More Troubles With City of Rockville Executives?
Although the November 30 Mayor and Council meeting was to be the last for the current Mayor and Council, a closed session meeting was hastily scheduled for 9:00 am today to “discuss the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation, or performance evaluation of an employee over whom the Mayor and Council has jurisdiction.” That concerns only three employees: City Manager, City Attorney, or City Clerk. This must be incredibly serious because it couldn’t wait until the first meeting of the newly elected Mayor and Council on November 20. The Mayor and Council might receive a summary at the end of the meeting, but it may be through a news release later in the day. Mayor Newton has played her cards very close to the vest with closed sessions, even flaunting Maryland’s Open Meetings Act to keep information secret, so we may have to wait to learn what is happening. Let’s hope the new Mayor and Council will be more transparent and open about their decision-making.
Is Candidate Richard Gottfried a DINO or RINO?
Once again, the 2023 campaign for Rockville’s Mayor and Council took another strange turn, this time from council candidate Richard Gottfried. Late last week, a letter arrived from him in our mailbox addressed to “Dear Twinbrook Voters,” urging residents to “vote strategically for your neighborhood candidates [Richard Gottfried and Marissa Valeri]” and that he is the “clear choice for Twinbrook.”
What he doesn’t tell us is that he sent a similar letter addressed to “Dear Republican Voter” which instead emphasized the ballot referenda questions on allowing non-citizens and 16-17 year old residents to vote. He states that he is a “conservative candidate who firmly believes that the answers to these two referenda questions should be NO” and that the “other candidates in this election are democrats with very progressive viewpoints.” He especially requests the votes of “republican voters that are registered, but may not take the time to vote in the City of Rockville’s non-partisan election.”
It’s fine that candidates tailor their messages for their audiences, even along party lines in a non-partisan election (although it is really stretching the bounds of traditional campaigning in Rockville). But if you care about a candidate’s values and how they will conduct themselves in office, these letters will be eye-openers. Democrats will be incensed that he’s campaigning in this manner. But Republicans will be as well, because in the 2019 election, Richard Gottfried was registered as a Democrat. I’m not sure if this makes him a DINO (Democrat in Name Only) or a RINO (Republican INcognitO).
Money Talks: Pierzchala, Jackson, Van Grack, and Fulton Lead in Rockville Election Funding
Who’s on top in the Rockville Mayor and Council race? If you based it on money, it would be Mark Pierzchala for Mayor and Barry Jackson, Adam Van Grack, and Kate Fulton for City Council (I suspect Izola Shaw is among them, however, she did not submit a financial report by the deadline). The status of the remaining candidates remain ambiguous, and even the initial insights from the financial reports for these four top-seated candidates warrant further examination.
Among the Council candidates, Barry Jackson, Adam Van Grack, and Kate Fulton have each raised more than $20,000 to date, allowing them to run a well-rounded effective campaign. In the 2019 campaign, successful candidates raised about $15,000. To take the lead among Fulton and Van Grack, Jackson loaned himself $20,000. The remaining candidates have raised less than $10,000 to date, putting them on roughly equal footing (again, Harold Hodges did not submit reports so we can assume he is not an active candidate). Among the latest campaign finance reports were several surprises:
- Richard Gottfried attracted only two donors, including Art Stigile, the treasurer of Mark Pierzchala’s campaign.
- Danniel Belay posted an extraordinary growth in contributions from $0 by October 3 to $5,850 by the end of the month, but only one $50 donation came from a Rockville resident. The rest came from outside of the city, state, or United States.
- Ricky Mui raised just over $2,000 but spent more than $2,500 for catering and Chinese lion dancers at a fundraiser, so he actually fell behind. There’s also an unusual comment that his campaign owes Brigitta Mullican, a Rockville resident, $1,286 for 1200 printed mailers.
