As Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich was wrapping up his final “listening session” with constituents at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington last Thursday, a parent asked him what his main takeaways have been.
“It’s an education. I got through almost two years of campaigning, and you woulda thought that everything would’ve been asked during the campaign. Not true at all,” he said. “The campaign focused on narrow themes… I’ve heard more comments about the county big and local in these kinds of listening sessions than I ever got out of the campaign.”
Elrich has been doing a good deal of listening since winning the general election on Nov. 6, holding eight sessions throughout the county where constituents have told him of their main concerns. More than 1,300 people have attended the sessions, according to Office of Community Partnerships Acting Director Diane Vu.
Here are some of the main issues Elrich has heard:
Traffic
Elrich has been asked repeatedly about his plans for reducing congestion on Interstate 270 and the Beltway. He has told constituents that he doesn’t favor Gov. Larry Hogan’s $9 billion toll lane project for the county’s two interstates, but instead would prefer to add two reversible lanes to the roads. The county executive, as he did during the campaign, has said expanding bus rapid transit and is a better alternative to adding new roads.
“Everybody’s concerned about the growth of traffic and the need for more rapid-transit infrastructure. You can’t build a lot of roads to solve this problem anymore,” he said.
Immigration
Elrich said a number of residents have expressed concern about the safety of undocumented immigrants in the wake of the Trump administration’s stance on illegal immigration. Elrich was asked Thursday by a resident what could be done to ensure that the county’s immigrant population is included in the 2020 census.
“Um, change the president,” Elrich replied to applause.
He continued, “we’re gonna be standing up and making sure our count is accurate. I know that there’s interest to miss as many immigrants as possible because that would affect the amount of funding we get.”
Elrich said the county would work to counter efforts by the administration to include a citizenship question on the census by finding ways to get immigrants to fill out the census without giving identifiable information.
Elrich was also asked if he supported a county trust ordinance, which would prevent law enforcement from asking about a person’s immigration status. In response, he noted that the County Council had discussed the idea last year, but ultimately determined that it wasn’t necessary.
“I don’t feel like I need the ordinance to accomplish want I want to accomplish. There probably are some people who get deported, but the county’s policy is only if you’re in jail for a serious crime,” he said.
Affordable housing
Elrich has said he plans to compile a “bad list” of multifamily apartment properties that have multiple housing code violations.
Earlier this month, he announced he would be stepping up the county’s efforts at enforcing the county’s existing law, which mandates that all of these properties undergo inspection by July 1, 2019. He said he has been hearing complaints from a number of residents about properties that are out of compliance with the county’s ordinance.
Development
Elrich, cast as the anti-development candidate during the campaign, has answered a number of questions about how to make the county more business friendly. In response to a question about increased vacancies in shopping centers, Elrich said that he hopes to bring more incubator spaces to foster small business growth.
Several residents last Thursday also asked about the Forest Glen/Montgomery Hills Sector Plan, which calls for a number of transportation improvements to the intersection of Georgia Avenue and the Beltway in Silver Spring, with the concern that construction could negatively impact low-income residential communities. Elrich has said multiple times that he won’t support a master plan if it leads to the disruption of the surrounding community.
“I have no interest in plans that end up displacing affordable housing,” Elrich replied.
Micro issues
Many of the questions Elrich has received have been about regional issues as opposed to countywide ones, to which he typically replies that he will “look into it,” or tells the constituent that a member of his staff will get in touch with them, as was the case for a student who wanted the recreation department to pay volunteer coaches and improve school transportation for before- and after-school activities. Elrich said at the end of the session that hearing constituents’ specific issues has been one of the most useful aspects of the listening sessions.
“No one in Poolesville asks about the tennis courts at Ken-Gar. On the other hand, no one up here [in Kensington] asked me about building a facility to add on to Poolesville High School,” he said.
Elrich said he is considering making his listening sessions an annual activity where constituents can give input in preparation for the budget process, which takes place each spring. But he said there might not be eight every year.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
