Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:D means minority interests can hold the whole County hostage. Follow the money - it's always about following the money. Who is funding option D/who venefits from passing option D? From Seventh State:

Real estate interests have accounted for 83% of Nine District’s cash contributions. Interestingly, while Washington Property Company president Charlie Nulsen and the three county employee unions were major Nine District contributors in prior reports, they have not contributed any more since July. Nine District has collected contributions from leaders of the county’s Republican Party, which has raised money for the group on its website. The group has spent money on fees for Baltimore consultant Rowland Strategies, legal fees, robocalls and advertising (especially on Facebook).

How can one, or maybe two, moderate Republican or Democratic council members hold the county hostage over the objections of 7 other members? Seriously- how?

Because of a Ficker ammendment that passed several years ago, that taxes cannot be raised without unanimous consent from all council members. Just imagine one up County person saying, I know we need it, but I'm not going to vote yes unless you give us...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea is that every resident is represented by the majority of the Council. You get five votes, not just one. You have five out of nine people to address your concerns - not just one out of nine.

Then why don't we elect Congressmen that way, if more votes are always better?

Because it is discriminatory and would be clearly illegal if it was done on racial grounds rather than urban/suburban/rural grounds. It distorts the power of the majority beyond proportionality.

NAACPLDF At-large Voting Frequently Asked Questions
https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/At-Large-Voting-Frequently-Asked-Questions-1.pdf

We do - everyone (except DC) votes for two Senators and one Congressman.
In Montgomery County, everyone votes for five at-large Councilmembers and one district-level Councilmember. It actually used to be worse 30 years ago when there weren’t any district-level representatives at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The idea is that every resident is represented by the majority of the Council. You get five votes, not just one. You have five out of nine people to address your concerns - not just one out of nine.

Then why don't we elect Congressmen that way, if more votes are always better?

Because it is discriminatory and would be clearly illegal if it was done on racial grounds rather than urban/suburban/rural grounds. It distorts the power of the majority beyond proportionality.

NAACPLDF At-large Voting Frequently Asked Questions
https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/At-Large-Voting-Frequently-Asked-Questions-1.pdf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vote A NO
Vote B YES
Vote C NO
Vote D YES

To keep the council from raising property taxes and increasing bureaucracy?

Actually B will require the Council to lower the property tax rate in most years. Sorry if you wanted your child's school renovated, or that road project you were counting on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vote A NO
Vote B YES
Vote C NO
Vote D YES

To keep the council from raising property taxes and increasing bureaucracy?

Voting for D means millions in more staffing costs with no real benefit.

Anonymous wrote:Vote A NO
Vote B YES
Vote C NO
Vote D YES

To keep the council from raising property taxes and increasing bureaucracy?

Anonymous wrote:Vote A NO
Vote B YES
Vote C NO
Vote D YES

To keep the council from raising property taxes and increasing bureaucracy?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:D means minority interests can hold the whole County hostage. Follow the money - it's always about following the money. Who is funding option D/who venefits from passing option D? From Seventh State:

Real estate interests have accounted for 83% of Nine District’s cash contributions. Interestingly, while Washington Property Company president Charlie Nulsen and the three county employee unions were major Nine District contributors in prior reports, they have not contributed any more since July. Nine District has collected contributions from leaders of the county’s Republican Party, which has raised money for the group on its website. The group has spent money on fees for Baltimore consultant Rowland Strategies, legal fees, robocalls and advertising (especially on Facebook).

How can one, or maybe two, moderate Republican or Democratic council members hold the county hostage over the objections of 7 other members? Seriously- how?

Because of a Ficker ammendment that passed several years ago, that taxes cannot be raised without unanimous consent from all council members. Just imagine one up County person saying, I know we need it, but I'm not going to vote yes unless you give us...

Yep, and ultimately this is what Amendment D is all about. All you need is one representative to block any tax or revenue increases, which is ridiculous.

Or you could fix the stupid charter provision requiring a unanimous vote. That's already been amended once since it is as originally passed.

But thanks for the responses. Do you really think this comes down to unanimous vote requirement? If it was, say, a supermajority instead, would the downcounty Democrats fight more upcounty councilmembers less?

Speaking for myself, I would be less opposed to it. However, I prefer the idea of 7 or 9 Districts and 2 At Large seats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:D means minority interests can hold the whole County hostage. Follow the money - it's always about following the money. Who is funding option D/who venefits from passing option D? From Seventh State:

Real estate interests have accounted for 83% of Nine District’s cash contributions. Interestingly, while Washington Property Company president Charlie Nulsen and the three county employee unions were major Nine District contributors in prior reports, they have not contributed any more since July. Nine District has collected contributions from leaders of the county’s Republican Party, which has raised money for the group on its website. The group has spent money on fees for Baltimore consultant Rowland Strategies, legal fees, robocalls and advertising (especially on Facebook).

