Yesterday, we explored the candidates’ positions on the issues. Today we’ll assess each candidate individually.
Delegate Ben Kramer (D-19)
Kramer was impressive in both debates he attended (ACT/Sierra Club and Young Democrats). He is intelligent, displays a solid command of issues and, most of all, he projects an air of leadership. Even though Nancy Navarro has more experience in public office, Kramer comes across as more of an incumbent.
Kramer regularly mentions his bills in Annapolis, especially those that crack down on crime and protect seniors. On issues, he emphasizes job creation, economic growth and funding for transportation. Kramer is the only candidate who regularly mentions the need to redevelop the Wheaton Central Business District, a major plus for this author. He tries to position himself as a statesman and emphasizes his endorsement by County Executive Ike Leggett. Consider these two statements:I want to reach out to the County Council Members to formulate a plan for Montgomery County and we should not personalize those issues.
Kramer’s weakness is that he is almost humorless in public. Audience members respected him but did not warm up to him. In the Young Democrats debate, Kramer grumbled twice under his breath about being asked a question last. Kramer’s best moment came when he recounted his shock at the sight of his foreclosed former family home. That was good for him because it showed the audience that a wealthy man born to many advantages could still relate to the circumstances of most county residents.
As a state Delegate, I have proven I am thoughtful and independent. One of the things I’ve learned in Annapolis is that you get a lot further from cooperation than confrontation. You don’t take issues personally and you move on.
Former Montgomery County Civic Federation President Cary Lamari
Lamari is an unreconstructed civic activist with a capital “A” and brings all the pluses and minuses of that pedigree. Like many dedicated activists, Lamari has a lot of experience and can speak with great detail about county functions, especially on growth policy. But he lacks the polish of a professional politician.
Lamari’s stump speech goes something like this:Montgomery County is reaching a crossroads. We can head in one of two directions. One direction is more growth, decreased quality of life and more taxes, all getting out of control. The other direction is a strategic plan for growth and taxes.
Lamari brings back many issues to growth policy. He often says that every new unit costs $36,000 in county services, but only $8,000-16,000 is collected from developers. In his view, the county’s budgetary health and its ability to provide all manner of services to protect residents’ quality of life goes back to the amount of growth it allows. “The more we grow, the deeper we dig the hole.”
Lamari has the opposite problem from Kramer. While he often projects warmth and good humor, he does not carry the statesmanlike demeanor of the Delegate from District 19. That said, there is an inherent honesty about Lamari in that what you see of him is what you are likely to get.
Board of Education Member Nancy Navarro
I attended three District 4 debates last year and two of them played out the same way: the other candidates, led by Don Praisner, piled onto Navarro over alleged “fiscal irresponsibility” and the school system’s “unsustainable” union contracts. Navarro fended off the pressure as best she could but it was a harsh political baptism. This year, she is a much better performer. She delivers her message with clarity and class and never responds to any bait dangled by other candidates.
Navarro emphasizes job creation, smart growth and the need to reach out to District 4’s residents. She is the only candidate who regularly mentions that District 4 is a majority-minority jurisdiction. Tipping her hat to President Obama, she never fails to mention her background as a “community organizer.” Navarro points to a need to “look at taxes on developments” and “coordinate infrastructure before we go ahead with redevelopment.” She even references the salary concessions given up by the school unions, saying, “Compromise is why we were able to get our unions to give up $89 million early on.”
One issue Navarro faces is that Kramer looks like the incumbent when in fact she has almost double his experience in public office (55 months vs. 28 months). She would benefit from being more assertive. For example, she has not mentioned that she is the only candidate who has had a leadership role on multi-billion dollar budgets. This is a common problem for female candidates who risk coming across as abrasive when they try to demonstrate leadership skills in the same way that men do. We asked one of the county’s savviest female politicians about this. She said, “It’s true there is a different standard for women… The best you can do is contrast yourself with the other candidates with a big smile on your face. Be charming about it.”
