Blast from the Past

Here's a quote from a Gazette editorial about the County Council.

The Montgomery County Council has struggled to maintain its relevance in the governance of our community in recent times. This past year in particular, the council’s performance has been disappointing, unfocused, contentious and unsettling.

One wonders how a sophisticated county, with a population of nearly a million people and a government budget of $3.9 billion, could elect representatives unable to come together on the challenges we face. The council has exhibited little capacity to cast politics aside and focus on the big picture. It allows too much access to political activists and treats public hearings as opportunities to lecture constituents and private and public leaders on how things should be done. Without regard to experience, leadership or vision, some members horse-trade the presidency like it is a two-bit, back-alley card game, leaving the public to suffer the consequences.

The time for a shake-up has arrived.

So was this written yesterday? Two weeks ago? No, folks, it was written in August 2006.