How bad is MoCo council and why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are they bad? It is stuffed with incompetent, preening idiots who are all focused on promoting national political left-wing causes instead of performing the boring task of running a competent and effective local government.

Here is a test: ever hear one of these people mention emergency response times? If they ever did, they would probably try to politicize it somehow like they did for snow removal.

All this. We could have a historic flood or hurricane or something and the first priority would be about equity or some nonsense.

We need more people who want the trains to run on time, and they can certainly fit in their social justice narratives to while doing it. They unfortunetely only focus on the latter.

Exactly! I think that because we are so close to DC, our “local” politicians and even the local government departments are all about posturing, as in trying to introduce some cool new program to be “first in the nation.” On the other hand, Montgomery 311 is a great service!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some council members have clear agendas, like Jawando (anti-police).

Also a lot of them don't look at the big picture. They're took quick to dole out money without seeing if that will be effective. Very often, the county ends up duplicating the very same programs we have at the state or federal level, for no reason, like small business loans, earned income credit, and so on.

Then they'll stray off into areas way outside their remit, like issuing declarations in support of people in X country, when inter-country relations are the responsibility of the US State department.

The only 2 decent councilmembers are Friedman and Katz. Friedman used to do budget so he asked the right questions about that, while Katz used to be a business owner so he comes at it from that perspective.

However, all too often the council ends up with a unanimous vote on a bill.. it makes them come off as a bunch of yes-people.

Yes! Katz was the only one who told the truth about Thrive. (This was before Friedson was on the Council, I think).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whoops. My reply was in the body of the post above me.

Meant to type:

Dead on correct. You would have thought that reopening Newell Street was the biggest issue facing the council. It was a few loud people on twitter who wanted to congregate in Acorn Park. The actual residents (working people who dont tweet all day) actually wanted it reopened.

Or the amount of pixels yelling about Drag Queen story hour.

You can be all for LGBTQ rights, and still think this was getting more attention than say falling test scores in MCPS, or the sky rocketing crime rate.

Exactly. How can they even have staff resources dedicated to Drag Queen Story Hour when our schools and roads are falling apart, and school properties are not ADA compliant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am looking forward to Marilyn Balcombe and Dawn Luedtke as a couple of new rational voices. I may not always agree with them, but they are rational and have real leadership abilities. I am hopeful about Laurie Anne Sayles for the same reasons, although I know less about her.

Kristin Mink strikes me as a loose cannon. I hope I'm wrong.

I know nothing about Kate Stewart or Natali Fani Gonzalez.

All in all, though, the new group of women seem to have much better leadership skills than any of the men currently on Council. They are weak, at best, and generally just go whichever way twitter bullies tell them.

Mink and Stewart are extremely weak on crime and I expect crime in the county to explode if they have their way. Terrible leadership skills.

How do you know they are weak on crime?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am looking forward to Marilyn Balcombe and Dawn Luedtke as a couple of new rational voices. I may not always agree with them, but they are rational and have real leadership abilities. I am hopeful about Laurie Anne Sayles for the same reasons, although I know less about her.

Kristin Mink strikes me as a loose cannon. I hope I'm wrong.

I know nothing about Kate Stewart or Natali Fani Gonzalez.

All in all, though, the new group of women seem to have much better leadership skills than any of the men currently on Council. They are weak, at best, and generally just go whichever way twitter bullies tell them.

Mink and Stewart are extremely weak on crime and I expect crime in the county to explode if they have their way. Terrible leadership skills.

How do you know they are weak on crime?

I’m a DP.

Kate Stewart’s time as mayor of Takoma Park doesn’t give me a lot of confidence. Her “public safety” page on her campaign site shows she campaigned on a promise to make officers (and their cars) less intimidating. That’s not language that would come from somebody who can take on rising crime in this county. As for Mink, her site shows she wants police only to respond to violent crime, keeping them away from less serious calls for service. Her page demonstrates a remarkably naive view of policing which assumes officers are the problem, not the people committing crimes.