The Mayoral race contains the biggest surprises as both candidates have raised more than $65,000, overshadowing the council candidates: $67,303 for Monique Ashton and an extraordinary $146,677 for Mark Pierzchala. To achieve those record-setting numbers required loaning themselves record-setting amounts in this month: $35,143 for Monique Ashton and $90,000 for Mark Pierzchala. Combined with their loans for the previous periods (both are incumbents carrying loans from the 2019 campaign), Ashton has debts of $51,678 and Pierzchala has a whopping debt of $126,500. Many residents assume that the Mayor and Council are volunteers, but they are considered “part time” positions and given an “annual stipend” of $37,560 for the Mayor and $30,483 for council members. If Pierzchala wins, it will take more than three years of his four-year term to pay back this loan. Is it worth it? Evidently, it is for him.
Compared to the 2019 campaign, the amounts raised for 2023 have reached new heights. Most of it is spent on printing and mailing campaign literatures to homes of Rockville residents, which seems to be the most effective way to connecting with voters. If the City changes from city-wide to campaign districts, it will make the cost to run for office much less expensive and open it up to more residents.
Who is Monique Ashton, candidate for Mayor?
In another strange twist in the 2023 campaign for Rockville Mayor and Council, current councilmember and mayoral candidate lacks an official biography on the City’s website. The page is genuinely blank—this is not due to a computer error. The reason for its absence remains unclear.
If you are interested in her qualifications, she provides this biography on her website MoniqueAshton.com:
I have been a Rockville resident for 19 years, living in both East and West Rockville. I was born in New York to a hispanic mother and a west indian father, I grew up in Jamaica queens, attended NYU to study public health and came to DC in 2001 to pursue a masters in public health at GWU. While there I met my husband George Ashton, and in time we moved to Rockville to begin our lives together and start a family. I am an executive champion for our kids and schools , community leader, protector of smart growth, and a strong mother of 3 (2 kids & 1 dog). I am committed to preserving and improving Rockville.
Update November 6, 2023: The City of Rockville website now provides Monique Ashton’s official bio.
Rockville’s $307,093 Question: What Led to City Manager DiSpirito’s Resignation?
The cause of former City Manager Rob DiSpirito’s resignation in August remains a mystery except that we now know that it cost the City of Rockville $307,093.21, including $229,630.98 representing nine months’ salary and benefits and $77,462.23 for unused vacation time. It’s an extraordinary expense for the City of Rockville which so far remains unmentioned by the Mayor and Council and would be equal to:
- Ten years of the Senior Nutrition Program ($30,070 per year according to the upcoming agreement to be approved by Mayor and Council at Monday’s meeting).
- Salaries for three to four police officers ($70,036.00 – $105,429.00 annually according to the latest job posting).
- All computer and communication equipment expenses for the City ($259,880 in the FY 2024 budget)
- Janitorial services for all City facilities for a year (almost! annual expenses are $364,840 in the FY 2024 budget)
- Annual property tax for 175 houses (if $600,000 is the average cost of a house in Rockville and tax rate is $0.292 per $100 of assessed value on real property = $1,752.00 per house)
Why would someone who has gone through a Performance Improvement Program and then resign be entitled to a severance package? According to his 2016 contract, “the City shall have no obligation to pay the one-time lump sum cash payment and shall have the right to immediately terminated this Agreement without payment of any further compensation to the City Manager” if he commits “any act which involves moral turpitude.” Obviously, no moral turpitude occurred or he wouldn’t have received a severance payment.
So under what circumstances could the City Manager receive a severance package? His 2016 contract states that the “City may terminate the City Manager at any time for any reason including, but not limited to, a conflict in management style or philosophy” and if the “City Manager is still willing and able to perform the duties under this agreement, then, in that event, the City agrees to pay the City Manager a one-time lump sum cash payment equal to nine (9) months’ aggregate salary.” Hmm. So there’s a reason for his resignation, or should we say termination, but no one has provided an adequate explanation.
Rob DiSpirito has refused to explain why he resigned, but that’s because his 2023 Settlement Agreement requires that he “shall keep the terms of this settlement completely confidential, and that confidentiality is an essential element of the settlement itself” nor can he “directly or indirectly, engage in communication or conduct that disparages the City, its elected officials, officers, employees or agents or make any negative statements about the employment practices of the City.”
