Rockville City Council Candidate Forum at the Senior Center.

I had a chance to attend my first city council candidates forum today, which I think is actually the third of more than a half dozen.  If you missed it, don’t worry, you have plenty of opportunities coming up (including two this upcoming week that will be broadcast).

Today’s forum was held in the senior center and hosted by the neighborhood associations for College Gardens, Woodley Gardens, and Plymouth Woods and moderated by Cheryl Kagan.  All the candidates were seated in a single row, barely fitting on stage, and about 60 people attended, mostly senior citizens.  Unlike some neighborhood forums that focus exclusively on their parochial issues, this one ranged widely around Rockville, including such topics as Rockville in ten years, budget and finances, the APFO, Rockville Pike Plan, the fence separating Montgomery College, the city logo and branding, qualifications of the next city manager, relationships with other government agencies, relations with city staff, the proposed Walmart, and an assessment of the city’s website.  Perhaps the most provocative question was, “which candidate do you oppose in this election and why?”  I won’t provide a detailed report on everyone’s statements–I’ll leave that to the Gazette or you can watch the 2+ hours of it on YouTube–but will just give general impressions and highlights.

It seems that the candidates are beginning to solidify their statements and finding ways to Continue reading →