Unopposed

Howard County State's Attorney Dario Broccolino is relieved to find himself the only incumbent in the county without an opponent in this year's elections, and it's not just because he has no money for a campaign. Although a Democrat, the low-profile Broccolino sees his job as nonpartisan law enforcement and preaches that straight-ahead approach to his staff lawyers when they prosecute cases. Getting a full four-year term in office without having to campaign for it helps that stance, he said, and he's "very pleased."

With Carroll County voters selecting candidates for state and county offices during Tuesday's primary election, two county incumbents - Sheriff Kenneth L. Tregoning and State's Attorney Jerry F. Barnes - are running unopposed in both the primary and general elections. Each incumbent has served multiple terms in office. In 1994, Barnes defeated 20-year State's Attorney Thomas E. Hickman in a closely contested Republican primary and then won the general election by a landslide over Democratic candidate Linda A. Holmes and a write-in campaign from Hickman.

Sen. Larry E. Haines of Westminster led a field of five Republican incumbents and a political newcomer to the party's first legislative sweep in decades last night.Haines, who heads Carroll County's General Assembly delegation, was re-elected to a third term in the state Senate. The 60-year-old real estate magnate was unopposed in the primary and yesterday's general election and was the top vote-getter last night.Much of the drama yesterday centered on whether the county's only incumbent Democrat -- Del. Ellen Willis Miller of Westminster -- would be able to hold off a Republican challenge in District 5, the heavily populated eastern portion of the county.

Sykesville's mayor is running unopposed for a fourth term on a ballot with five council candidates vying for three available seats. With no pressing issues or referendums for the more than 2,200 registered voters to decide, officials are predicting a low turnout May 3 in the town of 4,500. "This election may lend itself to the conclusion that people here are satisfied with the job we are doing and the progress we are making to improve the quality of life," said Mayor Jonathan S. Herman, 52. Herman, a restoration contractor who served on the town planning commission and council before being elected mayor 10 years ago, said, "I have managed to evolve into the position until it has become a part of my life.

Regina Eyler Linton, 66, was distressed when she learned there was not a Republican on the ballot for County Council in Anne Arundel County's 6th District. Now the retired travel agent is staging a write-in campaign against incumbent Democratic Barbara D. Samorajczyk, 56, a nonpracticing real estate attorney who is seeking her second term on the council. "I've always been involved in politics," said Linton, a campaign volunteer for Republican candidates, an election judge and an unsuccessful candidate for Republican Central Committee during the primary.

Aberdeen Proving Ground officials defend the proposed "Superpond" project but add that they remain open to a full environmental review of the proposed test facility.Army officers and civilians at the Harford County weapons-testing installation last night fielded questions from environmentalists, watermen and residents living near the site proposed for the so-called Superpond. The large man-made pond is to be used for determining whether Navy submarines and ships can withstand the shock of underwater explosions that would be experienced in combat.

Dozens of Maryland politicians will find out today whether they will get a free pass to elective office or must face spirited opponents in the fall election. Tonight at 9 o'clock is the deadline for candidates for state and county office to file for the Sept. 12 primary and Nov. 7 general election. If not-too-distant Maryland history is any indication, some formidable challengers could emerge in the final hours. But if the pattern of 2002 holds, most of the late filers will be embarking on a quixotic venture.

Ask Anne Arundel County Register of Wills George M. Nutwell Jr. why his campaign literature, a black-and-white card, looks conspicuously like the one he used in 1994 and 1998, he smiles and replies: "Worked last time." Just like last time, when he captured the most votes of a candidate in a local county election, the Republican is unopposed. He is seeking a fifth term in a $75,000-a-year post that centers on managing the filing and probating of wills. And like last time, Democrats found no one in their ranks eager to oppose Nutwell.

The odds were incredibly favorable. With no competitors to claim votes, two Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judges easily secured 15-year terms on the bench in yesterday's election. With about one-fifth of Arundel precincts reporting, James C. Cawood Jr. and Philip T. Caroom, who handle mostly domestic and administrative cases, were on their way to retaining their seats on the 10-judge court, the fifth-largest Circuit Court in the state. Cawood, 64, is the county judiciary's unofficial historian.

Nine Republicans will vie Tuesday for the opportunity to represent Carroll County in the General Assembly, but their Democratic challengers have a bye until November.State Sen. Larry E. Haines is the only Republican incumbent who can coast through the 1998 election. The popular leader of the county's Annapolis delegation is unopposed in Tuesday's primary and the Nov. 3 general election.But four other GOP incumbents -- Sen. Timothy R. Ferguson of Taylorsville and Dels. Donald B. Elliott of New Windsor, Joseph M. Getty of Manchester and Nancy R. Stocksdale of Westminster -- will have to fend off challengers.