This story was updated at 1:17 p.m. on October 18 to include comment from Barry Jackson about his position on non-citizen voting.
Rockville’s mayoral and City Council candidates shared their positions on lowering the voting age to 16, allowing non-citizens to vote in city elections, establishing term limits and voting districts at a forum last week.
The four referendum advisory questions on the ballot this year were brought up during Thursday’s event hosted by Rockville-based nonprofits Community Reach and Rainbow Place Shelter.
On the ballot, voters will have three options for each question: “Yes,” “No” and “No opinion.”
The outcomes of the referendum questions after the Nov. 7 election will not change city laws. However, the new mayor and council will have the chance to review the outcomes when deciding whether to introduce new bills on the four topics.
Mayoral candidates, councilmembers Monique Ashton and Mark Pierzchala, and 10 City Council candidates Danniel Belay, Kate Fulton, Richard Gottfried, Barry Jackson, Ricky F. Mui, incumbent David Myles, Anita Neal Powell, Izola Shaw, Marissa Valeri and Adam Van Grack attended the forum. Council candidates Harold Hodges and Paul Scott did not attend.
Candidates responded to each question by raising a sign which read, “Yes” or “No,” but did not share explanations behind their positions.
Here is how each candidate positioned themselves for each of the questions.
Ashton abstained from sharing her position on three of the questions, holding a hand-written sign that read: “I will: listen, convene, do what I think is BEST for Rockville.”
In her closing statement she said, “I think that you want an elected official who is going to be able to listen to what the voters have to say, help lead conversations and have public hearings. … I mean what I say I’m open-minded and I listen.”
Myles also abstained from sharing his position on the questions, which he addressed the reason his closing statement and shared his thoughts on each question without explicitly saying his position.
“As a general rule, I think that and believe that voting is a private matter. When people at the door tell me they’re not going to tell me who they are going to vote for, I respect that,” he said.
Mayoral candidates are marked with an asterisk (*), and were asked to share their positions in a separate round from the the city council candidates.
Voting age: Should Rockville allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in city elections?
Yes: Belay, Fulton, Shaw, Valeri
No: Pierzchala*, Gottfried, Jackson, Mui, Neal Powell, Van Grack
Abstain: Ashton*, Myles
“As a pediatrician I work with mature minors – kids less than 18 [years old], they could be 14 or 15 [years old] – who make decisions about their own health care. And we respect that,” Myles said in his closing statement.
Non-citizen Voting: Currently only U.S. citizens who live in Rockville can vote in city elections. Should Rockville allow residents who are not U.S. Citizens to vote in city elections?
Yes: Valeri, Jackson, Shaw
No: Pierzchala*, Belay, Gottfried, Mui, Neal Powell, Van Grack
Abstain: Ashton*, Fulton, Myles
In an email to MoCo360, Fulton shared that she has not yet decided how she intends to vote on that referendum question.
“I know Rockville residents who are not yet citizens who have lived here for years and are a part of our community in every way, and I would like them to have a voice,” she wrote. “However, there are complicated logistical and philosophical concerns about voter rolls and the rights and privileges of citizenship. I am still listening and learning, both as a voter and as a potential elected official.”
Jackson also shared an explanation of his position on this question in an email with MoCo360. He said that he is in favor of non-citizen voting but with “caveats.”
“I think anyone who has lived in Rockville for a year legally should be able to vote. They pay taxes, they use services – they are a part of our community. However, anyone who is undocumented should not be able to vote. Both because of the law but also because to be able to vote you must register. I don’t want to have a database out there that can be used by some future administration to go after undocumented immigrants. I think there are a number of issues that need to be worked out but I support, by and large, non-citizens voting.”
Term limits: Currently there are no term limits for mayor or City Council members. Should Rockville limit the mayor and city council members to three consecutive terms?
After candidates shared their positions, audience members clapped and chuckled among themselves.
Yes: Ashton*, Belay, Fulton, Gottfried, Jackson, Mui, Neal Powell, Shaw, Valeri, Van Grack
No: Pierzchala*
Abstain: Ashton*, Myles
“I have a personal aversion to, so called ‘career politicians’ and I don’t expect to do this all my life, I think you have a great group of individual up here who can certainly take the mantel,” Myles said.
Representative districts: City Council members are elected At-Large. That means the entire city votes for all six members. Should some or all of the six councilmembers be elected by representative districts?
Yes: Pierzchala*, Fulton, Gottfried, Jackson, Neal Powell, Shaw, Valeri, Van Grack
No: Belay, Mui
Abstain: Ashton*, Myles
The next and last candidate forum will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 12 at the Rockville Senior Center, at 1150 Carnation Dr. The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County and Montgomery College are hosting this forum.
The forum will be broadcasted live on Rockville 11 (channel 11 on county cable) and live streamed on the City of Rockville website. A recording of the forum will be available on Rockville 11 and on YouTube.
