Clark Takes Aim at MD 6th District

George Wenschhof

When November 2, 2010 rolls around, it will mark 18 years of ineffective representation by Republican Roscoe Bartlett for the residents of Maryland's sixth district. Democrats have put forward seven candidates (Don DeArmon twice) over the last eight elections with only Stephen Crawford in 1996 reaching 44% of the vote.

Mr. Crawford was also the only Democratic candidate to raise significant money (over $4000,000) to pay for needed campaign staff and media buys necessary to get the information out to voters in the largest geographic area to be represented in Congress from Maryland.

I sat down with Casey Clark yesterday for several hours of conversation and it became obvious this man was taking this election in a very serious manner. He recognizes the need for more effective representation and pointed out the higher rate of unemployment in western Maryland. He feels an energized Congressman can help bring the sorely needed job opportunities to the out of work residents of the 6th District.

Mr. Clark grew up in Maryland, married a woman he knew from high school and has two children. After College, he entered the journalism field and his investigative reporting earned him multiple Emmys. When asked why he was running for office, he quickly answered it came about the night Barack Obama had won the election and gave his speech from the park in Chicago. It was during this speech the president elect was encouraging people to get involved and saying they can make a difference.

Clark already has raised $130,000 and has an experienced campaign manager; Larry Thompson on board. He wants to focus on developing clean energy jobs and strengthening education in the sixth district while also looking to review the current onerous tax code facing Americans today. You can read more about his positions on the issues by going to his website; www.caseyclarkforcongress.com.

The road to victory by a Democratic candidate in the sixth district is a steep climb for any candidate due to the redistricting done in 2002. A strong Democratic candidate with a strong message and a campaign budget to support the effort can compete in a district that is overwhelmingly registered Republican. If nothing else a competitive showing by a Democratic candidate would encourage the powers to be to consider redistricting the sixth district.

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