I suspect they’ll both fit in quite well with the existing members, unfortunately. Crime will rise because Montgomery County will appear (and will actually be) weak. For opportunist criminals, a county with a diminished police department and soft penalties looks quite attractive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am looking forward to Marilyn Balcombe and Dawn Luedtke as a couple of new rational voices. I may not always agree with them, but they are rational and have real leadership abilities. I am hopeful about Laurie Anne Sayles for the same reasons, although I know less about her.

Kristin Mink strikes me as a loose cannon. I hope I'm wrong.

I know nothing about Kate Stewart or Natali Fani Gonzalez.

All in all, though, the new group of women seem to have much better leadership skills than any of the men currently on Council. They are weak, at best, and generally just go whichever way twitter bullies tell them.

Mink and Stewart are extremely weak on crime and I expect crime in the county to explode if they have their way. Terrible leadership skills.

How do you know they are weak on crime?

I’m a DP.

Kate Stewart’s time as mayor of Takoma Park doesn’t give me a lot of confidence. Her “public safety” page on her campaign site shows she campaigned on a promise to make officers (and their cars) less intimidating. That’s not language that would come from somebody who can take on rising crime in this county. As for Mink, her site shows she wants police only to respond to violent crime, keeping them away from less serious calls for service. Her page demonstrates a remarkably naive view of policing which assumes officers are the problem, not the people committing crimes.

I suspect they’ll both fit in quite well with the existing members, unfortunately. Crime will rise because Montgomery County will appear (and will actually be) weak. For opportunist criminals, a county with a diminished police department and soft penalties looks quite attractive.

Yes. Anti-police = more crime. Instead, they should see police as their government employees who provide a valuable service, and work WITH them to improve policing. They should also listen to subject matter experts, like the POLICE CHIEF, when crafting improved police policy. To not do so is to view the Police as enemies. They consider activists to be experts when activists have zero policing knowledge and do NOT represent the residents at large. They are just using their privilege to be louder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoops. My reply was in the body of the post above me.

Meant to type:

Dead on correct. You would have thought that reopening Newell Street was the biggest issue facing the council. It was a few loud people on twitter who wanted to congregate in Acorn Park. The actual residents (working people who dont tweet all day) actually wanted it reopened.

Or the amount of pixels yelling about Drag Queen story hour.

You can be all for LGBTQ rights, and still think this was getting more attention than say falling test scores in MCPS, or the sky rocketing crime rate.

Exactly. How can they even have staff resources dedicated to Drag Queen Story Hour when our schools and roads are falling apart, and school properties are not ADA compliant?

Picking and choosing, clearly.

[Anonymous]

How bad?

They just voted to ban guns in public places. That will show the criminals!!

https://mocoshow.com/blog/council-enacts-legislation-prohibiting-guns-in-areas-of-public-assembly-in-montgomery-county/?fbclid=IwAR10ovXNaRdSb5FEHitIiG7ssvA5NYVxhVIjUcZw6OafPCX0tXP8UAZ4m98

The council likes feel good, pat themselves on the back measures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am looking forward to Marilyn Balcombe and Dawn Luedtke as a couple of new rational voices. I may not always agree with them, but they are rational and have real leadership abilities. I am hopeful about Laurie Anne Sayles for the same reasons, although I know less about her.

Kristin Mink strikes me as a loose cannon. I hope I'm wrong.

I know nothing about Kate Stewart or Natali Fani Gonzalez.

All in all, though, the new group of women seem to have much better leadership skills than any of the men currently on Council. They are weak, at best, and generally just go whichever way twitter bullies tell them.

Mink and Stewart are extremely weak on crime and I expect crime in the county to explode if they have their way. Terrible leadership skills.

How do you know they are weak on crime?

I’m a DP.

