6th District

With a bit of math and a few clicks of a mouse, state Democrats transformed a once-sleepy congressional district in Western Maryland last week into one of the most closely watched political battlegrounds in the nation. Hours after Gov. Martin O'Malley signed his controversial redistricting plan into law, potential candidates and powerful third-party groups began jockeying for position in the redrawn 6th District, which now stretches from the state's western border to the suburbs of Washington.

The leading black ministerial groups in Baltimore have endorsed the re-election of Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and City Council President Mary Pat Clarke, as well as the candidacy of Register of Wills Mary Conaway for city comptroller.The Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and the Baptist Ministers Conference of Baltimore and Vicinity also supported candidates in five of the six City Council districts, according to the Rev. Collin C. Alexander, president of the Baptist Ministers Conference.

The question looming over Maryland's far-flung western congressional district this election year is exactly who is running against two-term incumbent Roscoe G. Bartlett, a Frederick millionaire.Unlike recent primaries, where candidates have been fodder for newspaper headlines, the party races this year have been quiet in the 6th District, a diverse area that makes up about one-quarter of Maryland, stretching from hilly Garrett County to the Baltimore and Washington exurbs."I have never seen such a low-profile election on both sides," said Carol Kawecki, an instructor in political science at Hood College in Frederick.

With four Baltimore County Council incumbents looking safe for the primary, the three vacant seats created the competition in the council races.In the 6th District, Del. Joseph Bartenfelder, a Democrat, declared victory about 10:30 p.m., holding a huge lead over three challengers.Unlike 1990, when a wave of anti-incumbency feeling washed out five of the seven incumbents, there were no burning issues in the primary facing the incumbents in the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th districts.The three vacancies were in the 2nd, 3rd and 7th districts.

At first glance, the Baltimore County Council's two most experienced politicians -- both Democrats -- would appear to be formidable targets for the pair of novice Republicans trying to unseat them.In the 5th District, Perry Hall Democrat Vincent J. Gardina has two terms behind him, a healthy campaign treasury and bragging rights for everything from the demolition of the Riverdale apartments to tighter regulations of tattoos.Likewise, 6th District incumbent Joseph Bartenfelder of Fullerton -- a former three-term state delegate and a farmer with deep roots in the northeastern county -- expects to retain his seat.

A controversial new redistricting plan caused three incumbent Democrats to lose their seats and resulted in the election of the first black City Council member in the 6th District.Council members Dominic Mimi DiPietro and John A. Schaefer were defeated in the 1st District primary election, and Edward L. Reisinger was unseated in the 6th. Melvin L. Stukes will replace Reisinger as a candidate in the general election.All the vote counts remain unofficial, however, until absentee ballots are added up. That work starts tomorrow at 10 a.m.The proponents of redistricting hoped it would increase the chances that blacks would be elected to council seats in the 3rd and 6th districts for the first time by creating majority-black voting populations.

For most candidates, getting your name known is a key to winning.For Leslie Hutchinson, a 28-year-old first-time candidate for state delegate in the 6th District, that shouldn't a problem. Her uncle, Donald P. Hutchinson, is a household name in the eastern Baltimore County district.Mr. Hutchinson, a former state delegate, state senator and two-term county executive, is serving as chairman of his niece's campaign, a role he has filled by introducing her at fund-raisers and lobbying friends and associates for campaign contributions.

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett visited several Carroll sites Friday as part of his efforts to keep in touch with constituents.Mr. Bartlett, a Frederick Republican who represents the 6th District, talked with volunteers at Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland as they prepared food at the New Windsor Service Center.He also met with representatives of the Literacy Council of Carroll County, the Association for Retarded Citizens of Carroll County and Marada Industries."He likes to spend as much time in the district as he can," said his aide Nancy Stocksdale.

Candidates vying to serve out the interim term of departing state Sen. Michael J. Collins will try to impress the 6th District's Democratic State Central Committee at 7 p.m. tonight at Kenwood High School in Essex. In a normal political setting, such a gathering would attract little attention. But after the redistricting battle, tonight's meeting takes on added significance and complexity in the old 6th District, which includes parts of Baltimore and Harford counties. Usually, the local committee would make its recommendation to the countywide Democratic State Central Committee, which would, in a pro forma move, send the choice to Gov. Parris N. Glendening for final approval.

State Delegate Thomas Hattery, D-Carroll, Frederick, Howard, said heis confident his nine-year public service record will lead him to victory in the 6th Congressional District race."