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Election

Thursday, November 8, 2012

SPEAK OUT: Will the U.S. Go Over the Fiscal Cliff?

A Dec. 31, 2012, deadline looms for Congress on a number of significant financial issues.

  Now that the election is over, the most prominent problem facing the U.S. government is the “fiscal cliff.” You may have heard or seen the term in recent media coverage, but what, exactly, does “fiscal cliff” mean? If Congress fails to act, on Jan. 1, 2013, a number of financial policies will either expire or initiate, including $7 trillion worth of tax increases and spending cuts over the next 10 years. Some of the agencies and programs affected include: Defense cuts, air travel safety and food inspection cuts, income tax rates, the estate tax, marriage penalty relief, child tax credit, the alternative minimum tax, a drop in Medicare reimbursements, small business tax breaks and more. How do you feel about the country potentially going …

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Corbin Dallas Multipass

4:43 pm on Friday, November 9, 2012

"Just like the governor's idiocy. A few commuters got to keep their jobs while many thousands more lost the opportunity. Sheesh. Talk about ingrained stupidity." What? The jobs are moved from LA and weren't available here. How did commuters keep jobs that didn't exist?   more ›

Monday, November 5, 2012

What Time Polls Open in Montgomery County and Other Key Voter Information

How to have the best voter experience in Montgomery County.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections has two pieces of advice for the nearly half-million residents expected to hit the polls in tomorrow’s momentous presidential election: 1. Bring your sample ballot filled out; 2. Avoid the Election Day rush hour. Nearly 78,000 county residents took advantage of early voting and another 45,000 will be voting via absentee ballot, according to Board of Elections spokeswoman Marjorie Rohrer. But that still leaves more than 400,000 voters to flood the fewer than 250 polling sites—on average, roughly 1,600 voters per poll—between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesday. The 2008 presidential election drew 441,796 Montgomery county residents to the polls—a 72 percent turnout—followed by a 52 percent turnout…

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Early Voters Storm Back into Voting Booths Following Hurricane Sandy

More than 43,000 have voted early already in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.

  Due to the dangers of Hurricane Sandy, early voting locations were closed Monday and Tuesday -- but Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has now extended the early voting period through Friday for the entire state. During the two days that early voting locations were open, prior to Hurricane Sandy's arrival, 43,629 voters took advantage in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties. Montgomery County According to data from the Maryland State Board of Elections 23,509 of the 616,016 eligible people voted early on October 27 and 28. Of those voters, 16,183 were registered Democrats, 2,821 Republican, 3,753 unaffiliated and the rest split between the Green, Libertarian and “Other” parties. Females so far are outpacing their male early voter …

Polly

6:49 am on Friday, November 2, 2012

paranoid much? perhaps he should have registered sooner? smh   more ›

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

SPEAK OUT: Washington Post, Gazette Endorse Delaney For 6th District

Democratic challenger receives key endorsements ahead of Sixth Congressional District race.

The Washington Post and The Gazette believe in change for Maryland's 6th Congressional District. The two regional publications endorsed political newcomer and Democratic challenger John Delaney over 86-year-old incumbant Republican Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, who is seeking re-election for an 11th term. According to The Washington Post: Mr. Delaney is an excellent candidate — shrewd, smart, hardworking and independent. He would be a standout representative for the 6th District and a marked improvement on Mr. Bartlett. We endorse Mr. Delaney... Mr. Delaney is a newcomer to politics, but he is exceptionally well-versed in domestic issues. Moreover, he has the problem-solving skills to be an unusually effective congressman. Mr. Bartlett, …

Friday, October 5, 2012

Feeding Your Presidential Appetite

Local businesses help gauge the election through food and drink.

While choosing a candidate to vote for in the 2012 presidential campaign may seem daunting to some people, businesses in the area want to make sure that you are well-fed and well-caffeinated (and maybe even help predict the outcome) as you debate your selection.   BGR: The Burger Joint Reviving its popular campaign from 2008, BGR began offering menu selections celebrating the candidates’ hometowns. BGR has locations in Bethesda, Potomac, Columbia and Gaithersburg.   California Tortilla The popular Mexican restaurant has taken a slightly different tactic, honoring the candidates' personal lives: California Tortilla has locations in Silver Spring, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Bethesda, Olney, Annapolis and Potomac. Click here to read more about …

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Kauffman Sweeps Board of Education At-Large Primary

In the Montgomery County Board of Education primary, Morris Panner took the No. 2 spot for the At-Large ballot; Fred Evans and Rebecca Smondrowski took the top spots for District 2.

