Changing the Size of the County Council

With most of the focus on the special election to replace the late Marilyn Praisner you might have missed this nugget in the Monday's WaPo.

CoEx Ike Leggett wants to expand the size of the MoCo Council.

His plan, which he had proposed several years ago while a council member, calls for adding two members who would represent new districts. Currently, five council members are elected by district, and four are elected at-large. Leggett also proposed changing the method for picking the council president, suggesting that a candidate run at-large in a president's race for a four-year term. Currently, the council president is picked by colleagues and serves a one-year term.

The MoCo Civic Federation was pushing for a change to the County Council from 4 At Large and 5 District members to 9 District members in 2004. It was County Question C on the November 2004 ballot. It lost 60.6% to 39.4%.

I remember Ike mentioning his desire to expand the county council from 9 members to 11 members (7 Districts and 4 At Large) during the 2006 primary race. The article indicates that Ike had wanted to expand the County Council for several years. It makes sense. Having 9 members to represent a County of almost a million people is daunting. DC has 13 members to represent a population that is around 70% of the size of MoCo.

The next step is for the MoCo Charter Commission to come back with its report in May.