Politics
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Question A, MCPS’s Deferred Maintenance, and 怨天尤人
Read more: Question A, MCPS’s Deferred Maintenance, and 怨天尤人A recent presentation by MCPS mentioned a $3 billion “deferred maintenance backlog,” based on the results of a study done by an outside consultant. For those of us watching the county’s finances, that’s not a surprise. Bethesda-based Marriott, a world-class corporation with stellar management, tracks depreciation on its quarterly reports. Any accountant will tell you…
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Without Question A, It’s Socialism for the Rich
Read more: Without Question A, It’s Socialism for the RichThe Board of Elections made a determination that Question A is 302 signatures short of the 10,000 required. We are evaluating our possible next steps. Should Question A not appear on the ballot, what is next for MoCo? Socialism for the rich, a term that Martin Luther King incorporated into several of his speeches and…
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An Example of Fiscal Critical Thinking
Read more: An Example of Fiscal Critical ThinkingIn a message from July 17, County Executive included a graph with which many budget wonks are familiar: a comparison of MoCo’s property tax rates to other counties in the DC region. It looks like MoCo aligns with its neighbors, arguably a tad lower. This graph has little to do with the matter at hand:…
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Glass is the Spoiler, but Who is the Winner?
Read more: Glass is the Spoiler, but Who is the Winner?Let’s step back four years when the world was just as it is today only a shade less violent and bigoted. There were three serious candidates for the office of county executive on the Democratic primary ballot: Marc Elrich, David Blair, and Hans Riemer. Elrich “won” the plurality vote by 32 votes. At the time…
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Back-Door Deals and Glass Houses
Read more: Back-Door Deals and Glass HousesIn 1732, an eternal artifact of American culture appeared: Poor Richard’s Almanack by Richard Saunders, otherwise known as Benjamin Franklin. Franklin published the almanac in annual editions for the following 25 years. Among other things the almanac contains wit and wisdom that today’s readers, circumscribed by wireless gadgets and threatening robots, still find relevant. Some…
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Small Business Donates Big to Stop The Spend
Read more: Small Business Donates Big to Stop The SpendHow can you tell if someone is successful? Employees are successful when they show up, do their work well, and can be counted on. Physicians are successful when their patients recover. Attorneys are successful when they consistently deliver results for their clients. Politicians are successful when they improve the lives of the people they represent.…
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Stop the Spend – A Non-Partisan Initiative
Read more: Stop the Spend – A Non-Partisan InitiativeStop the Spend is an initiative to constrain the growth of county spending to the rate of inflation. We are currently collecting signatures to have our initiative appear on the November ballot. A few weeks ago a group of us from Stop the Spend were out gathering signatures. One resident asked me, “Are you a…
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Tax the Rich and the Underserved Pay the Price
Read more: Tax the Rich and the Underserved Pay the PriceIf you were standing on a cliff watching others jump to their deaths, would you follow? Common sense says no. Yet Montgomery County is poised to do exactly that, repeating policies that have already failed elsewhere. This year’s proposed 5.5% expansion of the county budget comes with a steep cost: a 6.3¢ per $100 increase…
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No Kings. No Dictators. Just Us the Vote Diluters.
Read more: No Kings. No Dictators. Just Us the Vote Diluters.Samantha never once committed larceny. She routinely writes Twitter posts denouncing the crime and anyone who commits it. Julie committed larceny once, was apprehended, did 60 days in jail, and is fully reformed. She openly denounces the crime and its perpetrators, but from a position of repentance. She can (and should) serve as a mentor…
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Karla Silvestre?? For County Council??
Read more: Karla Silvestre?? For County Council??Board of Education member Karla Silvestre has announced her candidacy for an at-large seat on the County Council. What is her motivation? I know how to work with others to get things done, build bridges, and at this critical time in our county we need serious leaders who will work everyday to put the needs…