In a race flooded with so many candidates that distinguishing themselves from each other is becoming half the battle, Montgomery County Council hopeful Hans Riemer is learning a common refrain.
“Hi, I’m running for county council,” Riemer said for about the fiftieth time as he handed a weary rider a purple flier outside the Silver Spring Metro on a recent afternoon.
With no Republicans filed for the seat, Riemer and Montgomery County School Board member Valerie Ervin are running in a winner take-all race for the District 5 seat being vacated by Tom Perez. And Riemer, a newcomer, knows he must fight for name recognition against his better-known challenger — one who has received an endorsement from Perez.
Riemer, 33, has been on a leave of absence from his job as political director at Rock the Vote, a grassroots nonprofit that aims to get young voters involved in the political process. He is used to trying to reach some notoriously tough customers. He estimates he’s handedout about 50,000 fliers outside of county Metro stations and by going door-to-door, his two main methods of getting out the vote. His simple flier sets out his platform for election.
But, in the era of iPods, many people leaving Metro walk right past Riemer, some barely bothering to look at him or remove an ear bud. Others mumble a “thank you” and keep moving.
“Standing outside for three hours is really physically challenging,” Riemer said as a man walked past, ignoring his spiel. “And your mind has to get ready for rejection.”
Other people handed Riemer’s flier back and said they don’t live in Silver Spring. One woman told him she’s from Canada.
“You have some friends who live here though,” Riemer responded.
Riemer’s goal is to have people reject the fliers because he gave them one previously.
But few people stopped to talk. Finally, about an hour into the day’s campaigning, William Ellerman, 56, a procurement manager with Washington Metro Area Transit Authority, stopped to talk about the Purple Line, known also as the Bi-County Transitway. Ellerman said he supports constructing a light-rail system to connect Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George’s.
“This is my big priority,” Riemer told Ellerman. “I’m going to build the Purple Line or die trying.”
