Mayoral Promises Missed or Fulfilled?
Mayor Marcuccio giving her inauguration speech, Nov. 22, 2009
At the November 22, 2009 inauguration of the current City Council, Phyllis Marcucchio opened her speech as the newly seated Mayor with the following words:
In keeping with my campaign issues, where I called for bringing citizens into the decision-making process, there are a number of actions I will propose during my administration which I hope the Council will support and which I believe will move our hometown safely and thoughtfully into a more citizen-driven future. Here are a few of those initiatives.
Over the next five minutes, she laid out a half dozen promises around financial management, charter reform, communications, citizen engagement, the environment, and others. Now that she’s nearing the end of her first term as mayor and hoping to be elected to another, I’ll examine each of these over the next few months to see how’s she fared (and if possible, where the other council members and candidates stand as well and include some of my own analysis). Of course, you’ll be invited to share your opinions but because the election season can provoke stronger and sharper words, I’ll be placing a stronger hand on the rudder to keep us on topic (you’ll want to review the rules for commenting on this blog if you’re unsure what I mean). I am also closing comments after a period of 30-60 days so that we can move the conversation along.
Rockville Central on Facebook: A Step Forward, Back, or Sideways?
Rockville Central on Facebook
Six months ago, Brad Rourke and Cindy Cotte Griffiths moved Rockville Central from a standalone web site to Facebook to both go where most of their readers were and to allow for more convenient interaction among readers. Founded in June 2007, within a couple years Rockville Central had become one of the top five local blogs in Maryland, but now that it’s moved entirely and exclusively to Facebook, how has it fared?
The move to Facebook has generated national attention, including the Washington Post, Huffington Post, Poynter, Media Bistro, and the Neiman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. The articles tend to be struck by the “Facebook exclusive” venture and it’s potential as a model for other community news organizations (e.g., “Industry leaders and media analysts say news organizations have not yet fully exploited Facebook for its total worth,” noted the Washington Post). On the other hand, reader comments often raised concerns about Continue reading →
Temperature of Rockville Council Election Just Went Up
With Scott Ullery’s recent announcement that he’ll retire as City Manager in December, the temperature of the upcoming City Council elections just went up several degrees. Hiring a City Manager is one of the most important decisions they can make and has both long-term and short-term implications. We’ve been fortunate to have such a skilled administrator as Scott Ullery, who has been a calm and consistent force at the City despite the continual challenges that come into his office from all corners. I’ve always found him to be ethical and fair, and while I know some people sought his removal, it’s usually because they’re trying to do something that doesn’t align with our city’s strategic plan, violates city codes, or requires Council approval. It’s a thankless job because you are always subject to public criticism and you get a new set of bosses every two years (and the best city managers, like the best editors, are often invisible and let others get the credit).
Selecting the next City Manager will be a crucial responsibility for the next Council–and it’s not an easy job. In my former hometown of Upland, California, we had a terrible series Continue reading →
What’s In a Name? A Lot for Rockville’s Lutheran Church
Today Rockville’s first Lutheran congregation will officially unveil to the community its new name— “Living Faith Lutheran Church” during a Renaming Celebration. The event will also mark the retirement with dignity of “Crusader Lutheran Church,” the congregation’s name since its foundation in 1952. The celebration begins with a 10:30 a.m. worship service, followed by a noon luncheon reception.
In addition to church members, dozens of guests are expected to join in this joyous event, including representatives of Community Ministries of Rockville; members of the Rockville City Council; and other public officials, faith-community representatives & ministry partners.
The Rev. Philip C. Hirsch will preach a special sermon placing this milestone in both a scriptural and historical context, with an emphasis on the road ahead for Living Faith. Pastor Hirsch serves as Assistant to the Bishop and Director for Evangelical Mission for the Washington, D.C. Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
“We are looking forward to this joyous opportunity to celebrate our new name, honor our 59 years of history as Crusader Lutheran and humbly dedicate ourselves to the mission God has in store for us as Living Faith Lutheran,” said the Rev. Sandra Cox Shaw, the church‟s pastor since 2005.
