By David Hill, Ashley Lewis, Christopher Weaver and Laurie White
Congressional District 5:
Clinton:
BENJAMIN BARNES, 33, is in his second year as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. His jurisdiction includes parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George?s counties. In addition to his political office, Barnes is a practicing attorney. He is pledged to Clinton.
VIRGINIA BENEDICT, 64, of Newburg, is a library assistant and chairwoman of the Charles County Democratic Central Committee. Benedict attended the Maryland School of Art in Baltimore, and spent several years at a community college. As chairman of the county?s Democratic Central Committee, Benedict served as Charles coordinator for Sen. Hillary Clinton?s campaign, and helped generate grassroots support for her before Maryland?s primary election. She has three children. Benedict was a delegate in 2000 and attended the 1992 and 1996 conventions. She is pledged to Clinton. Obama:
SUE KULLEN, 48, is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing Calvert County. In addition to her elected office, she has worked as an advocate for the disabled and as a consultant for organizations that serve them, including a 12 year stretch as a manager and director of Arc of Southern Maryland. She is pledged to Obama. ROXANNE TAYLOR, 51, is CEO of Church Insurance Partnership Agency and lives in Bowie. She?s been in insurance for 28 years, but the 2008 convention is her first foray into politics. After hearing Obama deliver his speech at the 2004 convention, she became an early devotee, joining a local campaign organization during the ?exploratory? stage of Obama?s candidacy. She is pledged to Obama.
MARK COOK, 45, of College Park, is a College Park Councilmember. Cook organized a field canvass for Sen. Obama in Prince George?s County before the primary election. Cook also runs a phone bank focusing on voter identification and volunteer recruitment in Virginia, as well as a Kids For Obama Poster Workshop. This is his first convention. Cook is pledged to Obama.
JUSTIN ROSS, 32, was born in Bowie and has lived in Prince George?s county his entire life, including his college years, which he spent studying government at the University of Maryland. He is a real estate broker and a Maryland State Delegate for Prince George?s County?s 22nd district. Ross is pledged to Obama.
LEN LUCCHI, 50, of Bowie, is a partner at O?Malley Niles Nylen and Gilmore, P.A. Lucchi is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Law. Lucchi has attended seven previous national conventions. This will be his second time serving as a delegate at a national convention. Lucchi is an alternate pledged to Obama.
Congressional District 6:
Clinton:
SUE HECHT, 60, of Frederick, is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. Hecht was the former director of the Heartly House Community Foundation Fund, and also served for two years as president of the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence. Hecht attended Frostburg University, Hood College and Frederick Community College. She is married with two children. Hecht is pledged to Clinton.
JOHN P. DONOGHUE, 51, of Hagerstown, is a member of the state House of Delegates, representing District 2C. He was first elected in 1991 and is serving his fifth term. Donoghue previously worked as a financial adviser at Legg Mason and as president of the Washington County unit of the American Cancer Society. A graduate of Catholic University of America, he is married and has four children. Donoghue is pledged to Clinton.
JAMES BESTPITCH, 57, of Cumberland, is president of the Western Maryland Central Labor Council. He attended Anne Arundel Community College. Bestpitch is married with children. Bestpitch is pledged to Clinton and this will be his first convention.
Obama:
ANN-MARIE LUCIANO, 32, of Monrovia, is a lawyer at Dickstein Shapiro, LLP. Luciano received degrees from Alleghany College and Cornell Law Schol. She is married. This will be her first convention. Luciano is pledged to Obama.
GOODLOE E. BYRON, JR., 54, of Middletown, is founder and president of Potomac Investment Services. He is the son of Goodloe and Beverly Byron, both of whom served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Byron is pledged to Obama.
Congressional District 7:
Clinton:
CATHERINE E. PUGH, 58, is a Maryland State Senator from Baltimore. She joined the Senate in 2007 after a term in the House of Delegates. She was previously a Baltimore councilwoman, and is the CEO of the public relations firm, CE Pugh and Company. She is pledged to Clinton.
