Two Candidates

Here is information about the upcoming Columbia Association elections, April 19-20: Dorsey's Search: Due to the change in village bylaws, the candidates are deemed elected and there will be no election. Village board: Ellen Mackey and Dan Woodruff. Columbia Council: Tom Coale. Harper's Choice: Village board (Three candidates for four seats): Stephen Cook, Ann De Lacy and Clarence Lam. No Columbia Council Election: Polls open on April 20, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kahler Hall. Hickory Ridge: Village board (Six candidates for five seats)

Loyola said it will announce on Friday its choice to replace former men's basketball coach Jimmy Patsos. Villanova assistant Raphael Chillious is a finalist for the post, according to a source with knowledge of the search. Loyola assistant G.G. Smith is also a finalist, the source said. Chillious, who is originally from Olney, joined Villanova coach Jay Wright in August 2012 following three seasons at Washington. He played at Lafayette, graduating in 1996. Smith, the son of Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith and a former player at Georgia, has been with Loyola for six seasons as an assistant.

There could not have been a better argument for more debates between Maryland's two candidates for the U.S. Senate than the contrast between the final presidential debate and the local confrontation, which followed one another Monday night.The second and third presidential debates were each livelier and more informative than the one before, as the candidates reacted to each other and to public critiques of their previous performances. If the debate between Sen. Barbara Mikulski and her opponent, Alan Keyes, had been the first of a series, we could look forward to greater enlightenment.

Here is information about the upcoming Columbia Association elections, April 19-20: Dorsey's Search: Due to the change in village bylaws, the candidates are deemed elected and there will be no election. Village board: Ellen Mackey and Dan Woodruff. Columbia Council: Tom Coale. Harper's Choice: Village board (Three candidates for four seats): Stephen Cook, Ann De Lacy and Clarence Lam. No Columbia Council Election: Polls open on April 20, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kahler Hall. Hickory Ridge: Village board (Six candidates for five seats)

Before Democrat Parris Glendening and Republican Ellen Sauerbrey get too deeply into their sound-bite campaigns for governor, they have an obligation to tell voters where they stand on critical problems confronting this state. Not in 30-second responses, or in political charges and counter-charges, but in detailed discussions.The two candidates are poles apart on many matters: Mr. Glendening is a mainstream Democrat; Mrs. Sauerbrey is a staunchly conservative Republican. They view government quite differently -- Mrs. Sauerbrey believes in minimal intrusion, Mr. Glendening favors an activist role to solve problems.

WHEN THE TWO candidates for president eagerly proclaim their mutual endorsement of the Golden Rule, as George W. Bush and Al Gore did last night, you can probably forget about a revealing exchange of views. Perhaps that outcome could have been predicted. Maybe it was even the objective. While some observers were looking for the candidates to assert their strengths and flash their grasp on leadership and the issues, caution ruled and probably left matters where they were in most national polls, dead even.

THE DEMOCRATIC presidential candidates have a problem and it's not just President Bush. To run a credible primary campaign costs about $25 million. How can a candidate raise that kind of money in a recession when few people believe George Bush is beatable?The solution for the Democrats is to change the rules of the game right now. Two candidates need to join forces and run as a team, a presidential-vice presidential ticket.With the right two candidates, the team would possess tremendous advantages in the primaries.

Elections are like thermometers. They're good for gauging the social and political temperature of where we live. That's why I was a little alarmed by the results that came out of the race for the Howard County Board of Education on Nov. 3. I would classify it as a low-grade fever, a sort of creeping bias that has infected the community.Of the four candidates who ran for the board, only two could win.Sandra French and Linda Johnston, both of whom are white, won by large margins, garnering 47,170 votes and 39,082 votes respectively.

Holt and Nevin better choices for school board The citizens of Carroll County are extremely fortunate to have four highly experienced, intelligent and educated candidates for our two school board positions. However, The Sun's editorial endorsement of school board candidates Lisa Breslin and Tom Hiltz neglected to identify the key issue that separates the four candidates -- their positions on the new Westminster-area high school ("Breslin, Hiltz for school board," editorial, Oct. 24). Given the great public mistrust and dissatisfaction of our present school board, it is most surprising that the two candidates The Sun endorsed insist that the county proceed with the construction of that school.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Presidential front-runners Al Gore and George W. Bush appear headed for big victories in their party caucuses tonight, as Iowans cast the first votes of the 2000 campaign. Five Republican and two Democratic candidates delivered last-minute pitches for support across the state yesterday, while a new poll showed Bush and Gore beating their nearest rivals here by two-to-one margins. The vice president increased his lead in the Des Moines Register survey to 28 percentage points over Bill Bradley, who has committed considerable time and money to Iowa.

