Montgomery County Council District 1 candidate Duchy Trachtenberg's
campaign rolled out a unique electioneering vehicle this week in downtown Bethesda - literally. A bicycle pulling a Trachtenberg election poster stopped in front of Bethesda Green.
Trachtenberg is challenging incumbent Roger Berliner, who has held the seat since 2006, when he defeated Howard Denis. Elected with labor support in 2006, Trachtenberg has followed a non-linear path since. In 2010, she declined to participate in the labor endorsement process, and subsequently was defeated by current councilmember Hans Riemer. In recent days, Trachtenberg has again been courting labor support.
While she ran on a slow-growth "slate" of sorts in 2006 (with Pat Baptiste, Marc Elrich, and Cary Lamari), Trachtenberg's current campaign is receiving energetic backing from several major development firms. Those firms were angered by Berliner's vote to reduce the size of their Clarksburg-area projects, after concerns were raised about their impact on the health of Ten Mile Creek. The move was viewed by developers as an unfair changing of the rules mid-stream (pun possibly intended). Several prominent company representatives organized a major fundraiser for Trachtenberg recently.
That money will make this an interesting Democratic primary to watch, but not quite the level of the battle royale ahead in District 5.
Trachtenberg resides in North Bethesda.
