The latest abuse of power and taxpayer funds in Montgomery County government will be this coming Wednesday night in Chevy Chase. County Councilmembers Hans Riemer and Roger Berliner, who are running for County Council and County Executive respectively, will attempt to use a taxpayer-funded "infrastructure meeting" as a campaign event. Both receive top billing in announcements for the Montgomery County Planning Department-sponsored meeting, which will be held November 1, at 7:30 PM at the Jane Lawton Community Center at 4301 Willow Lane.
As elected officials, neither Riemer nor Berliner have any official role in the Planning Department. While I would encourage all councilmembers to attend public events (they are usually missing-in-action at such meetings 99% of the time), it is totally inappropriate for a councilmember and candidate to be a "headliner" at a non-Council public meeting. If the Council or an individual member wishes to host a town meeting when a specific plan is forwarded by the Planning Board to the Council for action, that would be a legitimate; this meeting is not.
The event press release even includes puffed-up biographies of the two councilmembers, a clear abuse of taxpayer money and taxpayer-funded mass email platforms. It touts Riemer as the Council's "Lead for Digital Government," whatever the hell that means. But it fails to mention that, four years after Riemer took office, it was found that the County government was running on Windows 2000, one of the most vulnerable platforms in the world. Also on Riemer's watch, a County government database of County residents' personal information was posted online, exposed to hackers and identity thieves. And a scathing Maryland audit of MCPS found massive cybersecurity flaws that allow outsiders to obtain student information and full access to the school system's computer network at will.
Equally astonishing, is that
Riemer, who voted for the closure and demolition of the Georgetown Branch Trail, and failed to include any mandated actions regarding any bike facility or tunnel in the Purple Line minor master plan amendment when he had the power to do so, casts himself as a bystander in the event press release. "With the recent closure of the Georgetown Branch Trail, this is an important time for a community discussion about the future of biking infrastructure in the affected areas...But we need to get it right."
In fact, Riemer failed to "get it right," despite having the opportunity and power to do so. A councilman who has overseen and approved the disastrous bicycle and pedestrian situation for seven years is now here to "save the day" on November 1? Please.
I encourage the County Inspector General to open an investigation into the use of this taxpayer-funded meeting as a campaign event by Riemer and Berliner. This is yet another illegal use of funds, and abuse of the system, by the Montgomery County political cartel.