The Anne Arundel County Council deadlocked Thursday night over a vote to appoint a replacement for the seat vacated by former Councilman Daryl D. Jones. With more than 100 rounds of council votes, the council remained tied on two candidates. Republican Councilmen Derek Fink, of Pasadena; Councilman John J. Grasso, of Glen Burnie; and Councilman Richard B. "Dick" Ladd, of Broadneck, voted for former state Sen. Michael J. Wagner. Democrats Jamie Benoit, of Crownsville; Chris Trumbauer, of Annapolis; and Republican Jerry Walker, of Gambrills, supported Marine Reservist Peter Smith.

The rematch between Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. presents Maryland voters with a rare and difficult choice between two men with the proven stature and experience to serve as the state's chief executive. The voters of Maryland have shown a willingness to trust both of them with the leadership of the state, and they know from direct experience that neither man is perfect — nor so terrible as his opponent claims. While a strong case can be made for either one, we believe that Mr. O'Malley's talents, vision and track record make him the better choice to tackle the challenges Maryland faces.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Before Matt Albers could make his latest bid to win a spot in the Orioles' rotation, the team reduced the number of pitchers competing against him. The Orioles optioned left-hander Garrett Olson to Triple-A Norfolk before their 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins yesterday, leaving Albers and Brian Burres as the primary candidates to head north. Olson was 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA this spring, allowing one run and three hits in seven innings. He walked six and struck out four.

Voters in the northernmost portion of Anne Arundel face a difficult choice between two homegrown lawyers in their 40s seeking the District 1 County Council seat: Their similarities may be more striking than their differences. Both Republican John E. Lindner and Democrat Daryl D. Jones put controlling growth sensibly, preserving open space and managing workforce housing at the top of their to-do lists. Both consider their legal minds an advantage in representing residents who clash with developers.

Dave Willemain and Cynthia Coyle, two candidates running to represent Harper's Choice on the Columbia Association's board of directors, are to be at Kahler Hall to speak and answer questions at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. Refreshments will be served. No one is running for the two open spots on the Harper's Choice Village Board. Appointments will be made by the five village board members after May 1, said Wendy Tzuker, village manager. Kahler Hall is at 5440 Old Tucker Row in Harper's Choice Village Center.

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Citizens of this deeply divided Andean nation went to the polls yesterday in a bitter election featuring a leftist presidential hopeful who has vowed to torpedo U.S. anti-drug efforts here and be a "nightmare" for Washington. Unofficial results from several exit polls indicated that Evo Morales, the leftist, had garnered as much as 45 percent of the vote, well ahead of his principal challenger, former President Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, who the polls suggested had garnered about a third of the vote.

If there is going to be a presidential debate Friday of next week in Lansing, Mich., as the Commission on Presidential Debates has proposed, George Bush and Bill Clinton must quickly agree on the format. These things take a certain amount of advance preparation on the scene. Governor Clinton has agreed to the commission's format: the two candidates and one moderator. President Bush prefers a panel of journalists to a moderator.In our view a true candidates' debate, with a very quiet moderator but no questioners to complicate or confuse, is the best format.

Pity the poor school board nominating convention in Anne Arundel County. Its recommendations are disregarded, its work is called a charade and now it is being ignored.Only two persons have submitted applications to the convention for two openings on the Board of Education. One is incumbent Thomas Twombly. The other, seeking to fill the seat being vacated by Dorothy Chaney, is third-time candidate Francis A. "Paco" DeBartolomeo.Trying to drum up more interest, the convention committee has extended the deadline for applications until the end of this month, but it seems unlikely that will trigger a deluge of candidates.

WASHINGTON -- A coalition of liberal women's groups wants the White House to withdraw the nomination of Ellen R. Sauerbrey to the top refugee post at the State Department, saying the former Maryland lawmaker and two-time Republican gubernatorial candidate is "utterly unqualified" for the job. President Bush tapped Sauerbrey last month to be assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration. Refugees International, an advocacy group, immediately condemned the choice, saying she lacks experience dealing with refugees or in coordinating responses to humanitarian emergencies.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi authorities ratified national elections results yesterday that gave a slim parliamentary majority for a Shiite-led coalition as the victors wrangled about a choice for a future prime minister among two leading candidates. Ahmad Chalabi, the one-time Pentagon favorite who had a falling-out with Washington, suggested that he had the votes within the winning coalition to snare the top job but said a decision probably would be put off until at least Monday. He is said to be in a race with the presumed front-runner, Ibrahim Jafari, a moderate Islamist and soft-spoken physician.