“We believe “Living Faith” better captures who we are today — a congregation committed to putting our faith into action by serving our community, our nation and our world,” Pastor Shaw added. “And we believe that this is the name God has guided us to choose, through a process of prayer, discernment and faithful deliberation.”
Immediately after worship on June 26, Pastors Hirsch and Shaw will Continue reading →
A Crib for Adults Debuts at Strathmore
Today Rockville architect Jeff Broadhurst unveiled his Crib, a modernist cabin, at the Mansion at Strathmore. Based on a cabin he built for his family in West Virginia, this updated version is a mix of warm wood and industrial steel combined in a contemporary fashion. Furthermore, it’s designed as a kit of parts that can be easily transported and quickly assembled, and by standing on four piers, it can be built in nearly any terrain. Unlike most cabins that are dark and claustrophobic, the Crib’s high ceilings and translucent walls make it spacious and airy. Plus one wall opens like a garage door, stretching the living room onto the porch. It’s a very clever and beautiful design worthy of Sunset magazine or Architectural Digest, and ideal for a couple or small family that wants to live simply yet stylishly. It’ll be on display at Strathmore for two years and used as a studio and gallery for several of their artists-in-residence. Check it out and see what one of your neighbors has been up to.
The Latest Rumors about the City Council Elections 2011
It’s June but the City Council race for Rockville is incredibly quiet compared to a couple years ago. Every seat on the City Council (terms are two years) are up for grabs in November 2011 election. The latest rumors I’ve heard are:
Incumbent Candidates
- Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio: will run for another term, and if she wins, will again attempt to fire the City Manager (which will probably prompt a half dozen other senior staff to leave), continue to use city taxes to support Red Gate Golf Course, and work to cut city property tax rate (and along with it, cut city services). She will most likely move to revise the city charter to make the Mayor the Chief Executive of the City (or just act like she’s the Chief Executive).
- Councilmember John Britton: regretfully, won’t run for another term.
- Councilmember Piotr Gajewski: will run for Mayor as the only opponent to incumbent Mayor Marcuccio. He frequently advocates for transparency in governance and data-driven decision-making, which run counter to the approach used by some of his colleagues on the Council. On the other hand, he has advocated for a revised charter to move from a City Manager form of government to a Strong Mayor, which is a bad idea for Rockville.
- Councilmember Bridget Newton: heir to the seat held by Anne Robbins, and thankfully, won’t run for another term.
- Councilmember Mark Pierzchala: thankfully, will run for another term.
New Candidates
- John Hall: former councilmember hoping to return to council. Supported by former councilmember Anne Robbins, former mayors Susan Hoffman and Larry Giammo, and current Mayor Marcuccio (once again, politics makes strange bedfellows). Pleasant, funny guy but conflict averse.
- Dion Trahan: new Planning Commissioner. He’s the one who wears bowties and asks lots of questions.
- Joe Jordan: he’s not running, but is developing a slate of candidates to give Phyllis Marcuccio a majority on the Council to ensure that Red Gate Golf Course survives and to remove his nemesis City Manager Scott Ullery. With Councilmember Newton’s departure (she often votes with Marcuccio), this will be very difficult (and if he succeeds, it will be devastating to the City’s leadership and governance).
If you’ve been counting, that means that there will be very little choice on the ballot this year and that puts our City at risk. A special interest group might be able to take over City Council if they can muster the candidates and money in the next few months (it’s happened here in the past!). Again, this is just word on the street and I haven’t been able to verify much of this information. Candidates have to submit their petitions in early September, so we’ll have to wait a bit longer to know who will really be on the ballot in November.
Rockville’s Veterans Remembered
Memorial Day, Remembrance Day, Decoration Day. The name has changed over the decades but it still has the same meaning–a day set aside to remember those who died in service to the United States. Rockville has many of those people with us from the days of the American Revolution to the present day and a quiet way to remember them is to visit the many historic cemeteries found throughout the city. The epitaths carved in stone or the flags pushed into the ground mark those who served, and you’ll find streets and bridges named in honor of some of them. Those who know our nation’s history can easily recognize the meaning of a date and place, such as France 1918 or Burma 1945. In others, you are reminded of the complexity of life, with soldiers who fought each other in Civil War now silently sharing the same earth or two brothers who leave to fight in the same war, but only one returns. These places are worth preserving because of the memories and lessons they contain. These pictures from the Rockville Cemetery on Baltimore Road in Twinbrook are just a glimpse of what’s available in these quiet places.
