My MoCo progressives, what is your opinion?

[Anonymous]

Progressivism and strong economy/pro-business environment do not go hand in hand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My thought (which have no basis in evidence) is that Moco combines old indifference (CC) with pie in the sky liberalism (Takoma Park). MD overall has some negatives like Baltimore. VA has been able to navigate changing winds more nimbly. Maybe it's AAP and better tax structures?

We’re going to pretend that Norfolk/Newport News doesn’t exist or that Richmond has not been terrible for decades? Comparing VA as a whole to MD as a whole is generally not a great idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you Jacob Sesker? Harpswell Strategies represents developers, so the source is very biased.

I have no use for the MoCo county council for the most part, but you don't increase an economy by disregarding the environment. We live in a coastal state. Maryland and MoCo should be more focused on environmental issues, not less. Younger generations have no idea how much the environment has been degraded over the past 4-5 decades. They have no baseline. And OP's arguments are tiresome. Yes, new buildings should be better weatherized and use geothermal heat. Yes, the county should buy electric vehicles as it replaces older buses and cars. They should also go a step further if feasible and try to move toward renewable energy. OP says nobody is asking the question s/he is asking, but lots of people are. They may have different answers, sorry.

Every time local politicians concern themselves with national/international issues, it means that local services have/will decline. They need to stay in their lane.

Environmental issues ARE local.

They really aren't. We can't make any dent in climate change alone. At all. It's a waste of money. It just makes people feel good.

Now, if the feds offered subsidies to all state and local governments to put some of these changes in place, that's different. That's using federal funds rather than local funds, which as the article says, should be directed to basic public services. And it impacts the entire nation. That would do some good. What MoCo is doing is like me trimming my toenails in an effort to lose weight.

Ha! I love this.

[Anonymous]

It seems to me that the MoCo Council is full of political hacks (save Gabe) who are just competing to make names for themselves nationally. Why kill all the trees and then make green building laws? They are disdainful of longtime residents, particularly useless Reimer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems to me that the MoCo Council is full of political hacks (save Gabe) who are just competing to make names for themselves nationally. Why kill all the trees and then make green building laws? They are disdainful of longtime residents, particularly useless Reimer.

Agreed. Honestly surprised that most councilmembers seem more interested in getting more clout on social media than the important and mundane task of good governance. Don’t see Fairfax officials out there like this. It’s embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems to me that the MoCo Council is full of political hacks (save Gabe) who are just competing to make names for themselves nationally. Why kill all the trees and then make green building laws? They are disdainful of longtime residents, particularly useless Reimer.

Agreed. Honestly surprised that most councilmembers seem more interested in getting more clout on social media than the important and mundane task of good governance. Don’t see Fairfax officials out there like this. It’s embarrassing.

+1 all they care about is Twitter. They are so f*ing stupid. I get they need to be responsive to their constituents but rule by Twitter is idiotic. I think they all need a social media cleanse. Anyway as a progressive who wants things like UBI, supports higher minimum wage, all for advancing racial equity, I can't vote for these people. Would rather have someone more conservative who isn't going to tank small businesses than these clowns.

[Anonymous]

DC has has green building requirements for over 10 years and it hasn’t slowed down building at all. We have more LEED certified buildings than any other city in the US.ut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has has green building requirements for over 10 years and it hasn’t slowed down building at all. We have more LEED certified buildings than any other city in the US.ut.

MoCo and DC requirements are different. DC requirements have just enacted international construction codes and don’t apply to existing stock. MoCo requirements are just nonsense and a big fat subsidy to existing real estate owners upset that the county gave away the store to developers. The MoCo bill is complete nonsense and the absolute worst of what Maryland politics are about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has has green building requirements for over 10 years and it hasn’t slowed down building at all. We have more LEED certified buildings than any other city in the US.ut.

MoCo and DC requirements are different. DC requirements have just enacted international construction codes and don’t apply to existing stock. MoCo requirements are just nonsense and a big fat subsidy to existing real estate owners upset that the county gave away the store to developers. The MoCo bill is complete nonsense and the absolute worst of what Maryland politics are about.

Agreed.

Well, there is the $18 million to the Green Bank. Annually. Which already has millions because of an Exelon settlement. And no customers.

New County government buildings need to be Net Zero. They can't use more energy than they make. It's escalating building costs by about 10%. That you are paying for. They want geothermal energy to heat and cool police stations? New schools? What's the realistic cost of building/installing energy systems like geothermal and solar to meet 100% of the commercial building's needs?

