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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I do not think any of you, even with multiple threads, understand what it is at hand here.  There will be NO untouchable area once this rolls out in force, to include Tacoma Park.  You should have vote differently, there is no going back.[/quote]

Love how the developers are reveling in their having [b]bought the County Council for profit[/b] and now are teasing SFH-living moderate dems into reconsidering in the hopes they vote for Hogan, flip the senate and keep their tax breaks.[/quote]

Do you have any evidence that any council member has personally benefited financially from a developer?[/quote]

Other way around, ding-dong.

[b]Buy influence by helping councilmembers get elected a couple years back.[/b]  Get paid now with legislation that allows you to profit!

Tease the poor schlimazels that get the raw end of that deal into voting for the republican you then support for senate (they should be angry with the dem councilmembers not up for election this year, right?).  Profit more by keeping tax breaks![/quote]

[b]Do you have any evidence that developers were major contributors to any councilmembers campaign?
[/b]
And, secondary question, what motivation to these people have to run for office?  Seems to me it is either a desire to do good or a desire to benefit financially.  If they aren't benefitting financially, than they must be doing what they think is in the best interest of the community, no?[/quote]

Yes, in fact, we do: 
https://moco360.media/2022/06/29/developer-backed-super-pac-pours-big-money-into-montgomery-county-elections/[/quote]

Thank you.  So it looks like the group spent roughly 225K across 11 candidates, 7 of whom were elected. Let's generously call that a 25K in value to each elected candidate, though it wasn't a direct contribution to their individual campaigns.

In context, it appears that Andrew Friedson raised in the ballpark of 325K in that campaign.  His campaign committee raised over 1 million since it was created.
https://andrewfriedson.com/news/mayreport
https://montgomeryperspective.com/2024/01/31/fundraising-master-class-andrew-friedson/

To me, the PAC does not qualify as a major contributor that would make Friedson "captured" or "beholden" to that group.[/quote]

From that Montgomery Perspective article:

"Where does Friedson’s money come from?  Since 2017, 82% of his contributions have come from individuals and 17% have come from business entities (including corporations and PACs).  That understates his business community support as many business owners and managers contribute as individuals."

That 17% of ~$1.3M raised over 7 years would be about $222k.  That $25k imputed 2022 contribution from that one PAC [b][i]over just two-months[/i][/b] would have been over 10% of Friedson's total haul from non-individuals over [i]over seven years[/i], and they had, at that time, more money to spend left than they had spent already in the leadup to the following month's primary.  So, sure, clearly not a major contributor :roll:

Per the MoCo360 article, the group also was trying to unseat Elrich in favor of developer-friendly Blair,  and avowedly for that purpose, as Elrich suggested their aim was "offloading the cost of roads, schools and other public facilities needed to support continued growth in the county" -- exactly what we are seeing, now.

One wonders what Johanna Berkson, Friedson's campaign chair when he first ran, per the Friedson site linked, might have to say about her statement at that time:

“I am so amazed by the overwhelming enthusiasm we’ve seen for Andrew’s vision to Ease the Montgomery County Squeeze on our schools, our roads, and our families."

What a complete crock.[/quote]

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