What is wrong with MOCO politicans?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i one week they proposed a bill, renamed Montrose Parkway and put up the signs. for 15 months we have requested a new street sign that was stolen in our area and nothing has happened.

They are all about the spotlight. Hucker tweeted yesterday about the explosion in SS that he and his team were on their way there to check things out and will report back, glad they were able to take charge of the situation.

In the modern lingo we can call it “performative governance”.

I honestly believe that the county would be better off if we had a moratorium on passing any new laws, plans or anything else except a continuation of the same budget (making sure it’s balanced) for a couple years.

Renaming the street was a good move, but Casey Anderson's draft general plan is still racist.

Sure, but it’s a complete distraction when poverty and crime are rising, the school system is imploding and streets and sidewalks are not being maintained. They should prioritize focusing on these core competencies of municipal government before even thinking about a photo op to rename a street.

It’s hard to take anyone serious when they say crime is rising and schools are imploding and well crime everywhere is rising due to a f’ing pandemic and our school are amazing and way better than the 70’s/80’s/90’s.

You sound like you live in an altered reality,

Ficker was your candidate.

Come on man!

[Anonymous]

The schools are amazing? Really?

-Test scores in the basement
-ES 3rd graders cannot read
-HS - no mid terms or final exams, you can write your name on an assignment and get 50% credit, and no one is allowed to fail - they just get passed along
-Teacher shortage - teachers are disparaged by parents and students and want nothing do with our county. Why? In part because we are spending tons on central office staff rather than teachers and mental health professionals. Central Office staff put more administrative mandates on teachers that take them away from actually teaching. In part because we have no consequences for students behaving badly and they know it.
-The buildings are a disaster, many are either falling apart or over crowded
-Our own Board of Education rubber stamps everything the MCPS staff tells them to (they have completely forgotten that their job is OVERSIGHT)
-Speaking of, not the Council, not the state, not the Board of Education, NOONE oversees MCPS. They do what they want, when they want, to whoever they want
-How much violence (guns, assault, secual assault) has occurred in our schools? Do you honestly believe your child is safe there? A security guard got beat up at BCC by a student. At Magruder a student shot another student.

MCPS used to be a great school system, but no longer. This is what is keeping businesses from coming to MoCo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The schools are amazing? Really?

-Test scores in the basement
-ES 3rd graders cannot read
-HS - no mid terms or final exams, you can write your name on an assignment and get 50% credit, and no one is allowed to fail - they just get passed along
-Teacher shortage - teachers are disparaged by parents and students and want nothing do with our county. Why? In part because we are spending tons on central office staff rather than teachers and mental health professionals. Central Office staff put more administrative mandates on teachers that take them away from actually teaching. In part because we have no consequences for students behaving badly and they know it.
-The buildings are a disaster, many are either falling apart or over crowded
-Our own Board of Education rubber stamps everything the MCPS staff tells them to (they have completely forgotten that their job is OVERSIGHT)
-Speaking of, not the Council, not the state, not the Board of Education, NOONE oversees MCPS. They do what they want, when they want, to whoever they want
-How much violence (guns, assault, secual assault) has occurred in our schools? Do you honestly believe your child is safe there? A security guard got beat up at BCC by a student. At Magruder a student shot another student.

MCPS used to be a great school system, but no longer. This is what is keeping businesses from coming to MoCo

Test scores are top nationwide
3rd graders can read
Colleges don’t have mid terms or finals either, most gave final reports or papers or projects, I fjj in by see any recent graduates struggling in college.
Teachers are leaving because they don’t want to die of COVID
Building are not worse than 70/80/90 so no not down hill
Put up better candidates … try that
Way less violence than 70/89/90 .. the uptick is from pandemic not policies. Do you even know how many fights/stabbing/drugs there were in the 79/80/90?


The sky is not falling you wacko!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i one week they proposed a bill, renamed Montrose Parkway and put up the signs. for 15 months we have requested a new street sign that was stolen in our area and nothing has happened.

