Bethesda cemetery advocates endorse Brandy Brooks for MoCo Planning Chair

MoCo Planning Board chair Casey Anderson
summons armed police officers to confront representatives
of a black church on February 16, 2017

Cite current chair's record

of calling police on peaceful

black protesters at meetings

The Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition has endorsed applicant Brandy Brooks to replace current Montgomery County Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson. A coalition press release cited Anderson's record of calling in police officers to confront peaceful protesters at commission meetings on the future of the desecrated Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda.

Anderson's escalation of a peaceful situation by calling in law enforcement on representatives of a black church was "placing them in direct confrontation with armed police, arrest, possible injury and death," the coalition said in a statement. Noting that Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission Chair Jackie Simon also condoned the same armed police response to cemetery protesters, the coalition declared that Ms. Simon and Mr. Anderson have relinquished any credible moral authority to lead these organizations. Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Executive said that he 'does not believe in incremental change.' It is impossible to understand how in the face of actions placing Montgomery County residence in harm’s way, that Mr. Elrich could re-authorize Jackie Simon or Casey Anderson."

The coalition has instead urban planner and former Democratic At-Large County Council candidate Brandy Brooks as chair. They said Brooks has "demonstrated a keen sensitivity to the Moses African Cemetery issue that has been conspicuously absent throughout the County’s regulatory leadership."

BACC also endorsed Dr. Jeanne Toungara and William Cook, who have applied to fill vacancies on the HOC. They are urging residents to call the County Council and Elrich's offices immediately to voice your support for Brooks, Toungara, and Cook:

Call the County Council and the County Executive today:

Main line 240-777-0311
Special Assistant Debbie Spielberg: 240-777-2515

DOUG DUNCAN RUNNING FOR COUNTY EXECUTIVE - WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLITICS?

Game. Set. Match. Doug Duncan.

In what may have been the shortest political campaign in Montgomery County history, former county executive Douglas M. Duncan confirmed he would seek that office again yesterday.

The former Rockville mayor and multi-term county executive is virtually assured of victory in 2014.  Duncan is incredibly popular with developers, newspaper editorial boards, and the county's political establishment.

His announcement provides confidence to that establishment.  But it sends the rest of county politics into utter turmoil.

One drawback to the total Democratic domination of Montgomery County is that the ease of winning office has generated a very deep bench of politicians, with many more currently in the "minor leagues" in municipal offices, and the State House.

As current elected officials have chosen to run and run for the same easy offices over and over again, they've created a logjam as bad as the county's traffic.

Just as many impatient Democrats of the next generations were beginning to openly jockey for position in the 2014 election, Duncan delivered a death blow to such aspirations with yesterday's announcement.

Who are the casualties?

George Leventhal and Phil Andrews had already announced campaigns for county executive, and Nancy Floreen, Marc Elrich and Valerie Ervin had been publicly considering entering the race.

All now have little choice but to run for their same council seats again, or exit politics altogether.  To a person, they will almost certainly do the former. 

Ben Kramer, whose father was a well-respected past county executive, was well-positioned as the dark horse in the race.  He's gone, too, now.

Duncan surely plans to make this a two-term deal. Meaning that all of the above contenders are literally stuck until 2022. 

By that time, another whole generation of Democrats will be growing bored in the minor leagues, and begin to challenge the old guard.

Would Ben Kramer challenge for a council seat? Unlikely, as he'd have to take on incumbents in every one, including Nancy Navarro, who outmaneuvered Kramer for that 4th District seat in the first place.

Can they go to Washington?

Not until Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin end their careers in the Senate.  Chris Van Hollen, John Delaney, Donna Edwards and John Sarbanes are all in a similar pickle in their Senate aspirations.

How about running for governor? Nope. Democrats have a full slate of contenders already, and at least two are from Montgomery County.

Aside from all of this fallout, Duncan's only political challenge ahead is the national economy. If we are really entering a recovery, Duncan is in the same position he was in 1994, when the country was emerging from the 1990 recession. Should things turn south, however, it's worth noting that Duncan has never led during bad economic times.

The county still faces a structural deficit, poor job numbers and traffic gridlock.