Kate Stewart’s time as mayor of Takoma Park doesn’t give me a lot of confidence. Her “public safety” page on her campaign site shows she campaigned on a promise to make officers (and their cars) less intimidating. That’s not language that would come from somebody who can take on rising crime in this county. As for Mink, her site shows she wants police only to respond to violent crime, keeping them away from less serious calls for service. Her page demonstrates a remarkably naive view of policing which assumes officers are the problem, not the people committing crimes.

I suspect they’ll both fit in quite well with the existing members, unfortunately. Crime will rise because Montgomery County will appear (and will actually be) weak. For opportunist criminals, a county with a diminished police department and soft penalties looks quite attractive.

Police would only respond to violent crime? What is going to stop property crimes like theft, vandalism, etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am looking forward to Marilyn Balcombe and Dawn Luedtke as a couple of new rational voices. I may not always agree with them, but they are rational and have real leadership abilities. I am hopeful about Laurie Anne Sayles for the same reasons, although I know less about her.

Kristin Mink strikes me as a loose cannon. I hope I'm wrong.

I know nothing about Kate Stewart or Natali Fani Gonzalez.

All in all, though, the new group of women seem to have much better leadership skills than any of the men currently on Council. They are weak, at best, and generally just go whichever way twitter bullies tell them.

Mink and Stewart are extremely weak on crime and I expect crime in the county to explode if they have their way. Terrible leadership skills.

How do you know they are weak on crime?

I’m a DP.

Kate Stewart’s time as mayor of Takoma Park doesn’t give me a lot of confidence. Her “public safety” page on her campaign site shows she campaigned on a promise to make officers (and their cars) less intimidating. That’s not language that would come from somebody who can take on rising crime in this county. As for Mink, her site shows she wants police only to respond to violent crime, keeping them away from less serious calls for service. Her page demonstrates a remarkably naive view of policing which assumes officers are the problem, not the people committing crimes.

I suspect they’ll both fit in quite well with the existing members, unfortunately. Crime will rise because Montgomery County will appear (and will actually be) weak. For opportunist criminals, a county with a diminished police department and soft penalties looks quite attractive.

Police would only respond to violent crime? What is going to stop property crimes like theft, vandalism, etc?

I’d also like to know how calls would be triaged. I suspect it’s hard to tell what type of call is going to end in violence. What if you send a social worker to a domestic situation that escalates quickly?

There are no public safety experts on this council.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How bad?

They just voted to ban guns in public places. That will show the criminals!!

https://mocoshow.com/blog/council-enacts-legislation-prohibiting-guns-in-areas-of-public-assembly-in-montgomery-county/?fbclid=IwAR10ovXNaRdSb5FEHitIiG7ssvA5NYVxhVIjUcZw6OafPCX0tXP8UAZ4m98

The council likes feel good, pat themselves on the back measures.

So, while I don't agree this will do much, since the Supreme Court has said NY's requirements for concealed carry are too strict (and therefore so are ours), we will have more people carrying legally. But just because they are carrying legally doesn't mean they are emotionally stable enough to not shoot during arguments, altercations, mistakenly trying to be the hero, etc.

Funny enough, rumor has it Elrich has a concealed carry permit. I wonder if this will stop him (if he is already doing so) from bringing it to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am looking forward to Marilyn Balcombe and Dawn Luedtke as a couple of new rational voices. I may not always agree with them, but they are rational and have real leadership abilities. I am hopeful about Laurie Anne Sayles for the same reasons, although I know less about her.

Kristin Mink strikes me as a loose cannon. I hope I'm wrong.

I know nothing about Kate Stewart or Natali Fani Gonzalez.

All in all, though, the new group of women seem to have much better leadership skills than any of the men currently on Council. They are weak, at best, and generally just go whichever way twitter bullies tell them.

Mink and Stewart are extremely weak on crime and I expect crime in the county to explode if they have their way. Terrible leadership skills.