Although the Republican presidential primary bolstered Maryland into national headlines Tuesday, locally Montgomery County voters also narrowed the field for the Board of Education’s general election in November. The unofficial results show that Phil Kauffman and Morris Panner beat out the two other candidates on the ballot to advance to the general election for the at-large seat. Kauffman received 60.3 percent of the vote, and Panner received 17 percent of the vote. The next runner-up, Lou August, received 11.9 percent of the vote.  "I am really honored to have received the support I did," Panner, a resident of the Town of Somerset in Chevy Chase, told Chevy Chase Patch. "It is such an important time in our [c]ounty's history and a …

Merry Eisner

9:41 am on Wednesday, April 4, 2012

FYI, along with new boundaries for the Congressional and State districts, the board of education district boundaries have changed as well. The Winston Churchill cluster is now in district 3 and served by Patricia O'Neill.   more ›

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Voter Turnout Low, Candidate Hopes Remain High

Increased turnout expected around lunch time.

With polls open for about three hours, voter turnout at Rachel Carson Elementary School was light, according to the chief election judge. Angelo Witten, who has served as an election judge in the past, said the turnout has been comparable to what he saw during the 2010 gubernatorial election. But Brandon Rippeon, a Republican candidate running for Congress, said there could be a silver lining in the low turnout. "Low turnout definitely doesn't help the incumbent," he said outside Rachel Carson ES this morning. He was enthusiastic about his chances, pointing to what he felt was a strong early voting response. But in a precinct with nearly 4,000 registered voters, at 10am only 120 had cast ballots. Pete Khalaf said the presidential primary …

Kathleen McManus

3:35 pm on Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Maybe more people would turn out to vote if they had a better choice of candidates. I don't have children in the public schools (oldest daughter just graduated), but know we need people in office who care about more than just getting elected. I voted for Jean Ellinport cuz she seemed like someone new who will look at things from a different perspective, but some of the others have been around for…   more ›

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

POLL: Who Do You Support for Congress in District 6?

The primary is on April 3.

Five Democratic candidates for the 6th congressional district seat squared off this weekend in a debate in Gaithersburg. The winner will face the winner of the Republican primary in the general election on Nov. 6. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, a Republican from Buckeystown, has represented the 6th district since 1992. He faces seven challengers. Which of the Democratic candidates do you want to see go on to face the Republican nominee? Take our poll and let us know!

Scott Preston

5:22 pm on Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Good for you Aaron! So long as the candidate lives in D-6 and will represent us!   more ›

Friday, February 10, 2012

Elections Board Throws Out Complaint

Ross and Rowse waited too long to file their complaint, board finds.

Tom Rowse and Paula Ross, two former candidates for City Council who lost their election bids, waited too long to file their complaint against the Mayor and three winning candidates, the Gaithersburg election board found earlier this week. At their meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors of Elections dismissed the complaint, which alleged that Council members Jud Ashman, Cathy Drzyzgula and Ryan Spiegel formed a secret political committee with Mayor Sidney Katz and sent out misleading mailers to voters. Ashman, Drzyzgula and Spiegel all vehemently deny the allegations. According to City Attorney Lynn Board, who was not at the meeting, the BOSE determined that the complaint, filed on Jan. 20, was not filed within 30 days of the alleged…

Barb Anderson

10:44 am on Sunday, February 12, 2012

Good government is an open and transparent government. Sure sounds like these individuals in power have something to hide. One news story you've read them all, corrupt politicians in office...what a shocker!   more ›

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Patch to Liveblog Candidate Forum at Asbury Methodist Village

Tomorrow's forum for Council candidates will be presented in an easy-to-follow format on Patch.

The Asbury Methodist Village Democratic Club will be hosting a forum tomorrow for the candidates running for City Council. But since the event starts at 2 p.m. while most people are at work or in the middle of their busy day, Patch will be live-blogging all the action for you. All you need to do is visit Gaithersburg Patch tomorrow at or shortly before 2 p.m. and click on the article titled "LIVE: Asbury Methodist Candidate Forum" and we'll do the rest. Keep that story open and the story will update every couple of minutes with new content.  No need to refresh the page or hit any buttons. Just sit back and enjoy.

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