@TheBigEgg, who gets more than three minutes to speak? Developers and their attorneys and planners, to start with. MSI and their lobbyists, for another. Berman Academy staff and their attorneys, for a third. I could go on. Where do they speak? Not publicly, that's for sure. They are behind closed doors with councilmembers, council staff members, planning department staff, planning board members, County Executive Leggett, and his staff, MCPS staff, and BOE members and their staff. By then, the deal is done. Stick a fork in it. If you want to see the pages and pages of those meetings -- the real meetings -- MPIA them. Many of us have stacks of paper overflowing that document those meetings. Those are the real meetings. The 3 minutes that a working person like you, I, or Ms. Baron get are so late in the process that they don't matter.

Paula, the Westfield Costco Gas issue is a great example of where this whole closed-door process either didn't occur or wasn't successful. I have no doubt that these private meetings occur--they're not secret because you are able to find out about them. But, at some point, we have agencies that have to make decisions, based on a public record, which is open to anyone to contribute to. My lingering concern is that resident groups show up (like the renowned "rich,white,women" that Mr. Stanley ill-advisedly referred to) and claim to represent the residents. Really? Which ones? If it's just the 500 that sign a petition--fine. But it's wrong to say that these groups represent residents as a whole. By the way, and I'll not make Mr. Stanley's mistake, but why are the WeAreMoCo group, and the Neighborhood Montgomery group, led by rich (or at least middle-class) white women? Strange phenomenon. MoCo is a more diverse county than that.

Hi TBE,

I think it is fascinating when anonymous, or even named, individuals and groups try to redirect conversations away from the issues at hand. We let it happen every day in the news we consume and other choices we make.

Regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status or whatever, the question people are asking is why do all of these groups and individuals NEED to donate/volunteer/spend so much of their valuable time and resources on these land use and related issues in order to have their needs/desires/wants included in the process? Reducing this need for such active activism is part of the reason WeAreMoCo was founded.

So let's get to it shall we? Follow us on facebook and twitter. Uncloak yourself (who would know?) and contribute blog posts or add comments to the discussion on http://wearemoco.org/. There is much to do.

BTW - thanks for your comment below. I actually have a lot of very good explanations. The elected officials lack of mandate note was for my neighbors in and around the Town of Kensington (maybe you too then??). You should read my explanations to the comments of my other anonymous buddies, TBarnes and S4Smith, about another group of residents (the Committee to Save Kensington) assembled out of need for more inclusive representation in the language of the Kensington Sector Plan. http://www.gazette.net/article/20120509/NEWS/705099497/save-kensington-finds-purpose-after-passage-of-sector-plan&template=gazette

Cheers,
Gail

Gail, You sound pretty reasonable--almost meeting the President Obama test of "someone I'd like to have a beer with." I don't think considering the racial/gender make-up of WAMC and Neighborhood Montgomery is a redirection, however. IF you want your suggestions/comments to be considered by County officials solely on their merits (kind of like when a professor grades exams anonymously) then it's less relevant for sure. However, if you want to add "ooomf" to your comments by saying that you are but a sample of residents (and motivated voters) who share these values, then making sure you have at least some of the diversity that is MoCo would seem to be a first step. Surely you would be uncomfortable if the MoCo Council or Planning Board consisted solely of white men, right? Why should a citizen group be homogenous?

Hi TBE - labels belong on food packaging and medicine bottles, not people. WeAreMoCo is an online community, so the beauty is that we don't know (or care) the gender, race or socioeconomic status of the participants. The trick is reaching all interested parties, and this article was just one of our first steps. I like the idea of a citizen group having more 'ooomf' but know that the true power and potential of this group remains to be seen. We are just getting started collectively but individually have been at this for many years. We listed the founders for this article, but continue to grow the list of contributors on our web site and 'followers' on facebook and twitter. 'See' you soon. Gail

The reason why you don't feel like your input is being taken seriously is because it's unrealistic. Because it's unrealistic, people disregard it quickly. If you want your input to be take seriously, you need to bring it in-line with the the public opinion.

People want progress in development in MoCo. They want new bio technology in the area. You don't want ANY development because you have a mind-set of a MoCo that once existed but will not exist like that again. It is you that needs to change (whether that means moving out of MoCo, or a change in mind-set).

