The Top Stories of 2008, Montgomery County

A couple weeks ago, Rockville Central blogger Brad Rourke asked me to name the top political stories of 2008. I did not know the answer to that question, but I knew who did: you, the readers of Maryland Politics Watch. And here is what you said.

I contacted many regular readers of MPW and asked them to name the top political stories in both Montgomery County and in the rest of the state. Thirty-nine readers answered my call. Today, we reveal the Montgomery County stories that received the most votes. Tomorrow, we will cover the rest of the state. In addition, our readers supplied a number of saucy quotes that we will share with you – on an anonymous basis of course!

And the top stories in Montgomery County are:

1. County Budget and Economic Crisis
31 votes

Reader: “With the passing of the ‘Ficker Amendment,’ (which I include as an issue related to the county budget), the budget this coming year will be incredibly difficult and complex. Cuts beyond ‘bare minimum’ will have to be imposed, and those who have come to expect a level of services as a birthright will have to accept that we just can’t have it all here in MoCo, as much as we would like.”

Reader: “By far the most important story of 2008 because of its longer term implications. County residents will need to brace for real pain – there’s no way to close a $500 million gap (and that’s before state cuts kick in) without seeing real cuts in service. Residents are not used to service cuts, and it won’t be pretty. It’s the type of scenario that should concern not only every resident but also every incumbent elected official.”

Reader: “The budget and economic crisis is a very important story at the county level but I would say the other stories were more important in 2008, while the budget and economic crisis will likely dominate 2009. The FY 2009 budget that passed in May, 2008 was very difficult but the FY 2010 budget that will come before the council in spring, 2009 will require far deeper cuts and more painful choices. Those choices will be even more difficult if the 5-4 polarization continues. The Elrich/Trachtenberg/Andrews/Berliner/Praisner majority may not want to be held solely responsible for the sources of voter frustration that will result from this budget.”

Adam: “Impending state aid cuts could push the county budget deficit well north of a half-billion dollars. That will exacerbate tensions between the county politicians and the state delegation, as well as between both of the above and the Governor.”

2. Ficker Amendment Passes
28 votes

Reader: “Tax revolt? Political failure? Whatever, it is the early rumblings of a conservative resurgence if the county leaders do not get their act together.”

Reader: “A rare rebuke from voters to County politicians to stop raising taxes and spending so much at a time when residents are losing jobs, homes, retirement accounts, and confidence in their elected officials.”

Reader: “Leadership void on Monroe Street and Maryland Avenue is so bad the public turned to Robin Ficker.”

Reader: “With Ficker and his ‘amendments,’ it always seemed like pigs would fly before he actually passed one of the darn things. Well, pigs might not be flying, but we did have the equivalent of Mount Vesuvius erupting (River Road water main break). Is this a signal that the end of the world is near?”

3. Purple Line Battle
25 votes

Reader: “This is an example of a complex issue that can’t be decided on one set of facts and figures, and also that so much is still unknown about future predictions regarding ridership. Further, the unspoken tension between the East and the West is yet to be fully seen, and I predict those issues will become more apparent, and unfortunately, ‘more ugly.’”

Adam: “This is not just an argument about alignment and mode. This issue has metamorphosed into an all-out cultural and economic conflict with class-based and racial undercurrents.”

Reader: “Ride, ride, ride your bike, gently by the train, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily tears at the country club will rain.”

4. Passing of Marilyn Praisner
24 votes

Reader: “Marilyn Praisner was one-of-a-kind. She listened to all sides, and made decisions based on informed input. She never let personal feelings get in the way of a decision based on facts and figures. Council Member Praisner was the only one who knew where ever dollar in MoCo was, and was making difficult budget decisions and recommending cuts even when dollars were flush. She wasn't afraid to make tough decisions, even if the decisions were not something that her loyal supporters or other interests wanted. Those who knew her admired her unchallengeable integrity, talents and intellect.”

Reader: “This left the council rudderless.”

Reader: “Like her or not, she was a force to be reckoned with. Intelligent, opinionated and dominating – and her untimely passing left a fractured dysfunctional County Council even more so.”

Adam: “Please see our tribute to this titan of Montgomery County from last year.”

5. WSSC Pipe Breaks
19 votes

Reader: “Just as you have been writing on MPW, the WSSC is a huge mess, and requires major political ‘repairs.’ The replacement of ALL commissioners as well as the appointment of a General Manager has to be done, yesterday. Both Montgomery and Prince George's Counties should impose a governance model on WSSC following the M-NCPPC.”

Reader: “People need to wake up and realize that the infrastructure is aged and needs to be repaired/replaced. Elected officials need to stop sticking their fingers in leaky pipes and take steps to raise the money for a system overhaul. If not, River Road is just the beginning.”

Reader: “MoCo was jealous of DC’s exploding man-hole covers, so we topped it with our exploding water mains.”

Adam: “A critical leadership test for Ike Leggett and Jack Johnson. This problem can no longer be overlooked.”

6 (tie). Transgender Law Fight
15 votes

Reader: “Many jurisdictions around the country have had such a non-discrimination civil rights law on the books for a long time, such as Baltimore. The only reason why this matter became such a fight is that narrow-minded bigots from outside the county invested a lot of money for this matter to become a ‘test case’ in a jurisdiction so close to Washington, DC. They lost the sex education situation with the Board of Education, so this was next on their political agenda. This is why being on the border with the Nation’s Capitol is a detriment to our location, not a help. I betcha this battle would not have happened if we were in Podunk.”

