Anonymous wrote:OP likes declining schools, increasing crime, high taxes, and anemic economic growth I guess. Par for the course for Europeans. It explains why the EU's economy barely grows.

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Anonymous wrote:I do too OP. We've even seen more police patrolling our area of MoCo, which desperately needed them, in the past couple of years. It's been a nice change not to be completely ignored by MoCo government.

One clarification:

MCPD is doing its job as best it can considering the lack of support from local government. The county council / exec are very vocal about wanting fewer police and less police contact with county residents.

If you have police presence in your neighborhood, don’t thank local government for it. Thank MCPD. They continue to work in spite of county government.

MCPD is part of county government.

Sure. If you have paid attention to the council over the past years, however, you’ll see that it’s a part of government that is not supported by the council. That’s why we are down over 150 officers and we can’t recruit enough to fill vacancies. The government that should support them (since they are a part of the government, after all) hasn’t.

Any patrols you see are working in this unsupportive environment. I took issue with the comment above about county government = increased patrols. Look no further than the Montgomery County Police Advisory Commission and the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force to see what the local government really wants for all of us. They want fewer police.

What you are saying is that the County Council is not supporting the county police as you think the county police should be supported.

That's definitely true. According to their open forum last week, it also sounds like many people agree with me. The Police Advisory Commission public forum (linked below) was initially held to get public feedback about the PAC proposal for fewer traffic stops and less enforcement of minor violations. The public responded that they actually wanted more enforcement. This is a great example of government being out of touch with what county residents want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GA4dORokYY&list=PLvk-7RcdeRpR5G5YOXbjnDE5KE1AL-nGy&index=2

As for supporting police, I think it's important for council members to treat MCPD respecfully and professionally. It seems that's too high of a bar for a couple council members.

Which council members are you referring to?

Anonymous wrote:I also am happy with the Montgomery county government. I think the only unhappy people are the people who post here who are trying to disparage the county.

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I am glad that you are living in a community which aligns to your values and you are happy.

It may surprise you to learn that so-called "hate" speech is constitutionally protected speech in the US.

Not all hate speech is constitutionally protected, and it is also possible to condemn hate speech without trying to outlaw it.

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Anonymous wrote:Surprised a German would endorse incompetence in government service delivery and overspending/high debt.

Doesn’t mention schools. They crushed any notion MoCo’s government is competent. Let’s change the curricula 3 times in 15 years, add (at the low end) 10,000 immigrants who don’t speak the language and spend the majority of building funds on Title 1 schools and Potomac schools. Also the Germans know how to attract business. Moco’s largest employer? Moco gov.

I lived in Germany for three years for the US Army. I would take ANY German Burgermeister - even one from the East - over any Moco exec save Duncan and maybe Leggets first term.

Anonymous wrote:Surprised a German would endorse incompetence in government service delivery and overspending/high debt.

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Anonymous wrote:I do too OP. We've even seen more police patrolling our area of MoCo, which desperately needed them, in the past couple of years. It's been a nice change not to be completely ignored by MoCo government.

One clarification:

MCPD is doing its job as best it can considering the lack of support from local government. The county council / exec are very vocal about wanting fewer police and less police contact with county residents.

If you have police presence in your neighborhood, don’t thank local government for it. Thank MCPD. They continue to work in spite of county government.

MCPD is part of county government.

Sure. If you have paid attention to the council over the past years, however, you’ll see that it’s a part of government that is not supported by the council. That’s why we are down over 150 officers and we can’t recruit enough to fill vacancies. The government that should support them (since they are a part of the government, after all) hasn’t.

Any patrols you see are working in this unsupportive environment. I took issue with the comment above about county government = increased patrols. Look no further than the Montgomery County Police Advisory Commission and the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force to see what the local government really wants for all of us. They want fewer police.

What you are saying is that the County Council is not supporting the county police as you think the county police should be supported.