Rob Goldman
Goldman is a smart, personable young lawyer from Burtonsville who is making his first run for office. At times, he seems to be attempting to persuade the audience to hire him for legal representation rather than the County Council. Consider these statements:I intend to vigorously represent all District 4 residents.
Goldman regularly talks about the need for economic growth and more attention for Burtonsville. His handicap is that he has very little working knowledge of how the county operates. For example, when he called for allowing developers to have greater density in return for more affordable units in the ACT/Sierra Club debate, he seemed to have no idea that the county’s Moderately-Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) program already does that. As a result, Goldman tends to speak in generalities and seldom approaches the specifics of Kramer, Lamari, Navarro and Hardman.
The important thing is that you listen to your client’s or your constituent’s needs.
My goal is to diligently represent all the individuals in District 4.
But Goldman has brains, talent and speaking skills. He had one of the best lines of the Young Democrats debate when he said, “I’m an attorney and I have three-year-old twins. My days are full of conflict and my nights are full of chaos.” We certainly need fresh faces in this county and maybe Goldman can be one of them. Whatever happens in this race, Goldman should stay active in his community, pay his dues and meet more people to prepare for the future. He may be better suited for the House of Delegates than the County Council.
Michael Bigler
Left to right: Thomas Hardman, Rob Goldman, Michael Bigler.
Bigler is a nice older gentleman who reminisces about his experience in the Lions Club. He is given almost solely to generalities such as the following:I’ll be honest with you. I don’t want to see taxes raised at all.
Bigler’s only specific proposal is to impose ambulance fees. He did have one great line in the Young Democrats debate. When asked what his most contentious moment was, he replied it was “when I went home and told my wife I was running for office.”
If there’s no infrastructure, as far as I’m concerned, there can’t be any growth.
I don’t have all the answers. I’ll look to you for the answers.
Thomas Hardman
Hardman is an Aspen Hill resident who ran as a Republican for State Delegate in 2006 and in last year’s District 4 special election (when he received 97 votes in the Republican primary). Now he is running in the Democratic primary.
Hardman believes in limiting development, cracking down on code enforcement against illegal subletting and improving use of information technology on the schools. He is a voracious reader who knows much more about county programs than Goldman or Bigler.
But Hardman’s biggest problem is that he does not believe in the Democratic Party regardless of his current voter registration. When he dropped his Republican registration last October, he wrote this concerning a discussion he had about politics with his friends:I pointed out that having been twice rejected by the voters of my respective State and County districts, and having got passed over by them in favor of bozos and people making unkeepable promises, I wasn’t too sure I even wanted to legislate on behalf of those folks, and in fact might not think highly enough of them to do a good job, should by some incomprehensible fluke I might actually be elected…
If these really are Hardman’s views about the Democratic Party, then he should not be running in its primary.
As the most unpopular Republican in the Councilmanic District 4 Special Election primaries, I figured I might as well consider myself unacceptable to the Republicans and have since changed my voting registry to Unaffiliated. This means that if I want to get on the ballot for the next go-round, I have to collect about 2500 signatures, more or less. That would take lots of time…
I can’t register and run as a Democrat because in my opinion all of the things that most desperately need done or changed in MoCo simply cannot be done under the current Democratic Party here. It’s not that the ideas are bad or that the need is not there, it’s that the votes cannot be there, because the Democrat Party platform here cannot let the votes be there, or even have the issues considered. I can’t run as a maverick Democrat, not because nobody would vote for me -- look at the State District 19 near-total replacement of the incumbents and favorites in the last elections -- but because the Party would destroy me and anything associated with me, simply for having ideas of which the Central Committee didn’t approve.
The Republicans and George Gluck
Robin Ficker with his favorite statistics.
Robin Ficker is the most famous of the three Republicans but he is also the most one-dimensional. He is almost solely concerned with taxes. Ficker’s references to “our district” and “we” are appalling because he just moved into District 4. Add to that his unapologetic violations of election law and this statement made during the Burtonsville debate:Ike Leggett and I got 80% of the vote for County Executive. We will work together to lift this district.
