McDonough, 66, the District 7 delegate now in his third term, is way behind in the money chase with only $16,000 in a campaign fund, but he said he's not concerned about that. He figures he's ahead in the name recognition race, largely because of his work as a radio and TV commentator and talk-show host. He appears for an hour on Monday morning with Ed Norris on WHFS, does Tuesday morning commentary on FOX-45 TV and, for 15 years, has had a Saturday evening talk show on WCBM.
"It's like Rush Limbaugh," he said of the WCBM show. "I pontificate on all subjects."
He said a recent poll his supporters conducted of about 800 residents from across the county showed he had far more name recognition than either Kamenetz or Bartenfelder. He doesn't imagine he'd need more than $500,000 to run for executive, if he decides to do so.
A primary contest between Kamenetz and Bartenfelder would pit two very different personalities representing distinct swatches of the county quilt.
Bartenfelder, who lives in Fullerton, is among the last working farmers left in the White Marsh area. A graduate of Calvert Hall College High School and Towson University, he projects a plain-spoken approach, insisting that the next county executive must focus on public safety, infrastructure repair and taking care of older neighborhoods: "a lot of the basics, not the fancy stuff, not the fluff stuff."
Kamenetz, who lives in Owings Mills and practices law in Towson, is a graduate of Gilman School, the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Baltimore School of Law. He's considered a careful student of the issues that come before the council.
"They're very different people," said state Sen. James Brochin of District 42, who follows county politics
"Right now," he said, "this is a pretty darn close election."
