hopeful also calls

primary 'closed'

ROCKVILLE -- A rally for Republican candidates on Saturday at the Montgomery County Council Building in Rockville looked at times more like a religious revival -- or a rock concert -- than a political event.

Organizers of the rally, sponsored by the District 19 Republicans, hoped it would mark another step in the spiritual awakening of the GOP in Maryland.

But notwithstanding state party Chairman John M. Kane's motto that "A good Republican is an elected Republican," there was evidence from the crowd of 200 that Republicans come in a number of denominations.

Robin Ficker and one of his supporters accused the party of running a closed primary. Ficker is running against Charles R. "Chuck" Floyd of Kensington for the Republican nomination in the 8th Congressional District on March 2.

Over the strains of "Eye of the Tiger," Channel 9 sportscaster Ken Mease introduced candidates who had been chosen to speak -- six-term incumbent Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Dist. 6) of Buckeystown; state Sen. E.J. Pipkin (R-Dist. 36) of Stevensville, who is running for the U.S. Senate; John McKinnis of Burtonsville, who is looking for the 4th Congressional District nomination; and Floyd.

Floyd invited Ficker onstage toward the conclusion of the program, but Ficker, a Boyds resident, was not given the chance to speak.

"I'm going to win the primary," Ficker said after the event.

"The Democratic primaries have gained so much attention because they've had an interesting to and fro, back and forth on the issue," he said. "When you have an open Republican primary, you should have the same thing."

Asked if the primary is an open one, Ficker said, "I think there is a certain effort to make it a closed primary."

Daniel S. Willard, vice chairman of the Montgomery Republican Central Committee and head of the District 19 Republicans, said he did not invite more than one candidate from each race to speak because he wanted the event to emphasize party unity and not turn into a debate.

Besides running for Congress, Ficker also gathered more than 10,000 signatures to include a ballot question that would bar the nine-member Montgomery County Council's from increasing the property tax by more than the rate of inflation. A seven-vote majority now is sufficient to do that.

"It is going to pass -- even in liberal Montgomery County," said Susan Payne of Gaithersburg, a Ficker supporter who came to the rally hoping to hear from all the candidates, but said she left disillusioned with the Republican Party.

"I'm a new Republican after 32 years as a Democrat," she said. "I came out and I'm very upset because I heard there was going to be a Republican rally and yet not all the candidates were invited to speak."

Others at the rally said they felt that the Republican Party was not addressing the issues important to Republicans.

As Montgomery Republican Party Chairman Stephen N. Abrams addressed the audience, Augustus Alzona held a sign that read: "Abortion/Gun Control/'Patriot' Act/Axis of Evil."

Alzona, an unsuccessful school board candidate, said he wanted the candidates to recognize the issues on his sign as the "conservative grassroots not being adequately addressed by the establishment" in the party.

"There can't be a separate party in Montgomery County and upper Montgomery County and the district of Congressman Bartlett," he said.

Willard pointed to the Democratic Party as one way to motivate a party: a common enemy.

"In Montgomery County, they're doing a better job than we are because their organization is upset about Bob Ehrlich," he said.

But Republicans have common enemies as well, said Pipkin, who wants to face incumbent U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D) of Baltimore in November.

"When I go around Maryland, I don't get 'She's such a great senator.' I get 'Can you beat her?'" Pipkin said.

Floyd told the crowd that the question for Republicans is not only "'What can you do to re-elect George W. Bush?' but 'What can you do to take out Barbara Mikulski, Chris Van Hollen and Albert Wynn?'"

"The purpose of this event is to build Republican enthusiasm," Willard said after the rally, adding that he has invited Ficker to speak to the District 19 Republicans before the March 2 primary.

That offer also stands for Frederick County State's Attorney Scott L. Rolle, who is running against Bartlett for the GOP nomination and left the rally before being offered a spot onstage.

Rolle said Thursday that he left to attend a function his wife had scheduled for him in Frederick, but that he felt good about the Rockville rally, which he attended in hopes of meeting voters from Damascus, which is included in the 6th District.

"It was good to see Republicans fired up because they have a tough row to hoe down there," he said.

Rolle said that while conservative Republicans like himself might not agree with all of Gov. Robert L Ehrlich Jr.'s more moderate views, they must rally behind the governor.

"In order to become a viable two-party state we have to acknowledge different viewpoints on different issues," he said.

Rolle said he had attended the rally with the understanding that he would be able to speak. "That changed when I got there," he said, adding that he was treated respectfully by organizers.

Willard said there was no attempt to exclude Rolle or Ficker.

"If we wanted to exclude [them], we have other rooms we could've done this in," he said. "If you do it in the County Office Building, you have to let everybody in."