Democratic Club

The North Carroll Democratic Club will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at North Carroll Senior Center. The guest speaker will be Ken Bosley, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 6th District. The public is welcome. The club's officers are: John Hurt, president; Edna Murray, secretary; and Betsy Fowble, treasurer. The senior center is at 2255 Hanover Pike, Greenmount. Information: 410-876-6395.

A Northeast Baltimore community leader said Wednesday he plans to step down from the city's Board of Elections to run for a state delegate seat. Cory McCray, 30, who lives in Overlea, said he plans to run for the 45th District legislative seat formerly held by Del. Hattie Harrison. In February, Nina R. Harper, 60, was sworn in to succeed Harrison, a Democrat who died Jan. 28 at 84 after nearly 40 years in office. Harper, the executive director of the Oliver Economic Development Corp., was chosen as Harrison's replacement by Baltimore's Democratic State Central Committee and was automatically appointed by Gov. Martin O'Malley under the state Constitution.

The Democratic Club of Severna Park has scheduled an open house to promote party unity and support for county clubs.The organization also will install its new 1994 officers.All Democratic members of the county state delegations and the Democratic members of the County Council have been invited. The event is set for the Riverdale Restaurant in Severna Park, with dinner at 6 p.m. and the meeting at 8 p.m. For more information or to make a reservation, call 647-6219.

The Maryland Democratic Party has endorsed the write-in candidacy of Eastern Shore physician John LaFerla to challenge freshman Republican Rep. Andy Harris in the 1 st Congressional District. “Dr. LaFerla has resounding grassroots support and the full confidence of the Party's Executive Committee and Democratic leaders,” Democratic State Chairwoman Yvette Lewis said in a statement Monday. LaFerla replaces Wendy Rosen, who won a party primary in April but withdrew from the race last week amid allegations that she was registered and had voted in two states in 2006 and 2008.

The North Carroll Democratic Club will meet Feb. 7 at the Longview Nursing Home, 3332 N. Main St., Manchester.Democratic candidates for the 6th Congressional District, nonpartisan candidates for the Board of Education and candidates for delegate to the Democratic National Convention have been invited to the meeting.Dinner will be at 6:30 p.m. and costs $8.25. The program will begin at 7:30 p.m.Reservations for dinner are required by 4:30 p.m. Friday. Information: 239-7139 or 374-6271.FireHampstead: Hampstead, Manchester and Lineboro assisted Baltimore County with a house fire in the 4200 block of Upper Beckleysville Road at 7:31 p.m. Monday.

Del. Theodore J. Sophocleus, a District 32 Democrat, will swear in new officers at the monthly meeting of the District 32 Democratic Club tomorrow night at Ferndale Senior Center, 7205 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd. Dinner will be served at 7 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 8 p.m. The officers for 2000 are: Leonard Beidle, president; Evelyn Kellner, vice president; Kathy Sauble, secretary; Wayne Houseright, treasurer; and Jim Thomas, sergeant at arms. Members of the board of directors are: John Riggin, immediate past president, and Tyras Athey, Earl Barnes, Joseph Corcoran, Thomas Dixon, Walter Dow, Alice Sulin and Victor Sulin.

The North Carroll Democratic Club will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at North Carroll Senior Center. American Joe Miedusiewski, former Democratic candidate for governor, will be the speaker. He also was a state delegate from 1975 to 1988 and a state senator from 1988 to 1995 Miedusiewski is the public affairs director for Semmes, Bowen & Semmes in Baltimore and also plays host to a weekly radio talk show during the Maryland General Assembly. His expertise includes lobbying the legislature and local government, and grass-roots political training, consulting and lobbying seminars.

The South Carroll Democratic Club will meet at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the community room of Carrolltown Center in Eldersburg. Information: 410-795-2896.Mothers & More will meet for a toy swap from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 9 at Northwest Medical Center on Georgetown Boulevard in Eldersburg. An open house playgroup will be held from 10 a.m. to noon March 12 at the Carrolltown Center community room. Interested mothers may bring their children to play and socialize with members and their children.

