Leggett Plans to Shift Direction of Department of Economic Development
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett provided details Tuesday at a Washington Business Journal event about a plan he’s considering to create a public-private partnership to replace the county’s economic development department.
Leggett described the plan as a way to provide local business leaders with a role in promoting and marketing the county to make it more attractive to businesses. The plan for the revamped agency isn’t fully developed, according to Patrick Lacefield, Leggett’s spokesman. However, Leggett said Tuesday it could look similar to Fairfax County’s Economic Development Authority, with a full-time CEO and a seven- to nine-member board that would be approved by the Montgomery County Council.
“We want to move away from a traditional model to a model that’s a little more entrepreneurial and nimble than a county government department,” Lacefield said in an interview Wednesday.
The county’s Department of Economic Development currently consists of 40 government employees led by acting director Sally Sternbach. The department’s budget for this fiscal year is $13.5 million budget. Leggett has proposed an increase to $14.5 million for the next fiscal year beginning in July, which must be approved by the council.
Lacefield said Leggett plans to submit legislation to the council sometime this fall. Prior to that, county officials plan to flesh out the proposal to give the public a better idea of what the revamped agency would look like and what its goals would be.
Tammy Darvish to Receive Award
Comptroller Peter Franchot is scheduled to present the Schaefer Award to Tammy Darvish on Wednesday night at the Bethesda offices of Pentagon Federal Credit Union on Old Georgetown Road. The award honors a local individual who exemplifies public service. In a press release, the comptroller’s office said Darvish was selected for supporting a wide range of causes in the community, including financial education, the arts and helping the homeless.
Darvish, a former executive of Darcars Automotive, has been in the news recently because of a lawsuit she filed against her father and former company. Darvish alleges in the suit that her father, John Darvish Sr., and her two half-brothers conspired to cut her out of the company that she helped her father build over the past three decades. She is suing for damages related to a promise she claims her father made to give her one-third of the company.
Darvish was also named Philanthropist of the Year in 2014 by the Community Foundation in Montgomery County. Darvish is now an executive vice president at Pentagon Federal Credit Union.
International Council of Shopping Centers Names Two Locals to Retail Board
The International Council of Shopping Centers, a retail real estate organization, has named Holly Sears Sullivan, president of Montgomery County’s Business Development Corp., a county government agency, and Bruce Lee, president of Lee Development Group, as co-chairs of its Washington regional panel on leadership.
Sullivan and Lee will participate in a retail conference next month and use their positions to organize panels and promote the local retail development marketplace, according to a press release.
