I am compiling candidate responses to the following question of concern to myself and a variety of other voters. I will publish said responses online so that other voters will have an opportunity to be informed. If you do not respond within a week, I will simply note your lack of response, then edit it in retrospectively, should you eventually provide answers.

Question 1:
Potable municipal water is becoming more expensive to provide to the citizens of Rockville due to several factors. Much of the potable water is used for lawn and garden maintenance when untreated water would suffice. Amazingly, rainfall running off our roofs can be used for such watering if it can be collected and stored. Unfortunately for me, my Home Owners Association has a rule prohibiting the installation of rain barrels. As a city council member how would you ensure that rain barrels cannot be barred by HOA rules? Conversely, if you oppose rain barrels, please explain why.

Question 2:
The threat of global warming requires action by individual citizens to reduce their carbon footprint and rising electricity prices add further incentive to reduce electricity use. One of the major electricity consuming appliances in the home is the clothes dryer, which also causes in accelerated wear and tear of ones fabrics. It is surprising that Rockville’s efforts to promote a greener future have not included the removal of the ordinance which outlaws the line drying of clothing on private property. Do you support line drying as an energy efficient way to dry clothing? Do you support the removal of any city rules barring line drying? Please explain.

Question 3:
The few residents of West Argyle Street have petitioned the city for and received substantial changes to the traffic pattern over recent years. While some of the changes were necessary, others detrimentally impacted a large number of Rockville residents in Linfield, Hungerford, Waddington Park, Fireside and Courthouse Walk. The no left turn from West Argyle onto Maryland Avenue between the hours of 7AM and 9 AM targets local resident commuters forcing them to take a longer, more congested alternative route that consumes more time and adversely affects their property values. There is no evidence that cut-through traffic has been substantially affected by this turn restriction. As a member of city council how would you address the concerns of the far greater number of voters that have been adversely affected?

My response:

These are such big questions, I’d like to respond to them as a regular post rather than have them get overlooked in the FAQ section. After I post my responses, I’ll remove it from this section to avoid confusion.