Montgomery County Special Election

In the race to fill the open District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council, John McKinnis and Mark Fennel of Silver Spring are considered the favorites in today’s GOP primary.

McKinnis, the founder and owner of Light Integrations, LLC, an information technology (IT) business located in Beltsville, told PolitickerMD.com that the hardest part of the campaign has been “voter awareness,” but said he received “good responses” from those residents aware of his campaign.

Saying the county was in a “fiscal crisis,” McKinnis said he would work to improve education and root-out wasteful spending, if elected.

“We haven’t seen the true ramifications of the housing downfall,” McKinnis said, adding, “We need to take a look at the (county) budget.”

Fennel, a marketing analyst and the 2006 Republican nominee for the District 4 seat, said he was “feeling great” about his chances.

He said his message of “property tax relief” was “resonating with voters.”

Nancy Navarro and Don PraisnerSILVER SPRING — Nancy Navarro and Don Praisner, the leading Democratic candidates in today’s special primary election to fill the vacant District 4 seat on the Montgomery County Council, campaigned within steps of each other at the massive Leisure World retirement community in Silver Spring, today.

“We always know that turnout will be low for a special election, but turnout is at its highest here,” said Navarro, who worked the crowd as voters came to the polls.

Praisner said of Leisure World’s electoral bounty: “It’s where the voters are.”

The District 4 seat was left open after the Feb. 1 death of Praisner’s wife, Marilyn, who was first elected to the council in 1990.