Bowie mother and daughter run for public office

Republican Fiona Moodie, who turned 18 this month, of Bowie plans to not only cast her first vote this year, but also make her first run for not one but two offices.

She's running for the Prince George's County Council seat in District 4 and for one of two Republican Central Committee seats in District 23.

"It's the first time I've voted, and the first time I've been voted for — it's a unique situation," said Fiona, a student at Anne Arundel Community College.

And that's not all.

Her mother, Margaret Moodie, 51, is also taking the political plunge and making her first run for office. She is running for one of two Maryland General Assembly delegate seats from District 23A.

"We both decided we had to do something," said Margaret Moodie, who fears the U.S. is headed down a disastrously wrong path under the Obama administration. "The government has moved so far away from the people."

Both mother and daughter protested in Washington, D.C., against the health care reform package passed into law this year, a move that shows the government is "no longer listening to the people who elected them," Fiona Moodie said.

The Moodies are among a handful of Republicans who will be taking on the Prince George's County Democrats in an election cycle in which many see the majority Democrats as vulnerable because of the national backlash against incumbents.

"I want to try to bring more conservative beliefs back to this area, to give people more power, away from government," said Margaret Moodie, who says she will support Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) if he wins back the governor's office from Gov. Martin O'Malley (D).

"Maryland is losing business and wealth," she said. "I want to bring more power to Annapolis, to give Ehrlich more strength."

District 23A includes Bowie north of Route 50, parts of Laurel, Lanham, Seabrook and Mitchellville.

Fiona Moodie, who for the past year has headed the statewide Maryland Teenage Republicans committee within the party, will know after the Sept. 14 primary if she won one of two seats on the Republican Central Committee.

She is also challenging one-term Democratic incumbent Ingrid Turner, also of Bowie, in the general election in District 4. She and her mother are running uncontested in the primary for county council and delegate, respectively, and will face off against the Democrats in the Nov. 2 general election.

Margaret Moodie said she and her daughter have been endorsed by Republicans Robert Broadus, who is running for the 4th Congressional seat, and Charles Lollar, who is running for the 5th Congressional seat.

Campaigning for conservative causes is something that goes back generations for the Moodies.

An American who grew up Scotland, Margaret Moodie watched her mother campaign for the Conservative Party, listening to bullhorns and handing out leaflets as a child. She remembers doing her homework by candlelight during the coal miners' strike in the 1970s that resulted in brownouts and blackouts around the country.

Later, she studied business and marketing in Glasgow and worked in commercial real estate in London, specializing in auto-related properties. After she married and moved to Bowie, she settled into a life of homeschooling her daughter, starting early to teach her lessons in citizenship and government.

"I wanted her to know who they are and how got to their position, because the decisions they make affect everybody," Margaret Moodie said about the influence of politicians.

The 2000 presidential election, in which eventual President George W. Bush and former Vice President Al Gore battled it out in Florida, made a particular impression on Fiona Moodie, who takes the mechanics of democracy seriously.

"We're able to vote, but so many people don't care," she said. "That vote is powerful. ... [An election] can come down to handfuls of people."

Both Moodies have been actively supporting Republican candidates, including Ehrlich and Lollar from Charles County, who is running against House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer for Congress.

"I'm helping with the new media aspect, capturing the younger vote," said Fiona Moodie about her contribution to the Ehrlich campaign.

Fiona Moodie said she had been thinking about running at some point and after talking with other Republicans decided this was the year.

"It's not a time that favors incumbents," she said. "I just decided to go for it, it's worth a shot."

She said she's not old enough to run for delegate to the State Assembly and has a friend, Brandon Gordon, who is running in District 1 for the school board. So that left the County Council.

She believes the county should do more to provide more services and activities for students. A heavy user of the Bowie library, she said she had seen fights break out there because students have no jobs or nothing else to do after school.

"Since the minimum wage was raised, so no one can afford to hire them," she said.

She also believes police need to focus more on lowering the rise in burglaries, robberies and other crime rather than focusing on traffic and speed cameras.

Both she and her mother say that the school system needs to set higher standards for students.

"You get out of children what you expect from them," Margaret Moodie said. "If you expect great things, more often than not, great things are given to you."

Fiona Moodie

Position sought: County Council, District 4

Party affiliation: Republican

Place of residence: Bowie

Age: 18

Place of birth: Maryland

Current occupation: College student

Education: High school graduate; student, Anne Arundel Community College

Community associations, involvement: 4H, active in church

Professional associations: Chairwoman, Maryland Teenage Republicans

Family: Father, Alistair, and mother, Margaret

Campaign office address and telephone: 301-641-1535

Candidate's website: www.fionamoodie.com

Margaret Moodie

Position sought: Delegate, District 23A

Party affiliation: Republican

Place of residence: Bowie

Age: 51

Place of birth: Bethesda

Current occupation: Homemaker

Education: Westbourne School for Girls, Glasgow, Scotland; Bachelor of Arts in business with a concentration in marketing from Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, Scotland,

Community associations, involvement: Active within church.

Professional associations: Advisory board member of the Maryland Teenage Republicans

Family: Husband, Alistair, and daughter, Fiona

Campaign office address and telephone: 301-641-1536

Candidate's website: www.margaretmoodie.com