Reader: “This was a very, very visible story; it’s questionable how influential it really was, but it got a lot of people riled up.”

6 (tie). County Council District 4 Special Election
15 votes

Reader: “The huge amount of money poured into Nancy Navarro’s special election campaign - most of it after the pre-election reporting deadline - is abominable, and a clear indication that development and union interests once again tried to buy the seat.”

Reader: “Jerry Weast’s attempt at engineering the election speaks to his influence; ditto for Valerie Ervin, who stood up against the entire council in supporting Nancy Navarro. Your suggestion that Fennel could’ve won the election through Robin Ficker's grooming was foreshadowing for Ficker's successful amendment.”

Reader: “During the special election, Council Members Elrich, Trachtenberg, Andrews and Berliner endorsed Don Praisner and clearly conveyed the message that without Don, those four would lose the majority on the Council that favored stringent restrictions on economic growth. The campaign by the four Council Members to retain ‘their majority’ hardened the polarization on the Council and made it difficult to achieve coalitions larger than four votes prior to Don's being seated, or five votes after he was seated.”

8 (tie). Live Nation Project
14 votes

Reader: “One of the few times common sense prevailed on the Council.”

Adam: “Ike Leggett’s legacy project and possibly the greatest achievement of his first term. He dug in, fought hard for it and won.”

8 (tie). Public Employee Contract Fights
14 votes

Reader: “Jimmy Hoffa has nothing on the very effective Gino Renne; except, of course, a better seat at Giants games.”

Reader: “Discussion of public employee contracts is closely intertwined with the budget and economic crisis in both 2008 and 2009. Council Members Andrews and Trachtenberg called for abrogating negotiated agreements early in 2008, when the argument could be made that the agreements were affordable. That damages employee organizations’ ability to trust those Council Members as the real hard negotiations get underway in 2009, when the county clearly cannot afford to honor the agreements and must renegotiate them. Labor unions were critical to Trachtenberg's election in 2006, and their withdrawal of support for her will be one of the most important political stories of 2010.”

Adam: “The unions are never going to forget who was there when they needed them – and who was not.”

10. Ambulance Fee Dispute
13 votes

Reader: “Many other county governments in the United States who operate EMS programs charge these fees, and waive fees for those who can not afford to pay. Insurance companies do not charge us lower premium rates just because we live in a county that currently does not charge these fees. While I don’t like it, I do not agree that having a fee structure in place with waivers granted liberally for those who are uninsured will cause fewer people who need service to request an ambulance for a true emergency -- and there are some who take advantage of ‘free transportation’ which is a disservice to all others who would only call for an ambulance if we truly require medical transport.”

Reader: “Let me get this straight, Montgomery is in a horrible budget mess and it turns down free money we could take from health insurance companies? And we wonder why the rest of Maryland doesn't respect us?”

Adam: “The county leaders have used up an enormous amount of time and energy fighting over a $14 million proposal. Given that fact, what does a battle over a half-billion dollar deficit look like?”

11. ICC Battle
12 votes

Reader: “I ranked this one as part of my Top 10 because this issue is like an old horse that won’t die. The SHA can teach any political ‘spinmeister’ the tricks of spinning a story like no other, and manages to remain arrogant simultaneously. It really ticks me off that the SHA tells one elected official one thing, community leaders something else, and leaves us to fight among ourselves, struggling with their divisive tactics.”

Reader: “The ICC battle increasingly indicates a pile of broken promises and cost overruns, both of which will burden us for decades.”

Adam: “What happens if the tolls generated by the road are not enough to pay off the toll-backed bonds issued for the project?”

12. Marc Elrich’s BRT Plan
11 votes

Reader: “Council Member Elrich has studied the Purple Line and various options like no other. He knows his stuff, and has made a serious recommendation based on facts and figures. I admire how hard he has worked in his first term on such an important issue.”

Reader: “Elrich’s BRT plan is one of the most important since it really presents a viable way to cure some of our transportation ills at reasonable cost.”

Reader: “The first broad transportation vision to surface in many years. Whether it’s new or recycled doesn’t matter – what does matter is that a conversation is starting.”

13. County Council Infighting
10 votes

Reader: “This County Council is proof positive that ‘War of the Worlds’ was no joke; the Martians have landed!”

Reader: “Can’t we all just get along?!”

Reader: “The state of the County Council reminds me of the teen soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. You’ve got the requisite cliques, infighting, backstabbing, and even their very own hangout a la the Peach Pit (Gordon Biersch). The only thing missing is the steamy love scenes which I think I’ll pass on. EEK!”

Most Underrated Story: Ike Leggett’s $65,000 Bathroom

Adam: “Only nine of our readers voted for this story, possibly because the amount budgeted for the bathroom is such a tiny part of the county’s $4+ billion budget. But Ann Marimow’s gigantic scoop turned into a national story and became a symbol for many residents of government waste and arrogance. It is impossible to measure the number of voters who know almost nothing about their county except that it constructs $65,000 bathrooms for its leaders. But those voters almost certainly contributed to the passage of the Ficker Amendment and the incumbents should worry about them in 2010.”

Come back tomorrow for Part Two, in which we will review the top political stories in 2008 for the rest of the state!