Fighting for Montgomery County!

By Mark Uncapher Earlier this month New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned from office following news reports that between 2013 and 2016 he had committed acts of violence against four of his romantic partners.[1]The women said that Schneiderman had repeatedly choked, hit or violently slapped them, all without their consent.

Governor Larry Hogan announced on May 14th the federal approval of Maryland's Total Cost of Care All-Payer Model, known as the “Maryland Model,” contract.   “The new Maryland Model will expand health care access and affordability – and ultimately improve quality of life – for Marylanders, especially those with chronic and complex medical conditions,” said Governor Hogan. “Maryland continues to lead the nation in innovative health care delivery, and the expansion of our successful model is a huge step forward in our efforts to ensure that every Marylander has access to quality care.”

By Josephine Wang Candidate for State Senate, District 17 Josephine Wang’s multi-faceted career has included serving as an advisor to former President George H.W. Bush, and teaching assignments in New York City and Montgomery County Public Schools. She is an admirer of Condoleeza Rice and the main reason she is running for the State Senate in 2018 is her concern about the sanctuary state issue in Maryland (she’s against it). She is also pro-life, an advocate of school choice and individual gun rights. Josephine, who is currently an At-Large member of the MCGOP Central Committee, believes that a well-rounded education should include learning Mandarin. After all, Confucius believed that “Learning comes from asking,” and who would have known better than the most revered sage in China and throughout Asia about the truth of this concept?

On June 12, the Montgomery County Council will receive the Charter Review Commission's (CRC) report on proposed changes to redistricting policies and on the minority's recommendation that, "now is the time to consider changing the makeup of the County Council by having more, smaller and more responsive council districts."   On the afternoon of July 10th, a County Council public hearing on the CRC's report is scheduled.  Please come to the public hearing and speak out in support of the CRC's Minority Report recommendation!  The Council needs to hear there is strong public support for the reduction or elimination of at-large council seats before their July 17 Work Session scheduled to consider CRC recommendations.  The Council will take final action on any Charter amendments to be placed on the ballot in November at their July 24th session.

By Deborah Lambert On Friday, May 18, the Montgomery County Civic Federation honored members of the Term Limits Ballot Committee for their outstanding achievement in getting term limits passed in 2016. At the awards dinner, James Shalleck, president of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, presented the Sentinel Award to Sharon Cohen, David Drake and Ann Hingston, organizers of the Term Limits Ballot Committee. David Drake did not attend because of a family commitment. Others on the Term Limits team who were present included Committee Chairman Walsh Richards; Nick Peang-Meth, Lori Jaffe and Paula Bienenfeld.  

By Dan Cuda Perhaps little noticed on April 17th, was the Democrat-led Montgomery County government’s proposal to begin collecting data to implement an “Equity Agenda.”  What is an “Equity Agenda?”  The answer seems like something out of North Korea.  The Equity Agenda appears to commit county government to engage in a future of identity politics in order to choose among groups it defines as privileged and underprivileged and defines these categories on the basis of race. A county press release dated 4/17/18 states that the agenda will allow “…examination of how a proposed [county government] action or decision will likely have an effect on different racial and ethnic groups.” In the same document, Takoma Park Democrat Mark Elrich says that “Using a racial equity lens informs and empowers County officials to make the best allocation of resources.”  An accompanying analysis blames all the county inequalities on institutional and individual bias among unnamed members of the community, and states with the chilly authority of Big Brother, “Montgomery County Government is responsible for all its residents and is in a position to address both unconscious and overt bias.”

By Reardon Sullivan Dear Existing Montgomery County Council: I would like to lend my voice to that of Mr. McHugh [Mongtomery County Young Republicans Chair, emphasis added] in opposition to the Montgomery Council's proposed action to fund lawyers for illegal aliens. I am a resident of Darnestown, homeowner and independent business owner for over 20 years employing 40 law abiding county resident. Given the local economic climate per David Blair and the Washington Post article here, the idea that this County Executive and Council would use my tax dollars to fund legal cost for illegal is truly insane.  

By Mark Uncapher MCGOP Chairman Montgomery County’s election season has been roiled by the release of a report on Montgomery County’s economic performance called “The Coming Storm: How Years of Economic Underperformance are Catching up with Montgomery County.”[1]   Commissioned by a non-partisan group, Empower Montgomery, the study concludes that: “Montgomery County has already entered a downward fiscal spiral in which debt service gobbles up an ever-growing share of the local budget…Raising taxes to balance public needs with public resources would serve to further accelerate outmigration, slow business formation and impede tax base growth.”

By Gail Weiss Montgomery County's all-Democrat County Council demonstrated that it was up to its predictable tricks last week during a meeting on Tuesday evening in the County Council hearing room. The Council, in a purely partisan appeasement of a Democrat special interest group - the illegal alien community -  is unanimously in favor of a Special Appropriation of about $375,000 to fund an outside organization to provide “free" legal services to illegal aliens in Montgomery County who find themselves facing deportation. And by “free” I mean that us citizens will pay for it with our tax dollars, as the funds come out of our county budget. You know, that same budget which had a $120 million dollar shortfall that forced departments county-wide to do some belt-tightening, despite the 8.7 % property tax increase, 33% recordation tax increase, the bag tax, the energy surcharge (tax) that was supposed to be temporary and is still in effect and the ever-(not) amusing “rain tax” which Governor Hogan repealed across the state, but which our dear county leaders have kept in place for us.

By Linda Willard Candidate for Maryland House of Delegates, District 18 I am running for delegate from LD-18 (Chevy Chase, Kensington, Garrett Park, Rockville, Silver Spring, Wheaton).  I am the first Republican to run for delegate in my district in twelve years, so I decided to run in order  to break this cycle. Voters in LD-18 are not only victims of one party rule, they are the victims of a one-party choice.   Economic Underperformance.  Soft job growth.  No business formation.  These phrases were just a few of the descriptions of the economic outlook in Montgomery County in a recent report prepared by Baltimore-based Sage Policy Group.  The report, entitled “The Coming Storm,” was presented on April 27 at a forum on the economic future of Montgomery County sponsored by the Montgomery County Business Roundtable and Empower Montgomery.