Montgomery County Council using taxpayer funds to campaign against citizen ballot questions

October 13 email sent from Montgomery County Council
government email system urging recipients to vote against
citizen-proposed ballot questions

Montgomery County residents have been receiving frequent emails from County Council members in recent weeks urging them to vote against ballot questions proposed by County residents. Just one problem: these spam political campaign emails are paid for by you, the taxpayer. If a politician wishes to campaign against a ballot question, they can form a new campaign entity or use their own campaign funds, but they cannot use taxpayer funds. This use of taxpayer-funded government email systems for political campaigning should be reviewed by the Maryland Board of Elections, and the Inspector General's office.

I personally have received two of these emails in just the last two days from Councilmembers Andrew Friedson (D - District 1) and Hans Riemer (D - At-Large). I've previously received several emails from their same government accounts, which also urged me to vote against Questions B and D. The shady and illegal tactic is simply one more reason voters should vote FOR Questions B and D, and AGAINST Questions A and C.

The October 13 County government-sent email illegally urges
recipients to vote a certain way on ballot questions

The taxpayer-funded spam email blitz is only the newest unethical tactic the Council has deployed against citizen efforts to chip away at its authoritarian power. While the citizen-petitioned ballot questions each received the support of nearly 20,000 Montgomery County residents who signed the petitions, the Montgomery County Council placed its own deceptive ballot questions with no public, democratic process. 

Content in years past to wage expensive campaigns against citizen ballot questions, the Council upped the ante and the corruption this year. With no advance warning or public process, the Council simply gaveled two identically-worded poison pill questions onto the ballot at a virtual online meeting. The scheme is intended to fool voters into voting "Yes" on all four. Legal experts have advised that if all four ballot questions are approved, they will cancel each other out, and none of the changes citizens sought will take place.

Fine print at bottom of email confirms it
was sent "on behalf of Montgomery County, Maryland Government"

Question B would eliminate the Council's ability to override the existing property tax cap, as they did in 2016 to slam homeowners with a 9% property tax increase, to cover for their mismanagement of the County budget. Question D would eliminate the At-Large seats on the Council, and reorder the Council into 9 smaller districts. Questions A and C are the Council's poison pill questions that mimic the language of B and D. 

Fine print also declares the email "is part of
the Council's newsletter software," a taxpayer-funded
government communications platform

Making taxpayers fund their corrupt schemes is nothing new for the Montgomery County Council. My investigation in 2018 found that Councilmember Hans Riemer was charging taxpayers to fund both a political website (even though each councilmember already gets a free, taxpayer-funded website on the Council's website), and to pay for his gas when he traveled to private meetings with his campaign donors.

Fleet Feet coming soon to the Kentlands

Fleet Feet is coming to the Kentlands. The athletic shoe and accessory retailer has leased a space at 201 Market Street. 

Armed robbery at Germantown hotel

An armed robbery was reported in Germantown early Friday morning. The robbery took place at a hotel in the 12500 block of Milestone Center Drive around 2:30 AM, according to crime data. 

Some Montgomery County voters haven't received their mail-in ballots

Some Montgomery County voters are hitting the panic button as the mail-in ballots they requested weeks or months ago have not yet arrived. The panic is not only due to the high anxiety about election fraud this year, but more so because these voters have seen friends' and family members' ballots arrive, while theirs haven't - even though in many cases the requests were mailed the same day, or even together.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections told one voter who requested his ballot over a month ago that, if he doesn't receive it by the end of this week, to request a "second-issue ballot." This can be done by visiting the Board of Elections in person (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm) at 18753 N. Frederick Avenue., Suite 210, in Gaithersburg; emailing your name, date-of-birth, address, mailing address (if needed), and second ballot issue request to absentee@montgomerycountymd.gov; or by reapplying online by texting VBM to 77788 or using this form.

Another big question for some voters is why their ballot isn't shown as received days after mailing it back, or placing it into a dropbox. BOE says that it can take up to two weeks for a ballot to be collected and processed.

Voters are correct to be concerned. I lost my voting rights in the primary earlier this year when my completed ballot was "lost in the mail" on its way back to the BOE, making it the first election I ever missed participating in since I was old enough to register. I personally have received my mail-in ballot. But I will be using a dropbox to return it this time.

Allure coming to Gaithersburg Square

Allure Jewelry & Custom Design is coming to Gaithersburg. The store will be located in the Gaithersburg Square shopping center at 524 N. Frederick Avenue. Construction inside the space appears just about finished. Allure is now hiring for full-time and part-time positions, and are seeking applicants with jewelry and retail experience.

Try your new business at Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg

The owner of Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg has announced the mall is entering a transition phase as it awaits a potential redevelopment. During this period, the mall is considering potential tenants who want to open a bricks-and-mortar business who might ordinarily not be able to afford the rents at a major retail center of this type. 

Lakeforest will leverage its many vacant spaces to potentially provide opportunities for small, independent, local businesses who could benefit from the foot traffic of mall patrons, at a special lease rate. Have a business and need space? The mall operator has an online form to make your pitch. Who knows, you might just have the business idea that saves Lakeforest Mall from the wrecking ball!

Gaithersburg Square makeover proposed (Photos)

Federal Realty has proposed major renovations and upgrades at its Gaithersburg Square shopping center at 524 N. Frederick Avenue. New facade treatments, light sconces, architecture and art elements, and transformed landscaping and hardscaping will give the center's traditional buildings an updated look.

Distinctive additions will include features like a "whimsical downspout" and hanging lanterns in tree branches. On the more practical side, some changes will reflect changing shopping habits. As curbside pick-up sales increase in the pandemic era, Federal Realty is proposing to create pick up spaces in front of certain businesses, instead of the solid curb and sidewalk.

The Gaithersburg Planning Commission will review the proposal at its virtual meeting tonight, October 7, 2020. City planning staff are recommending approval of the renovations, with conditions. The proposed conditions are to provide a public access easement between the public crosswalk at the Perry Parkway circle and Federal Realty's property, and for Federal Realty to obtain approval of the final site plans by both the Department of Public Works and Planning Division prior to the issuance of any permits.