Planning Board Applicants Narrowed Down to 12

The Montgomery County Council has selected 12 interviewees from 29 applicants for two positions on the Planning Board.

The council’s press release states:

Montgomery Council Sets Interviews for 12 To Fill 2 County Planning Board Positions

ROCKVILLE, Md., June 10, 2008—The Montgomery County Council has set interview dates with 12 applicants seeking to fill two vacancies on the Montgomery County Planning Board.

The term of Allison Bryant, a Republican, will expire on June 14. Mr. Bryant has served two terms and is not eligible for reappointment. The other vacancy was created by the passing of board member Eugene Lynch, a Democrat, on Jan. 31. Mr. Lynch’s term will expire on June 14, 2011.

Interviews are open for public observation. They will be conducted at the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The interview schedule is as follows:

Patrick Ryan June 12, 2008 1:30 PM
Benjamin Ross June 12, 2008 2:00 PM
Gerald Roper June 12, 2008 2:30 PM
Goldie Rivkin June 12, 2008 3:00 PM
Cary Lamari June 12, 2008 3:30 PM
Marye Wells Harley June 12, 2008 4:00 PM
Carol Placek June 19, 2008 1:30 PM
Alan S. Bowser June 19, 2008 2:00 PM
Joseph Alfandre June 19, 2008 2:30 PM
Paula Bienenfeld June 19, 2008 3:00 PM
Amy Presley June 19, 2008 3:30 PM
William Mooney June 24, 2008 8:30 or 9:30

The Planning Board has five members. No more than three members of the Planning Board may be from the same political party, and all members must be residents and registered voters of Montgomery County when appointed. Members serve four-year terms and are limited to two full terms. The positions can be filled by a Democrat; a Republican; a voter who declines to affiliate with a party; or by a member of another party officially recognized by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

Several of these applicants are well known in Montgomery County. Pat Ryan and Cary Lamari are former candidates for the County Council. Amy Presley was a leader in the fight to expose misconduct at the Planning Department in the development of Clarksburg. Ben Ross is the current President and a longtime board member of Action Committee for Transit. Joseph Alfandre was a developer of the Kentlands in Gaithersburg. William Mooney is a former staffer at the Planning Department and was a business partner of Planning Board Member Gene Lynch.

Of the twelve finalists, Alfandre, Bowser, Harley, Lamari, Mooney, Placek, Rivkin, Roper, Ross, and Ryan are Democrats and Bienenfeld and Presley are Republicans. Since the Planning Board will have only one Republican (former District 15 Delegate Jean Cryor) after Allison Bryant leaves, either Bienenfeld or Presley must be picked to fill one of the two vacancies.

We suggest that all the applicants read this series as preparation for what they will be encountering from the Planning Department!