Andrew Padula is an interesting person with a long career in jazz. Lou August is a businessman and non-profit founder who is unhappy with inefficiencies in county government. George Gluck is running as a progressive environmentalist. Each of them needs more resources to have a shot at winning. The fact that only 10 people attended the sole Republican debate bodes ill for the party.
Friday, April 10, 2009
District 4 Debate Shorts: The Candidates
Thursday, April 09, 2009
District 4 Debate Shorts: The Issues
I attended all three District 4 candidate debates last week (much to the consternation of the missus). We summarize these events in two posts, one covering the issues and another looking at the candidates.
From left: Lou August, Michael Bigler, Robin Ficker, George Gluck, Rob Goldman, Thomas Hardman, County Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg (representing Ben Kramer), Cary Lamari and Nancy Navarro in Burtonsville.
The three debates were held in Burtonsville, Wheaton and Downtown Silver Spring. The Burtonsville debate at Paint Branch High School included every candidate and drew about 50 people. The Action Committee for Transit/Sierra Club debate in Wheaton drew roughly 85 people. The Montgomery County Young Democrats debate at Silver Spring’s AFI Theater included just the Democrats and attracted over 70 people. The latter debate was outside the district, had no time limits on the candidates and allowed a couple long-winded questions from the audience, all of which hindered its usefulness. Delegate Ben Kramer (D-19) missed the Burtonsville debate because the House had scheduled votes that night.
We have very little material from Republicans Robin Ficker, Andrew Padula and Lou August and Green Party candidate George Gluck. They attended the Burtonsville debate but were prevented from debating the Democrats at the ACT/Sierra event and were not invited to the Young Democrats debate. Based on one nine-person event, we simply do not have enough notes to define their positions on par with the Democrats.
Two issues held the most prominence in the debates I attended: growth and transportation.
Growth
Delegate Ben Kramer (D-19) stated, “One of the things we need on the eastern side of the county is good jobs.” He characterizes the redevelopment of Silver Spring as a success and stated more than once that he would like to see redevelopment of the Wheaton Central Business District (CBD). He supports smart growth and defines it as bringing together business and residences at the same transit hubs. “That’s what the future of Montgomery County is all about.” He also said, “We should ensure that affordable housing has a critical role in how we design and build out our communities.”
Former Montgomery County Civic Federation President Cary Lamari repeatedly criticized the county’s growth policy. “What growth policy? We’re subject to special interest influence… If you’re a developer, you know where to send your money and your project will be built.” He said, “According to Park and Planning, every new unit built in the county costs $36,000 to service. But we only collect $8,000-16,000 in impact taxes. We’ve got to require developers to pay their fair share.” Lamari wants a tenants’ bill of rights, community land trusts and an end to developer buyouts of Moderately-Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs). He says, “We’ve grown beyond our ability to sustain our growth.”
Board of Education Member Nancy Navarro says there is no vision and no interconnectedness in the county’s plan for growth. She says the county needs a “holistic approach.” “I don’t think that we have a comprehensive vision of how to develop this county as a whole. We do it piecemeal. We have to have a comprehensive vision first. I don’t think we have arrived there.” Since District 4 has no transit hubs and a preponderance of affordable housing, “we must coordinate infrastructure before we go ahead with redevelopment.” She stated, “We have to ensure that if we provide more density, we have to get more affordable housing.”
Thomas Hardman says the county’s growth policy is “ill-thought, hopscotch and haphazard… Aspen Hill is pretty dense when we have 20 people living in a basement.” He defines smart growth as mixed-use high density at transit hubs. “Rockville is a textbook case of how not to do a downtown. There’s no place for the poor, no place for the workers.” Hardman says the MPDU program “seems like a failure… the last thing you want to do is concentrate poverty in one area.”
Rob Goldman, the only Burtonsville resident, favors better infrastructure and transit. “Look where we are in Burtonsville. We’ve been ignored… District 4 needs someone to promote growth.”
Michael Bigler says, “If there’s no infrastructure, as far as I’m concerned, there can’t be any growth… We have to stop building until there’s more infrastructure in place.”