Connie Blackwell, 83, Democratic club member Connie Blackwell, a homemaker active in a city Democratic club, died of congestive heart failure Thursday at her daughter's Northeast Baltimore home. She was 83. Born and raised in Evergreen, Ala., the former Connie McCreary moved to Baltimore many years ago with her husband of 42 years, Clarence David Blackwell Sr., who died in 1986. She was an elections judge in her Oliver neighborhood in East Baltimore and was a member of the East Side Democratic Organization.

DON'T FEEL like cooking this afternoon? Stop by the Roland Terrace Democratic Club, 619 Matthews Ave., between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. for the Platter Party. Tickets are $6 and cover platter, beer, soda and setups.The Coachmen will provide dance music.Information: 410-636-1504.Church flea marketThe United Methodist Women of Brooklyn Heights United Methodist Church will sponsor a flea market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at J. S. Lee's Body Shop, 6033 Belle Grove Road (near the Rose Restaurant)

Chessie M. Brailey, a civil rights activist who had been married to former state legislator F. Troy Brailey, died Dec.16 from complications of dementia at her daughter's Harbor Court condominium. The former longtime Easterwood Park resident was 94. "Chessie had a wonderful spirit and was serious about the community and the advancement of African-Americans. She provided tremendous support for her husband," said the Rev. James L. Carter, pastor of East North Avenue's Ark Church and a longtime friend.

Jean Marie Zawitoski, a former registered nurse who was active in Southwestern Baltimore County Democratic politics for years, died March 2 at a hospital in Englewood, Fla., from complications of a fall. The longtime Relay resident was 84. Jean Marie Given, the daughter of a glass worker and a school teacher, was born in Baltimore and raised in Morrell Park. Graduating in 1944 from Western High School, she earned her nursing degree three years later from St. Agnes Hospital School of Nursing.

David John Preller Sr., a Baltimore attorney who had been chairman of the old State Board of Movie Censors, died Jan. 6 of a massive stroke at St. Joseph Medical Center. The longtime Brooklandville resident was 87. Mr. Preller, the son of grocers, was born in Baltimore and raised on Kennedy Avenue. After graduating in 1941 from City College, he went to work at the old Glenn L. Martin Co. plant in Middle River. Mr. Preller enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1943 and after being trained as a B-24 Liberator Bomber nose gunner, he was assigned to the 15th Air Force 464th Bomb Group in Italy, where he completed 50 missions over Germany.

Results were mixed for candidates on both sides of the continuing dispute over redevelopment of downtown Columbia during the Columbia Democratic Club's packed endorsement meeting Wednesday night. Columbia's oldest and most active Democratic Club drew a standing-room-only hallway-packed crowd of candidates — from Reps. Elijah Cummings and John Sarbanes to a raft of courthouse hopefuls and nonpartisan school board candidates — and their supporters at the Jeffers Hill Community Center.

At its last gathering, the ready-to-disband Mount Royal Democratic Club drew one of its biggest crowds in recent years to mark the end of an era Saturday evening at the club's annual holiday bash. Organizers said it was the final hurrah for a club that no longer has a place in an age of community association activism, the Internet and too many other demands on members' time. Several hundred formally dressed people, including current and former members and invited guests, mingled with top elected Democrats over cocktails and pate while a brass quartet entertained in the marble lobby of the MICA building in the 1300 block of Mount Royal Ave. Gov. Martin O'Malley joked that the club's president, former state Sen. Julian L. Lapides, had come up with a great marketing gimmick, advertising the bash each year as the final one, likening it to "the Cher farewell tour.

Looking for a fun way to spend your Sunday afternoon?The Roland Terrace Democratic Club will celebrate its 21st anniversary with a party from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the club hall. Everyone is invited.Tickets are $10 per person and include a shrimp platter and a limited open bar. Live music will be presented by the Monaldi Brothers.The club is at 619 Matthews Ave. For tickets or information, call 636-1504.*Brooklyn Heights United Methodist Church will celebrate Kids' Sunday next weekend.The guest preacher for the 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. worship services will be the Rev. McCarl Roberts, director of the Maryland Bible Society and magician extraordinaire.

The North Carroll Democratic Club will meet at 7 p.m. today at North Carroll Senior Center. The guest speaker will be Ken Bosley, Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives in the 6th District. The public is welcome. The senior center is at 2255 Hanover Pike, Greenmount. Information: 410-876-6395.