MANAGING GROWTH - BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES

Growth and infrastructure must be in balance. It is only common sense to make sure that our roads and schools are adequate before allowing additional development. To do otherwise jeopardizes the quality of life in our communities, places our environment at risk and increases traffic congestion beyond reasonable levels. We must protect the County's Growth Policy, which was just strengthened by the Council last fall. It was a mandate from the voters in the last election, and I will uphold that mandate.

I support our Agricultural Reserve. However, I am also concerned about pressures to develop in other rural areas of the county that serve as the bridge between the Agricultural Reserve and our more suburban neighborhoods. They must be protected along with our Agricultural Reserve.

IMPROVED TRANSPORTATION

Getting Montgomery moving is a high priority of mine. Controlling growth will only get us so far. We must push the state for our fair share of transportation money, and we must find innovative ways to fund expanded public transit. The recent Infrastructure Task Force, which was an initiative of my wife, Marilyn Praisner, highlighted some options that the Council should consider before the next budget cycle.

I support the county's transportation priorities including the Purple Line, the Brookeville Bypass, and grade-separated interchanges on Georgia Avenue at Norbeck Road and at Randolph Road. Also, I believe that the Georgia Avenue/Norbeck Road interchange needs to be moved up on the county's priority list of the additional traffic flow in this area that will result from the first link of the ICC.

But it's not enough to talk about new roads and new projects; we must also take better care of what already exists. Many county roads are sorely in need of maintenance and upgrades.

We also must improve pedestrian safety. We need safe walkways, including sidewalk connections, sheltered bus stops that are appropriately placed for safety, and innovative pedestrian crossing tools such as lighted, pedestrian-activated crossways and countdown pedestrian signals at intersections.

We must insist on better traffic enforcement on our neighborhood streets, including speed and red-light cameras, the use of radar, and innovative road designs that discourage speeding and are more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

Inter-County Connector (ICC)

As the ICC digs its way through our District, I will be diligent in pushing the State Highway Administration (SHA), the agency responsible for building this road, to lessen the impacts on our neighborhoods. We cannot allow SHA to open the first leg of the ICC unless there is an acceptable solution to the traffic impacts on Olney and Leisure World. Our communities must be protected!

STRONG PUBLIC EDUCATION

With two teachers in my family and two grandchildren in our county schools, I understand the value of a good education. I will advocate for safe, modern facilities, continued academic improvement for all our students, and quality professional development for teachers and staff. To do that we need more state resources. We should work with the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) and our state delegation to press for increased aid to local governments.

A strong partnership between our schools and the county's Department of Health and Human Services, through programs such as Linkages to Learning, is critical for children and their families who are in stress and have extra challenges succeeding in school.

I support the county's efforts to improve and expand adult English-language programs at Montgomery College and through the work of non-profit organizations such as the Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy ("MCAEL") and the Montgomery County Literacy Council.

Access to higher education is critical to the county's economic development. We need to continue our strong support for Montgomery College and to encourage ongoing efforts to expand programs at the Universities at Shady Grove and at the Johns Hopkins University campus at Shady Grove.

PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT

We are stewards of the land and must protect it as a valuable resource for future generations. My wife, Marilyn Praisner, led the effort on the Council to create special protection areas in sensitive stream headwaters such as the Upper Paint Branch and the Upper Rock Creek. I will fight to preserve these special protection areas.

I am extremely concerned that the Intercounty Connector (ICC) will negatively impact water quality in all of the watersheds along its path. Unfortunately, the state is not stepping up to the plate to adequately mitigate the negative impacts. Its "mitigation package" falls far short of the mark. A key feature of their plan is to purchase hundreds of acres of land in the Boyds area -- nowhere near the ICC route -- along with smaller parcels in the watersheds that will actually be affected by the road. This plan will do little to offset the damage that will be done during construction and subsequent use of a roadway that will stretch from I-370 to Prince George's County, traversing some of the highest quality watersheds and forested land in the county.

PRESERVING NEIGHBORHOODS

Many of our neighborhoods are under stress. There are too many commercial vehicles parked in small lot resident neighborhoods. There are accessory buildings that are too tall, too big, and/or too close to neighboring properties. We must enforce our zoning code and existing regulations intended to protect the quality of life for everyone in the county. I support the County Executive's effort that has just gotten underway to strengthen the zoning code housing regulations that protect our existing communities.

SOUND FISCAL POLICY

I am a fiscal moderate who will work hard to protect taxpayer money. We must make greater use of technology and employee ideas to improve efficiency and productivity. We must also take a hard look at all the county department budgets and programs then keep those that work, and eliminate the ones that do not. Accountability in budgeting is the key.