From left: Michael Bigler, Rob Goldman and Thomas Hardman in Wheaton.
Transportation
Kramer said, “As a state legislator, I have strongly supported funding for the Purple Line and the CCT.” He favors County Council Member Marc Elrich’s BRT system, has consistently supported bills to limit raids on the Transportation Trust Fund and supports devoting a portion of the retail sales tax to transportation. He stated that opening the first phase of the ICC prior to its completion is a “huge mistake” and is “ill-conceived” because it would cause spillover onto Norbeck Road which is “already gridlocked.” “We should be looking at light rail up the US-29 corridor and BRT in the interior.”
Lamari stated, “The root problem of congestion is poor decisions in the past. When you grow beyond your ability of growing, you wind up with congestion.” He also favors Elrich’s BRT plan. He says the CCT is the “most-needed project in the county today” and “The ICC is the most destructive project today.”
Navarro emphasized the Purple Line, saying, “I testified for the Purple Line because I noticed a lot of working class people were not present to express their views on mass transit.”
Hardman wants to “right-size” bus lines, install BRT to Olney or Brookesville and plan for light rail up US-29 in 20 years. He also wants to plan for light rail on MD28/198 over the long term. “There are far more jobs in Montgomery County than there is affordable housing.”
Goldman said, “I support light rail going down Route 29.” Transit should also go north towards Howard County. He wants to replace diesel buses with compressed natural gas buses
Bigler stated, “Instead of building the ICC, why didn’t we think about light rail 20 years ago? Then we wouldn’t be having the arguments we are today.”
All candidates support the Purple Line. We are posting their Action Committee for Transit questionnaires throughout the election.
One note for the readers: if transportation is your primary issue, the big player is the state. It is the state, not the County Council, that controls improvements on state roads like Georgia Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue and US-29 as well as large transit projects like the CCT and the Purple Line. Don't forget to raise these issues with the State Senate and House of Delegates candidates when they run next year.
Other issues that were covered by the debates include:
Gang Violence
Lamari wants more activities for kids, more parental responsibility, mentor programs, more recreational facilities. Navarro mentioned educational facilities officers – cops who work in school buildings to keep kids out of gangs. “In Montgomery County, we’re resource-rich but lack coordination.” Hardman says after-school programs will only be effective 10-20 years from now and favors more gang-focused police officers. Goldman favors mentor programs. Bigler said, “We cannot allow these people to be in our schools.” Republican Andrew Padula stated, “If you want to deal with gang violence, you’ve got to come up with more than Peter Pannish solutions.” He wants a crackdown on “hardcore criminals.” Republican Robin Ficker said, “A lot of this violence is drug-driven. Our young people are not kept busy enough.” Ficker recommended starting police boxing leagues. “If they want to fight, then they can fight!” Kramer was not present at the Burtonsville event when the question was asked.
MCPS and the Budget
Ficker said that it was “improper” to give school employees “30% raises over three years.) He mentioned that there were 1,100 administrators earning six-figure salaries and asked, “why are there 1,400 credit cards for 200 schools?” “We have to keep an eye on the school budget so that homeowners can’t be used as ATMs.” Lamari criticized waste, including mailing of MCPS brochures that spotlight school board members. Navarro, a two-term President of the Board of Education, said, “We’re not producing widgets, we’re educating children. That’s why we’re spending money on teachers and support staff.” She mentioned her role in securing $190-200 million in budget savings this year due to the elimination of cost-of-living increases and reduced administrative spending. “Certainly, we enjoy a high-quality school system and that costs money.” Goldman stated, “We need to continue to generate outstanding students.” Hardman said he has no children and admits he knows “little” about schools. “My knowledge is insufficiently complete to decide that question.” Kramer was not present at the Burtonsville event when the question was asked.
From left: Ben Kramer, Cary Lamari and Nancy Navarro in Wheaton.
