Eric Hartley: Cohen tries to stand on his own

In Eastport, Josh Cohen is a minor celebrity. Passing drivers flag him down, people in their yards wave and many of those who answer their doors say, "Hi, Josh."

Though he remains popular in Ward 8, which he represented for five years as an alderman, he knows that even there his bid for mayor of Annapolis is no sure thing.

"A lot of people know me, like me, but they're like, 'I don't know, Josh,' " he said as he walked around Eastport knocking on voters' doors Saturday morning.

He said one reason for the uncertainty is that people have a different threshold for voting for a mayor. They won't just vote for someone who seems like a nice guy, as people often will for alderman.

But the "hang-ups," as Cohen called them, also have something to do with how he would run the city and his ties - real or perceived - to outgoing Mayor Ellen O. Moyer.

Every candidate has something to prove. For Cohen, a 36-year-old Annapolis native, it's that he won't be four more years of Moyer.

"That's been the most frustrating thing for me with this campaign because I view that as the biggest challenge I have," Cohen said.

At an editorial board interview recently at The Capital, Cohen and Dave Cordle, the Republican candidate, sparred over that perception, with Cordle saying Cohen is disingenuously distancing himself from an unpopular incumbent.

"You grew up in Ellen's shadow," Cordle said, looking at Cohen. "You were mentored by her."

"I was not," Cohen said.

Cohen, who's easygoing and often pokes fun at himself, said he would change the tone in City

Hall. He called Moyer, who's often snippy or dismissive with critics and seems thin-skinned, a "polarizing figure."

The two share a lot of supporters; it's a small town, and both came up as aldermen in Eastport. But if anyone is Cohen's mentor, he said it's Pip Moyer, the former mayor and Ellen Moyer's ex-husband.

Cohen said he and Ellen Moyer were on opposite sides of issues as varied as a tax-rate cut and building moratorium that Cohen supported, 2 a.m. liquor licenses that Cohen opposes and Moyer's foot-dragging on residents' crime concerns.

Cohen also faces skepticism because of the way he became the Democratic nominee. He didn't get the most votes in the primary; Zina Pierre did. After Pierre withdrew for personal reasons, the Democratic Central Committee, which by law picks the new nominee, unanimously selected Cohen as the most electable Democrat.

Some Pierre voters were angry about the process. But Cohen said they've been more positive toward him lately and wounds are healing.

The selection of Cohen also fed cynicism about machine politics.

"You may not believe it, but there is not such a thing as the 'Democratic machine' in town," Cohen said.

Could have fooled me. On the morning I spent with him, he had teams of volunteers stumping in several wards, including members of a union that had endorsed him.

U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, whose congressional district includes Annapolis, personally went door-knocking for Cohen in Eastport and told supporters in a brief coffee shop strategy session that Annapolis' election is a "test case" for how America is reacting to President Obama.

Cohen said some voters remain unsure about him because of his position on the city manager issue.

Cordle and independent Chris Fox support a "council-manager" form of government, in which an appointed manager who reports to the City Council is the chief executive.

Cohen opposes a city manager, saying the buck should stop with the mayor, but said he will hire a qualified and certified city administrator.

It's not clear how many people care about city manager per se; a petition drive to get the issue on the ballot failed. But Cohen said almost everyone wants more professional management in some form.

"People really want confidence that there's going to be a change in City Hall," he said.

Many residents' biggest expectation from elected officials is what politicians call "constituent service." On Saturday, a woman driving through Eastport stopped Cohen to complain about a new restaurant's exhaust blowing into her yard and neighbors' yards. She said she'd gotten no satisfaction from Alderman Ross Arnett or City Hall and will vote against Arnett as a result. Cohen took her number.

A man on Chester Avenue pointed to cracked pavement and told Cohen, "I'm going for you, and I want this street fixed." Cohen promised to do it.

Finishing up door-knocking for the morning and heading to a rally, Cohen said: "I really feel it's looking good. If you'd asked me two weeks ago, I'd have been a lot less certain."

Sunday: A look at Dave Cordle's campaign.