That's definitely true. According to their open forum last week, it also sounds like many people agree with me. The Police Advisory Commission public forum (linked below) was initially held to get public feedback about the PAC proposal for fewer traffic stops and less enforcement of minor violations. The public responded that they actually wanted more enforcement. This is a great example of government being out of touch with what county residents want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GA4dORokYY&list=PLvk-7RcdeRpR5G5YOXbjnDE5KE1AL-nGy&index=2

As for supporting police, I think it's important for council members to treat MCPD respecfully and professionally. It seems that's too high of a bar for a couple council members.

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Anonymous wrote:Um ok, you being from Germany explains why you like MoCo, but some Americans don't.

I personally have a lot of criticism about the American government and the hyper-privatized nature of institutions, whereas MoCo’s system of governance gives me more of a Northern European vibe. I think most of the council and Elrich especially would align with center-left pro-labor coalitions which is very normal.

My spouse is a Brit and says the liberals here are more like the moderate conservatives in the UK. The US is more to the right politically than most of Europe. So yea, I could see why you like MoCo govt.

American liberals and Democrats are more permissive on immigration and some social issues but more to the right on economics. MoCo as a county can’t have an immigration policy but I would say it’s more socially progressive and welcoming towards immigrants than Germany. However there are some Western European immigration-related programs that I would support, even if a pilot program in MoCo. In Denmark for examples they have free government programs that teach immigrants the language and help integrate into Danish society.

Anonymous wrote:It's not the UNpopular opinion, it's the MAJORITY opinion, OP.

You should know the small but raucous opposition on DCUM claiming MoCo is trending Communist is a tiny minority...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do too OP. We've even seen more police patrolling our area of MoCo, which desperately needed them, in the past couple of years. It's been a nice change not to be completely ignored by MoCo government.

One clarification:

MCPD is doing its job as best it can considering the lack of support from local government. The county council / exec are very vocal about wanting fewer police and less police contact with county residents.

If you have police presence in your neighborhood, don’t thank local government for it. Thank MCPD. They continue to work in spite of county government.

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Anonymous wrote:I do too OP. We've even seen more police patrolling our area of MoCo, which desperately needed them, in the past couple of years. It's been a nice change not to be completely ignored by MoCo government.

One clarification:

MCPD is doing its job as best it can considering the lack of support from local government. The county council / exec are very vocal about wanting fewer police and less police contact with county residents.

If you have police presence in your neighborhood, don’t thank local government for it. Thank MCPD. They continue to work in spite of county government.

MCPD is part of county government.

Sure. If you have paid attention to the council over the past years, however, you’ll see that it’s a part of government that is not supported by the council. That’s why we are down over 150 officers and we can’t recruit enough to fill vacancies. The government that should support them (since they are a part of the government, after all) hasn’t.

Any patrols you see are working in this unsupportive environment. I took issue with the comment above about county government = increased patrols. Look no further than the Montgomery County Police Advisory Commission and the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force to see what the local government really wants for all of us. They want fewer police.

What you are saying is that the County Council is not supporting the county police as you think the county police should be supported.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do too OP. We've even seen more police patrolling our area of MoCo, which desperately needed them, in the past couple of years. It's been a nice change not to be completely ignored by MoCo government.

One clarification:

MCPD is doing its job as best it can considering the lack of support from local government. The county council / exec are very vocal about wanting fewer police and less police contact with county residents.

If you have police presence in your neighborhood, don’t thank local government for it. Thank MCPD. They continue to work in spite of county government.

MCPD is part of county government.

Sure. If you have paid attention to the council over the past years, however, you’ll see that it’s a part of government that is not supported by the council. That’s why we are down over 150 officers and we can’t recruit enough to fill vacancies. The government that should support them (since they are a part of the government, after all) hasn’t.

Any patrols you see are working in this unsupportive environment. I took issue with the comment above about county government = increased patrols. Look no further than the Montgomery County Police Advisory Commission and the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force to see what the local government really wants for all of us. They want fewer police.