Nancy Floreen's new website is up and it has a prominent guest star featured right on the home page: Valerie Ervin! Now we are big fans of the rapidly ascending Ms. Ervin and so are our readers, but we wonder whether a) she was asked about appearing on the site, and b) if she will be collecting a licensing fee for her appearance. Hey people, Andres works for baby food!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Will Valerie Get a Licensing Fee?
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6 comments:
I looked at the issues section of the website of the Council President and make a few observations:
l. The words "home owner" are nowhere mentioned on the website. Nor are Nancy's votes in four different years to exceed the charter property tax limit, including the last time where she voted to give us the largest property tax increase in a generation, one which exceeded the charter property tax limit by 420%!
2. There is no mention of any success in having the holdup toll taxes imposed on Inter County Connector riders cut or eliminated.
3. While she says she, "led the
fight to increase county funding for transportation projects locally and from the state," there is no mention of any attempt to have dedicated any part of the existing sales tax or slots revenue to transportation.
3.While she mentions her support for new recordation taxes, developer impact taxes and carbon surcharges, she does not mention her repeated calls(on WTOP and elsewhere) for an increase in the gasoline tax.
4. She doesn't mention her past support for increases in the energy tax, income tax, sales tax, car tax, and corporate tax. Call it like it is Nancy: You have tried to use the homeowner as an ATM.
5. While she mentions support for the mpdu housing program, she doesn't mention that 2/3 of the people on the waiting list for this program are noncounty residents Nor does she state any effort to limit this program, which is subsidized by county homeowners, to county residents.
In this council campaign, the voters need more than just spin.
It is odd that Nancy Floreen's website does not mention Robin Ficker's political platform. I wonder if Mr. Ficker's political platform will highlight Nancy Floreen's platform?
-Marc
OK Mark, what would you do about the outrageous ICC toll tax? Wring you hands like the council is doing or cut or eliminate this rip-off? What would you do to get a dedicated source of funding for Montgomery's many transportation needs? Vote to raise the gas tax after the election while not mentioning the gas tax hike before the election?
I assume you would walk lockstep with the council in voting to exceed the charter property tax limit. Am I right Mark?
Mark, here is another one for you. I looked at Nancy's website or rather the website of the President of the Montgomery County Council. No mention of disabilitygate where people are retiring on full disability for life at taxpayers expense. There is no partial disability. There is no mention that Montgomery County has put off funding its public employee pension and health benefits requirements. No mention of, "the hard business of restructuring--i.e., trimming--benefits." as the Post editorial of today says. That is what happens when all attention is given to winning a party primary where only 10% of all voters vote. You can spread around the goodies and use the other 90% as an ATM because the general election is meaningless. Not in 2010 Mark.
Mark, I understand you have some Congressional Research Service connections. My Dad, a Phodes Scholar, worked there for 40 years. Why don't you use some holiday time to research the unpaid obligations vis-a-vis Montgomery County's pension and health benefit system?
Mr. Ficker,
If you want to address the ICC tolls and the gas tax, you should consider running for the state legislature (if you can determine what district you live in).
The ICC tolls are controlled by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA). MdTA is outside direct control of the state legislature, but I would like to see the legislature reform that agency to reel it in. MdTA is not only responsible for the ICC tolls, but also the EZPass monthly fee that was tacked on.
An unfortunate reality about the ICC is that it was built to be a toll road. I think those who pushed for its construction did not realize how high those tolls will be. They were not thinking clearly because a road of that size and cost, to be paid for by tolls, would require hefty ones.
The philosophy of the tolls is actually a conservative one, touted by the Republican Party (your party) when they were in power in Washington, DC. The US Department of Transportation, under former Secretary Mary Peters and Assistant Secretary for Policy Tyler Duvall, pushed these projects. The ICC is the unfortunate result. I will not be driving on it.
As for the gas tax, the County Council has no authority to levy a gas tax. Currently, there is no County gas tax and unlike the income tax there is no provision in the state law allowing counties to levy a gas tax (see Md. Ann. Code Tax § 9-101 et seq). I believe the state could give the County the authority to pass their own gas tax by that would require the support of the legislature.
I make no secret of my support for increasing and indexing the state and federal gas taxes to inflation, with a collar put in to avoid large increases and perhaps additional provisions for low income individuals. The benefit to the gas tax is that we can fund transportation projects, particularly transit, that improve our quality of life, environment, and energy usage. I would be hesitant to support a push to give the County its own gas tax authority because that would allow the state to ignore our transportation needs even further.
The question for you Mr. Ficker is if you do not want to fund transportation by taxes (no gas tax) or fees (no tolls), how do you want to fund it? Do we have no need for new roads, road improvements, bike paths, sidewalks, transit maintenance, and new transit lines? If we dedicate existing tax revenue for these purposes, what do we take it from? Why are you running for the County Council, where are you can do is complain about these issues, and not the state legislature where you can do something about them?
-Marc
Here, is my point Marc. We haver a marblecake of government. And we have a marblecake of elections. Governor O'Malley cannot be re-elected without winning Montgomery County. He likely needs at least 60% or even 65% of the vote here, if past elections are of any weight.
Nancy Floreen, needs to realize that she should act more like Nancy Pelosi. She should contact the Governor, along with the other council member who supported her for President, and tell him that he needs to have these ICC tolls cut and he needs to dedicate more than the 6% of the sales tax which is dedicated to transportation to transportation and he needs to dedicate some slots revenue to transportation. She should tell him that he needs to do the aforegoing to get the council's support for re-election. I know that the council wants to see their beaming faces alongside the photo of the incombent Governor in the Democratic Primary, but this election is about more than just this election. You don't have to be in the legislature to do something about tolls or taxes. I testified at the ICC Commission's public hearing. I saw the State Secretary of Transportation there and her studied complacency. I have the feeling everyone just wants to stall until
after the election and then hit us with "revenue enhancements" instead of being honest with the voters.
Marc, the incumbents or recumbents, seem shy about commenting on Maryland Politics Watch. You are not. Why don't you run for the council and get the conversation going?
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