The Mayor and Council is not required to keep this confidential, but unfortunately, they’ve insisted on secrecy. Indeed, obtaining copies of the City Manager’s 2016 Employment Agreement and 2023 Settlement Agreement required invoking the Maryland Public Information Act. What is the Mayor and Council hiding that’s worth $307,093? If there’s a “conflict in management style,” let’s discuss it and stop guessing. Mayor and Council, where are you leading the City? Right now you’re being sneaky and opaque—exactly the opposite of good governance. Mayoral candidates Ashton and Pierzchala, will you be able to bring better governance and transparency? What will you do better and differently than Mayor Newton? Or is just more of the same?
October 30, 2023: Response from Mark Pierzchala, Rockville City Councilmember and candidate for Rockville Mayor:
In your October 29 post about Mr. DiSpirito’s departure, I remind you that in May, it was I who wanted to end the drama at that time. The Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) was unwarranted for such a senior manager.
The date of the closed August 17 meeting, concerning Mr. DiSpirito’s status, was chosen because that was after the 3-month ending of the PIP. Note that the August 17 meeting was held during the Mayor and Council summer recess.
I was the one who took the August 17 closed-session minutes. These were typed up immediately after that meeting and sent confidentially to my colleagues before 8 pm on August 17. The length of time it took to officially approve them, over 2 months later, is not appropriate. Indeed, Mayor Newton pulled them off the October 9 consent agenda.
The August 17, 2023 closed-session minutes were approved at the October 23, 2023 meeting, as were the September 11 minutes. Since the August 17 minutes were from a closed session, they are to be included in the September 11 minutes when these are put on the City’s website (the September 11 meeting was the next public meeting of the Mayor and Council). In the August 17 minutes, you will see the motions and results that led to Mr. DiSpirito’s departure. These minutes should soon be posted.
There is no reason for Mayor and Council to hide actions and votes from a closed session. Some of the information presented therein should be kept confidential, but the resulting decisions should be made public in a timely manner. That is what I will achieve as Mayor.
Rockville Mayor and Council Set to Approve Tower Oaks Development in Final Meeting for Newton and Feinberg
At its Monday, October 30, 2023 meeting, the Rockville Mayor and Council will approve the Tower Oaks townhouse development, possibly adopt the pedestrian master plan, and discuss the City’s personnel manual and County’s development impact tax. On the Consent Calendar (items approved without discussion) are right-of-way agreements for Joseph Street, reclassifying a private road to a public street with waivers for the Tower Oaks townhouse development, contracts to perform stormwater cleanouts, asphalt-concrete improvements to city parks, for the Linkages-to-Learning program and Senior Nutrition Program, among others. The Mayor and Council will also receive reports on the police department deployment plan (which includes the most recent crime report for Rockville, see figure 1). Strangely, the recent issues with the election are not on the agenda (but I suspect they will be mentioned in Community Forum).
This will be the last Mayor and Council meeting attended by Mayor Bridget Newton and Councilmember Beryl Feinberg because they are not seeking re-election; a reception in their honor will be held at 5:00 pm.
The Mayor and Council are conducting hybrid meetings. If you wish to submit comments in writing for Community Forum or Public Hearings, please email the comments to MayorAndCouncil@RockvilleMD.gov by no later than 10:00 a.m. on the date of the meeting.
More details in the 320-page agenda packet are available at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10302023-7043.
Former Council Member Advocates for Lower Voting Age and Noncitizen Voting in Rockville
These opinions on Advisory Referenda Questions are provided by Tom Moore, a whom I first met when we both ran for Council years ago. Even though we don’t always agree, he’s informed, thoughtful, and may help you with your ballot choices. He served two terms on the Rockville City Council from 2011 to 2015, then served as counsel and chief of staff to Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub of the Federal Election Commmission. In June, he joined the Center for American Progress as a senior fellow on its Democracy team. He has lived in Rockville since 1997.
