Royce Hanson: Why I am a Candidate for Montgomery County Council

Following is former Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson's statement explaining his reasons for running for the District 2 (Upcounty) council seat.

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Montgomery County is at a defining moment in its history. The next County Council must work harder and smarter to sustain our shared vision and to make Montgomery a place to live for our children and grandchildren that is even better than it has been for us.

Nowhere are these challenges greater than in District 2, which must be met in the face of a serious structural deficit in county finances.

• Managing Clarksburg’s growth and provision of community services.

• Bringing jobs to Germantown and completing its town center.

• Expanding Montgomery College to meet up-county higher education needs help people update skills and change careers.

• Improving Olney and Damascus town centers.

• A new master plan for Montgomery Village.

• Approving construction of an up-county hospital site.

• Completing Little Bennett Park and connecting park trails from Seneca to Little Bennett and the Patuxent.

• Starting the Corridor Cities Transitway.

• Initiating Bus Rapid Transit in the I-270 and Georgia Avenue corridors Protecting the Ten Mile Creek watershed.

• Strengthening protections of the Agricultural Reserve.

Every citizen must do what one can to help meet these challenges. I believe my experience and problem-solving skills can help meet these and other challenges the county will confront in the next four years. That’s why I’m in this race and why I ask for your help and support.

Here are my priorities:

To ensure a working majority on the County Council that will champion smart, independent, effective planning for healthy, sustainable communities, the environment, and economic growth.

To address the county’s fiscal crisis, so that we do not continue stumbling into budgetary disasters.

To sustain and strengthen our educational system, from pre-school through post-graduate programs so that we remain the intellectual and economic capital of Maryland.

To ensure a working majority on the County Council that will champion smart, independent, effective planning for healthy, sustainable communities, the environment, and economic growth.

To address the county’s fiscal crisis, so that we do not continue stumbling into budgetary disasters.

To sustain and strengthen our educational system, from pre-school through post-graduate programs so that we remain the intellectual and economic capital of Maryland.

To protect and improve the nation’s most honored local park system.

To support economic development that creates a sustainable tax base.

To accelerate the construction and operation of a 21st century transportation system including the Corridor Cities Transitway, connected bikeways, pedestrian-friendly streets, Bus Rapid Transit, and improved traffic management to reduce congestion so that we spend more time with family instead of traffic.

To protect the future of the Agricultural Reserve as a working landscape and invaluable source of fresh food as well as an environmental and cultural treasure.

To foster, especially in the communities of District 2, new approaches to community participation and governance that strengthen stakeholder voices in decisions that affect the kind and quality of public services and facilities that are delivered.

I hope that my record will speak for my ability to get important things done that serve the public.