These 'activist' groups like yours that tries to impose their own values/will on the people are annoying. If you can, please "scale back" your incessant nagging. That would be a real 'scale-it-back'.

pw, the people who are involved in both scale-it-back.com and WeAreMoCo.org are well aware of the need for sensible development in Montgomery County. We have worked long and hard to understand the underlying assumptions of County policy. We have worked endless hours with the county officials as well as their staffs.
We support the sensible expansion of biotechnology as well as other industries that will provide jobs to support the people of Montgomery County.
HOWEVER, we feel that there is a serious disconnect with the concerns of the residents and the goals of the developers as supported by some of the county officials. Many of the decisions are made long before the residents in any of the county neighborhoods are involved. We feel that the residents should have a voice in matters that will profoundly affect their neighborhoods.
Thank you for your suggestions.

Whew. I thought this thread had died. But, Donna--let me suggest that the reply you posted reveals the blinders that you wear in your role. You say, "serious disconnect with the concerns of the residents and the goals of the developers as supported by some of the county officials." You talk as though the residents are monolithic and support you in your opposition to unreasonable development. What you're failing to see, or at least acknowledge, is that, as pw says, some residents actually want robust development of the area. It means jobs. It means more people to shoulder the tax burden. It means that overburned roads will be improved, and mass transit expanded. This is not the simplistic "residents vs. developers" dynamic that you have written.

Big Egg,
You say: " It means that overburned roads will be improved, and mass transit expanded. This is not the simplistic "residents vs. developers" dynamic that you have written."
OK, here we go again, just for you.
The Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan, for example, proposes to add 40,000 workers and 5,200 housing units. 2,250 housing units will be built in Crown Farm which is next to the so-called "Science City".
The Corridor Cities Transitway will be built but will only accommodate 12-15% of the newcomers. 85% of the newcomers will be ON THE ROADS IN THEIR CARS.
In order to accommodate all of these cars:
- Key West Avenue will be widened to EIGHT-LANES.
- Great Seneca Highway will be widened to SIX-LANES.
- Muddy Branch Road will be widened to SIX-LANES.
- The interchange at the end of Sam Eig (Rt 370) at Great Seneca Hwy will be THREE LEVELS AND SIXTEEN LANES.
- Up to FIVE MULTILEVEL HIGHWAY INTERCHANGES WILL BE BUILT ON GREAT SENECA HIGHWAY.
Even after all of the above infrastructure improvements have been completed, including the CCT, the traffic on Great Seneca Highway, now posted at 50 mph, is expected to travel at an AVERAGE OF 9-11 MPH.
Did any of us have a voice in these decisions? NO, even though much of the development will be adjacent to established residential neighborhoods.
The land use decisions were made long before the residents knew anything about them by the county officials and the developers.

Donna--VOTE THE BASTARDS OUT OF OFFICE! Seriously. If there's a disaster looming on the horizon, you should have no trouble rallying the voters. But, if the voters don't believe you, then perhaps it is you who should step down. The voters will get the government they deserve. But, you still will not have come to terms with the fact that it is not simply a residents vs developer decision tree. Some of us residents don't trust or believe you.

Big Egg, thanks for your kind words.

"represents almost 500 people from over 70 different areas and subdivisions in the county" What is the total population in those 70 different area? I imagine that the people who you represent are a small fraction of that area. I see this as something of an attempted power-grab by these groups. My experience in Kensington is that the groups meet behind closed doors--they even describe themselves as "not an official group with by-laws but a fluid group who have held many meetings and discussions about the issues." Quite honestly--I don't want these groups to be given extra consideration by the county leaders, because their views cannot be said to be representative of the broader community's. They are, instead, representative of the "500 people from over 70 different areas." Certainly, you should expect to be heard and have your views considered. But, that doesn't necessarily mean that the plans should be changed to incorporate your views.

It seems like you are lacking a proper understanding of our political system. If you have beef with certain issues, voice them through your representative. If the representative is not representing, then vote them out. That's how democracy works. The voting the key component part of the system, not individual, or activist groups claiming to represent the people getting to make all the decision.

