(6 of 7)
When Seventh District Representative Kweisi Mfume resigned in February to become president of the NAACP, Cummings easily won an April special election to fill that seat, and he's running now for his first full term. The son of sharecroppers, he vows to follow Mfume's path of liberalism and support for blacks and the urban poor. In his six months in office, Cummings has kept his vow, supporting economic development and affirmative action in black communities and sponsoring funding for urban teen centers to serve as alternatives to street gangs.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES Abortion NO Guns YES Gays YES Bosnia NO NAFTA YES Welfare NR* (NO) Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "A lot of people call me a bridge builder, but sometimes I feel like I'm the bridge itself."
KENNETH KONDNER (R) District 7
BORN: Dec. 4, 1941, Baltimore EDUCATION: Catonsville Community College, 1965-70 FAMILY: Single RELIGION: Presbyterian MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Dental technician POLITICAL CAREER: Republican nominee for U.S. House, 1990, 1992, 1994; campaign chair, Independent Republican Coalition, 1994-95; Baltimore County Republican central committee, 1994- ADDRESS: 6610 Windsor Mill Road, Baltimore 21207. Tel.: 410-944-3582
Kondner has the difficult task of running as a conservative in a strongly liberal district. Disturbed by the political apathy he attributes to an irresponsible Congress, he vows to support term limits and reduce the maximum PAC contribution. But after getting less than 20% of the vote in April's special-election runoff against rival Elijah Cummings, he'll have to battle that apathy--and beat it--to win.
THE ISSUES
Budget YES Medicare NO Defense NO Abortion YES Guns NO Gays NO Bosnia NO NAFTA NO Welfare YES Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "We are in a struggle for the moral, ethical and even the spiritual soul of our country."
DONALD MOOERS (D) District 8 (Montgomery County)
BORN: April 12, 1960, Bangor, Maine EDUCATION: Duke U, B.A., 1981; George Washington U, J.D., 1986 FAMILY: Wife, Magda; two children RELIGION: Roman Catholic MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: State Department adviser; international-assistance-organization director POLITICAL CAREER: None ADDRESS: 2424 University Boulevard West, Suite 202, Wheaton 20902. Tel.: 301-929-8993
A former Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, Mooers worked in the early '90s for a nonprofit agency to ease the transition to a market economy in the former Soviet bloc. Despite a background in foreign affairs, he's campaigning on domestic issues like putting more police on the streets, strengthening environmental regulation and increasing money for job training and college.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES Abortion NO Guns YES Gays NO Bosnia NO NAFTA YES Welfare NO Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: [On the partial-birth-abortion ban] "Some have argued that it is necessary to outlaw a procedure they consider inhumane. But to prohibit its use even in those rare and unfortunate circumstances when it is necessary is even more inhumane."