B6 by Caitlin Gibson


The “War on Christmas” has ended: The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to uphold a policy that allows unattended displays, including religious ones, to be placed on the public grounds of the county courthouse in down- town Leesburg. In an 8 to 1 vote, with Supervi-


sor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles) op- posed, the board put an end to a heated debate that began in No- vember, when a resident-led com- mission decided that the county should ban unattended displays outside the courthouse. That de- cision, prompted by a rising num-


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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 Loudoun upholds policy allowing unattended displays on courthouse grounds


ber of requests to use the space, drew the ire of residents when the commission denied a rotary group’s application to place a Christmas tree on court grounds. The board addressed the mat- ter last year by creating a policy allowing as many as 10 groups to place displays on the courthouse grounds at any time, on a first- come, first-served basis. But the resident-led commission contin- ued to express concern that the new policy created a cluttered and unmanageable situation, and it appealed to the board in July to consider reinstating the ban be- fore the upcoming holiday sea- son.


Residents speaking in favor of allowing religious displays on the


Sale of Glenn Dale concerns community


hospital from B1


care retirement facility would preserve the quiet character of the community that they treas- ure.


Del. James W. Hubbard (D-


Prince George’s), the sponsor of the legislation, said he was con- cerned that residents were un- aware of the county’s plans. But the “saving grace” is that the so- licitation meets all of the require- ments of the legis- lation, he said. The solicitation requires that the top bidder have a license or regis- tration to operate a continuing care retirement com- munity on the 60 acres. “I’m not going to change the law,” he said. “They have to meet the standards. That’s the only protec- tion we have on our side right now.” The facility, which the county


Some rooms still contain rusty hospital beds and medical equip- ment, and teenagers and other trespassers are known to risk be- ing ticketed to roam the decaying buildings and tunnels that con- nect them. A group called the Maryland Ghost and Spirit Asso- ciation has listed the hospital as an “official” haunted site. All offers are final, and the


property is being sold “as is.” The commis-


Teen intruders and ghost hunters manage to gain entry to the abandoned hospital in Maryland.


lists as a historic site, opened in 1934 as a sanatorium for children with tuberculosis. By 1960, the hospital was used for District res- idents with chronic illnesses. It was shut down in the early 1980s, and the Maryland-National Cap- ital Park and Planning Commis- sion bought the property from the District in 1995. The once-pastoral landscape is


now filled with weeds; windows that patients once peered out of are covered with wooden boards and twisted vines.


sion says it does not take responsi- bility for the re- moval or treat- ment of asbestos, lead or other haz- ardous materials in the buildings, which the solicita- tion terms “exten- sively vandalized.” Hubbard said there are con- cerns about asbes- tos, and estimates have placed the cost of removal at about $8 million. Gardner said the commission has been trying to find a suitable partner to “adapt


and reuse” the property for sever- al years.


According to the request for bids, the commission has the dis- cretion to cancel the solicitation “in whole or in part at any time.” It may also “reject any or all pro- posals submitted when this ac- tion is determined to be advanta- geous or in the best interest of the commission.”


wigginsovetta@washpost.com


Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.


PHOTOS BY NIKKI KAHN/THE WASHINGTON POST Some of the hospital’s buildings retain vestiges of their equipment and furnishings, as seen in this view through a broken window. Civil debate turns to civil war in Md. races primary from B1


change in 2002 from “Rajah” to “Roger.” In a statement, Manno fired back, accusing Lenett of having “taken Montgomery County poli- tics into the gutter like no other candidate before him.” “What we are witnessing this year is unlike anything anyone here can remember,” said Adam Pagnucco, a popular blogger on Montgomery politics. In the past, delegates have been largely deferential to their Senate counterparts. In fact, the last time a sitting delegate from Montgomery challenged his sen- ator in a primary was 1994, ac- cording to Pagnucco’s blog, Maryland Politics Watch. That was the year that Chris Van Hol- len, now a congressman, ad- vanced from the House of Del- egates to the state Senate. The attempted upheaval is not


confined to Montgomery. There are two Democratic primaries in Prince George’s County that fit the same pattern. And a couple of Republicans elsewhere are try- ing to pull off the same feat. “I think it’s the mood of the


country,” said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D- Calvert). “There are a number of delegates who are feeling it’s their time and that they can ride this anti-incumbent sentiment.” Others suggest may be reading too much into what’s happened. Although some races have show- cased ideological divides, others seem driven more by personality. They are all being waged by door-knocking and direct mail.


