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District 17 State Sen. Jennie M. Forehand is seeking a fifth term .

"[A] good many of my constituents encouraged me to run, and my colleagues did as well," the 73-year-old Rockville resident said. "As long as I feel I'm making a contribution, I will continue to run."

Forehand (D) said her platform will include privacy, including the REAL ID Act, transportation , including the Intercounty Connector and teen driving initiatives, and health care reform. She is a self-described "cheerleader for the ICC."

The long-serving legislator will face former delegate Cheryl C. Kagan of Rockville in the Democratic primary. Kagan announced her campaign in June. Kagan served eight years in the House of Delegates before stepping down in 2003 to run a nonprofit.

Forehand said she brings one advantage to the race, and that's institutional knowledge. As examples she pointed to the Rockville Arts Place, which became the Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts, Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation and the John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents.

Forehand served as a delegate representing District 17 from 1978 to 1994 when she was elected to the Senate. She sits on the Judicial Proceedings Committee and the Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families, and is chair of the Joint Committee on Federal Relations.

District 17 includes Gaithersburg, Rockville and Garrett Park.

A native of Nashville, Tenn., Forehand received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1958.