Montgomery County Council District 5

A: The county needs to readjust spending to reflect the reduction in revenue. Residents of the county are also feeling a strain and the notion proposed by the county executive that we are undertaxed and therefore his tax increases are justified is preposterous. The county government does a lot of good but it has to work within limits. Outside of county spending, we need to rebuild the tax base by making the county more inviting to businesses.

A: This issue did not arise overnight. It is a failure of the county to control spending and plan for future expenses that they now expect the taxpayers to cough up with increases to our property and income taxes. The budgets across all departments need to be thoroughly reviewed for savings. Capital expenditures need to be prioritized which will cause many to be delayed while the most important are addressed first. It is bitter medicine, but anyone who has worked in the private sector has likely had experience when budgets need to be trimmed.

A: Rent stabilization is discouraging development of multi-family properties. The hard truth is that market forces determine prices. The county does have a role in ensuring rental housing is maintained to code and that landlords are not colluding to set rents.

A: No. The affordable housing issue is multi-faceted, but the current ideas of massive development as proposed by some is not a solution. Especially harmful to existing communities is the notion to increase density in existing neighborhoods. If you live in a neighborhood of single-family homes, it is not right for the county to change the zoning and destroy the character of that community.

A: Further study needs to be undertaken on the impact of data centers to our county. There are valid concerns regarding the potential impact to residents power bills, water usage and noise. Until the county has a full understanding of those impacts, no data centers should be approved.

A: Yes, we need to keep the incinerator open. The current incinerator needs to be modernized to ensure it is able to comply with all clean air mandates. There are environmental tradeoffs with every solution. The one positive with the incinerator is that it generates electricity and with modernization we should be able to better control emissions from the facility.

A: The Truth Act was a reasonable response by the council to restrict ICE.

A: I am running for office to be a fiscally responsible voice on the council and to provide a voice for the average taxpayer. If you are frustrated by the ever-increasing taxes in the county, concerned by the council’s push to increase denser development in and around your community, see a need to control the growing county budget or worried about the increasing violence in our county, then vote to make a change in District 5.

A: The federal government is funding tax cuts for the rich by cutting safety net services and access. Simultaneously, they’re throwing more families into economic instability, by pushing thousands out of federal jobs, and deploying ICE to kidnap primary earners in immigrant families across the county. With increased need, less income tax revenue, and reduced federal access to food, healthcare, and more, we will need to use some of our reserves to triage as we work toward a sustainable structure. This includes progressive taxation (raising income taxes for the rich can and must start this year), cutting direct costs (such as through rent stabilization and expanding free pre-K), and expanding workforce opportunities to build up our tax base.

The federal layoffs highlight our need to diversify our economic base. We need to grow sectors with a strong foundation here, like life sciences, and provide greater support and more opportunities for local startups and small businesses. This is part of why I’ve worked hard to ensure the Viva White Oak development stays on track; at 280 acres, it’s more than just an overdue investment in East County. With the FDA and Adventist Hospital as neighbors, it will be a major workforce engine.

A: Per pupil funding is finally approaching what it was 20 years ago, adjusted for inflation. We would be in a better situation if investments in MCPS students hadn’t decreased as our student body became more diverse. As staff, students, and parents are telling us, the years of deferred maintenance and increasing class sizes have caught up to us. The first and most important step is finally being honest about budget needs, from how many special education teachers are actually needed to achieve requisite ratios, to how many of our schools lack properly functioning HVAC.

As a former MCPS teacher, and a current MCPS parent, it’s been a top priority of mine to work with my colleagues on the Education & Culture Committee toward this new level of transparency with the MCPS budget. Now, we need to invest in a long-term plan to bring per-pupil funding back to where it should be, and shift our schools onto healthy and appropriate maintenance and renovation schedules.

A: I’m proud to have helped lead the charge with council member Will Jawando to pass permanent rent stabilization in Montgomery County. Because of rent stabilization, thousands of units are held to a more affordable rate, lowering the average cost of rentals from where it would otherwise be. Families in rent stabilized units now have predictability in their housing costs, allowing for savings and financial planning. As more families face economic challenges due to the federal government, these are extremely meaningful improvements.

Affordable housing must also be safe, healthy, and up to code. I’m also proud to have written the amendment to our rent stabilization law that prohibits properties on the county’s Troubled Properties List (excessive code violations) from raising rents at all, driving a historic 70% decrease in the number of properties on the Troubled Properties List. This is the first tool we have seen successfully compel these worst-of-the-worst landlords, or at least 70% of them, to shift their business model from racking up low-dollar citations to actually making improvements.

A: Yes, building more affordable housing is a necessary part of addressing the affordable housing crisis locally. I’ve worked closely with the community and with developers to ensure this work moves forward in a way that is responsive to our communities’ needs. Viva White Oak will add thousands of housing units, for example. I’ve also introduced a bill that will levy a tax on teardowns of single family properties in order to direct additional funding into the Housing Production Fund, which is our most effective tool for quickly, efficiently producing affordable housing, including in District 5 with the upcoming Hillandale Gateway project.

A: There should be a moratorium on data centers until we can ensure that county rate-payers are held harmless and we have appropriate checks in place to protect our environment from irreparable harm.

A: We should close the incinerator and use a temporary hauling and landfilling plan while we build out our long-term, more sustainable waste management facilities

A: Immigrants are a substantial and essential part of who we are, and any elected official not doing all they can to slow ICE down is not meeting this moment. I’m proud to have worked with directly impacted community on the recently passed County Values Act, which requires that County staff be fully trained on protocols not to grant ICE access into any non-public areas of County properties, bans ICE activity in County parking lots and garages, and establishes a portal for residents to report unlawful or dangerous ICE behavior. As a result of this bill, residents will see signs at all County properties to this effect.

I’ve cosponsored all anti-ICE legislation presented thus far and worked to advance and/or ensure passage as needed. I was the first Councilmember to cosponsor the eventually unanimously cosponsored Trust Act, I was glad to second the motion to move Councilmember Jawando’s Unmask ICE Act forward when it was not given a timely Committee session, and I was happy to vote through Councilmember Glass’s ICE Out Act prohibiting private detention centers to demonstrate the County’s commitment to the sentiment even though the MD General Assembly had already taken the same action in state-wide legislation.

A: I ran for Council four years ago in the new East County district to bring my community’s voice to the table and demand equitable resources for District 5. Together, we finally got a long-delayed new Burtonsville Elementary School built, opening this fall, one of many East County school projects facing likely delays that we kept on track. Burtonsville Crossing has finally been redeveloped. And the Viva White Oak project will bring new retail, amenities, jobs, and housing, and be a destination for residents countywide. I’ve fought for and we’ve achieved new investments in afterschool programs and in-school supports across District 5, publicly funded dental services in East County years after the shuttering of the area’s County dental clinic, and expansion of free pre-K. My office has resolved over 2000 constituent cases from new crosswalks to code enforcement to immigration support, and I’ve led and passed legislation directly responsive to systemic issues experienced by residents. As the federal government attacks our values and community members, I’ll continue being a vocal and strategic advocate for using every tool possible to fight back, while working directly with residents to deliver the forward progress and everyday improvements they deserve to expect from local government.