Published on: Thursday, February 07, 2013

By Holden Wilen

ROCKVILLE - Former county executive Doug Duncan has announced he will run for an unprecedented fourth term as county executive in 2014, and he has his mind set on getting Montgomery County back on track.

Duncan, 57, confirmed he is set on forming a slate of new candidates for the county council. While he has not put together a list of names yet, Duncan said he wants a group of people who will work together towards a common goal—making Montgomery County the best county it can be. The current county council, Duncan said, is not cohesive enough.

“That’s a big problem with the current council,” Duncan said. “They don’t work together and there’s always arguing and fighting. There’s been a lot of fighting between the council, county executive, and the school board. We need to work together.”

Duncan, who has been out of politics since dropping out of the race to become governor of Maryland in 2006 because of depression, said he wants to be the man to help Montgomery County realize its potential.

As for the campaign committee Duncan has put together, it includes a couple of familiar faces. Jerald Pasternak serves as one of the chairpersons for the Friends of Doug Duncan committee, while Deborah Goodwin is the primary treasurer. Both individuals were special assistants to Duncan when he was in office, before current county executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett asked them to step down.

According to the 2013 annual campaign finance report summary sheet for, Duncan’s campaign has $243,314.14 in its bank account, including $10,000 in contributions from Jan 12, 2012 through Jan. 9, 2013. The contributions came from Conrad V. Aschenbach, an auto dealership owner, and several of the individual King group dealerships.

Other confirmed candidates are current council members Phil Andrews and Valerie Ervin. Andrews campaign currently has a balance of $53,255.74, and while the campaign for Ervin’s has a balance of $14,260.82, respectively.

Duncan said the county has obvious problems in terms of job growth, transportation and education. Fixing those three areas, along with creating a better relationship between the county council members and the county executive, are some of the goals of his campaign. His main goal, however, is making Montgomery County the best county it can be.

“We’ve got a great county here, and I want to offer my talents and expertise to help make Montgomery County as great as possible,” Duncan said.