If you do not believe the representatives are representing you properly, then stage to vote yourself in through your activist group. Let the public decide if you are truly representing their voice by their votes.

Teresa, When an individual is 1 out of a million residents, or even 500 out of a million (0.05%), how much "power" is it reasonable to give them? I completely agree that if they write thoughtful letters to the county elected or appointed leaders, those letters should be read and considered. I'm suggesting, however, that it is not reasonable to expect the county to consider those letters to be the prevailing view of residents throughout the 70 different areas Donna refers to.

Did you see that Lydia Sullivan thinks Marion Barry should move to Kensington? Is that because she thinks the residents would elect him, just like they elected that big, bad Peter Fosselman? Does she not exhibit contempt for her fellow residents/voters?

redirect alert! redirect alert! redirect alert! redirect alert!

TBE - are you a follower or a friend of a follower of Ms. Sullivan? Must be since you are quoting her personal facebook page. I think that is hilarious.

Fact check: Ms. Sullivan had a concern about the KSP and did something about it - she ran for public office. She ran for and won a seat on the TOK Council on a platform that she actually delivered - such as seeking reasonable and appropriate scale in the Kensington Sector Plan. She was representing all of those TOK residents who voted for her. I would use the word contempt to describe the way Ms. Sullivan was treated for her knowledgeable and informed positions on behalf of the residents of the TOK.

Being demonized for having different views from the rest of the TOK Council and Mayor is hardly democracy at its finest. The crime is the effect this had on the people of the Town. Without her leadership and courage in the face of this actual contempt, the Town would be without many of the protections it has today.

I know - this is off topic right?

redirect alert! redirect alert! redirect alert! redirect alert!

Fine lots of people agree with you. But all of the residents elected leaders (who directly or through their choice of staff) to make decisions. It's a reprentative democracy. If your views are meritorious and appealing to the broad community, elect leaders who will implement them. Otherwise, weigh in through letters, but understand that the elected leaders represent all of us, not just those of us who join local civil activist groups.

Conversely, elected officials do not speak for all individuals just because that person was elected, regardless of their margin of victory. New problems present themselves everyday, so while we do need to elect people who will think independently about issues, we also need a process of engagement with elected officials that requires less energy from those willing to take up a cause and results in more balanced solutions inclusive of the broad spectrum of residents.

There seems to be agreement that there needs to be a way for elected officials to do their jobs in a manner that accounts for all residents' needs, not just the needs of a narrow sampling be they elected official, activist, developer or other. I am not saying elected officials always get it wrong, but I do know that certain issues need to be handled in a more representative manner. As Donna has so aptly stated, we seek to work together to find solutions to the things we all agree are broken.

We are civil civic activists. And we are all MoCo.

Gail--this is actually a very good explanation. I totally agree with you that different areas of the county shouldn't have to re-learn the sector plan process when it's their turn, or traffic mitigation. That's great that you can share the learning among yourselves. (As to your point about elected leaders not having a mandate to do what they want, I agree, but that's not what I said.)

Big Egg (George), I'm glad you see the value in WeAreMoCo. We have gotten very favorable feedback from residents across the county which is gratifying.

Okay. This is actually kind of fun. I hope you think I'm George Leventhal. Well, I'd love to stay and chat with you on Patch, Donna, but I have to go take some big bags of money from developers and pre-approve their permits. I'll catch you once the result is pre-ordained!

I think it's pretty obvious Donna Baron thinks that her opinion should be valued more than other MoCo residents because she thinks that a lot of people (not yet established) agrees with her. Bigger ego than most, perhaps?

Umm...it's pretty clear s/he's making a joke, if you're referring to TBE (legally and definitionally, libel is malicious, no? I think you just committed libel against TBE by aggressively and incorrectly labeling him/her a libeler!). If you want to see someone libeling Levental, head over to Muslim article. Every third post is this crazy guy ranting about how Levental is the devil. It's hilarious.

Good lord, was it seriously not clear I was being absurd? Someone needs to chill. Of course "big bags of money" is a joke and of course "libeling against...labeling...a libeler!" is a joke. Not to mention, yes, you're the only one being aggressive here and attacking people. Shesh.