Climate Protection
Kramer said, “As a member of the state legislature, I was a co-sponsor of the Greenhouse Gas Reductions Act that would cut emissions by 25% by 2020.” He also co-sponsored the 2007 Clean Cars Act. “We have to have higher standards for appliances.” Goldman wants to replace county building HVACs with more efficient systems, retrofit them for lighting and encourage more forestry programs. “We need to encourage and incentivize developers to make buildings more environmentally friendly.” Navarro supports going for “low-hanging fruit” like “opportunities to train people for green jobs, like weatherizing homes.” She wants to move toward LEED buildings and “look at taxes on developments.” Lamari said, “We have to require all new buildings to be in the LEED program. We need to encourage older buildings to go to LEED certification as well.” He praised County Council Member Roger Berliner’s bill providing home loans for energy efficiency. Hardman favors mandatory changing of incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent bulbs. Bigler wants a homeowner energy tax credit.
Liquor Stores
All candidates opposed privatization. Goldman was the only candidate who favored liquor sales on Sundays while Kramer had “no objection” to it. I could not understand Hardman’s answers on the subject. Kramer stole the question at the end by telling the Young Democrats under 21 not to drink. “Stay on your toes,” he warned. Let it not be said that Ben Kramer always tells people what they want to hear!
Speed Cameras
All candidates supported them, but all said they should not be everywhere.
If You Could Pass One Law, What Would it Be?
Goldman would reinstate Ride-On routes about to be cancelled. He wants more bus options in general. Bigler would pass the ambulance fee. Lamari wants a new growth policy. Hardman would revise the housing policy and code to crack down on illegal sublets. Kramer would try to slow down foreclosures. He said, “I was shocked when I saw my family home, where I grew up, was foreclosed and in terrible shape.” Navarro would focus on job creation and smart growth. “I heard a story of a 6-year-old who was crying on the bus because his family had been evicted and he did not know if the bus driver knew where they lived.”
From left: Lou August, Michael Bigler, Robin Ficker, George Gluck and Rob Goldman in Burtonsville.
What are the Three Most Important Issues in District 4?
Bigler: Getting to work, jobs close to our homes, schools.
Goldman: Public safety, jobs in District 4 and in the county, protecting homeowners from losing homes.
Hardman: Economy, economy, economy.
Kramer: Work with other Council Members and the Executive to “make sure this District is not overlooked,” make sure East County is getting appropriate share of HHS and school funding, redevelop Burtonsville and Wheaton CBDs
Lamari: Deal with the budget deficit, establish hierarchy of policies with growth at the top, safety net.
Navarro: Job creation and smart growth, unify the community, safety net.
That’s as much detail as we can offer from the candidates on the issues. Tomorrow we’ll look at the candidates themselves.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
District 4 Campaign Finance Reports (Updated)
Most of the District 4 campaign finance reports due on March 24 are finally online. Here’s what they say.
Ben Kramer
Beginning Balance: $316.44
Contributions: $2,200
Loans: $23,000
Expenditures: $21,353.78
End Balance: $4,162.66
Kramer led all candidates in receipts, primarily by loaning himself $23,000 (93% of his take). That follows past practice; he loaned himself $130,450 during his 2006 Delegate race.
Kramer had 10 individual contributors, led by former U.S. Senate candidate Josh Rales ($1,000). While Kramer promised Alison Klumpp that he would not accept money from “developers” (even though Klumpp calls him one), three of Kramer’s contributors have links to the real estate industry. Lydia Funger McClain of Potomac ($250) is the daughter of Morton Funger, a principal of development firm Ralmor Corporation. McClain is also a former part-owner of Home Properties Inc., which is seeking to redevelop part of the Falkland Chase Apartments in Silver Spring. Steven Jacobson of Rockville ($250), a principal of law firm West & Feinberg, heads the firm’s commercial leasing practice. And Rales heads up RFI Associates, which his bio describes as "one of the leading investment companies in the area, specializing in acquiring, renovating, and overseeing real estate projects." That means that contrary to Kramer’s pledge to Mrs. Klumpp, his leading outside donor is a developer. Rales is also a former Republican who contributed money to George W. Bush.
