District 16 House candidate Ariana Kelly has posted the following item on her website about the Post’s article on fellow candidate Kyle Lierman’s fundraising.
The Washington Post today exposed the forces supporting Kyle Lierman’s campaign for delegate. The Post reports the 23-year-old’s bid is bankrolled by wealthy friends and patrons of his father Terry — the former state party boss and drug company lobbyist who is now Chief of Staff to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Only Ariana Kelly has the credentials and support to stop Terry Lierman from bullying and buying a delegate seat for his son, and to give Montgomery County the representation it deserves in Annapolis. To see Ariana Kelly’s track record and list of supporters, click here.
On the one hand, there is some truth to Kelly’s charges. Terry Lierman is intensely involved in his son’s campaign. Kyle’s donor list is full of Terry’s friends and supporters and we have heard MANY stories of Terry making fundraising calls, complaining to organizations that failed to endorse his son and even getting involved in designing campaign materials. And the participation of ethics-challenged Congressman Jim Moran in Kyle’s campaign (a story that went national) is problematic at best. If Kyle Lierman was instead named Kyle Jamgochian, Kyle Farley or Kyle Winston, he would probably not be a front-runner in this race.
But candidates in round-robin elections like Delegate contests usually avoid going negative against a rival for fear that a third candidate will go up the middle and win. Could that happen in District 16?