They are all about the spotlight. Hucker tweeted yesterday about the explosion in SS that he and his team were on their way there to check things out and will report back, glad they were able to take charge of the situation.

In the modern lingo we can call it “performative governance”.

I honestly believe that the county would be better off if we had a moratorium on passing any new laws, plans or anything else except a continuation of the same budget (making sure it’s balanced) for a couple years.

Renaming the street was a good move, but Casey Anderson's draft general plan is still racist.

Sure, but it’s a complete distraction when poverty and crime are rising, the school system is imploding and streets and sidewalks are not being maintained. They should prioritize focusing on these core competencies of municipal government before even thinking about a photo op to rename a street.

It’s hard to take anyone serious when they say crime is rising and schools are imploding and well crime everywhere is rising due to a f’ing pandemic and our school are amazing and way better than the 70’s/80’s/90’s.

You sound like you live in an altered reality,

Ficker was your candidate.

Come on man!

Stop making a fool out of yourself about topics you are ignorant.

You admit crime is rising. Murders have doubled. Is your point that you don’t think it’s appropriate to mention it because it has variously increased in other places? Why hasn’t crime increased in Fairfax? Do you see how stupid you sound?

MCPS is a school system that is struggling. Most people will point to rapidly rising FARMS rates and child poverty as the proximate cause. Poolesville, which gets frequently ranked as the top HS in the county has a building that is falling apart and parents have literally been begging the county for a new building for over a decades. MCPS has been falling down national rankings year after year and by all objective metrics it’s no longer the top school district in the state, that honor now belongs to Howard County. Furthermore, every candidate challenging for county council is saying that the quality of education at MCPS is an issue. But apparently you know different? Can you share with us your secret data that no one else seems to have that instead makes MCPS a top school system?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The schools are amazing? Really?

-Test scores in the basement
-ES 3rd graders cannot read
-HS - no mid terms or final exams, you can write your name on an assignment and get 50% credit, and no one is allowed to fail - they just get passed along
-Teacher shortage - teachers are disparaged by parents and students and want nothing do with our county. Why? In part because we are spending tons on central office staff rather than teachers and mental health professionals. Central Office staff put more administrative mandates on teachers that take them away from actually teaching. In part because we have no consequences for students behaving badly and they know it.
-The buildings are a disaster, many are either falling apart or over crowded
-Our own Board of Education rubber stamps everything the MCPS staff tells them to (they have completely forgotten that their job is OVERSIGHT)
-Speaking of, not the Council, not the state, not the Board of Education, NOONE oversees MCPS. They do what they want, when they want, to whoever they want
-How much violence (guns, assault, secual assault) has occurred in our schools? Do you honestly believe your child is safe there? A security guard got beat up at BCC by a student. At Magruder a student shot another student.

MCPS used to be a great school system, but no longer. This is what is keeping businesses from coming to MoCo

As someone who went through MCPS, it was never a great school system and many kids couldn't read way back when either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i one week they proposed a bill, renamed Montrose Parkway and put up the signs. for 15 months we have requested a new street sign that was stolen in our area and nothing has happened.

They are all about the spotlight. Hucker tweeted yesterday about the explosion in SS that he and his team were on their way there to check things out and will report back, glad they were able to take charge of the situation.

In the modern lingo we can call it “performative governance”.

I honestly believe that the county would be better off if we had a moratorium on passing any new laws, plans or anything else except a continuation of the same budget (making sure it’s balanced) for a couple years.

Renaming the street was a good move, but Casey Anderson's draft general plan is still racist.

Sure, but it’s a complete distraction when poverty and crime are rising, the school system is imploding and streets and sidewalks are not being maintained. They should prioritize focusing on these core competencies of municipal government before even thinking about a photo op to rename a street.

It’s hard to take anyone serious when they say crime is rising and schools are imploding and well crime everywhere is rising due to a f’ing pandemic and our school are amazing and way better than the 70’s/80’s/90’s.

You sound like you live in an altered reality,

Ficker was your candidate.

Come on man!

Stop making a fool out of yourself about topics you are ignorant.