INCREASING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The cornerstone of Montgomery County's affordable housing efforts has been, and must continue to be, our Moderate Price Dwelling Unit (MPDU) program. Preserving this housing is a high priority of mine. We must also strengthen efforts to preserve rental housing.

I strongly support using other tools to increase access to housing -- such as closing cost assistance, second mortgage options, and working with private sector leaders of the regional Washington Area Housing Trust Fund to broaden our options.

SENIORS

Our senior population is increasing every year. I support the effort by the County's Commission on Aging to develop a strategic plan for senior services. It will ensure that the county is ready to respond to this shift in demographics with a range of services and program.

We must not assume that all seniors want or need the same things. Some are very independent and require little or no support while others are at great risk. Therefore, the county must develop a range of options for seniors, from allowing them to remain in their own homes, to assisted living, nursing homes, and active senior housing. The county also needs to improve access to respite care, in-home aides, and chore service providers.

Seniors also need a reliable public transportation system including improved Metro Access and free bus ridership during morning and evening rush hours. Our recreation centers should include space for seniors and the programs that they enjoy.

AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS

The county is feeling the effects of the gangs in our region. We know that prevention is a key component in any gang initiative. After-school programs contribute greatly to the well-being of youth. Besides providing a diversion from gang activity, they improve academic achievement and behavior in school, engender better emotional adjustment and peer relations, and reduce youth crime and other risky behavior, such as truancy, dropping out of high school, depression and substance abuse.

My wife, Marilyn Praisner, spearheaded the successful effort to expand the county's middle school "Rec Extra" program to all 38 middle schools. Rec Extra offers a variety of different recreation and leisure activities. This program also increases outreach to those students who are not typically involved in activities at their school.

She also led the Council in expanding the sports academy program in high schools. The Sports Academies provide a safe, healthy and fun environment for students offering sports, games, and other activities as an incentive to get students to participate in the academic support component.

STRONG PUBLIC SAFETY: A PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITIES

Safe neighborhoods start with community policing. The police and the communities they serve must forge partnerships. The county has added more police officers, but we must also work to solve neighborhood problems through a combination of traditional policing, prevention and community engagement. Who knows their neighborhoods better than the people who live there? We must start with consistent enforcement of quality of life crimes, in addition to attacking more serious crime.

I also support giving our public safety personnel the technology and tools they need to improve their safety as they serve the community.

FIGHTING FOR THE CONSUMER

My wife, Marilyn, led the Council to enact some of the toughest consumer legislation in the nation. She sponsored landmark legislation, which the Council passed, to strengthen the rights of county cable television consumers. It established a five-member Cable Compliance Commission to investigate individual specific complaints, award damages for violations of customer service regulations and provide relief for individual customers. She also sponsored Bill 34-04, Ethics - Lobbying Disclosure - Amendments, which the Council passed. It closed a loophole in the county's ethics law that exempted cable companies from having to register as a lobbying organization.

I will follow in that tradition -- tough consumer protection, not only for cable customers, but for consumers of everything from home improvement services to auto repairs to lending practices.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY

If Montgomery County is the economic engine for the State of Maryland, then our businesses and their employees are the fuel. However, there are times when government assistance is needed. I support the County's Economic Development Fund, an initiative of my wife, Marilyn Praisner, which has successfully attracted and retained good paying jobs in this county.

I also support our county's Minority, Female, and Disabled (MFD) and small business programs. I pledge to work to assist businesses, such as those in the Burtonsville Business District, that are negatively impacted by construction projects and new traffic patterns.

EFFECTIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

I will push to protect the community's overall health, provide assistance for at-risk children and vulnerable adults, and address basic needs such as food, shelter and personal care. As the president of the board and a member of Centers for the Handicapped (CHI) for over thirteen years, I have helped give people with severe disabilities an opportunity to develop their abilities and participate in community life.

I also support the county's initiatives to address the specific health needs of our Asian, Hispanic and African-American residents.

It is crucial to strengthen our mental health care continuum including prevention, early intervention and strong case management with particular attention to children. We must also build on our successful partnership with nonprofit clinics to provide health care to our uninsured residents.

I strongly support the county's ongoing efforts to reduce family violence and support victims of violence through additional community-based supports, intervention and treatment capacity, improved coordination across agencies, and expanded staff training. I believe the Family Justice Center, an emerging initiative, will be the keystone of such efforts.