Hometown Holidays 2011
It was a bit warm this weekend, but still a great time to enjoy Rockville’s annual Hometown Holidays. I love seeing lots of people downtown enjoying our fair city, and I also like to see what’s happening with restaurants through the “Taste of Rockville” (you may figured out I’m a bit of a foodie). Lots of restaurants were there and the most exciting was Oro Pomodoro, who was making pizzas with a portable wood-burning oven. Some people may be disappointed in the lack of variety, but participating in a “taste” event is very difficult–restaurants often have to stretch their resources to staff a second location for two days and then guess at how much food to bring. Most do it as a community service and hope it will result in future customers–they rarely make any profit at these events. Alas, the “tastes” were large and typically cost $5 so I only managed to try out three restaurants. I hope next year they’ll include smaller menu items in the $1-3 range to encourage people to take a risk on something new.
There was plenty to do for families (which also meant lots of strollers to navigate) but adults could probably explore it all in a couple hours unless you enjoyed an entire performance. The City did a great job of placing and scheduling bands carefully throughout downtown, but setting up all the stages and chairs also pointed out that we lack obvious community gathering places downtown (hardly any benches and shade trees arranged for a group of a dozen or more people). Let’s hope the new buildings going up soon will solve that.
Produce A Bit Behind Schedule at Farmers Market
While the Farmers Market opened on schedule last weekend in Rockville, the produce is a bit behind schedule due to rain. Kevin Grove at Quarter Branch Farm (near Point of Rocks) has leafy greens and white chard, and expects rainbow chard and assorted radishes next week (including French breakfast varieties). I also discovered that he offers two versions of CSA boxes for the Saturday market: a standard farm share and a new market share. For both shares, the customer prepays for a season’s worth of produce. In the farm share, the farmer assembles an assortment of the best produce for the week and brings it in a box or bag for customer pick-up at the market (it gives the customer the best produce, but no choice). The market share allows the customer to select from the produce available for sale at the market and charges it against the pre-paid account (it gives the customer choice, but not the best produce). Eight Rockvillians are participating and he’s not selling any additional shares this season, but it’s something to consider next year. Tikvat Israel also offers both summer and fall CSA shares with a Monday afternoon pickup.
Although leafy greens and strawberries currently dominate the market, you’ll find a couple vendors with tomatoes, carrots, and zucchini (thanks to greenhouses). New this year is Grandma Vera’s Bakery out of Saverna Park (near Annapolis) with a wide selection of pastries and breads, some of it influenced by Vera’s Brazilian roots. You’ll also find them at Wednesday’s market in Rockville. Otherwise, you’ll find lots of familiar faces selling produce, meat (fresh and cured), eggs, cheese, bread and pastries, flowers, honey, and garden plants.
Other nearby farmers markets are the Farmers and Artists Market in Olney on Sundays and the new one at King Farm on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They’re all different so try to explore all of them this summer (although I’m still waiting for a mushroom vendor).
Where to Find Great Food
The May 2011 issue of Washingtonian magazine features, “Where to Find Great Food” in the greater DC region–it’s about sources for ingredients (e.g., butchers, bakeries, spices, cheese), not restaurants–seems to favor Virginia. I’m not sure if that’s because they just don’t know the area north of Chevy Chase or if they’re too afraid of the Rockville Pike. I’m delighted that they found these outstanding places in and around Rockville (many of the places are listed as Rockville but they’re actually Rockville-Adjacent):
- Dutch Country Farmers Market (they listed Laurel, but there’s one much closer in Germantown)
- Firefly Farms (they sell their goat cheeses at the Rockville Farmers Market)
- Cherry Glen (they sell their goat cheeses at the Olney Farmers Market)
- Saint Michel Bakery (they’ve told me that they’ve had to double production in response to the Washingtonian‘s listing)
- Bagel City (in the shopping center with Office Depot and Friday’s on the Rockville Pike)
But there’s a lot that was missed, so using their same categories, here are my recommendations: Continue reading →