How can one, or maybe two, moderate Republican or Democratic council members hold the county hostage over the objections of 7 other members? Seriously- how?

Because of a Ficker ammendment that passed several years ago, that taxes cannot be raised without unanimous consent from all council members. Just imagine one up County person saying, I know we need it, but I'm not going to vote yes unless you give us...

Yep, and ultimately this is what Amendment D is all about. All you need is one representative to block any tax or revenue increases, which is ridiculous.

Or you could fix the stupid charter provision requiring a unanimous vote. That's already been amended once since it is as originally passed.

But thanks for the responses. Do you really think this comes down to unanimous vote requirement? If it was, say, a supermajority instead, would the downcounty Democrats fight more upcounty councilmembers less?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:D means minority interests can hold the whole County hostage. Follow the money - it's always about following the money. Who is funding option D/who venefits from passing option D? From Seventh State:

Real estate interests have accounted for 83% of Nine District’s cash contributions. Interestingly, while Washington Property Company president Charlie Nulsen and the three county employee unions were major Nine District contributors in prior reports, they have not contributed any more since July. Nine District has collected contributions from leaders of the county’s Republican Party, which has raised money for the group on its website. The group has spent money on fees for Baltimore consultant Rowland Strategies, legal fees, robocalls and advertising (especially on Facebook).

How can one, or maybe two, moderate Republican or Democratic council members hold the county hostage over the objections of 7 other members? Seriously- how?

Because of a Ficker ammendment that passed several years ago, that taxes cannot be raised without unanimous consent from all council members. Just imagine one up County person saying, I know we need it, but I'm not going to vote yes unless you give us...

Yep, and ultimately this is what Amendment D is all about. All you need is one representative to block any tax or revenue increases, which is ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:D means minority interests can hold the whole County hostage. Follow the money - it's always about following the money. Who is funding option D/who venefits from passing option D? From Seventh State:

Real estate interests have accounted for 83% of Nine District’s cash contributions. Interestingly, while Washington Property Company president Charlie Nulsen and the three county employee unions were major Nine District contributors in prior reports, they have not contributed any more since July. Nine District has collected contributions from leaders of the county’s Republican Party, which has raised money for the group on its website. The group has spent money on fees for Baltimore consultant Rowland Strategies, legal fees, robocalls and advertising (especially on Facebook).

How can one, or maybe two, moderate Republican or Democratic council members hold the county hostage over the objections of 7 other members? Seriously- how?

Because of a Ficker ammendment that passed several years ago, that taxes cannot be raised without unanimous consent from all council members. Just imagine one up County person saying, I know we need it, but I'm not going to vote yes unless you give us...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:D means minority interests can hold the whole County hostage. Follow the money - it's always about following the money. Who is funding option D/who venefits from passing option D? From Seventh State:

Real estate interests have accounted for 83% of Nine District’s cash contributions. Interestingly, while Washington Property Company president Charlie Nulsen and the three county employee unions were major Nine District contributors in prior reports, they have not contributed any more since July. Nine District has collected contributions from leaders of the county’s Republican Party, which has raised money for the group on its website. The group has spent money on fees for Baltimore consultant Rowland Strategies, legal fees, robocalls and advertising (especially on Facebook).

How can one, or maybe two, moderate Republican or Democratic council members hold the county hostage over the objections of 7 other members? Seriously- how?

Anonymous wrote:I'd feel better about D passing if A and not B passed.

A would shift the property tax regulation to rate, not revenue. This means that the tax ***RATE*** would be more consistent, so that you wouldn't have to worry about another 8% increase you can't afford.... but that REVENUE can still grow with new assessments.

Question B would be the most dangerous and reckless thing you could do to a county, and as-is it would still be a risk if D passed, because you need the unanimous vote to raise property tax REVENUE. All it would take is one crackpot to dig his (and it probably would be a he) heels in and prevent any revenue increases. Once again it's REVENUE not RATE. We'd all like to see more moderation of tax rates, but capping tax revenue is absurd.

Anonymous wrote:D means minority interests can hold the whole County hostage. Follow the money - it's always about following the money. Who is funding option D/who venefits from passing option D? From Seventh State:

Real estate interests have accounted for 83% of Nine District’s cash contributions. Interestingly, while Washington Property Company president Charlie Nulsen and the three county employee unions were major Nine District contributors in prior reports, they have not contributed any more since July. Nine District has collected contributions from leaders of the county’s Republican Party, which has raised money for the group on its website. The group has spent money on fees for Baltimore consultant Rowland Strategies, legal fees, robocalls and advertising (especially on Facebook).