Reply to Will Montgomery County ever elect a Republican?

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Reply to "Will Montgomery County ever elect a Republican?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

There are two types of politicians in the county right now.  Those who came before term limits and those who came after.  Those who came before were more likely to truly have public service at heart (whether we agree on their approaches or not).  Those who have come after often care much more about developing name recognition so they can move on to another office.   So Rice is one of the old school folks who don't feel a need to put out massive numbers of bills and resolutions and hold tons of media availability events like the newbies do.   Rice is one of the last ones around who wasn't being proactive unless there was an identified need.    He wasn't introducing bills for no reason other than getting his name out there.

But he's been a huge advocate of education in the county, and while the council can't do much in terms of MCPS due to state law, Rice has significantly aided Montgomery College in its growth and ability to stay well-resourced.  Both in terms of operating budget and capital projects.

He's acted in other areas, too, taking the lead on things like property tax credits for surviving military spouses, tax exemptions for enterprise zones, public campaign financing, tax credits for historic preservation areas, storm water management, regulating e cigarettes.    He was a lead sponsor on several other tax credit or tax exemption bills, with Floreen mostly, but those bills didn't get enough Council support and never went anywhere.

He's definitely a liberal, but he's more moderate in that he understands businesses are getting suffocated.   He is able to see the nuances of proposed policy changes, and he's able to build consensus among other decision makers.   He's not a bull in a china shop kind of leader -- like Elrich or Jawando.   For them it's my way or the highway.

He's not perfect, and he's likely too moderate for the Silver Spring/Takoma Park crowd.   But he is much more of a leader (and effective one at that) than anyone else in local politics right now.   Albornoz and Friedson are good too, but they are new and need more experience for any higher office like CE.  Give them some time. [/quote]

If you say so. Every time I have asked Councilmember Rice to do something, and he's said he'll do it, he hasn't done it.[/quote]

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