In regards to the last two, Duncan might offer a slight improvement over Leggett, in that Duncan has been working with a transportation group led by Richard Parsons. My impression of the group is that they recognize the need for multimodal transportation improvements, rather than the Fantasy Island approach of transit-only.  Should Parsons and Duncan be open to studying an Outer Beltway and new Potomac River crossing, the jobs and traffic picture would almost immediately improve.

Can I make one more prediction? You can almost certainly expect the concept of an elected Council President position to be put back on the table now.  That is one way frustrated politicians could create a new, fairly-powerful office for themselves to wait out the Duncan years.

How about the Republicans?

Doug Rosenfeld made the most respectable showing of a Republican executive candidate in eons in 2010. Expect him to run again.

The only other Republican who could make a solid run won't run against Duncan:  another former Rockville mayor, Larry Giammo.  And it's not clear if he's even a Republican anymore.

Connie Morella would have instant credibility as a candidate, but seems to have no interest in elected office since her gerrymandered defeat in 2002.  Another very-well-qualified Republican would be Amy Presley, but she is more likely to run for the council before executive. She currently serves on the county Planning Board, a traditional springboard to elected office.

In short, while we don't know for sure if another Duncan term would benefit the average county resident, there was little joy among Democrats who consider themselves his worthy successor after yesterday's announcement.

MoCo COUNCILMEMBER THREATENS BUSINESSES: BUILD MY BRT SYSTEM, OR FACE YOUR "WORST NIGHTMARE"

Yes, Montgomery County is indeed "open for business."

Well, I can't wait to hear what Gigi Godwin and Ginanne Italiano have to say about this:

Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich was quoted threatening county business owners with "their worst nightmare," if they refuse to "step up" and fund his pet Bus Rapid Transit project.

Wow.  I mean, don't let it be said this county isn't business-friendly, right?

This meltdown by Councilmember Elrich came after champagne wishes and BRT dreams were burst last Thursday evening, by citizens condemning his fiscally-irresponsible BRT Tax plan at a public hearing.

With Elrich, Ike Leggett and the other less-than-20 people ramming BRT through the process unable to sell their busway-robbery tax scheme, they are now scrambling to salvage the BRT project.

The new trial balloon being floated, is to fund the BRT system through a tax on businesses.

Do you notice something really strange about the BRT money panic?

What are the targets they are aiming at?

First, they aimed at your wallet/purse, for $1000+ per year, in the case of many Bethesda residents.

Now county business owners are in their crosshairs.

But have you noticed what group is not being targeted for BRT taxes?

Developers.  Yes, developers - the ones who are actually going to profit from the BRT scheme!

Is this a surprise?  No.  Not even in the case of Marc "No Developer Influence" Elrich.  Of whom one developer admiringly said, "He's come a long way, baby."

BRT was just one of the reasons developers, and the county establishment they fund, threw their John Candy-meets-Fat Albert weight behind Elrich in 2010.  The others being his sudden support for tax cuts for developers (including one $72 million tax cut for White Flint developers), and his enthusiastic "YES!" votes for the massively-oversized White Flint and Science City sector plans.

If developers want the BRT boondoggle, they should pay for it.

Instead, Elrich is turning yet again to struggling citizens and business owners, and demanding "more!"

This after slamming poor and middle class residents with a massive energy tax since 2010, the same tax that bodyslammed business owners.

And making the county's bloated, profligate budget bigger this past May, and boosting taxes even further.

Elrich is not even engaging in negotiations.  He is demanding and threatening.  Is this Steve Hendrix's "Man for All Seasons?"

"If the business community is not willing to step up...then they will get their worst nightmare."

 - Marc Elrich, Examiner, July 15, 2012

Unfortunately, Elrich did not explain what "nightmare" businessmen and women in the county will experience, if they decline to bow to his demands.

This coming from the same council whose energy tax had Target, Magruder's and other stores turning off lights, even during business hours.  And boosted your water bill just so utility employees could get a raise, even while you are getting furloughed or fired.

Is this how we attract companies, and recover from the lowest job creation numbers in the DC region?

It's certainly a novel approach.

You can be sure Bob McDonnell and Gerald Connolly are having another hearty chuckle at our expense.

Can I help you out with some new economic development marketing lines, Steve Silverman?

"Come to Montgomery County, where the taxes are high, the jobs and parking spaces are few, and our councilmembers promise your worst nightmare if you won't pay up!"

They're lining up at the border already, folks.