High stakes, but not much election buzz

‘‘I don’t know who they are and I don’t know what their funding sources are like or anything like that, but for instance in the last election you couldn’t go a block without seeing [a sign] and that’s just not happening now,” she said. This is an election, she said where ‘‘every vote will count.”

Voters will decide Nov. 6 which three of seven political rookies will seize the reigns from outgoing incumbents Stanley J. Alster, Geri Edens and John B. Schlichting.

The lineup includes Ahmed Ali, Shawn Ali, Jud Ashman, Cathy Drzyzgula, Wilson Faris, Carlos Solis and Ryan Spiegel.

The Alis are not related, while Drzyzgula and Ashman are running on a slate. Ahmed Ali, Solis and Spiegel say they are not running on a slate but support and inform voters about each other while campaigning.

Big decisions

The new faces will wield the majority on the five-member council.

One of the first items on the new council’s agenda will be to select the replacement for outgoing City Manager David B. Humpton, who leaves Gaithersburg Nov. 1 after more than 15 years to become Montgomery Village’s top administrator.

The Gaithersburg city manager is responsible for managing the city’s day-to-day operations, from public safety to parks and recreation.

‘‘It’s a perfect storm,” Matthew Hopkins a member of the Planning Commission, said about the volume of change in this election.

City Council candidates traditionally have had experience on the city’s Planning Commission, Board of Appeals or a similar committee. It’s ‘‘potentially troubling” that none of the candidates have that experience, Hopkins said.

‘‘There’s an upside and a downside,” Hopkins said. ‘‘... On average, you’re gonna end up with a better candidate if they served on a larger commission and committee.”

Informing voters

Candidates should be working aggressively to distinguish themselves, said former Gaithersburg Mayor Bruce Goldensohn, who was mayor from 1978 to 1986 and a councilman from 1976 to 1978.

‘‘This is going to be at least as much a matter of what candidates [will] do to get the vote out,” Goldensohn said. ‘‘With seven of them, you really can’t take a chance.”

Most of the candidates defended their campaigning efforts, with several saying they have knocked on thousands of doors throughout the city.

But just two of the 17 Gaithersburg residents The Gazette randomly interviewed in the Kentlands, at Bohrer Park and in Olde Towne Monday afternoon said they knew much about the election.

Britt Schwendinger said she was alerted to the election after receiving the city’s mailed newsletter, the Communique, and when candidate Shawn Ali knocked on her door.

‘‘It’s going to have a big impact on people’s lives and it’s sad that there’s so much apathy,” Schwendinger said, while at a park with friends and her infant near the Kentlands Clubhouse.

Leslie Figueroa, 23, said she voted in previous elections, but did not keep up this year because she plans to move to Frederick.

Figueroa, who was sitting outside the Gaithersburg Community Museum in Olde Towne, encouraged the city to provide an e-mail notification with election updates and primers, similar to the Alert Gaithersburg system that sends notifications during an emergency.

Clif Hackett said he never voted because he thinks all the elections are rigged, from the local to the federal level.

‘‘I’m pretty sure there are some suckers out here. I’m not one of them,” Hackett said while standing in a doorway taking a break from work in Olde Towne.

Fighting voter apathy is a consistent problem, but the responsibility falls on the candidate to advertise and the voter to get informed, said Julius Persensky, a City Council member from 1980 to 1995.

‘‘You almost have to hit people over the head with information for them to pick up on it, and things I see when I’m driving around or to and from places I normally go are more likely to attract my attention,” Persensky said.

Upcoming forums

For The Gazette’s election guide, visit www.gazette.net⁄election2007⁄gburg.

Four more public forums are scheduled this month to meet the candidates.

7:30 p.m. today, Oct. 24, at City Hall, 31 S. Summit Ave. Call 301-258-6300. This event will be broadcast on Comcast channel 13.

7:30 p.m. Thursday at Diamond Elementary School, 4 Marquis Drive. Contact joann@schimke.org.

7:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 31 S. Summit Ave. Call 301-258-6300. This event will be broadcast on Comcast channel 13.

2:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at Parker Hall in Asbury Methodist Village, 405 Russell Ave. Contact gordallen@juno.com.

To vote

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 6.

GAO1Gaithersburg City Hall31 S. Summit Ave.

GA02Izaak Walton League707 Conservation Lane

GA03KentlandsChurch of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints16 Kent Gardens Circle

GA04Villa Ridge Community Room414 Girard St.

GA05Potomac Oaks Condominium Clubhouse780 Quince Orchard Blvd.

GA06Asbury Methodist Village417 Russell Ave.

Absentee ballots

Voters are not required to give a reason for requesting an absentee ballot.

Applications for absentee ballots may be picked up in person at City Hall during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, requested via telephone at 301-258-6310 or downloaded at the city’s Web site, www.gaithersburgmd.gov⁄election. Completed applications can be mailed or dropped off at City Hall, 31 S. Summit Ave. by Nov. 6.

For more information contact the Office of the City Manager at cityhall@gaithersburgmd.gov or call 301-258-6310.