Politics & Government

Blog: Half of Rockville Candidates Live in West End

West End residents account for half of the candidates in Rockville’s City elections this year, blogger Max van Balgooy notes in a recent post.

On Nov. 5, Rockville voters will pick four council members and a new mayor—Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio chose not to run for re-election.

The deadline to register for candidacy was Friday. Eight people have entered the race, according to the city clerk’s office.

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But as van Balgooy notes in his blog, four of those candidates live on Rockville’s West End: Councilwoman Bridget Donnell Newton, who’s running for mayor; and council candidates Tom Moore, who’s running for re-election, Don Hadley and Claire Marcuccio Whitaker, who is Mayor Marcuccio’s sister.

Now an established historic neighborhood, Rockville’s West End began as a farming community in the 1800s, according to the city’s records. The neighborhood is bordered by College Gardens to the north and Rockville Town Center on the east. Maryland Avenue and Great Falls Road are the major roadways that come through the West End.

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If all four West Enders were elected, four of the five council seats could be captured by that neighborhood, van Balgooy writes.

>>>See: 8 Candidates for Rockville City Council in 2013 at MaxForRockville.com.

That leaves mayoral candidate Mark Pierzchala, who was elected to the City Council in 2009, and council candidates Julie Palakovich Carr, Beryl L. Feinberg and Virginia Onley outside the West End’s bounds.

Van Balgooy—who has ties to the Team Rockville slate's campaign—has posted a map at MaxForRockville.com.

Pierzchala, Carr, Feinberg, Onley and Moore are running on the Team Rockville slate.

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Speak out: Rockville’s Mayor and Council are elected at-large for two-year terms, so they do not officially represent specific districts within the city. That said, do you think residency has any affect on policy? 


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