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If two's company and three's a crowd, what's 16?

When former District 16 state legislator Bill Bronrott left his seat earlier this year after 12 years in the House of Delegates, it created an opening in downcounty politics too appealing for many to pass up.

In addition to the district's two House incumbents, Bethesda Democrats Susan Lee and William Frick, who are running for election (Lee has was appointed in 2002 and has been re-elected twice, and Frick was appointed to replace Marilyn Goldwater in 2007), 11 other Democrats and 3 Republicans have filed for the District 16 party primaries, which take place Sept. 14. The general election for the three house seats and one senate seat is Nov. 2.

No Republican has been elected to represent District 16 in the House of Delegates since Connie Morella served from 1979 to 1986. The district includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac.

Bronrott's replacement is Del. Karen Britto, but she is considered a placeholder since she was appointed on the condition that she would not run for election this year. The last time District 16 had an open House seat similar to the current situation was in 1994, when former delegate Marilyn Goldwater was elected to fill a seat vacated by current Sen. Brian Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda. Frosh won District 16's Senate seat that year and is running on a slate this year with Lee and Frick, although there is no third candidate on the ticket.

Despite the groundswell of competition, Lee and Frick face little if any detectable animosity from Democrats in their district, and there is a perception that even though they are all running against each other, the challengers primarily have Bronrott's vacated seat in mind.

"To get an open-seat vacancy is not frequent," said Gil Genn, a lobbyist who represented District 16 in the House from 1986 to 1998, the year Bronrott replaced him, "and I think in District 16, that opportunity is less frequent."

Positive energy or chaos?

The large number of candidates is not without local and recent precedent. In 2002, when Maryland's District 14 was redistricted to exist entirely within Montgomery County, 12 Democrats and three Republicans emerged as candidates.

For many Democrats in District 16, the number of candidates reflects the vitality of the party. Britto thinks the volume not only reflects the party's energy, but will also bring newcomers into the political process as they become attached to various candidates.

"All of a sudden, they're door knocking and they're phone banking and they're wondering why they never did this before," Britto said.

Frosh indicated that he, Frick and Lee left an empty spot on their slate to let the democratic process play out in the Sept. 14 primaries. At the same time, he said, he was supportive of Lee's work to prevent identity theft and Frick's support for consumer protection as it relates to financial institutions.

"We want the process to be open," Frosh said. "It's not organized to the point where the bosses are saying, ‘Here's who you've got to elect.'"

Among the non-incumbent Democratic candidates, the level of elected political experience varies. Within the district itself, Bill Farley was elected to the Town of Somerset's council in 2009 before announcing his District 16 candidacy. There are no records in the Maryland Manual of any of the other non-incumbents holding elected office at the state or local level in Maryland.

Candidates do stress previous politically-relevant work and organizing activities on their websites. Mark Winston, for example, has served on the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission, while Charlie Chester has worked in two legislative offices as the state and national level.

Unlike the 2008 presidential election, which brought out enthusiastic voters, typical off-year elections draw weaker numbers, noted Paul Herrnson, director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland.

"Another thing that's worth emphasizing is that in this case, you have two incumbents, but one who hasn't previously stood for election. That's pretty important," said Herrnson, referring to Frick's appointment in 2007.

But State Treasurer Nancy Kopp, a former District 16 delegate, indicated that voters in the area have often elected candidates who had previously never won political elections. She also said despite the lack of a presidential election, a competitive race between Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and Republican challenger Robert Ehrlich will make a significant difference in turnout.

"District 16 has a good record of turning out voters in any election they can find," Kopp said.

Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee spokesman Milt Minneman said he thought Frick and Lee were vulnerable, if only because voters might become confused or turned off by the volume of literature coming from the candidates. While he said a high number of candidates is an excellent sign for the party, sometimes the level of voter knowledge can be watered-down.

"I've found that people haven't the slightest idea who their state senator or state delegates are," he said.

At least one Republican candidate, Jeanne Allen, has taken the view that the number of Democrats in the race shows the party is disorganized and out-of-touch with people who have been ignored by Maryland's Democratic machine for too long.

Allen said a truly organized Democratic party would not let so many candidates run, even as she believes many of the incumbents and challengers sound and seem alike.

"Maybe we'll have a really healthy, rigorous debate and campaign about what's most important," Allen said.

Shoe leather and straight talk

In the 15-candidate District 14 Democratic primary race for the House in 2002, the three winners topped the polls with only 16.6, 14.5 and 13.3 percent of the votes. With such a small margin of victory, a variety of factors could tip the balance. Perhaps the one that requires the most energy, but may have the biggest payoff, is meeting as many potential voters as possible.

"You can't underestimate the importance of showing up at people's doors, being the guy or the woman that's there, and asking for the vote," Herrnson said.

Susan Heltemes, a Silver Spring resident and member of the neighboring District 18 Democratic caucus, said candidates who have spent years "working in the vineyards" cultivating community connections in parent-teacher associations to soccer leagues could find themselves ahead of the game, even if those connections do not look particularly glamorous at first blush.

"Little things like that are going to make a difference," Heltemes said.

When he first ran for delegate in 1982, Genn recalled, at first some people told him his campaign literature simply had too many words. But when he talked face-to-face with voters, he discovered they appreciated his detailed explanations.

Canned phrases, meanwhile, such as stating the need for more jobs, won't cut it, Genn said, since District 16 voters pride themselves on developing in-depth knowledge and informed opinions.

"How are you going to do that? Does that mean you'll do tax incentives for small businesses? Are you talking about retraining? How are you going to do it?" Genn said, explaining the kind of questioning candidates could face.

One of the most prominent organizational endorsements, the "Apple Ballot" from the Montgomery County Education Association, has gone to incumbents Lee and Frick, as well as Democratic challenger Ariana Kelly. Democratic observers agree such endorsements can be helpful, but differ as to their ultimate impact.

"The Apple Ballot would be the significant thing," Minneman said. "District 16 is particularly well-oriented toward education of students."

Another factor at the district level is the early voting that begins Sept. 3 and runs until Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, excluding Sunday. Candidates who can have volunteers active during the early voting period could put themselves over the top, Heltemes said.

In a crowded field, candidates who can be particularly articulate about why they are running and what they want to accomplish will stand out.

"We have a lot of problems," Frosh said. "It's hard to explain how you're going to solve them."

John Adams: attorney (D)

Charlie Chester: attorney and educator (D)

Peter Dennis: law school graduate, Internet entrepreneur (D)

Bill Farley: attorney, Town of Somerset councilman (D)

Bill Frick: attorney, state delegate since 2007 (D)

Scott Goldberg: law student, Montgomery County Young Democrats president (D)

Craig Herskowitz: attorney with U.S. Justice Department (D)

Hrant Jamgochian: United Way health policy director, attorney (D)

Ariana Kelly: National campaign director of MomsRising.org (D)

Susan Lee: attorney, state delegate since 2002, (D)

Kyle Lierman: campaign organizer for President Obama (D)

Michael Sriqui: producer (D)

Mark Winston: attorney, Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (D)

Jeanne Allen: president of public affairs company, education advocate (R)

Prince Arora: manager of family real estate business (R)

Carol Bowis: civic activist, former government staffer (R)