Health & Fitness
Kach Considers Challenging Huff
A crowded House primary, a 2012 same-sex marriage vote and drunken driving charges against Councilman Todd Huff all could push the 10-term delegate to run for a County Council race.
Del. Wade Kach may give up an 11th term in the House of Delegates to run for office closer to home.
The 10-term Republican said he thinking about challenging Councilman Todd Huff for his seat on the Baltimore County Council.
"I'm considering it, yes," Kach said.
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Republican sources say Kach has been considering for several months running for the 3rd District Council seat held by Huff.
For months county Republicans have complained about Huff saying he lacks independence on the council and is seen as too close an ally to County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Councilman John Olszewski Sr., both Democrats.
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Then came Huff's Feb. 23 arrest on drunken driving related charges.
Sources in the county Republican Party said Kach ramped up chatter about running for County Council the same weekend Huff was arrested.
Kach didn't deny having those conversations but said he wasn't prepared to discuss what might go into his decision to run for the County Council.
This is not the first time Kach has toyed with the idea of running for the council. He nearly ran for the same seat about a decade ago.
The switch from state to local legislature, however, may also be a pragmatic decision for Kach. The delegate, through the wonders of the decennial redistricting, finds himself moved from the relative comfort of his current single-member district into a two-member contest with potentially three other incumbent Republican delegates.
Dels. Sue Aumann and Joseph Boteler are already teaming up to run in the new District 42B.
But Kach may also be considering the effect his vote in favor of same-sex marriage could have on his electability in the new district.
Last year, Kach shocked many Republicans by changing his vote. Boteler himself warned that the vote might be politically damaging in a Republican district.
"I told him I don't think this district will be very happy about his vote for the gay marriage legislation," Boteler said in a Feb. 2012 interview.
Kach, who has also been mentioned as a potential challenger to Deomcratic Sen. Jim Brochin, downplayed the redistricting.
"Over the years I've represented almost every part of the new district and I think I'd do very well," the delegate said.
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