I care quite a bit about one of the advisory referenda questions on Rockville’s ballot this year, and wanted to let you know that I’m voting YES on whether to permit noncitizens to vote, and I ask that you consider doing so as well.
And I have thoughts about the other three ballot questions, which I’ll dispense quickly:
- Lower the voting age to 16: I’m voting YES; it has been shown to help build better lifetime voting behavior.
- Set term limits: I’m voting NO. Term limits are a bad idea in general, and I’ve fought hard against them before. I’ve learned that they almost always pass when put on the ballot, so I’m a little resigned to this one.
- Create representative districts: I’m voting YES. They’re more fair than at-large districts.
Now, to the one I care quite a bit about: whether to permit noncitizens to vote. I think this is a misnomer – it’s not about allowing “noncitizens” to vote, it’s about allowing Rockville citizens who are not U.S. citizens to vote in Rockville’s elections.
I could have pushed for this when I was on the Council, but I made a political calculation and chose against doing so. It is my single greatest regret from my four years on the Council. I testified before the Mayor and Council on this earlier this year. Here’s what I said about it then:
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The Declaration of Independence got it right: governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” But the government of Rockville does not, at the moment, derive its just powers from the consent of all its governed: roughly ten thousand of Rockville’s 67,000 citizens are governed by the City without their consent.
These Rockville citizens are policed by the City. They are subject to City planning policies and ordinances. The City provides their water and sewer service, their parks, their recreation programs, and their trash pickups. The City paves their streets and plows the snow from them. The City takes their tax money.
These Rockville citizens have exactly the same relationship to their City government as every other Rockville citizen except for one thing: because they are not citizens of the United States, they cannot vote in City elections.
This was not always the case. At least 22 states and territories allowed non-U.S.-citizen voting in the 19th century; it was undone by ugly anti-immigrant bigotry in the wake of World War One.
I am recommending to the Mayor and Council that it amend the Rockville City Charter to allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in Rockville elections, effective for the 2027 elections. That way, the Mayor and Council elected this fall will have plenty of time to consider, pass, and publicize an implementing ordinance that will handle the details.
Database Error Leaves nearly 1,000 Rockville Voters Without Ballots
Due to reporting errors, the City of Rockville has suspended the ballot tracking system for the imminent election. Several voters lodged complaints with the Board of Supervisors of Elections in Rockville, stating they were notified via email that their votes had been cast, despite physically holding their ballots. David Sklar, a board member of BOSE, relayed an incident where a voter received an email alert that his ballot was en route for delivery, and within five minutes, another email confirmed the receipt of his voted ballot at the election office, even though the ballot was still in the voter’s possession. This incident raised concerns about potential election fraud.
At the Board of Supervisors of Elections’ (BOSE) meeting on Thursday, October 26, 2023, Chair Robert Kurnick acknowledged the severity of the issue, “Rather than trying to ascertain what should have happened, I think what we have to tell people is that the system was flawed in several respects. We’re sorry but it’s Taylor’s system….The whole point of this is to confirm voter confidence and it’s doing the opposite….It’s really bad.” Officially on the City’s website it’s described as an “unexpected issue technology affecting the ballot tracking system,” but there’s more happening behind the scenes. Turns out nearly 1,000 voters in Rockville did not receive ballots for the upcoming Mayor and Council election due to an error in the voter database.
The Taylor Corporation (no relation to City Clerk Sara Taylor-Ferrell) is a private company that manages the packaging and mailing of Rockville’s ballots but is largely invisible to voters. Although the ballot voters received in the mail has the return address of the City Clerk’s Office, it was mailed from another address and Taylor’s name does not appear on the materials. The State of Maryland uses Taylor for processing other government documents and the City of Rockville hired Taylor to package and mail the ballots this year.
