Anonymous wrote:Well, we need to figure out a way to rally the moderate troops in MoCo. It's only the fringes of both parties who shout and scream all day.

Try this: https://www.facebook.com/moderatelymoco/

If you want to participate in Montgomery County politics you have to register as a Dem Sorry to R's and Independents but its a closed primary and the primary determines who wins.

Well, we need to figure out a way to rally the moderate troops in MoCo. It's only the fringes of both parties who shout and scream all day.

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Anonymous wrote:Are 1/3 of Montgomery county residents really independent? So we have a third Republican a third Democratic and a third independent. I think that’s reason enough for open primaries. Is there a reason why we don’t have open primaries? I’m assuming it’s politically motivated.

It's not a third Republican. It's more like 10% Republican and 60% Democratic and 30% Independent.

Currently 16% Republican, 22% Independent and then a smattering of others...
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Elections/Resources/Files/pdfs/stats/2020/Monthly_Statistical_August2020.pdf

I worried about it too. So I voted for Elrich even though I hate him.

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Anonymous wrote:It doesn't make it any more rational to know that multiple people (including big downcounty developers) are saying that the council reps WHO ARE ELECTED COUNTY-WIDE don't represent much of the county.

Capital letters for emphasis, not shouting.

Well, for one, they don't represent (not even at all) anyone who isn't a registered Democrat in MoCo (currently 40% of the population) because we didn't get to vote for them in the Primary.

There is no reason to be registered as republican in maryland. If you want your vote to count, be a democrat and start voting for some moderate democrats.

1/3 of registered voters in MoCo have no party affiliation (independents).

And THAT's why we have super-liberals as our councilmembers and executive. The hard core liberals are the majority of those who can vote in the primaries.

Imagine if those independents and even moderate republicans had been registered as democrats. We would probably have Blair now as a County Exec. And probably Marilyn Balcomb as a councilmember.

Independents and moderate Republicans could have voted for Nancy Floreen for County Exec. But they didn't. She couldn't crack 20%.

Floreen was too little too late- the contest is in the primary. The sooner people accept that and participate, the better.

She was a sitting council member, she had a million dollars in her campaign budget and The Washington Post endorsement. She couldn't crack 20%. The people went out and voted for Elrich. The people on this forum do not make up this majority.

People voted for Elrich because Floreen was clearly in the pocket of developers and wanted to raise taxes to subsidize million dollar condos in Bethesda. The current council wants to do the same thing, so we might end up stuck with that.

Also some folks who were afraid to divide the vote and end up with Ficker- unlikely but I did hear this.

I was worried about that, but voted for Floreen anyway. Though, Ficker actually got more votes than I expected.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes! This is my DH- won’t register as a Dem to vote in the primary, but he’s essentially a moderate Dem. I think his dissatisfaction with Elrich may have finally convinced him to do so.

Same here. I dont' really identify with either party (like 1/3 of voters in MoCo). I won't register dem as I don't feel they represent me.

But I’d argue that by abstaining, you’re even less likely to have leaders that you feel represent you. If more moderates/independent voters would participate in the primary, we’d have more of a chance to elect moderate Dems. The reality is, this is a blue county. But our elected officials are probably even bluer than the county overall because of the limited participation in the primary elections.

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Anonymous wrote:It doesn't make it any more rational to know that multiple people (including big downcounty developers) are saying that the council reps WHO ARE ELECTED COUNTY-WIDE don't represent much of the county.

Capital letters for emphasis, not shouting.

Well, for one, they don't represent (not even at all) anyone who isn't a registered Democrat in MoCo (currently 40% of the population) because we didn't get to vote for them in the Primary.

There is no reason to be registered as republican in maryland. If you want your vote to count, be a democrat and start voting for some moderate democrats.

1/3 of registered voters in MoCo have no party affiliation (independents).

And THAT's why we have super-liberals as our councilmembers and executive. The hard core liberals are the majority of those who can vote in the primaries.

Imagine if those independents and even moderate republicans had been registered as democrats. We would probably have Blair now as a County Exec. And probably Marilyn Balcomb as a councilmember.

Independents and moderate Republicans could have voted for Nancy Floreen for County Exec. But they didn't. She couldn't crack 20%.

Floreen was too little too late- the contest is in the primary. The sooner people accept that and participate, the better.

She was a sitting council member, she had a million dollars in her campaign budget and The Washington Post endorsement. She couldn't crack 20%. The people went out and voted for Elrich. The people on this forum do not make up this majority.

People voted for Elrich because Floreen was clearly in the pocket of developers and wanted to raise taxes to subsidize million dollar condos in Bethesda. The current council wants to do the same thing, so we might end up stuck with that.

Also some folks who were afraid to divide the vote and end up with Ficker- unlikely but I did hear this.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't make it any more rational to know that multiple people (including big downcounty developers) are saying that the council reps WHO ARE ELECTED COUNTY-WIDE don't represent much of the county.

Capital letters for emphasis, not shouting.

Well, for one, they don't represent (not even at all) anyone who isn't a registered Democrat in MoCo (currently 40% of the population) because we didn't get to vote for them in the Primary.

There is no reason to be registered as republican in maryland. If you want your vote to count, be a democrat and start voting for some moderate democrats.