BERNARD YOUNG, 54, is a Baltimore councilman. He joined the council in 1996 after cutting his political teeth in the earlier campaigns of fellow local politicians. Young manages a customer service division for Maryland?s Department of Human Resources. He is pledged to Clinton.
Obama:
LISA GLADDEN, 43, is the majority whip in the Maryland State Senate. She represents Baltimore and joined the Senate in 2003. She previously served in the House of Delegates, and is a lawyer in Baltimore?s Office of the Public Defender. She was a delegate at the 2004 convention. Gladden is pledged to Obama.
VERNA L. JONES, 52, is a Maryland State Senator from Baltimore. She has been a member since 2003. Before joining the Senate, she was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1999. She is the founder and president of Community Building Network, which helps organize neighborhood associations and community groups. Jones is pledged to Obama.
NATHANIEL MCFADDEN, 62, is a Maryland state senator from Baltimore. Before he was elected to the senate in 1995, McFadden was a high school teacher, school principal, and community activist. He also served on Baltimore?s City Council from 1982 to 1987. McFadden is pledged to Barack Obama.
KEIFFER MITCHELL, 40, is a banker at Wachovia and the nephew of Parren Mitchell, Maryland?s first black congressman, who died in 2007. The younger Mitchell entered politics in 1995 as a Baltimore councilman, where he served until 2007, when he left the council in an unsuccessful bid for the mayor?s office. He is pledged to Obama. STEPHANIE FARQUHAR, 27, of Baltimore, is a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This will be her first convention. Farquhar is an alternate pledged to Obama.
Congressional District 8:
Clinton:
MARY BOERGERS, 62, of Chevy Chase, is a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates and a former state senator. Boergers received a bachelor’s from the College of St. Catherine and a master’s from Catholic University of America. She is married and has two children. This is her third convention. Boergers is pledged to Clinton.
NANCY FLOREEN, 56, of Garrett Park, is a Montgomery County councilwoman. Floreen is also on the board of directors of the Jewish Council on Aging, Habitat for Humanity and the Strathmore Hall Foundation, and serves as treasurer of Maryland’s County Elected Women organization. Floreen attended Smith College and Rutgers University. She is married with three children. Floreen is pledged to Clinton
. JOHN K. DELANEY, 45, of Chevy Chase, is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of CapitalSource Inc. Delaney received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Delaney is married and has four children. Delaney is pledged to Clinton.
Obama:
BRIAN FELDMAN, 47, of Potomac, is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. He also serves on the board of directors of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington and The Dwelling Place, an organization that provides transitional housing for homeless families. Feldman attended Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and Johns Hopkins University. He is married with two children. Feldman is pledged to Obama.
STEWART BAINUM, JR., 62, of Chevy Chase, is the chairman of the board at Choice Hotels International Inc. Bainum is also a former state senator and former member of the Maryland House of Delegates, as well as the former CEO and chairman of Manor Care, Inc. Bainum received a bachelor’s degree from Pacific Union College, an M.B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a theology degree from Andrews University. This will be his second convention as a delegate. Bainum is pledged to Obama.
ROSIE ENGMAN, 69, is a retired school teacher who lives in Silver Spring. Engman?s teaching career included working in schools in Montgomery County and Fairfax, as well as stints in Athens Greece and India. She volunteered in John F. Kennedy?s presidential campaign while still in college, but didn?t become active in politics again until 2002. She joined Obama?s campaign in April 2007 and will attend her first convention this year as a pledged Obama delegate.
LYNN NOVELLI, 59, of Gaithersburg, is the fundraiser for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, a volunteer fire and rescue organization. She got into politics early and was the president of San Francisco?s Young Democrats in 1972. Novelli was an early supporter of Obama, and her husband, Michael Novelli, is an Obama campaign director for Maryland. She is pledged to Obama.
JAMIE RASKIN, 45, is a Maryland State Senator for Silver Spring and Takoma Park. When he?s not in Annapolis, he teaches law at American University. Raskin joined Maryland?s Senate in 2007. He was previously a delegate in the 2004 convention. Like Obama, to whom he is pledged as an alternate in this year?s nominating contest, Raskin is a graduate of Harvard?s law school and a former editor of the Harvard Law Review.