You admit crime is rising. Murders have doubled. Is your point that you don’t think it’s appropriate to mention it because it has variously increased in other places? Why hasn’t crime increased in Fairfax? Do you see how stupid you sound?

MCPS is a school system that is struggling. Most people will point to rapidly rising FARMS rates and child poverty as the proximate cause. Poolesville, which gets frequently ranked as the top HS in the county has a building that is falling apart and parents have literally been begging the county for a new building for over a decades. MCPS has been falling down national rankings year after year and by all objective metrics it’s no longer the top school district in the state, that honor now belongs to Howard County. Furthermore, every candidate challenging for county council is saying that the quality of education at MCPS is an issue. But apparently you know different? Can you share with us your secret data that no one else seems to have that instead makes MCPS a top school system?

Its appalling that they got tons of covid money and didn't use it on school repairs. They had an entire year to get these schools fixed while the students were out of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i one week they proposed a bill, renamed Montrose Parkway and put up the signs. for 15 months we have requested a new street sign that was stolen in our area and nothing has happened.

They are all about the spotlight. Hucker tweeted yesterday about the explosion in SS that he and his team were on their way there to check things out and will report back, glad they were able to take charge of the situation.

In the modern lingo we can call it “performative governance”.

I honestly believe that the county would be better off if we had a moratorium on passing any new laws, plans or anything else except a continuation of the same budget (making sure it’s balanced) for a couple years.

Renaming the street was a good move, but Casey Anderson's draft general plan is still racist.

Sure, but it’s a complete distraction when poverty and crime are rising, the school system is imploding and streets and sidewalks are not being maintained. They should prioritize focusing on these core competencies of municipal government before even thinking about a photo op to rename a street.

It’s hard to take anyone serious when they say crime is rising and schools are imploding and well crime everywhere is rising due to a f’ing pandemic and our school are amazing and way better than the 70’s/80’s/90’s.

You sound like you live in an altered reality,

Ficker was your candidate.

Come on man!

I hope you aren’t someone who preaches racial equity — the people getting murdered are all black and brown. A 17 year old was murdered Friday night. Why is that ok with you? Which lives matter again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i one week they proposed a bill, renamed Montrose Parkway and put up the signs. for 15 months we have requested a new street sign that was stolen in our area and nothing has happened.

They are all about the spotlight. Hucker tweeted yesterday about the explosion in SS that he and his team were on their way there to check things out and will report back, glad they were able to take charge of the situation.

In the modern lingo we can call it “performative governance”.

I honestly believe that the county would be better off if we had a moratorium on passing any new laws, plans or anything else except a continuation of the same budget (making sure it’s balanced) for a couple years.

Renaming the street was a good move, but Casey Anderson's draft general plan is still racist.

Sure, but it’s a complete distraction when poverty and crime are rising, the school system is imploding and streets and sidewalks are not being maintained. They should prioritize focusing on these core competencies of municipal government before even thinking about a photo op to rename a street.

It’s hard to take anyone serious when they say crime is rising and schools are imploding and well crime everywhere is rising due to a f’ing pandemic and our school are amazing and way better than the 70’s/80’s/90’s.

You sound like you live in an altered reality,

Ficker was your candidate.

Come on man!

Stop making a fool out of yourself about topics you are ignorant.

You admit crime is rising. Murders have doubled. Is your point that you don’t think it’s appropriate to mention it because it has variously increased in other places? Why hasn’t crime increased in Fairfax? Do you see how stupid you sound?

MCPS is a school system that is struggling. Most people will point to rapidly rising FARMS rates and child poverty as the proximate cause. Poolesville, which gets frequently ranked as the top HS in the county has a building that is falling apart and parents have literally been begging the county for a new building for over a decades. MCPS has been falling down national rankings year after year and by all objective metrics it’s no longer the top school district in the state, that honor now belongs to Howard County. Furthermore, every candidate challenging for county council is saying that the quality of education at MCPS is an issue. But apparently you know different? Can you share with us your secret data that no one else seems to have that instead makes MCPS a top school system?