1/3 of registered voters in MoCo have no party affiliation (independents).

And THAT's why we have super-liberals as our councilmembers and executive. The hard core liberals are the majority of those who can vote in the primaries.

Imagine if those independents and even moderate republicans had been registered as democrats. We would probably have Blair now as a County Exec. And probably Marilyn Balcomb as a councilmember.

Independents and moderate Republicans could have voted for Nancy Floreen for County Exec. But they didn't. She couldn't crack 20%.

She went in too late. She only ran because she knew Elrich would be a disaster.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes! This is my DH- won’t register as a Dem to vote in the primary, but he’s essentially a moderate Dem. I think his dissatisfaction with Elrich may have finally convinced him to do so.

Same here. I dont' really identify with either party (like 1/3 of voters in MoCo). I won't register dem as I don't feel they represent me.

NP here:
F#ck your feelings. You need to vote strategically. I’ve told all my Republican friends who live in the District and MoCo to register as Dems and vote for moderates. It’s the only way you’ll get what you want. GOP is nearly extinct in this region.

Anonymous wrote:Are 1/3 of Montgomery county residents really independent? So we have a third Republican a third Democratic and a third independent. I think that’s reason enough for open primaries. Is there a reason why we don’t have open primaries? I’m assuming it’s politically motivated.

Nope. Here are the current voter registration statistics as of July 2020:

https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Elections/Resources/Files/pdfs/stats/2020/July%20-%20Monthly%20Statictical%20Report.pdf
DEM - 404995 REP - 106826 UNAF - 147484 TOTAL- 668560

Democrats lead Republicans almost 4 to 1 and there are more Unaffilitated (Independents) than Republicans.

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Anonymous wrote:It doesn't make it any more rational to know that multiple people (including big downcounty developers) are saying that the council reps WHO ARE ELECTED COUNTY-WIDE don't represent much of the county.

Capital letters for emphasis, not shouting.

Well, for one, they don't represent (not even at all) anyone who isn't a registered Democrat in MoCo (currently 40% of the population) because we didn't get to vote for them in the Primary.

There is no reason to be registered as republican in maryland. If you want your vote to count, be a democrat and start voting for some moderate democrats.

1/3 of registered voters in MoCo have no party affiliation (independents).

And THAT's why we have super-liberals as our councilmembers and executive. The hard core liberals are the majority of those who can vote in the primaries.

Imagine if those independents and even moderate republicans had been registered as democrats. We would probably have Blair now as a County Exec. And probably Marilyn Balcomb as a councilmember.

Independents and moderate Republicans could have voted for Nancy Floreen for County Exec. But they didn't. She couldn't crack 20%.

Floreen was too little too late- the contest is in the primary. The sooner people accept that and participate, the better.

She was a sitting council member, she had a million dollars in her campaign budget and The Washington Post endorsement. She couldn't crack 20%. The people went out and voted for Elrich. The people on this forum do not make up this majority.

People voted for Elrich because Floreen was clearly in the pocket of developers and wanted to raise taxes to subsidize million dollar condos in Bethesda. The current council wants to do the same thing, so we might end up stuck with that.

Anonymous wrote:Are 1/3 of Montgomery county residents really independent? So we have a third Republican a third Democratic and a third independent. I think that’s reason enough for open primaries. Is there a reason why we don’t have open primaries? I’m assuming it’s politically motivated.

It's not a third Republican. It's more like 10% Republican and 60% Democratic and 30% Independent.

Are 1/3 of Montgomery county residents really independent? So we have a third Republican a third Democratic and a third independent. I think that’s reason enough for open primaries. Is there a reason why we don’t have open primaries? I’m assuming it’s politically motivated.

Anonymous wrote:

She was a sitting council member, she had a million dollars in her campaign budget and The Washington Post endorsement. She couldn't crack 20%. The people went out and voted for Elrich. The people on this forum do not make up this majority.

She joined the race at the last minute (July), was an independent, and was up against Elrich whose super-PACs raised even more than she did.

How many independents have won election in MoCo local races before?

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't make it any more rational to know that multiple people (including big downcounty developers) are saying that the council reps WHO ARE ELECTED COUNTY-WIDE don't represent much of the county.

Capital letters for emphasis, not shouting.

Well, for one, they don't represent (not even at all) anyone who isn't a registered Democrat in MoCo (currently 40% of the population) because we didn't get to vote for them in the Primary.

There is no reason to be registered as republican in maryland. If you want your vote to count, be a democrat and start voting for some moderate democrats.

1/3 of registered voters in MoCo have no party affiliation (independents).

And THAT's why we have super-liberals as our councilmembers and executive. The hard core liberals are the majority of those who can vote in the primaries.

Imagine if those independents and even moderate republicans had been registered as democrats. We would probably have Blair now as a County Exec. And probably Marilyn Balcomb as a councilmember.

Independents and moderate Republicans could have voted for Nancy Floreen for County Exec. But they didn't. She couldn't crack 20%.

Floreen was too little too late- the contest is in the primary. The sooner people accept that and participate, the better.

She was a sitting council member, she had a million dollars in her campaign budget and The Washington Post endorsement. She couldn't crack 20%. The people went out and voted for Elrich. The people on this forum do not make up this majority.