Preview: Dems for At-Large Council Seats Meet at Brookside Gardens on Tuesday

On Tuesday evening, the at-large candidates for Montgomery County Council will speak at a candidate forum moderated by the League of Women Voters.  The top four candidates will move on to the general election after primary voting. While the Republicans have four candidates, the Democrats currently have nine, including four incumbents. Here's a short look at the candidates in the Democratic primary.

Jane de Winter

Lives in: Kensington

Who are they? A professor of economics that specializes in public finance, de Winter served as President of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs. De Winter believes that county services have not migrated with the people who need them the most, and wants the council to be more proactive in bringing businesses to the high-tech corridor.

Marc Elrich

Lives in: Takoma Park

Who are they? Elected to the county council in 2006, Elrich had served on the Takoma Park city council since 1987. He was a 4th and 5th grade teacher at Rolling Hills Elementary. Elrich continues to push for a county-wide rapid transit system and voted for new energy tax and carbon tax to cover part of the budget shortfall.

Fred Evans

Lives in: Rockville

Who are they? Evans retired from MCPS after 30 years, including stints as principal of Gaithersburg High and Parkland Middle.  Evans wants to make sure that "appropriate funding" stays in place for schools, as well as for the process to approve planning projects to be more transparent.

Nancy Floreen

Lives in: Garrett Park

Who are they? Elected to county council in 2002 after serving as mayor of Garrett Park, Floreen serves as chair of the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, On education, Floreen is interested in improving technology training, especially for girls and other underrepresented groups in such fields as information technology.

George Leventhal

Lives in: Takoma Park

Who are they? Elected to the county council in 2002, Levanthal currently chairs the Health and Human Services Committee. His website says that Housing First, which matches homeless with permanent stable housing instead of temporary shelter is one of his "proudest initiatives". He is the founder of "Purple Line Now!"

Raj Narayanan

Lives in: Wheaton

Who are they? Narayanan serves as president of his condominium complex, University Towers, and runs a non-profit called the Yoga Institute. His website says he "deplores" the most recent energy tax and will instead focus on long-term restructuring to make county government more efficient in order to save money.

Hans Riemer

Lives in: Silver Spring

Who are they? Riemer served as National Youth Vote Director during the Obama campaign. He wants the county to move to a zero-based budgeting system (i.e. starting from scratch each year), supports rapid-transit, and wants the council to more actively lobby for funding for the Purple Line and similar transit projects.

Duchy Trachtenberg

Lives in: Rockville

Who are they? An at-large representative since 2006, Tractenburg is the chair of Chair of the Management and Fiscal Policy (MFP) Committee. Prior to being elected, her training in social work led her to specialize in adolescent addiction. She helped create the Family Justice Center, which consolidated services for victims of domestic violence.

Becky Wagner

Lives in: Bethesda

Who are they? Currently the executive director for a non-profit called Interfaith Works, Wagner has worked in national level politics as a staff representative Senator Sarbanes for Montgomery County. She is a supporter of increased workforce housing, protections for affordable housing and flexibility in school curriculums.