DeArmon to run for MD State Senate

George Wenschhof

Democrat Don DeArmon has begun the process of running for state senate in district 3 by filing a candidate committee with the state of Maryland. In a brief conversation with him today, Mr. DeArmon indicated he would be filing the necessary papers for candidacy soon and would have an announcement at that time.

He indicated he was looking forward to his announcement and detailing his positions on the issues in the very near future. A campaign website is also under construction and should be available for viewing at that time.

The filing of a candidate committee allows a candidate to raise funds prior to officially filing for office. When I asked him how the fund raising was going, he said very well and was pleased with how the campaign was progressing.

Some Frederick county voters may remember DeArmon from when he was the Democratic nominee for Congress against Republican incumbent Roscoe Bartlett in Congressional District 6 in 2000 and 2002. He and his wife Ann and their children live in the City of Frederick.

He has extensive government experience including working for CRD Associates L.L.C. in Washington D.C. and overall has 28 years of experience in working on the Hill. He was formally the legislative director for Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA).

His background along with his previous campaign experience will make him a formidable candidate in this race.

The incumbent state senator in District 3 is Republican Alex Mooney who is known for his far right conservative beliefs and his ability to raise huge sums of campaign funds from all over the country. He first won election in 1998 when he beat incumbent Republican Jack Derr.

Former four term City of Frederick Mayor; Democrat Ron Young announced at an event back on January 28, 2010 that he was a candidate for state senate in district 3. However, he has been quiet since then.

Rumors that Frederick County Board of Commissioners President; Democrat Jan Gardner would run for state senate have also been circulating for some time. I wrote in a column published on 11-16-2009, that while the talk was she was not going to run for reelection as county commissioner, I would not be surprised if she did so.

She indicated to me she was definitely not running for reelection to the board in a phone conversation several days after that column appeared. She said she was considering a run for state senate, but had yet to make up her mind.

On 11-24-2009, I published a column where I spoke of a meeting which was held with potential Democratic candidates for state senate in district 3, where they discussed who might run and what advantages there may be to have an uncontested Democratic primary.

It does not appear an agreement was reached to hold an uncontested Democratic primary and that is a good thing. The added attention a contested primary will bring to the Democrats will be a positive and result in a much stronger candidate to emerge against Alex Mooney.

Lisa Baugher, who was the first Democrat to publicly say she intended to run for state senate in district 3 has since said she had changed her mind and would not be running for the seat.

The deadline to file for candidacy is July 6. The primary will be on September 14 and the General Election will be on November 2.

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