The process is confusing but according to BOSE Chair Robert Kurnick, the “State of Maryland Board of Elections provides names and addresses to the Taylor Corporation, and they send out the ballot. In the last election, Maryland permitted voters to get delivery of their ballots online, so when the State of Maryland provided the name and addresses to Taylor, it would have a name and an address but for some people, it had a name and a ‘web delivery.’ So Taylor did not have addresses for those people, who in the last election, asked to have their ballots delivered online…of which there are hundreds.” The City Clerk stated it was about 800-900 ballots that were not mailed due to missing addresses in the State’s voter database. The City Clerk discovered the error when she received a copy of the database earlier this week.
The City Clerk is in the process of mailing the missing ballots and BOSE has prepared a statement for the Mayor and Council and the candidates for the upcoming election (see below), along with a message on the City’s website that noted, “This technical issue has not affected the integrity of the city’s election process. This issue affected only the ability of voters to track their ballots through the United States Postal Service. The issue had no effect on the actual delivery of ballots.” No mention of the missing ballots, alas.
The City Clerk also mentioned that a couple of thousand ballots have already been received and will be sent to the Montgomery County Board of Elections for processing. Ballots received will be posted on the City website starting on November 1; ballots are not counted until the polls close on Election Day.
Please remember to vote early by mail. Ballots must be received by (NOT mailed to) the City of Rockville by 8 pm on November 7. If you’re running late, two outdoor drop boxes are located at City Hall and Montrose Community Center. Four indoor drop boxes are located at the Senior Center, Lincoln Park Community Center, Twinbrook Community Center, and Thomas Farm Community Center only during hours of operation.
Financial Reports Reveal Top Contenders in Rockville Mayor and Council Race
UPDATE: This post was corrected and expanded to reflect the following: revision of funds raised in the mayoral race, charts clarifying loans and mayoral vs council candidates, and a minor error in Danniel Belay’s financial report.
In the Rockville Mayor and Council race, the first round of financial reports, due on October 9, 2023, have begun to paint a picture of the candidates with the most substantial resources and support. As the race for the six council seats intensifies, the field appears to have narrowed from twelve to eight contenders: Kate Fulton, Barry Jackson, Ricky Mui, David Myles, Paul Scott, Izola Shaw, Marissa Valeri, and Adam Van Grack.
However, not all candidates are faring as well. Financial reports indicate that Danniel Belay, Anita Powell, and Richard Gottfried are trailing, each having raised less than $500, a sum considered insufficient to garner substantial voter support in Rockville. Harold Hodges, another candidate, appears to be even less active in the race, having not submitted a financial report.
The mayoral race in Rockville is shaping up to be a complex contest. Candidate Mark Pierzchala has raised an impressive $48,352, but with a self-loan of $33,160 this period, his effective fundraising total comes to $15,192 (ignoring funds and loans carried over from his 2019 campaign).
In contrast, Monique Ashton‘s fundraising efforts have yielded $19,836, a figure that not only falls short of her opponent’s total but also those of council candidates Kate Fulton, Barry Jackson, and Adam Van Grack. Ashton has loaned her campaign $8,224, leaving her with a net fundraising total of $11,612, (ignoring funds and loans carried over from her 2019 campaign). This places Ashton among the middle of all candidates in this election but an improvement compared to 2019, when she had raised nearly $8,000 by the end of September.
Contributors to campaigns offer revealing insights into financial influences and influencers, but it is different in smaller local races as in Rockville. Donor analysis typically shows many candidates receive support from family, such as Adam Van Grack. However, this election reveals an unusual trend: incumbents Monique Ashton, Mark Pierzchala, and David Myles have not garnered substantial support from local residents, which would be expected if they had significantly impacted residents’ lives. This raises questions about the perceived influence of the Mayor and Council. Are their actions going unnoticed, or are they not making a significant impact? Notably, current Mayor Bridget Newton and her husband are supporting Monique Ashton, Barry Jackson, and Paul Scott.