Its appalling that they got tons of covid money and didn't use it on school repairs. They had an entire year to get these schools fixed while the students were out of them.

What did they spend the money on?

[Anonymous]

MoCo problem - desire to create a utopia, especially for POC by testing out any government solution that can be invented on academic campuses. If they would only focus on things like high quality education, good infrastructure, libraries, etc. like a normal local government, it would benefit EVERYONE. Becoming a magnet for illegal immigration did us no favors either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i one week they proposed a bill, renamed Montrose Parkway and put up the signs. for 15 months we have requested a new street sign that was stolen in our area and nothing has happened.

They are all about the spotlight. Hucker tweeted yesterday about the explosion in SS that he and his team were on their way there to check things out and will report back, glad they were able to take charge of the situation.

In the modern lingo we can call it “performative governance”.

I honestly believe that the county would be better off if we had a moratorium on passing any new laws, plans or anything else except a continuation of the same budget (making sure it’s balanced) for a couple years.

Renaming the street was a good move, but Casey Anderson's draft general plan is still racist.

Sure, but it’s a complete distraction when poverty and crime are rising, the school system is imploding and streets and sidewalks are not being maintained. They should prioritize focusing on these core competencies of municipal government before even thinking about a photo op to rename a street.

It’s hard to take anyone serious when they say crime is rising and schools are imploding and well crime everywhere is rising due to a f’ing pandemic and our school are amazing and way better than the 70’s/80’s/90’s.

You sound like you live in an altered reality,

Ficker was your candidate.

Come on man!

I hope you aren’t someone who preaches racial equity — the people getting murdered are all black and brown. A 17 year old was murdered Friday night. Why is that ok with you? Which lives matter again?

It’s still not “going down hill” how many were murdered in the 70’s/80’s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i one week they proposed a bill, renamed Montrose Parkway and put up the signs. for 15 months we have requested a new street sign that was stolen in our area and nothing has happened.

They are all about the spotlight. Hucker tweeted yesterday about the explosion in SS that he and his team were on their way there to check things out and will report back, glad they were able to take charge of the situation.

In the modern lingo we can call it “performative governance”.

I honestly believe that the county would be better off if we had a moratorium on passing any new laws, plans or anything else except a continuation of the same budget (making sure it’s balanced) for a couple years.

Renaming the street was a good move, but Casey Anderson's draft general plan is still racist.

Sure, but it’s a complete distraction when poverty and crime are rising, the school system is imploding and streets and sidewalks are not being maintained. They should prioritize focusing on these core competencies of municipal government before even thinking about a photo op to rename a street.

It’s hard to take anyone serious when they say crime is rising and schools are imploding and well crime everywhere is rising due to a f’ing pandemic and our school are amazing and way better than the 70’s/80’s/90’s.

You sound like you live in an altered reality,

Ficker was your candidate.

Come on man!

I hope you aren’t someone who preaches racial equity — the people getting murdered are all black and brown. A 17 year old was murdered Friday night. Why is that ok with you? Which lives matter again?

It’s still not “going down hill” how many were murdered in the 70’s/80’s?

The peak was 94 when 34 people were murdered. Last year there were 32. There have been 8 homicides in the first 2 months of this year. If that rate keeps up, it will be close to 50 before 2022 is over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is something really wrong with politics in MOCO. After living here for 10 years I think it’s a mixture of:

Aging demographic preoccupied with naval gazing and focused on needs of older residents

Democratic majority that isn’t responsive to electorate as they don’t really fear being voted out from the center or right

Lots NIMBYism when it comes to development

Lots of families over extended on expensive housing looking to get a decent school for their kids. Bitterly opposing any change.

The hypocrisy of wealthy liberals who support progressive causes but won’t give up any of their privileges.


As a result:

Net jobs losses

Politics over constructive problem solving

Kids come last in any conversation - schools, masking etc

Suppression of real political debate

No actual progress on equity issues

Money down the drain on purple line- costs spiral due to selfish Chevy Chase residents


Eventually all the old rich white folks will die off or move to Florida- until then it’s gonna suck.

