Council: District 6

Councilman Since: 1994

Occupation: Farmer, former state delegate

Kevin Kamenetz

Resides: Owings Mills

Age: 52

County Council: District 2

Councilman Since: 1994

Occupation: Attorney, former prosecutor