The Washington Post ran an editorial filled with plaudits for our outgoing county executive, who they call Montgomery's "fifth, and best county executive" today:
DOUGLAS M. Duncan, who after 12 years as Montgomery County executive leaves office next week, is easily the most accomplished of the five men who have held the job since it was created in 1970. Somber, hard-driving, thin-skinned and occasionally ruthless, he was not always universally beloved. But he did earn unrivaled respect as a doer and decision maker in a county that by his oft-repeated diagnosis is afflicted with "paralysis by analysis."
Even as Montgomery County was being reshaped by immigration, shifting demographics, swift development and rising prosperity, Mr. Duncan was instrumental in maintaining and improving the assets that have made it one of the nation's choicest (and most expensive) places to live: vibrant neighborhoods, excellent social services, efficient government and first-class amenities. Look around at what has made Montgomery dynamic -- terrific schools, the revival of downtown Silver Spring, the glittery new Strathmore arts center -- and you will see Mr. Duncan's fingerprints. It is an enviable record.
At the same time, the front page of the Post ran a story which eerily mirrors the editorial but points out that county voters opted for a Council with a majority likely to cast a much more critical eye on development than the previous one:
Montgomery County Executive-elect Isiah "Ike" Leggett (D) is vowing to address what some critics describe as a culture of coziness between developers and government officials that has often favored the building industry and marginalized ordinary residents.
That promise could mark a sharp turnabout from 12 years under County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), who will leave office next week.
Duncan, a critic of the county's "paralysis by analysis" reputation, streamlined a bulky bureaucracy he said hindered business. As he turns over the county government to Leggett, Duncan can point to many successes: revitalization of downtown Silver Spring, growth along Interstate 270's high-tech corridor and construction of a world-class concert hall on Rockville Pike, among many others.But some of the county's incoming leaders -- including Leggett, three new County Council members committed to slower growth and the recently appointed Planning Board chairman, Royce Hanson -- say the pendulum may have swung too far.
A review by The Washington Post of several recent development proposals illuminates an environment in which lobbyists often influence growth policy in private meetings with staff and elected officials.
Leggett, Hanson and council member Marilyn Praisner (D-Eastern County), expected to be elected council president next week, already have begun to look into changing land-use practices.
"The public believes they have given us a mandate to slow growth and come up with some better approaches," Leggett said. "Confidence and respect for the system needs to be restored."
Duncan declined to be interviewed.
The new leaders face a vocal citizenry that has long complained about the development industry's deep pockets and insider ties. The critics say the industry too often has won expedited reviews with minimal public input, avoided requirements for building moderately priced housing and circumvented publicly negotiated community blueprints.
"There really is a network of players in this county who know how to gain advantages and have access and results that are not available to the average citizen," said Stuart Rochester, a longtime eastern Montgomery activist.
The new leaders say the development-approval process should be more open and accountable. They are eager to avoid a repeat of last year's revelations of irregularities at Clarksburg Town Center, where buildings too tall and too close to the road were discovered by a community group, not by government.
. . .
With the election of new council members Elrich, Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda) and Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At Large), the county's slower-growth faction -- which will also include current members Praisner and Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville) -- has swelled to a majority. They and Leggett could push policies in a new direction.
Finally, friends of the Rockville Library are resisting a proposal to rename the new Rockville library after Duncan, who grew up in the county seat:
In a celebratory tribute to Douglas M. Duncan in the final week of his 12 years as Montgomery County executive, his supporters planned to name the new Rockville library after him at tomorrow's grand opening.
Then library boosters in Rockville got wind of the plan. Duncan, they said, has been no friend of the libraries.
So the dedication will be delayed until a public hearing is held, and Duncan (D) will leave office without his name on the $26.3 million building in the heart of the city where he was raised.
. . .
But Gayl Selkin-Gutman, chairwoman of the Rockville Library Advisory Committee, warned council members this week that her group and the Rockville chapter of Friends of the Library were prepared to protest the ceremony if the proposal was not withdrawn. She told Leventhal that it would be a "travesty" to name the building for Duncan.
In a letter to Leventhal yesterday, Wayne Goldstein of the Montgomery County Civic Federation wrote: "Mr. Duncan went out of his way, at every critical junction, to delay or minimize county responsibility to help fund the Rockville library."
I am sure that we'll manage to find something to name after Duncan, who served this county very well for three terms and is going to be a very tough act to follow. I have a feeling that Ike Leggett may just find a way to push through the renaming of the Rockville Library, or another building, in Duncan's honor. The concert hall at Strathmore might be fitting choice if it doesn't already have someone else's name attached.
