Sen. Ben Kramer has decided to take action regarding the Planning Board. Beyond filing a bill to study removing its functions back to the county, he has proposed the Montgomery County Planning Trust and Transparency Act of 2023. It would take major steps towards ethics compliance and allow the county executive to appoint the Board Chair. This Act’s summary description: FOR the purpose of altering the appointment process, salary authorization process, and terms for commissioners appointed to the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission from Montgomery County; requiring the County ..read more

Jeff Zyontz (D), Chair. Amy Presley (R). Cherri Branson (D). David Hill (I). Roberto Pinero (D). Two are from Rockville and two are from Silver Spring. Amy Pressley formerly served on the Planning Board. Cheri Branson served on the County Council after being appointed to fill a vacancy ..read more

Rep. Jamie Raskin has been a truly outstanding representative and leader in office. In the past, he has spoken eloquently about the importance of Ukraine’s fight. So I was shocked to read that he was one of the signatories to the appalling Progressive Caucus letter on Ukraine that has now been ignominiously withdrawn. Markos Moulitsas did explained well why this disastrous letter–a gift to Putin and other enemies of freedom, democracy and Ukrainian sovereignty–was so awful: This is beyond naive, stupid and irresponsible. Let us count the ways:  This is Ukraine’s war with Russia. The ..read more

Although I have spent many posts detailing the Planning Board’s and the Council’s extreme failure to conduct proper and inclusive consultation, the central problem with Thrive 2050 is that it is backward rather than forward thinking. Why is this? Telework Telecommuting was a trend even before COVID-19 but the pandemic has accelerated it on steroids. The 2022 Council of Governments survey of nearly 8400 employed area residents revealed that telework is way up. Since 2019, 60% have started or increased telework and 32% have shifted to full-time telework. It is not just the number of people who ..read more

The Montgomery County Council has whittled down the nominees for temporary appointments to the Planning Board to eleven people: Raj Barr‐Kuma Cherri Branson Francoise Carrier Norman Dreyfuss Barbara Goldberg Goldman David Hill William Kirwin Vincent Napoleon Roberto Pinero Amy Presley Jeff Zyontz This rushed appointment process is turning into a train wreck with a number of problems already emerging: First, showing a lack of transparency let alone interest in public input, this information was posted less than 24 hours before the interviews that are to be held tomorrow with the appointments ma ..read more

Here is the list of applicants for the Planning Board. While the Council could appoint a quorum of three to conduct the Board’s business, they plan to appoint five people to these very temporary positions that will then be filled by the new County Council. View this document on Scribd ..read more

The Planning Board is overseen and appointed by the County Council, though the County Executive can veto appointments and is obviously deeply involved in planning and land use processes. The following is County Executive Marc Elrich’s statement: Statement from County Executive Marc Elrich on the Resignation of the Montgomery County Planning Board Like many in the County, I have followed with growing concern the unfolding events at the Park and Planning Commission.  As County Executive, I have not been a participant in the conversations about the details. I think where people are implicat ..read more

It’s hard to keep up. Since I last wrote, a lot has happened. Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson was removed from the Kojo in Our Community segment on WAMU on Thrive. (Disclosure: WAMU is owned by American University, my employer.) Planning Board Vice Chair Partap Verma has gone on medical leave from the Planning Board. Parks Department Deputy Director Miti Figueredo filed a complaint against Partap Verma. Fired Planning Director Gwen Wright says that the complaint is accurate. Though employed in the capacity of professional staff, both are staunch allies of Anderson. Figueredo, highly person ..read more

Montgomery County badly needs more political coverage, so I am very glad that Adam Pagnucco has gotten back to blogging now that the primary is over. Adam has started his own new site, Montgomery Perspective. His past posts on Seventh State will remain up here but you can also view them over at his new digs. I wish Adam all the best with his new blog and am sure that it will be well worth reading ..read more

On October 6, WJLA reported that Planning Board Vice Chair Partap Verma sent an email accusing Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson of creating a “toxic misogynistic and hostile workplace.” The Montgomery County Council appoints and oversees the Planning Board, which is part of M-NCPPC and an independent agency. Lots of questions remain to be answered beyond the veracity of the allegations directed at Anderson. For starters, when did Verma learn about these problems. Is Verma a required reporter who must report allegations like these immediately and cannot keep them confidential? Did he report ..read more