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 17^th, 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.”