There's a reason for the fanfare.

The longtime county political activist and one-time upcounty delegate is heading a slate of political newcomers with no political activism experience. The Republican candidate slate would run for the State House in District 39.

The slate represents Ficker's attempt to pull together a racially diverse group of candidates to run on a Republican ticket aimed at addressing the county's traffic woes.

In an advertisement that ran in The Gazette in January, Ficker announced that he was searching for minority candidates, specifically Latino American, African American and Asian American residents.

The result of that search is a slate made up of Ficker, who is white and running for state Senate, and three men running for the district's three seats in the House of Delegates: Shawn Ali, who is Asian American; Rafael Valley, who is Latino American; and Kyle Winkfield, who is African American.

"Our slate represents the diversity of the district," said Ficker, who lives in Montgomery Village and represented the upcounty in the former District 15 as a delegate from 1978 to 1982.

The candidates are running for District 39 seats currently held by state Sen. Patrick J. Hogan and Delegates Charles E. Barkley, Paul H. Carlson and Joan F. Stern -- all Democrats and all white.

Since Gov. Parris N. Glendening's redistricting plan was passed into law in February, District 39 includes parts of Montgomery Village, Derwood, unincorporated Gaithersburg and parts of Germantown, pending lawsuits before the state Court of Appeals.

"I'm not going after the incumbent," said Ficker, 59, an attorney in the county for 29 years. "I'm going after gridlock."

Ali, a technical consultant with the United States Treasury, thinks having racially diverse representation for the district would be a positive.

"It will put a face to the community we represent," said the 28-year-old Montgomery Village resident and a former member of the Montgomery Meadows Homeowners Association.

Winkfield is a lifelong resident of Germantown who serves as vice president of the American College Funding Association, a company that conducts workshops on college scholarships and financial aid for students.

The candidates have been asked why their slate does not include a woman, he said.

"There's already a significant number of women legislators in the Maryland General Assembly," he said. "What you don't see is how Montgomery County has boomed in the Latino American, African American and Asian American community."

Winkfield, 23, said that he hopes to be a positive role model for young African-American men at an age when "many African-American males fall into significant trouble."

The candidates, all of whom travel Interstates 270 and 495 daily, also hope to bring fresh ideas about solving the county's traffic congestion, Ficker said.

Those include extending Metrorail to Germantown, building the Intercounty Connector -- a proposed east-west roadway linking Gaithersburg to Laurel -- and building a second bridge across the Potomac River, linking Montgomery County to Northern Virginia.

Ficker said he would look to get money for these projects by reaching out to other state government officials and reprioritizing area transportation projects.

Extending Metro rail to Germantown, with a stop near I-270, is more important than other projects the state is considering, such as the proposed Purple Line rail, which would link Bethesda to New Carrollton, he said.

"I don't think the incumbents have done much to address the congestion experienced on our roadways," said Ali, who participated in student government while attending Salisbury State University, but is making his first run at a state elected office.

Valley, a superintendent with C.J. Coakley Construction Company in Falls Church, Va., said he wants to focus on education. The 43-year-old father of four has two children who attend Montgomery Village Middle School and a child who attends Watkins Mill High School.

He said he wants to look at how school construction money is being spent and seeks feedback from voters on their concerns regarding county schools.

The diverse slate also offers the candidates access to multiple perspectives, Valley said.

"We can work with an idea," he said. "We can share ideas. From our diversity we can reach more of the community. I feel that becomes a big advantage."