More on Guy's surprise

Following up on this post, councilman Guy Guzzone's decision to not run for county executive has thrown a wrench into the orderly world of Howard County politics. In today's Sun, Larry Carson and others get their speculating on.

Former five-term County Councilman C. Vernon Gray has not ruled out running for the top job, nor has Del. Frank S. Turner. County Councilman Ken Ulman is seriously mulling over the opportunity -- though Dels. Elizabeth Bobo, a former county executive, and Shane E. Pendergrass are not.

And Gray wondered if someone from outside the political world, someone "who has not been on the firing line making tough decisions" might not be best. That is a view shared by others.

"I think Courtney Watson [the school board chairman] will run," said state Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer, a Columbia Democrat who ran briefly for governor in 1994, but said he is not interested in becoming county executive. "Ultimately, I think she's the best candidate the Democrats have."

Hmm. I hadn't thought about politicians coming out of retirement. Or having some unknown candidate, either. Clearly, I need to work on my speculation skills.

It is still very early in this process, but because of Chris Merdon's head start, I'd expect the Democrats to come up with somebody soon. That's my prediction. I'll leave it to the experts to say exactly who that will be.