PART 2 OF WEDNESDAY'S

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

After interviewing with the Metro AFL-CIO in the afternoon, I attended the District 1 council debate between incumbent Roger Berliner and Ilaya Hopkins at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.

This is probably more a report about the building than the debate. First of all, the BCC services center could possibly be described as either a fortress or a Rubik's Cube turned into a building. It is a major challenge just to find and get into the building. First you have to figure out where it is, and enter one of two garage entrances off either Woodmont or Edgemoor.

You're just getting started, though! First of all, it's about 120 degrees in the garage. Then you go to the elevators, and first-time customers probably think they're going to zoom up into the services center.

Wrong!

When you get out at the Plaza level, you're only halfway there! Step over the snack wrappers and head over to the next building. Now you're in the lobby. It's about 82 degrees there. Up to the second floor for the debate. Okay, it's 110 up here. I'm not kidding.

It's a packed house of downtown Bethesda residents, candidates for other offices, media and campaign staffers. To the back of the room I go.

There were many appropriate symbols of the state our county finds itself in.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The mics don't work. Somebody decides to point one at a speaker. I think any hard-of-hearing seniors may have lost what little they had left. Just keep pointing it at the speaker. It sounds good, so why not just keep pointing it at the speaker, right?

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

The mics never did recover. Hopkins went for a large portion without one, and Berliner's had that muffled, percussive school/library mic thing going on.

There wasn't as much heat in the debate as there was in the room.

Apparently, either the budget cutbacks included basics like air conditioning, or this was another example of "green" indoor climate. Like that downright wacky article in the Post Sunday, which was really only stating the future of "green" technology: "smart" meters that will turn off your A/C in the summer. That's "progress" for you. I'll never buy into that, and neither should you.

I was surprised that neither candidate, when asked what they would do to create jobs, mentioned reducing taxes and regulation.

Councilmember Berliner did not seem concerned about our competition in Fairfax, citing the FDA, NIH and other prized county assets Fairfax lacks. Apparently, those weren't enough for Northrop... ...so shouldn't we address our weaknesses, like high taxes, gridlock, and a hyper-regulatory county council?

Hopkins has the advantage of the Doug Duncan endorsement; Berliner has the advantage of the MCEA endorsement, and some of the micro-level, local issues he has successfully addressed within the district.

Eventually, I had to head to the A/C-cooled conference room next door, where you could still hear the debate, since the mics were now turned up loud.

At the end, the moderator - Miranda Spivack of the Washington Post - allowed candidates present to introduce themselves, including myself.

Then, as Berliner and Hopkins gave their closing statements, I got in the right spot between the stairs and elevator, and was able to meet many of the voters who exited at the end.

I also ran into Rob Vricella, who is the Republican Berliner or Hopkins will face in November, and Kurt Osuch, who is running for State Senate in District 18, and who has a lot of buzz surrounding his campaign.

Now, how did I get into this building, and how do I reverse that to figure out how to get to the garage? Another night at the BCC Regional Services Center.

Well, at least I found a copy of the Farm Tour brochure! Simpler times in the rural Upcounty will be an antidote for Bethesda's most confusing building.