King vs. Ali The Montgomery feud that has


drawn the most attention is in District 39 between King, a for- mer school board member with


the backing of much of the party establishment, and Ali, a first- term House member who has po- sitioned himself as the “true blue Democrat” in the race.


Among the issues on which Ali has sought to draw distinctions is gay marriage, which he said he supports as “a question of civil rights.” In a recent debate, King was more equivocal, saying that full marriage equality is “a very, very difficult issue in our dis- trict.” If a gay marriage


bill


emerged from the Senate Judi- ciary Committee, King said she would vote for it — a position Ali criticized as “Annapolis-speak.” Ali has also sought to portray


King, a former Republican, as too cozy with the alcohol and gambling lobbies. She has denied that and has argued that she is as “progressive” as Ali on most is- sues and that her seat on the Sen- ate budget committee positions her to better help the district. Policy disagreements between


the two have been overshadowed recently by a series of King mail- ers showing Ali asleep on a couch in the House lounge and the anti- Ali Web site that King set up. King said the photo of Ali sleep- ing was intended to highlight votes he has missed. “I’ve never had to resort to this


stuff before, but you have to de- fend yourself,” King said. Ali said the quirky Facebook posts show “I’m a regular per- son” and questioned why a state senator bothered to comb through them. “She knows she can’t compete on her message, so all she can do is try to completely tear me down,” he said.


Lenett vs. Manno The contest between Lenett


and Manno in District 19 has turned increasingly bitter in re- cent days. Manno has been high-


ly critical of the leadership of Le- nett, whom he accuses of being unable to work effectively with his three delegates. Among other things, Manno said, that has un- dercut their ability to speak with one voice about the effects of the Intercounty Connector, a road project with a major impact on the district. “About a year ago, there was an


intervention from community leaders and elected and former elected leaders,” Manno said. “We all knew there was a prob- lem. . . . Even the simple things in Annapolis, like meeting as a delegation, we haven’t been able to do.” Lenett bristled at that charge,


accusing Manno of “absolutely lying.” More broadly, Lenett questioned Manno’s rationale for running, saying that they have few policy differences and that Manno steered few bills through the House. “I’m not down there to join a social club. I’m down there to get things done,” Lenett said, point- ing to legislation that he has pushed to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous in the Chesapeake Bay and to restrict cellphone use while driving. A mailer sent by Lenett over


Labor Day sparked a new round of recriminations. The mailer and a companion Web site ac- cuse Manno of several “cover ups,” including failing to disclose his wife’s work on Wall Street on ethics forms and the 2002 name change from “Rajah” to “Roger.” Manno said he had amended


his ethics forms and accused Le- nett of bringing up the name change to scare voters with “ra- cial and ethnic undertones.”


Forehand vs. Kagan The race between Jennie M.


Forehand and Cheryl C. Kagan in


District 17 has largely been a ref- erendum on Forehand’s longev- ity. She is in her 16th year in the Senate, having previously served 16 years in the House. “Jennie has served us honor- ably for 32 years . . . but I think in tough times we need a different kind of senator,” Kagan said in a recent debate, in which she ar- gued that she would be a more aggressive advocate for the dis- trict. In the same debate, Forehand


invoked the name of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who was well-known for steering fed- eral dollars to his small state. “My seniority in the Senate really does me an awful lot,” Forehand said. There have been squabbles over some policy issues. Kagan, for example, has criticized Fore- hand for casting a deciding vote in 2007 to authorize a tax on computer services. Forehand has emphasized her work during 2008 to repeal the tax. More recently, the two clashed over a Forehand mailer that de- picts Kagan accepting oversized gift boxes from lobbyists, a refer- ence to Kagan dating a lobbyist during part of her tenure as a delegate from 1995 to 2003. Kagan said she considers the mailer “sleazy and personal” but has tried to turn the attack to her advantage. On her Web site, Ka- gan says that she “and her then- boyfriend chose to disclose every movie and every meal” on ethics forms and that she even “voted against her beau’s #1 client’s top legislative priority!”