Most of Kramer’s other donors are lawyers and businessmen, such as Paul Hastings attorney Behnam Dayanim ($200), Loomis Sayles Vice-President Aileen Rappaport ($100), Sandglass Systems co-founder David Fraser-Hidalgo ($100) and former M. Stein & Company owner Jerold Samet ($100).
Kramer has two paid staffers: campaign manager Eric Hensal ($6,000) and Tom Smith ($4,000). He has paid for banners, palm cards and lapel stickers, received a voter list from MCDCC and has sent out at least one mailing. Large Kramer billboards are appearing on properties owned by his family around the district.
Cary Lamari
Beginning Balance: $0
Contributions: $3,592.24
Loans: $10,000
Expenditures: $1,726.87
End Balance: $11,865.37
Lamari led all candidates in individual contributions. His contributor list reads like a who’s-who roster of the civic movement, including prominent activists Margaret Dennis ($250), James Fary ($100), Rocky Lopes ($100), Dan Wilhelm ($100) and Stuart Rochester ($50). Other contributors include former County Council Member Blair Ewing ($100) and MCDCC Secretary Elliot Chabot ($100).
Lamari has ordered 400 signs and posted one advertisement in Leisure World News but had sent no mailings at the time of the finance report. He has no paid staff.
Nancy Navarro
Beginning Balance: $43,220.69
Contributions: $2,090
Loans: $0
Expenditures: $33,444.44
End Balance: $12,151.14
Navarro started off with a big balance left over from last year’s special election. Her biggest contributors last time were unions and businesses, including developers. This time, the majority of her contributions so far have come from fellow School Board Member Shirley Brandman ($500), MCPS staffer Nivea Berrios ($300), Identity Inc. Executive Director Candace Kattar ($250), Impact Silver Spring Executive Director Frankie Blackburn ($150) and MCDCC Member Oscar Ramirez ($100). We cannot find evidence of any business or developer contributions in this report. SEIU Local 500 reported a $2,500 in-kind contribution for the services of its Political Director, Jackie Lichter, who is Navarro’s Deputy Campaign Director. No other unions have contributed so far. (My own union, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, gave a maximum contribution to Navarro a year ago and cannot give her any more money. I have not contributed to Navarro or any other District 4 candidate.)
Navarro has spent far more money than the other candidates early on. She paid $9,775 to Campaign Director David Moon, $1,672.67 to field worker Ken Silverman and $10,825.95 to consulting firm TruBlu Politics. Navarro replenished her coffers with a fundraiser shortly after the March 24 reporting deadline.
Democrat Michael Bigler contributed $500 to his campaign. Republican Andrew Padula contributed $300 to his campaign. Green Party candidate George Gluck loaned his campaign $647.43. Democrat Thomas Hardman has received no contributions or loans and has a $25 balance. As of this writing, the State Board of Elections has not posted any filings for Democrats Rob Goldman and Chris Paladino or Republicans Robin Ficker and Lou August.
The strangest contribution was received by the Lamari campaign. Roger Asbury of 11501 Dewey Road in Silver Spring was Lamari’s biggest contributor, giving him $1,000 on 2/18/09.
A simple Google search on Asbury reveals that he is a registered child sex offender. 
When we raised this issue with Lamari, he sent us the following statement:As a result of your inquiry, I have spoken to Mr. Asbury and explained that I will be returning his contribution. I had accepted the contribution because he appreciated my help on a zoning matter dealing with his produce business. I politely explained I was returning his contribution so as to not have any connection with the perception that I endorse the crimes he has been convicted of. I adamantly oppose the abuse of children and believe crimes against women and children are among the most horrible crimes commited. He has explained to me that his crime was 13 years ago, that he was incarcerated for two years in jail and has had psychiatric treatment since his release. I wished him well and requested my campaign treasuer to refund his contribution.
Update: Rob Goldman sent me the following affidavits stating that he has has not received contributions or made expenditures exceeding $1,000 in either of the pre-primary reporting periods. I cannot explain why the State Board of Elections does not post this information to its website.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to provide a factual and detailed explanation of events.
Cary Lamari
