Petition to Reconfigure MoCo Districts

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/politics/elrich-squeezes-out-win-in-democratic-primary-for-county-executive/

Think pp meant Elrich won narrowly in primary which if discussion is on progressive to moderate Democrat - more applicable especially in a county that is primarily democrat

He won by 80 votes in a crowded democratic primary.

Yes, he won by 80 votes in a crowded Democratic primary - and then he got 65% in a crowded general election, against a long-time Democratic politician.

...who was not running as a Democrat.

You need to read up on the history and fate of third party candidates in general elections.

Correct. After decades holding public elective office as a Democrat, she changed her party registration to independent a few months before the general election, in order to run against Elrich.

Are you saying that Montgomery County voters didn't know she was a Democrat? Or that she didn't run as a Democrat, aside from the (I) after her name on the ballot?

The experiences of Victoria Woodhull, Lyndon LaRouche, and Ralph Nader really are not relevant to the Elrich vs. Floreen county executive race in Montgomery County in 2018.

The die was cast in the primary. Floreen could be beloved by all, but she still was never going to be a threat to win as a third party candidate in the general election.

She didn't run in the primary. Plus if she had been beloved by all, she would have won.

I didn’t say she ran in the primary. The progressive-moderate near-tie in the primary is what is relevant to the discussion on this thread.

The progressive-moderate nowhere-near-tie in the general election is also relevant.

To the extent that Elrich actually even is a progressive, of course. In many ways, he's not.

Elrich is a progressive by most standards. He's definitely left wing on economics... taxes, labor issues, and generally critical of capitalism. Where he is arguably not progressive is on housing, which is a thing that really divides the left. It's interesting, because the far left and the far right align on anti-development issues. The right wants to protect property values and rich white neighborhoods from change. The far left, some of it anyways, sees development as shilling for corporate landlords. Elrich interestingly has support from right-wing NIMBYs and left-wing tree huggers and anti-capitalists.

A lot of the left and center-left is pro housing density, but the far left often opposes housing when it's left to the markets.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I can see why people in upcounty would feel underserved, if all the at-large members are not from there. I wonder how often Elrich (yes, I know he's CoExec) even gets to Germantown and Damascus and Clarksburg.

I'm signing the petition. All that does it put it on the ballot for voters to decide. Let's see what they think.

I agree. Over time, the progressive Takoma Park and SS politicians have really taken over the county council and Clarksburg especially has not had a voice in local politics.

Let the voters decide.

The current system IS letting the voters decide. IF someone from Clarksburg wants to run, and can secure enough votes, they can also be an at-large representative.

Yeah, that's Clarksburg's problem, politically. At full build-out (which there isn't), Clarksburg was only supposed to have 43,000 people. Montgomery County currently has a population of over 1 million. If it's true that downcounty people have more of a voice, then that's because there are a lot more downcounty people than Clarksburg people. I think it's easy to forget this, if you live in Clarksburg.

I mean, the City of Takoma Park is only 18,000. So this isn't really a numbers game - it is a matter of viable candidates who want the job, and making a case that your priorities align with the priorities of voters who may not live in your enclave.

I think the exact population of Takoma Park is a little misleading because of the density around it. I live in Silver Spring technically, but Takoma Park is a couple blocks away; for virtually all purposes, however, my priorities are the same as if I lived on the other side of Piney Branch. Obviously there are people in the same situation vis-a-vis Clarksburg, but fewer because it's less dense.

[Anonymous]

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I think the exact population of Takoma Park is a little misleading because of the density around it. I live in Silver Spring technically, but Takoma Park is a couple blocks away; for virtually all purposes, however, my priorities are the same as if I lived on the other side of Piney Branch. Obviously there are people in the same situation vis-a-vis Clarksburg, but fewer because it's less dense.

Not really, because Clarksburg isn't an incorporated municipality with set borders.

Also, when people say they live in Silver Spring, that doesn't really tell you much. They could be living anywhere from Rosemary Hills to Leisure World to almost Burtonsville to Long Branch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Elrich is a progressive by most standards. He's definitely left wing on economics... taxes, labor issues, and generally critical of capitalism. Where he is arguably not progressive is on housing, which is a thing that really divides the left. It's interesting, because the far left and the far right align on anti-development issues. The right wants to protect property values and rich white neighborhoods from change. The far left, some of it anyways, sees development as shilling for corporate landlords. Elrich interestingly has support from right-wing NIMBYs and left-wing tree huggers and anti-capitalists.

A lot of the left and center-left is pro housing density, but the far left often opposes housing when it's left to the markets.

Aka right-wing NIMBYs and left-wing NIMBYs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Dems in MoCo are so conservative they’re practically republican anyway, so what difference does it make? The only part of the county with any REAL progressivism is TP and some parts of Silver Spring.

Other than that, the rest are just Rotary Club republicans LARPING as Dems.

Moderate Democrat here. This voter finds the TP/SS activists to be completely out of touch with reality. Many are simply folks who can't get real jobs. MoCo is heading in the wrong direction, which is why I increasingly am voting Republican at the state level.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The Dems in MoCo are so conservative they’re practically republican anyway, so what difference does it make? The only part of the county with any REAL progressivism is TP and some parts of Silver Spring.

Other than that, the rest are just Rotary Club republicans LARPING as Dems.

Moderate Democrat here. This voter finds the TP/SS activists to be completely out of touch with reality. Many are simply folks who can't get real jobs. MoCo is heading in the wrong direction, which is why I increasingly am voting Republican at the state level.

Regardless of who you mean by "the TP/SS activitists" and what you mean by "real jobs", the fact is that this is a county-level proposal unrelated to state-level elections.

[Anonymous]

^^^activists, sorry

[Anonymous]

Why not do something akin to the DC Council, with two seats reserved for non-Democrats?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not do something akin to the DC Council, with two seats reserved for non-Democrats?

Why? Do Republicans need affirmative action?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not do something akin to the DC Council, with two seats reserved for non-Democrats?

Why? Do Republicans need affirmative action?

[Anonymous]

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Most people DID vote for him because of the D. That’s the way it is in general elections. Again, not a valid argument about Floreen.

Repeating this statement doesn't make it more true.

I'm a NP, and third party candidates in general elections have no relevance to anything in this discussion. They're not indicative of other political trends, because of the political apathy and tendency to vote based on party affiliation of a huge number of voters.

You are, very vehemently, making a silly point.

Who said anything about political trends?

The point is that Elrich is county executive because a substantial majority of county voters voted for him, in 2018. Not because he had a D after his name, but because they preferred him to the alternatives (another Democrat, and a crank, respectively).

As the PP said, there were plenty of voters who voted for Hogan and Elrich.

Unless you did a survey of voters to see why the voted for Elrich over Floreen in the general, its all just speculation. You probably have some percentage who actually preferred Elrich, some who had no idea about either candidate and just voted for the one with the D by their name, some who thought Elrich had a better chance of winning and didn't want to split the vote such that Ficker might win, etc. I will admit though I was surpised by the margin of Elrich's victory though.