Agree, OP. Loved living in Silver Spring for most of the last 20 years but the state of the county has spiraled. I look at northern VA and the business development and job growth - if only we had that in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

As someone who watches a fair number of Council sessions - echo chamber is the right answer. Really, everyone should be forced to watch a few sessions before voting. 75% of the time they are just restating what everyone else has already said, and then patting themselves and each other on the backs.

I'm actually a progressive myself and agree with a lot of what we do, but if I'm honest I can admit that the lack of diversity of thought on the Council is probably a negative. Not having one or two voices presenting a counter opinion or even challenge the Council members to defend their positions results in the Council members being very insulated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone who watches a fair number of Council sessions - echo chamber is the right answer. Really, everyone should be forced to watch a few sessions before voting. 75% of the time they are just restating what everyone else has already said, and then patting themselves and each other on the backs.

I'm actually a progressive myself and agree with a lot of what we do, but if I'm honest I can admit that the lack of diversity of thought on the Council is probably a negative. Not having one or two voices presenting a counter opinion or even challenge the Council members to defend their positions results in the Council members being very insulated

Hit submit too soon!

I have seen sessions where the attorneys will tell the Council that some action is illegal or highly suspect, and none of the Council members care. I mean, no one even bothers to debate it. I saw a session a few weeks ago where one Council member casually suggested just adding more money to a certain fund to cover the uncertain increase in costs of a proposed action. Several other Council members all enthusiastically agreed. Only one said "hold up - where are we going to get this money from?" No one had an answer and no one seemed concerned about that or inclined to seek further information. Even the member who raised it didn't seem particularly stressed. They will frequently.comment that they wish they had more information, but then go ahead and vote for something anyway. There is lots of discussions regarding equity (which are good) and surprisingly few discussions regarding finances (which concerns me). Bills are often rushed through the process and, IMO, the Council is regularly dismissive of concerns and questions raised by the executive branch employees who would have to administer the laws. Not the political people, but the "boots on the ground" employees who actually know how the trains run. I would think those viewpoints should carry some real weight (balanced with the knowledge that people are often resistant to change), but again, it's not even discussed. Just ignored.

I think that's the crux of it. The absence of real, meaningful debate that forces everyone to take a second look, rethink, amend if necessary, and just generally create more effective legislation.

Really, I encourage everyone to eat h a few Council sessions. It is unquestionably the best research you can do as far as determining who to support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i one week they proposed a bill, renamed Montrose Parkway and put up the signs. for 15 months we have requested a new street sign that was stolen in our area and nothing has happened.

They are all about the spotlight. Hucker tweeted yesterday about the explosion in SS that he and his team were on their way there to check things out and will report back, glad they were able to take charge of the situation.

In the modern lingo we can call it “performative governance”.

I honestly believe that the county would be better off if we had a moratorium on passing any new laws, plans or anything else except a continuation of the same budget (making sure it’s balanced) for a couple years.

Renaming the street was a good move, but Casey Anderson's draft general plan is still racist.

Sure, but it’s a complete distraction when poverty and crime are rising, the school system is imploding and streets and sidewalks are not being maintained. They should prioritize focusing on these core competencies of municipal government before even thinking about a photo op to rename a street.

It’s hard to take anyone serious when they say crime is rising and schools are imploding and well crime everywhere is rising due to a f’ing pandemic and our school are amazing and way better than the 70’s/80’s/90’s.

You sound like you live in an altered reality,

Ficker was your candidate.

Come on man!

I hope you aren’t someone who preaches racial equity — the people getting murdered are all black and brown. A 17 year old was murdered Friday night. Why is that ok with you? Which lives matter again?

It’s still not “going down hill” how many were murdered in the 70’s/80’s?

The peak was 94 when 34 people were murdered. Last year there were 32. There have been 8 homicides in the first 2 months of this year. If that rate keeps up, it will be close to 50 before 2022 is over.

Just a couple years ago we had 17! People sticking their fingers in their ears and trying to pretend that the situation this is not a bad trend that needs to get snuffed out immediately have something wrong with them.