How do you know they are weak on crime?

I’m a DP.

Kate Stewart’s time as mayor of Takoma Park doesn’t give me a lot of confidence. Her “public safety” page on her campaign site shows she campaigned on a promise to make officers (and their cars) less intimidating. That’s not language that would come from somebody who can take on rising crime in this county. As for Mink, her site shows she wants police only to respond to violent crime, keeping them away from less serious calls for service. Her page demonstrates a remarkably naive view of policing which assumes officers are the problem, not the people committing crimes.

I suspect they’ll both fit in quite well with the existing members, unfortunately. Crime will rise because Montgomery County will appear (and will actually be) weak. For opportunist criminals, a county with a diminished police department and soft penalties looks quite attractive.

Police would only respond to violent crime? What is going to stop property crimes like theft, vandalism, etc?

I’d also like to know how calls would be triaged. I suspect it’s hard to tell what type of call is going to end in violence. What if you send a social worker to a domestic situation that escalates quickly?

There are no public safety experts on this council.

What politicians don't understand, or refuse to admit, police go after smaller crimes like marijuana possession, because that is an easy way to get illegal guns off the streets (and therefore prevent, rather than respond to violent crime).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How bad?

They just voted to ban guns in public places. That will show the criminals!!

https://mocoshow.com/blog/council-enacts-legislation-prohibiting-guns-in-areas-of-public-assembly-in-montgomery-county/?fbclid=IwAR10ovXNaRdSb5FEHitIiG7ssvA5NYVxhVIjUcZw6OafPCX0tXP8UAZ4m98

The council likes feel good, pat themselves on the back measures.

So, while I don't agree this will do much, since the Supreme Court has said NY's requirements for concealed carry are too strict (and therefore so are ours), we will have more people carrying legally. But just because they are carrying legally doesn't mean they are emotionally stable enough to not shoot during arguments, altercations, mistakenly trying to be the hero, etc.

Funny enough, rumor has it Elrich has a concealed carry permit. I wonder if this will stop him (if he is already doing so) from bringing it to work.

He’ll say he’s more important than you and therefore, more at risk

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How bad?

They just voted to ban guns in public places. That will show the criminals!!

https://mocoshow.com/blog/council-enacts-legislation-prohibiting-guns-in-areas-of-public-assembly-in-montgomery-county/?fbclid=IwAR10ovXNaRdSb5FEHitIiG7ssvA5NYVxhVIjUcZw6OafPCX0tXP8UAZ4m98

The council likes feel good, pat themselves on the back measures.

So, while I don't agree this will do much, since the Supreme Court has said NY's requirements for concealed carry are too strict (and therefore so are ours), we will have more people carrying legally. But just because they are carrying legally doesn't mean they are emotionally stable enough to not shoot during arguments, altercations, mistakenly trying to be the hero, etc.

Funny enough, rumor has it Elrich has a concealed carry permit. I wonder if this will stop him (if he is already doing so) from bringing it to work.

He’ll say he’s more important than you and therefore, more at risk

He is more important than me. But he also has security with him all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am looking forward to Marilyn Balcombe and Dawn Luedtke as a couple of new rational voices. I may not always agree with them, but they are rational and have real leadership abilities. I am hopeful about Laurie Anne Sayles for the same reasons, although I know less about her.

Kristin Mink strikes me as a loose cannon. I hope I'm wrong.

I know nothing about Kate Stewart or Natali Fani Gonzalez.

All in all, though, the new group of women seem to have much better leadership skills than any of the men currently on Council. They are weak, at best, and generally just go whichever way twitter bullies tell them.

Mink and Stewart are extremely weak on crime and I expect crime in the county to explode if they have their way. Terrible leadership skills.

How do you know they are weak on crime?

For a couny the size of MoCo, they should have a police force with about twice the the manpower they currently have, if you compare to other similar jurisdictions (also suburban). Which council member is calling for that?