I am all for building energy efficient buildings. But going to Net Zero is crazy. For a County. With no state or federal dollars to back it up.

[Anonymous]

Net Zero

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/06/25/montgomery-county-plan-would-achieve-net-zero-emissions-10-years-earlier-than-state-goals/

[Anonymous]

Big business is not moving to MoCo because schools are in massive decline. There are not good choices for their employees to attend good public schools. Additionally, the emphasis on Vision Zero (pedestrians), which is good, does not also take driving into account. The majority of people drive. Not take public transit. And traffic is horrific, with no relief in sight

As traffic gets worse, and schools decline, no one is moving their HQ, or fortune 100, 200, 500, or even 1000 company to MoCo. But hey, condos, with retail and restaurants on the bottom, we've got lots of that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Big business is not moving to MoCo because schools are in massive decline. There are not good choices for their employees to attend good public schools. Additionally, the emphasis on Vision Zero (pedestrians), which is good, does not also take driving into account. The majority of people drive. Not take public transit. And traffic is horrific, with no relief in sight

As traffic gets worse, and schools decline, no one is moving their HQ, or fortune 100, 200, 500, or even 1000 company to MoCo. But hey, condos, with retail and restaurants on the bottom, we've got lots of that

Schools is the number one issue but somehow MoCo folks convince themselves by SPENDING more automatically makes them better. Most of it is poor corporate culture in MCPS, particularly to IEP kids. When you confront them on it they say two things - I’m not paid enough. Blair Magnet is a sign we are amazing. You are paid fine. Blair Magnet kids would do well in ANY school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has has green building requirements for over 10 years and it hasn’t slowed down building at all. We have more LEED certified buildings than any other city in the US.ut.

MoCo and DC requirements are different. DC requirements have just enacted international construction codes and don’t apply to existing stock. MoCo requirements are just nonsense and a big fat subsidy to existing real estate owners upset that the county gave away the store to developers. The MoCo bill is complete nonsense and the absolute worst of what Maryland politics are about.

Agreed.

Well, there is the $18 million to the Green Bank. Annually. Which already has millions because of an Exelon settlement. And no customers.

New County government buildings need to be Net Zero. They can't use more energy than they make. It's escalating building costs by about 10%. That you are paying for. They want geothermal energy to heat and cool police stations? New schools? What's the realistic cost of building/installing energy systems like geothermal and solar to meet 100% of the commercial building's needs?

I am all for building energy efficient buildings. But going to Net Zero is crazy. For a County. With no state or federal dollars to back it up.

Every part of the MoCo bill is stupid.
(1) new standards go beyond existing international codes to be ridiculously aspirational and uneconomic;
(2) add more bureaucracy and administrative costs (Green Bank); and
(3) a big subsidy to a politically connected affluent group that will create incentives that run contrary to the goals of the bill.

What’s going to happen now is that nothing gets built, while old and inefficient buildings that should be inventivized to be torn down and replaced with more efficient buildings get taxpayer subsidized upgrades to extend their life for decades.

Just absolutely terrible and stupid policy on every level when all they had to do was what DC did, upgrade existing codes and then create incentives tear down and replace old and inefficient with new and efficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Net Zero

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/06/25/montgomery-county-plan-would-achieve-net-zero-emissions-10-years-earlier-than-state-goals/

I have to credit the MoCo Council for being so bold. They realized that the fastest way to reduce emissions to zero was to stop all economic activity and they are well on their way to doing that. Incredible leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Big business is not moving to MoCo because schools are in massive decline. There are not good choices for their employees to attend good public schools. Additionally, the emphasis on Vision Zero (pedestrians), which is good, does not also take driving into account. The majority of people drive. Not take public transit. And traffic is horrific, with no relief in sight

As traffic gets worse, and schools decline, no one is moving their HQ, or fortune 100, 200, 500, or even 1000 company to MoCo. But hey, condos, with retail and restaurants on the bottom, we've got lots of that

What’s crazy is that they look at this situation as the outcome of their purposeful policy choices and proudly slap themselves on the back. Terrible traffic? That’s how it should be, “induced demand”, climate crisis, blah, blah, blah. It’s not failure to them. In the meantime what should concern them most is that people who support the tax base stop complaining because they are voting with their feet.