Thanks to those who sent feedback! Here are some comments that we received last week: 

Bike Lanes

I hate those ridiculous bike lanes. Traffic is way worse and I have never seen 1 bike in  them! Please remove them!

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Expedited Bill 35-25

With all due respect, our taxes are so high right now thanks to Governor Moore and now we want to expand for immigrants who may be illegally or legally here more of the benefits that I pay for giving them more benefits that we as Montgomery County residence pay for is outrageous. Yes I’m a very compassionate and individual, but I also have to vote. My pocketbook is stretched right now as far as it’ll go in Montgomery County, I’m considering purchasing a place in Florida and living down there for 6 1/2 months and then coming back here so I don’t have to pay taxes. That’s what most Montgomery County residents do who are wealthy. I’m not extremely wealthy, but I’m comfortable but this is gone too far much too far.

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I realize fully that here in Montgomery County most residents have accepted the propaganda of the left.  They think that everyone should be welcome and forget about the real cost and consequences of such simplistic notions.  However, I prefer honesty and truth.  It is vital to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants.  I happen to be a legal immigrant who immigrated ~50 years ago.  I do not wish to be lumped into a group that includes illegals and migrants.  Thus we should be using our language correctly.  

The truth is that migrants and illegals have been, overall, a drain on society and a partial cause of the increase in crime and depression of wages.  It is the legal immigrants that have enriched our society.  I immigrated when the requirement was that the immigrant not become a drain on society and that the person would contribute abilities and skills that were in demand rather than competing with Americans for the same areas of employment.

The truth is that it is every citizen's civil duty to obey the laws of the land and that includes immigration laws.  Employers should be required to check immigrant status and should receive severe fines for hiring illegals.  The argument that Americans do not want to do the jobs that are done by illegals is false.  If the work needs to be done and there aren't enough workers in that area, then wages need to be increased to attract more workers, rather than import cheap labor.  

The segment by Ms. Sauter continues with the blurring of differences between legal immigrants illegals and migrants.  Rather it should motivate the republicans by speaking the truth with vigor and thus motivate action.   

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The more I think about this proposed legislation, the more we need to reign in the progressive policies of first Montgomery County.  In this regard, I would propose having a few initiatives on which the county residents should vote.  Of course, the required signatures would have to be garnered to make this happen.

First, deals with the county being required to segregate out taxpayer funds and specific programs that are used to support illegal aliens in the county.  The county needs to be transparent on this.  It would be great to have a baseline on this data.  I suggest starting with 2019 when Elrich took over as County  Executive, and continuing through 2025.  Then we would need the cost projections of the county’s proposal to open the door to all programs ( I do not know what that means ) to illegal aliens.  Bill 35-25 would make that almost impossible given the expansive prohibition of collecting and maintaining the immigration status of individuals.  But the initiative would make clear that immigration status must be required, and that any programs providing entitlements or benefits to illegal aliens must mirror the Federal laws in terms of benefits that certain illegal aliens may receive.

Second, there should be an initiative for term limits on Montgomery County Council members that is identical to the County Executive’s term limitation.  At least with respect to the County Executive position, the majority of county residents voting saw the need for term limits.

Third, I would recommend that, at a minimum, the County Executive and City Council positions  should not be eligible to be enrolled in the county’s retirement system.  We want these positions to churn and not be wed to incumbency.  Without it, the current and most likely, worse progressive policies will be etched in concrete.  Additionally, very few employees in the private sector receive a pension.  Rather, they are provided other programs such as 401ks for their retirement.  It may be appropriate that the existing county’s 401k program may have to be tweaked to increase matching levels for these positions.

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I am responding to your comments relative to Bill 35-25.  I like you and tens of thousands of other residents oppose it.  However, I believe MCGOP should advertise through whatever means possible of this continual, blatant and discriminatory policy that first emanated with Elrich’s Executive Order in 2019.

Personally, I strongly believe that the County’s policies, its leaders and the myriad of county employees at all levels are knowingly violating and/or are complicit in doing indirectly what it can’t do directly in doing harm and undercutting various federal laws.  

First, Executive Order 135-19 prohibits, among other things, that county employees are prohibited from asking the citizen status of any individual or resident of Montgomery County.  This not only hamstrings the police, the leaders of whom are woke, but, more importantly, it widely opens the door to fraud, especially as it applies to benefits such as SNAP, housing, Medicaid etc.  This is amplified by that Order requiring the amendment or overhaul of all county regulations, policies and forms that had required the designation of citizen or national status before consideration of benefits and employment.  In turn, this led to legal and illegal immigrants migrating into this county and the exit of longtime residents.  Why?  Because the residents were burdened by an ever increasing avalanche of income and property taxes as well as closing costs associated with homes.  Moreover, it is estimated that immigrants in the county comprise almost 40 percent of the 1.1 million population, or over 400,000.  And, of this amount, illegal aliens make up 100,000 or more.  So, one has to ask how much the county has budgeted in direct and indirect budget allowances and grants. 

Second, the County Executive, with the unanimous support, for the most part, of the progressive County Council, have earmarked millions or hundreds of millions of dollars in the County’s budget funds to specific groups in the name of equity, among other things.  An example of this is the $250 million in the MCPS system for ESOL to the discrimination of STEM and other programs and the school’s population.  Your discussion of wiping the records of immigration - dealing most likely with illegal aliens - clean, is another example.

Third, it has been suggested that the County Executive and County Council may be authorizing grants and earmarks through its budget to NGOs and charities which, in turn, provide all types of benefits to illegal aliens who are not entitled to benefits under various federal statutes.  If true, this raises questions of complicity in potential fraudulent actions.

Finally, I strongly believe the MCGOP should, at a minimum, refer to the above matters that I have addressed to the USDOE, US Homeland Security, USHHS and USDOJ for discrimination and other serious concerns that run through the overall Orders, policies and programs of Montgomery County,  Md.