It's official: Former District 17 delegate Cheryl C. Kagan (D) will seek the district Senate seat held by Jennie M. Forehand in the 2010 election.

Kagan, who has been talking up a possible run for several months, made the announcement at a fundraiser last week in Rockville.

"I think we need vibrant new leadership," Kagan said, emphasizing that she is running for the seat and not against a particular person.

She also wants to have more influence in the state legislature.

"The state Senate is one-third the size of the House of Delegates," Kagan said. "Each voice has a chance to be a little louder."

Campaign finance reform is a major part of her platform, and she has vowed to cap her campaign contributions at half of the maximum allowed amounts of $4,000 per individual and $6,000 per political action committee.

Kagan (D) of Rockville served eight years in the House of Delegates before stepping down in 2003 to run a nonprofit charitable foundation.

Forehand was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1978 and to the Senate in 1994.

Neither Kagan nor Forehand has officially filed their candidacy with state elections officials. The deadline to do so is not until July of next year.

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