Kramer vs. Montgomery


Of the Montgomery Senate primaries, the greatest ideologi- cal divide has emerged in Dis- trict 14 between Sen. Rona E. Kramer and Del. Karen S. Mont-


SF


grounds have dominated previ- ous public hearings. They did so again at a public input session Tuesday at which the board was urged to maintain the current policy by Leesburg Mayor Kristen C. Umstattd, Del. Robert G. Mar- shall (R-Prince William), local clergy members and scores of res- idents wearing blue pins that read “Merry Christmas — God with us.” The appeals of those who ad- dressed the board ranged from impassioned pleas to respect the Constitution to angry claims of religious persecution. “Christianity is under attack,”


Leesburg resident Barbara Bayles-Roberts said. As for those who don’t believe in God, she


added, “there is a holiday for them, and it’s called April Fools’ Day.” The issue prompted an un-


likely alliance between conserva- tive Supervisor Eugene A. Del- gaudio (R-Sterling), who has led the charge to keep the religious displays, and the American Civil Liberties Union, which submitted a letter to the Board of Supervi- sors in July urging it to preserve “the spirit of free expression that is so much a part of our nation’s heritage and continuing vitality.” Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) also weighed in on the matter in an opinion dated Aug. 20, saying that local govern- ments should not be compelled to ban holiday displays that include


religious symbols. The opinion was a response to a request from Marshall, who asked whether Loudoun is required to prohibit holiday displays on public prop- erty. Miller, who cast the lone op- posing vote, expressed concern that the right to due process was being overshadowed by the right to religious freedom, adding that jurors or defendants might be in- timidated by displays outside the building. People do not come to the courthouse to see religious displays, Miller said: “They come to the courthouse to see justice done.”


But the remaining supervisors were ultimately united in their desire to maintain the current


policy in the hope that the use of the property will reflect a spirit of inclusion and tolerance. “People who preach the First Amendment need to abide by the First Amendment,” said Supervi- sor James Burton (I-Blue Ridge), who added that he would be will- ing to revisit the matter next year if an incident such as the one that occurred last year — when an un- popular display was stolen — is repeated this holiday season. Supervisor Andrea McGimsey


(D-Potomac) said she thinks the courthouse grounds should be “a vibrant place” where the commu- nity can express itself.


“I hope we can put this issue to rest, finally,” she said.


gibsonc@washpost.com


Challenges from within In eight Maryland Senate races — including four in Montgomery County — the incumbent is being challenged in the primary by a current or former delegate from their district.


COUNTY 2 Washington PARTY SENATOR 14 Montgomery Dem. Rona E. Kramer DELEGATE


Rep. Donald F. Munson Christopher B. Shank Karen S. Montgomery


17 Montgomery Dem. Jennie M. Forehand Cheryl C. Kagan* 19 Montgomery Dem. Michael G. Lenett Roger Manno 24 Prince George’s Dem. Nathaniel Exum 33 Anne Arundel Rep. Edward R. Reilly 39 Montgomery Dem. Nancy J. King


Number in the first column above is the district. * Kagan is a former delegate.


** A third candidate, Brian Benjers, is on the ballot. SOURCE: Staff reports


gomery. Kramer has emphasized her economic development creden- tials and her opposition to the so-called “millionaires’ tax.” Much of the Democratic estab- lishment is in her corner. Del. Montgomery has touted her advocacy of “combined re- porting,” a tax-collection method that makes it more difficult for large corporations to avoid pay- ing taxes in Maryland. Her back- ers include several progressive


THE WASHINGTON POST


groups and labor unions. Kramer is also highlighting


Montgomery’s decision to skip a 2007 special session for a previ- ously planned family vacation in China. Kramer said the decision reflected a difference in “work ethic” between the two. Mont- gomery said she considered it “an unfortunate lowering of the political discourse we so often have had in Montgomery Coun- ty.”


wagnerj@washpost.com


Joanne C. Benson James J. King** Saqib Ali


47 Prince George’s Dem. David C. Harrington Victor R. Ramirez


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