For your own analysis, here are the individuals who made contributions of $500 or more, all of whom are based in Rockville unless stated otherwise:
Ashton, Monique: Aaron Stallworth (DC, $500), Antonio Quirindongo (NY, $1,000), Joseph Song (CA, $500), Simon Francis (DC, $1,000), Bridget Newton ($750), Fred Newton ($750), Cyrus Allafi ($500)
Pierzchala, Mark: Norma Pierzchala ($1,000), Joel Martinez ($1,000), Paul O’Brien ($500), Janet Gallant ($1,000), Carl Pierzchala ($1,000), George and Barbara Felber ($500), Benjamin Ross (MD, $500), Ingrid Chua ($1,000), Eduardo Alueta ($1,000; returned)
Belay, Danniel: None over $500
Fulton, Kate: Joel Martinez ($1,000), Beverly McFarland (Delaware, $1,000), Bill Fulton (California, $500)
Gottfried, Richard: None over $500
Hodges, Harold: No report
Jackson, Barry: Elizabeth Bartz (Ohio, $500), James “Jack” Jackson (Washington, $1,000), Peter Fosselman ($750), John Killpack (California, $1,000), Bridget Newton ($750), Fred Newton ($750)
Mui, Ricky (DBA Communities Electing Ricky Mui & Supporters of Mui Ricky Fai): Jacob Miller (Washington, $500), Mark Pierzchala ($500), Michael O’Brien (Pennsylvania, $500)
Myles, David: Duncan Maru (NY, $1,000), Tommy Roberts (GA, $500)
Powell, Anita: None over $500
Scott, Paul: Christopher Cash ($1,000), Bridget Newton ($750), Fred Newton ($750)
Shaw, Izola: Steven Van Grack ($520.87), Michael Rubin (MD, $520.87), Kimberley Propeack (MD, $500), Quinton Zondervan (MA, $1,000)
Valeri, Marissa: None over $500
Van Grack, Adam: Steven Van Grack ($1,000), Brandon Van Grack ($1,000), Claire Bohenegel (DC, $1,000), Gail Van Grack-Aks ($1,000), Ryan Van Grack (MD, $1,000), Citizens for Brian Feldman (MD, $500), Terry Lierman (MD, $1,000).
The Board of Supervisors of Elections requires candidates to file their campaign financial statements on simple yet confusing forms (or are they simply confusing forms?) that always trip up candidates and require correction (to see how widespread this problem occurs, count the number of amended returns in 2019). For this round, there seem to be a couple errors that deserve closer scrutiny but do not seem to affect my overall conclusions:
- Rockville United lists an in-kind contribution of $200 to Paul Scott, which does not appear in Paul Scott’s report.
- Danniel Belay lists $100 as a balance forward, however, there is no previous campaign finance report. I suspect this was a self-contribution to open a bank account for the campaign and is recorded incorrectly.
- Anita Powell lists $283.95 in contributions as loans but they are actually campaign expenses.
Navigating Rockville’s Election: Tom Moore’s Endorsements for Mayor and Council
These endorsements for the current candidates for Mayor and Council are provided by Tom Moore, a whom I first met when we both ran for Council years ago. Even though we don’t always agree, he’s informed, thoughtful, and may help you with your ballot choices. He served two terms on the Rockville City Council from 2011 to 2015, then served as counsel and chief of staff to Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub of the Federal Election Commmission. In June, he joined the Center for American Progress as a senior fellow on its Democracy team. He has lived in Rockville since 1997.
No matter what happens this November, the City of Rockville will enter a new era of leadership. We’ll have our first new mayor since 2013. And we’ll have six councilmembers, up from four – and at least five of them will be newcomers.
Given the scarcity of information about the election, I wanted to share my thoughts about those who are running. With just two exceptions, I will be saying positive things about the people I’m supporting, and not much about those I am not supporting. I hope you find it helpful.
First up: I will be proudly voting for Mark Pierzchala for Mayor. I have a tremendous amount of respect for, loyalty to, and affection for Mark. He and I served together on the Council during my first term (2011-13). I learned a lot from him about the issues, but, more importantly, he modeled for me how to vote your conscience fearlessly. He took on tough issues when popular sentiment went the other way. He championed good development and housing policies when it would have been easier – sometimes, much easier – to vote the other way. He has a good heart, good common sense, and is admirably careful about the City’s budget. Mark has been a terrific councilmember who has served his City well, and he will be a terrific Mayor.
