Only weeks before Election Day in Annapolis, it seemed the Democratic Party was in peril.
Its nominee for mayor stepped down amid revelations about financial problems, and party leaders worried that any new candidate was up against almost insurmountable odds and that voter dismay over the mayor's race would negatively affect the city council contests.
But on Tuesday, Anne Arundel County Councilman Joshua Cohen won the mayoral race, and Democrats picked up two seats on the council, a formidable showing. The council now has just one Republican - Ward 2's Frederick M. Paone.
"There's no ambiguity," said Dan Nataf, the director of the Center for Local Issues at Anne Arundel County Community College. "The Democrats are in control of City Hall."
At his victory party Tuesday night at the Loew's Hotel in Annapolis, Cohen said voters wanted change.
"Today Annapolis voters sent a clear message that they want to raise the bar at City Hall," he said. "I want voters to know how things are going to be different, and how things are going to be better."
Cohen said he plans to hire an experienced city administrator, rein in city spending and "set new standards for transparency" when he is sworn in Dec. 7.
Just six weeks before the election, it wasn't so certain that Cohen - or any Democrat - would become mayor in the Democrat-majority city.
Zina C. Pierre, a political consultant, won the Democratic primary in September in what some described as an upset over Cohen, but ultimately stepped aside after some embarrassing financial problems were revealed and questions arose over whether she complied with residency rules to run for mayor.
The Democratic Party was harshly criticized in blogs and other forums for failing to properly vet Pierre, who worked in the White House under President Bill Clinton but was unknown in Annapolis politics, although Nick Berry, chairman of the city Democratic Central Committee, said the group does not investigate candidates.
The Central Committee nominated Cohen, who came in second in the primary, as the new candidate. Although there is a 2-1 Democratic registration advantage, Democrats worried that voters - particularly African-Americans who had supported Pierre - would stay home on Election Day.
Cohen, in his remarks on election night, heaped praise on Pierre, telling her, "This is your victory, too."
