Montgomery County Council Member Tom Perez on Tuesday announced his bid to replace retiring Maryland Attorney General Joseph Curran.
Standing on the steps of Ellsworth Plaza in downtown Silver Spring, Perez, 44, promised to carry on Curran?s consumer-protection initiatives, fight price-gouging and lobby for a working prescription drug program for Marylanders.
“The new attorney general will take office in a time of great peril for America?s families,” Perez said, “without help from the White House, without help from the halls of Congress, and all too frequently without help from the [Annapolis] State House.”
Perez is the third candidate to announce since Curran announced last week that he will not seek another term. His bid for the seat is the second by a Montgomery County Democrat, promising a tough race locally.
He acknowledged his underdog status compared to State?s Attorney Doug Gansler, a Democrat, and Frederick County State?s Attorney Scott Roley, a Republican, but said he is not afraid of a fight.
“There?s something about growing up amid the 8-foot snowbanks of upstate New York. There?s something about losing your dad at age 12 and nearly losing your mom soon after,” Perez said, choking up for a moment. “It builds character.”
Council colleague Marilyn Praisner, D-District 4, called Perez a “breath of fresh air” and committed to campaign for him throughout the state. “It?s been an honor not only to sit with him but to stand with him on issues that matter to the community,” she said.
She was joined in supporting Perez by three of her colleagues on the council, including Republican Howard Denis, as well as state Del. Sheila Hixson, D-Montgomery.