As to the Council: I will be voting for (in alphabetical order by last name): Kate Fulton, Barry Jackson, Anita Neal Powell, Izola Shaw, Marissa Valeri, and Adam Van Grack.
Kate Fulton impressed me when she and I sat down so she could pick my brain on how to run and serve. I was just about to talk about how the City budget was intimidating to me when I was first elected (but that the City’s budget staff were very kind and patient in explaining it) when Kate mentioned that she’s COO of the Federal Reserve. Yeah, she gets budgets. She’ll be a good councilmember.
Similarly, Barry Jackson and I sat down for a marathon coffee session months ago when he was first thinking about running. He’s a solid guy with great experience running the King Farm Citizens Assembly. He and I clicked on a lot of issues, and he immediately erased my concern that a candidate who runs KFCA would only represent King Farm if elected. He’ll be a good councilmember.
Anita Neal Powell has served the City for many years. She has been an effective and tireless advocate for Lincoln Park, and I’m delighted that she’s offering to serve on the City Council. On a City Council that will be made up of newcomers, Anita will bring a badly needed breadth and depth of experience. She’ll be a good councilmember.
I met Izola Shaw when we were both advocating for the city-citizen ballot initiative (which I’m going to be writing about separately!). She served the City well on the most recent Charter Review Commission. I like her, I like her values, and I think she’ll be a terrific voice on the Council.
I met Marissa Valeri when she was on the national staff of Common Cause and I was serving on the board of Common Cause Maryland. Marissa devoted years as a fierce advocate for the Twinbrook neighborhood as head of the Twinbrook Community Association. I think she’ll be the kind of councilmember I strived to be – energetic, attuned to her constituents’ needs, forever unsatisfied with the status quo, and eager to stick her neck out to do the right thing. She’ll be a good councilmember.
I had not met Adam Van Grack before this election season, but I’ve known his dad (Steve) and one of this brothers (Brandon) for many years. Adam sat down with me and we chewed over some of the stickiest issues facing the City – among them development, crime, and the fate of the King Farm farmstead and the former Redgate golf course. What impressed me most about Adam was not how much he agreed with me, but how much he disagreed with me – and how he did so. He was well-prepared to address the issues (important) and respectful in how he addressed our differences (less important, but shows he was raised well). But even when we came to opposite conclusions on different issues, the core values Adam used to analyze the issues were similar to mine, which is the most important. He’ll be a good councilmember.
Those are the six I’m voting for, and I recommend them to you.
As to the rest of the field: I haven’t met four of the candidates – Danniel Belay, Harold Hodges, Ricky Mui, and Paul Scott – and I can’t say much about their candidacies. I will note, however, that Mui supported Dan Cox for governor in 2022, which I think puts him well outside Rockville’s political mainstream.
I am actively deciding to vote against the two remaining candidates – Rich Gottfried and David Myles – and would like to provide some context for this. I know both of them, and I like both of them personally, but I do not believe the City would be well-served with either of them on the Council for the next four years.
Rich Gottfried has run for Council several times over the past few cycles, sometimes dropping an eye-popping amount of money into his campaign coffers, without success so far. He’s used that money to run very unpleasant campaigns, attacking the good will of those who confronted the City’s growth issues. Does he have a right to do that? Sure. But it doesn’t speak well of his grasp of the issues and doesn’t speak well of his ability to work on the Council.
Incumbent councilmember David Myles, who was elected in 2019 as a member of the Team Rockville organization I helped start in 2013, was involved in a domestic incident this summer in which the police were called and he was arrested. I am not judging David’s candidacy on the incident itself, because I just don’t know enough about it. It appears to be a sad and complicated situation.
But David’s response, in the form of a lengthy e-mail he sent to members of the community immediately after the incident, gave me great cause for concern. It was all over the map, kind of claiming victimhood in one section and kind of trying to be a public-service announcement in another, and weirdly dodgy throughout. The only thing I got out of it for sure was that David’s personal life needs to take priority over his public service.
